NOVEMBER 2018 - AudioFile
Narrator Imani Parks brings a gentle and compassionate voice to the tender story of recovery following the sudden death of Fiona’s dad. How can she; her younger brother, Finn; and their mother recover? It takes a village—in this case, the patients of the late Declan; neighbors, each touched by the words that Declan shared with them; and the staff and dogs at the local animal shelter. Parks’s narration is even and quiet. Her voice lifts with Fiona’s growing understanding of the accident and the impact her father had on people and alternately brightens and falls in sync with Finn’s changing emotions. When the words and actions take one’s breath away, Parks’s voice quietly fades, and she elongates the pauses between events, heightening their impact. Listeners have much to consider in this listening experience. A.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
The New York Times Book Review - Catherine Hong
Patricia MacLachlan is the master of quiet books that pack an emotional wallop. She's also a die-hard dog lover who's written several novels celebrating the healing power of her favorite creatures. Her latest, My Father's Words, finds the author in her element…And though the premise might seem way too sad…MacLachlan turns it into something remarkable…In this slim book, MacLachlan provides a beautifully nuanced portrait of one family's recovery after tragedy…Written in the solemn voice of Fiona, an observant girl who seems to have inherited her father's instinct for listening, the book feels as direct and true as a dog looking you straight in the eyes.
Publishers Weekly
★ 08/27/2018
Key relationships in her own life inspired this characteristically taut and resonant novel by Newbery Medalist MacLachlan (Sarah, Plain and Tall). Life as Fiona has known and loved it comes to a screeching halt over runny eggs one morning when Fiona’s psychologist father—her guiding light, singer of “Dona Nobis Pacem” and player of driveway basketball—dies in a car accident after swerving to avoid hitting a child. Since her overwhelmed mother has been pursuing a degree, it falls to Fiona to keep her suddenly withdrawn younger brother, Finn (and herself), afloat over the summer. She receives rock-solid help from Luke, a remarkably intuitive neighbor; Emma, the rescue dog to whom Finn reads and sings at the local shelter; and one of her father’s former patients, who pays the doctor’s kindness forward by calling Fiona for two minutes each week and passing on her dad’s indelible sayings (“Let the whole thing float down the river on a little boat”). MacLachlan masterfully mingles core themes in this slim volume: the power of words and song, memories and family, the mutually redemptive human-canine bond, and “the eternal fitness of things.” Ages 8–12. Agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
★ “MacLachlan is the master of quiet books that pack an emotional wallop. My Father’s Words finds the author in her element. MacLachlan provides a beautifully nuanced portrait of one family’s recovery after tragedy. This book feels as direct and true as a dog looking you straight in the eyes.” — The New York Times Book Review
★ “Newbery Medalist MacLachlan is known for writing heart-tugging stories in spare style, as she did in Sarah, Plain and Tall. And that’s what she does here as readers meet Fiona and Finn. Deeply moving and uplifting in unexpected ways.” — Booklist (starred review)
★ “Key relationships in her own life inspired this characteristically taut and resonant novel by Newbery Medalist MacLachlan. MacLachlan masterfully mingles core themes in this slim volume: the power of words and song, memories and family, the mutually redemptive human-canine bond, and ‘the eternal fitness of things.’” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
★ “With her customary precise, spare language, infused with emotional intelligence, MacLachlan takes readers from shocked grief to a way to live again, fundamental truths dropped carefully and delicately for young readers to comprehend in their own time. A flawless story about resilience, hope, healing, and the eternal fitness of things.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A gently flowing story. This heartwarming title from an acclaimed author is a solid choice for school and public libraries seeking new bibliotherapy titles for children on loss and grief.” — School Library Journal
“The Newbery Medalist Patricia MacLachlan is at the top of her game with this poignant, powerful novel about finding purpose and an outlet for grief at a shelter for animals.” — Washington Parent
“A flawless, reflective and ultimately redemptive novel [that] gently addresses loss, grief, hope and healing in the very best of ways.” — Port Huron Times Herald
“Simple prose conveys emotions with gentle humor and beautifully chosen words. A family or classroom read-aloud full of insight for all.” — Providence Journal
Praise for THE POET’S DOG: “Magical. A quiet, elegant, poignant story suffused with humor, heart, and goodness.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A spare, moving tale. Using simple words that even youngest readers will understand and enjoy, MacLachlan tackles subjects such as death and mourning with understated grace.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Readers will find their own jewel in this gem of a book.” — Booklist (starred review)
Praise for THE TRUTH OF ME: “Brief but emotionally intense...MacLachlan demonstrates her mastery of elegantly unfolding a tale and gently plucking at readers’ heartstrings without taking a maudlin tone.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Praise for KINDRED SOULS: “MacLachlan handles a familiar theme with grace, providing a lens into an uncanny intergenerational bond, as well as the kindness and generosity of love.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Praise for WORD AFTER WORD AFTER WORD: “Showing great respect for her readers and her craft, Newbery Award winner Patricia MacLachlan makes every word count in Lucy’s smooth-flowing, economic narrative.” — Booklist (starred review)
Providence Journal
Simple prose conveys emotions with gentle humor and beautifully chosen words. A family or classroom read-aloud full of insight for all.
Booklist (starred review)
★ “Newbery Medalist MacLachlan is known for writing heart-tugging stories in spare style, as she did in Sarah, Plain and Tall. And that’s what she does here as readers meet Fiona and Finn. Deeply moving and uplifting in unexpected ways.
Washington Parent
The Newbery Medalist Patricia MacLachlan is at the top of her game with this poignant, powerful novel about finding purpose and an outlet for grief at a shelter for animals.
Port Huron Times Herald
A flawless, reflective and ultimately redemptive novel [that] gently addresses loss, grief, hope and healing in the very best of ways.
The New York Times Book Review
★ “MacLachlan is the master of quiet books that pack an emotional wallop. My Father’s Words finds the author in her element. MacLachlan provides a beautifully nuanced portrait of one family’s recovery after tragedy. This book feels as direct and true as a dog looking you straight in the eyes.
Booklist (starred review)
★ “Newbery Medalist MacLachlan is known for writing heart-tugging stories in spare style, as she did in Sarah, Plain and Tall. And that’s what she does here as readers meet Fiona and Finn. Deeply moving and uplifting in unexpected ways.
School Library Journal
07/01/2018
Gr 3–5—Fiona O'Brien and her brother, Finn, have a wonderful family in a home filled with love and humor. All that changes when their father, Declan, is killed in an automobile crash after he swerves to miss a child chasing a ball in the street. Fiona writes, "The days move slowly. Nights, too." With their mother returning to classes, Fiona takes responsibility for her little brother and tasks herself with finding ways to make Finn feel better. The answer comes via a notice from a local animal shelter that is looking for volunteers to help care for abandoned dogs. Fiona, Finn, and their friend Luke begin working there. Luke and Fiona walk the dogs while Finn reads to a depressed pup whose owner recently died. Slowly, Fiona and Finn find peace. The story's first-person narration by Fiona offers an immediate connection to readers, and sections of the book in a different typeface and font highlight her own personal reflections that are apart from the plot, which lends a solid authenticity to the gently flowing story. VERDICT This heartwarming title from an acclaimed author is a solid choice for school and public libraries seeking new bibliotherapy titles for children on loss and grief.—Anne Jung-Mathews, Plymouth State University, NH
NOVEMBER 2018 - AudioFile
Narrator Imani Parks brings a gentle and compassionate voice to the tender story of recovery following the sudden death of Fiona’s dad. How can she; her younger brother, Finn; and their mother recover? It takes a village—in this case, the patients of the late Declan; neighbors, each touched by the words that Declan shared with them; and the staff and dogs at the local animal shelter. Parks’s narration is even and quiet. Her voice lifts with Fiona’s growing understanding of the accident and the impact her father had on people and alternately brightens and falls in sync with Finn’s changing emotions. When the words and actions take one’s breath away, Parks’s voice quietly fades, and she elongates the pauses between events, heightening their impact. Listeners have much to consider in this listening experience. A.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2018-07-16
When a freak accident kills their father, Declan, the O'Brien family must discover how to heal.When Declan makes eggs, they are typically runny, but when Fiona complains, he tells her, "It's the eternal fitness of things," without any further explanation. Other phrases he loved were "Dona nobis pacem" and "often the truth is just behind the door." These and many other lovable idiosyncrasies will never be fully explained to Fiona and younger brother Finn, because as Declan drives to help one of his psychiatric patients, a child races after a ball that has rolled into the street. Declan swerves but is struck by a truck and killed instantly, off the page and in the first chapter. As the O'Brien family struggles with grief and anger, help comes in two unusual ways. First, Thomas, one of Declan's patients, calls Fiona each Monday for two minutes only and shares insights about her father. Secondly, neighbor and classmate Luke invites Fiona and Finn to go with him to a local animal rescue shelter to read to abandoned dogs. With her customary precise, spare language, infused with emotional intelligence, MacLachlan takes readers from shocked grief to a way to live again, fundamental truths dropped carefully and delicately for young readers to comprehend in their own time.Simple words make a flawless story about resilience, hope, healing, and the eternal fitness of things. (Fiction. 8-12)
