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“I don’t know what to do with the thoughts flying around my head so I stand up and spring my arms high. Perhaps, I can touch the sky. I have a little laugh because it’s a fun idea and the words high and sky make an excellent rhyme”.
Written entirely in the voice of Huxley, a seven year old boy, this charming and unique story is a deeply evocative reminder of what it was like to be a child – in this case, the jiggly, verbally-playful and imagination-fueled world of a young boy brimming with humor, innocence, adventure and, at the same time, an unfortunate penchant for creating minor disturbances in the sometimes stodgy adult world around him.
“The sky is a wizards cloak with stars that blink on and off”.
Huxley is at that crossroads of an age where, eager to understand the adults around him, extremely sensitive to emotional undercurrents, and not sophisticated enough to always put events in an appropriate context, Huxley will interpret, express his thoughts directly, and bolt into actions that may or may not always turn out exactly as he would have hoped.
“I can’t keep my words in a minute more.”
Lonely sometimes as an “only” at home, with a couple of sometimes-close friends at school, an active imagination and an overflowing abundance of energy, Huxley is constantly searching for new forms of engagement, connection and distraction. It’s not surprising then, to see Huxley eagerly befriend a disabled older man new in town – setting off a series of circumstances that bring to a head the best, and the worst, that human beings, (adults in this case, who should, after all, from Huxley’s perspective, know better), have to offer.
Along the way, with the help of adult coaching on issues including bullying, emotional management, prejudice, mis-information and friendship, Huxley learns a few lessons of his own, while for the reader, seeing the world entirely from his perspective cannot help but bring a fresh and immersively delightful look at our own humanity, – allowing us to revisit the world of childhood, perhaps the only time where the purity of love is allowed to flow entirely unobstructed.
A great big thank you to the author for an ARC of this book. All thoughts provided are my own.
READER ALERT: STAY TUNED to this blog for an upcoming exclusive author Q&A, in which Dr. Gail Aldwin shares her experiences and insights as an author, and in the writing of this wonderful book.
