Jeremiah Lucky and the Guardian Angel
by Jane Ellen Freeman
Jane Ellen Freeman's new book,“Jeremiah Lucky and
the Guardian Angel,” is about eight year Jeremiah,
who is dealing with the loss of his firefighter father. Jeremiah’s mother works
as a nurse so she’s not always there when he gets home from school. He has his
own key and waits for his mother to get home (a neighbor watches out for him
from next door.)
Jeremiah has a special helper,
Angus McDermit, his personal guardian angel. Angus guides Jeremiah to make the right decisions—and
to do as his mother taught him. Still, Jeremiah is sorely tested. He wants to
practice lighting a fire with a flint he got on a field trip. He’s supposed to
wait until his mother comes home. That’s his trial. Will he make the right
decision? Or will he put himself in danger?
Letting an eight year old come home alone is a hard pill for
some parents to swallow. Maybe some parents were “latch key” kids in their
youth and they don’t want that for their children. There are many nowadays who for whatever reason come home from school to an empty house, as we did when we were kids. Nowadays, I’ve seen firsthand that parents
in our area don’t want their kids home alone—not until they’re in 7th, 8th, or
even 9th grade. I know some kids walk home by themselves at age nine or ten,
but there’s a parent, grandparent, or babysitter to greet them. Many parents
pick up their kids at school or send them to an after school program. In this story, Jeremiah lives in a small town and is supported by friends and family who look out for each other.
Ms. Freeman’s book will give parents and teachers important
things to discuss with their children, such as:
What if you’re home alone, do all the rules still apply? What can you do
when adults aren’t there? What should you do? When you make a promise, you give
your word—how good is your word? We want our kids to be able to make good decisions
when we’re not around. We’re teaching them to be independent, but when are they
old enough to make the right or best decisions, especially dangerous ones?
"Jeremiah Lucky and the Guardian Angel" is well-written, and very readable. Kids
will enjoy the school scenes and Jeremiah interacting with Angus McDermit. He
and his mother have a special relationship that comes through well. Eric
Hammond’s illustrations add humor and lightness. This book is intended for ages
seven to 10.
“Jeremiah Lucky and
the Guardian Angel” is published by www.guardianangelpublishing.com
and is also available from www.amazon.com.
More information on Jane Ellen Freeman is at
More information on Eric Hammond is at www.erichammondsite.com
Tags:
Jeremiah Lucky and the Guardian Angel, Jane Ellen Freeman, Eric Hammond, children's books, chapter books, Angus McDermit, solving problems, latch key kids, home alone.
Good review.
ReplyDeleteHi Jan, thanks for your unfailing support! Penny
DeleteHi, Penny, Thanks for your review. Jeremiah learns two important things in the story. One is that our mistakes are important. We learn from them. The second is to keep his promises. I'm hoping readers also see the love between Jeremiah and his mom and the friendship between Jeremiah and his friend Tommy. I enjoyed writing the story and am excited to see it published. A second book about Jeremiah has been accepted by Guardian Angel Publishing and will hopefully be out at the end of 2015.
ReplyDeleteHi Jane, Congrats on this and your new book coming later. I'm always happy for characters to learn things, especially things that their young readers can also learn from. Wishing you much success. Penny
Delete