One hundred and five years ago, in the first edition of A Wbite Heron, writer Sarah Orne Jewett posed some tough questions for the youngsters reading her book: What is an individual's responsibility to nature? Does our desire to understand the world give us the right to dominate plant and animal life? Should human relationships take precedence over relationships with other species? Is there any way for humans to co-exist with nature, or must we trample, dissect, or attempt to control it? Prescient questions, these, making the new Tilbury House edition of A Wbite Heron a moving, intelligent and necessary book. Beautifully illustrated, this children's story (for readers 9 and up) is about Sylvia, a child reared by her grandmother to spare her from the hustle-and-bustle of late 19th-century urban, industrial life. A friend to birds and animals, it is only when she is befriended by a young male ornithologist that Sylvia comes headon with conflicts over value systems and loyalties. The resolution of this dilemma is skillfully wrought, revealing the complexity of the decision making-process and the ethical conundrum that will save, or destroy, the earth. Oldfashioned and charming, it is a valuable book, guaranteed to spark discussion and lively debate. -- From Independent Publisher --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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