Little Pearl
Sequel to Liberty Biscuit . Click here to read my review of that book.
by Melanie Sue Bowles
Have you ever missed someone so much it hurt? Well, Kip certainly misses her grandmother, Pearl, all the time! However, one day Kip is out exploring when she finds something that reminds everyone how amazing Grandma Pearl truly was.
Kip is a girl who lives with her whole family on a peach farm which she loves to explore. One day, she comes across some old markings and decides to find out what they mean. With the help of her local librarian, Kip discovers that the marks were made by homeless people passing through. They had received help from Grandma Pearl and left the markings to let others know a “kind woman lives here.” When Kip shows the markings to her family, they all grow closer in their remembrance of Grandma Pearl.
One of Kip’s chores on the farm is to take care of two formerly abused horses, Raven and Fire. Fire is very trusting around others, but Raven still won’t let anyone close to him. Using her instincts, and with the help of her Uncle Henry, Kip slowly approaches Raven and manages to get a harness around him. Kip is elated that Raven has decided to trust her. Kip slowly begins to realize that she wants to continue working with animals for the rest of her life.
At the same time that all of this has been going on, Kip’s mom has been pregnant with her little brother, Jeb. When Jeb is born, it brings even more change into Kip’s life. Her mom has become much busier with a new baby to take care of, which means some of her time with Kip has to be put on hold. One of Kip’s favorite things that she does with her mom is work a booth in the farmer’s market, but her mom has decided to shut down the stall due to the baby. Thankfully, Uncle Henry comes to the rescue and decides to work the stall with Kip.
Through all the ups and downs of her life so far, Kip has discovered a major problem. Kip absolutely hates school and never wants to go back. She can’t seem to sit still in class and is always getting in trouble for things she can’t help. Unfortunately, all her parents want to talk about is where she’ll go to college, and Kip can’t bring herself to tell her parents she doesn’t want to go. Uncle Henry discusses homeschooling with her,. But with a baby, Kip doesn’t see how homeschooling would be possible.
My favorite part of the book was when Kip got to meet her baby brother, Jeb, for the first time. The bond between the two was so sweet and you could instantly tell that they were going to be best friends!
Although I found many different story lines throughout out the course of this book, I wish there was one continuous theme tying it all together.
If you like any stories about animals and kids figuring out who they are, then you will absolutely love Little Pearl.
Will Kip ever discover a way to enjoy school? Will she get out of having to go to college? Or will Kip continue to suffer under teachers who don’t understand her and in an environment that makes her uncomfortable? As I always say, read the book to find out!
A few helpful things I like to say about the books I read:
“Run and Get Mom” (how I describe the scariness factor – zero being not scary at all and five being majorly scary): 1
“Yucky-Lovey Stuff” (how I describe the romance factor – zero having no yucky-lovey parts in it and five having major yucky-lovey parts): 2
I give this book 5 wands.
I feel like this book is very relatable to a lot of kids. It covers many different topics and themes that others may have experienced in their own lives. I loved Kip’s relationship with her brother as it reminded me of my own brother. This heart-wrenching book will leave you bonding with Kip like never before.
Source: Review Copy
