The Day My Mother Left - Softcover

Prosek, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1416907718 ISBN 13: 9781416907718

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2009

Synopsis

Jeremy's whole life changed the day his mother left.

When his mother leaves with the father of his worst enemy at school, nine-year-old Jeremy seeks to make sense of her abandonment. He throws himself into recreating the Book of Birds, a collection of drawings that his mother took with her on the day she left. While his father fights his own depression and his sister distances herself from their lives, Jeremy turns wholeheartedly to nature, and finds solace in the quiet comfort of drawing.

In this novel, James Prosek tells Jeremy's story without blame, without self-pity, and without excuses. The Day My Mother Left should be read by anyone who has gone through the pain of losing a parent, and by anyone who wants to meet Jeremy, a boy who can see inside himself the person he wants to become.

About this title

About the Author

James Prosek began his writing career at the age of twenty with Trout, An Illustrated History when he was still a student at Yale University. His other books include Joe and Me: An Education in Fishing and Friendship, The Complete Angler: A Connecticut Yankee Follows in the Footsteps of Walton, and Fly-Fishing the 41st: Around the World on the 41st Parallel. He wrote and co-produced a Peabody Award-winning fishing documentary on ESPN. His first venture into children's books, A Good Day's Fishing, followed his adult books' footsteps in its popularity. He lives next to a fishing pond in Easton, Connecticut. Visit James at his website www.jamesprosek.com.

James Prosek began his writing career at the age of twenty with Trout, An Illustrated History when he was still a student at Yale University. His other books include Joe and Me: An Education in Fishing and Friendship, The Complete Angler: A Connecticut Yankee Follows in the Footsteps of Walton, and Fly-Fishing the 41st: Around the World on the 41st Parallel. He wrote and co-produced a Peabody Award-winning fishing documentary on ESPN. His first venture into children's books, A Good Day's Fishing, followed his adult books' footsteps in its popularity. He lives next to a fishing pond in Easton, Connecticut. Visit James at his website www.jamesprosek.com.

Review

"One of America's more gifted young writers -- and this deeply felt story reaffirms his great promise."
-- Tom Brokaw

"The Day My Mother Left is a deeply moving and lucidly expressed short novel by one of our country's most gifted writers. James Prosek teaches me that what does not destroy us strengthens us."
-- Harold Bloom

"Prosek's artist's eye (a "cold, bluish moon," a young girl's skin like snow against a green couch) fills the white space left by his spare language. This novel for young people has all the innocence and beauty of [his] paintings." --LA Times

"His(Jeremy) growing understanding of his artistic talent, and how it can shore him up and make him stronger, is the message of the book, and it's conveyed in simple, powerful prose. "A" --EntertainmentWeekly.com

"Unexpected details and insight into a young, mixed-up mind make the book a pleasing, emotional read for all ages." -- USA Today

"The 26 etchings, mostly of birds, made by Prosek on copper plates and used as chapter headings, are indeed lovely, and give young readers a visual sense of Jeremy's naturalistic world." -- Kirkus

"Prosek's story is the sort English teachers would love to assign. It is a fine book with a quality of excellence we don't frequently see." -- KLIATT

"Prosek movingly chronicles young Jeremy's emotional upheaval after his mother abandons his family, in this sophisticated novel." -- Publishers Weekly

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1416907718
• ISBN 13: 9781416907718
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304
• Illustrator: Prosek James