Esther's Channel

by Kevin Scott Collier

Tweeners will enjoy the intereaction among the animals as they learn together the power of love, trust, and forgiveness. Older readers will also appreciate the lessons of effective interpersonal... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0975288067
• ISBN13: 9780975288061
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Baker Trittin Concepts
• Length: 160 Pages
• Age Range: 4 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 7

Customer Reviews

Powerful lesson about forgiveness

Reviewed by Sean and Kim Peterson for Reader Views (9/06) "Esther's Channel" stretches from Silver Lake to Lake Michigan. Many different creatures live in the narrow strip of water. Esther, a young painted turtle, feels that many of the residents don't like her. Sir Elgin, the blue racer snake, Bosco, the bullfrog, Mr. Berig, the great blue heron and Boris, the otter especially bother Esther. Sir Elgin always watches and follows her. Bosco likes to hurl insults. Boris swims past and ignores her. And, she hates Mr. Berig for not saving her mother's life. Others in the channel make more effort to talk with Esther. Dee Dee the caterpillar is her best friend. Gack, the red-winged blackbird, saved her life the day her mother died. Since then the bird acts as her guardian. Esther's attitude toward him resembles a human teenager's toward her parents. The discontented turtle still wrestles with what really happened the day of her mother's death. Then she meets Hector, the dragonfly, who encourages her to explore the world beyond the channel. Esther decides to make this journey hoping she will find herself, but Silver Lake turns out to be quite different than what Hector implied. The first creature she meets, Bull Beckett, the bullhead, has been hooked by a fisherman, and Esther offers to pull it out. When she finishes, Bull Beckett rudely warns her to go back to where she came from. Esther disregards the grumpy fish and continues her journey. She meets Madame Sweeney, an elderly Blanding's turtle. She feels comfort in Madame Sweeney's presence, especially since she knew Esther's mother. She learns that the animals in the channel that she has problems with were all friends with her mother. Madame Sweeney encourages Esther to return to the channel to find out from them what really happened to her mother. When Esther finally returns to the channel, Gack informs her that the channel is drying up, and she will have to find somewhere else to live. She decides to go to the dam, the same place her mother's life ended so long ago. When she arrives, Gack, Boris, Bosco, Sir Elgin and Mr. Berig are all waiting for her. Gack explains what happened when her mother died and the part everyone present played in that day. Collier's cast of characters introduces young readers to the animals that live in a channel ecosystem. Their conflicts and misunderstandings reflect those that children witness in a human community. Children will benefit from this fable about loss when Esther learns a powerful lesson about forgiving others and forgiving herself.