Patricia Harman is an experienced midwife, beginning as a community midwife in the 1960’s and then becoming a CNM and maintaining a busy
Lost on Hope Island is set in the modern day, it is not a Swiss Family Robinson reboot. On the island, the children must learn how to survive with only each other, and the goats the inhabit the island for company. They make some surprising (and convenient!) discoveries left behind by previous homesteaders on the island that help them survive and they develop close relationships with their goat friends. After the traumatic death of one baby goat, they learn how to help the nanny goats on the island give birth to their kids when they encounter difficulties (specifying that their mother and grandmothers are midwives and they know that if a mother isn’t have any trouble, it is best to keep your hands off and leave her alone!). This tale is not a fantastical or “glitzy” children’s read, nor does it shy away from complicated and difficult topics, instead it opens the door to real questions about relationships and feelings and how to draw on one’s own strength when you think you can’t go on. It is unusual to find a middle grade children’s book about realistic people in unusual, but not fantasy, circumstances. The book is illustrated with charming little hand-drawn pictures of the goats and the island’s adventures.
If you are looking for a family read aloud, this adventure story with a birth-worker twist, is the book for you!
Past reviews of Patricia’s other books:
- Book Review: Arms Wide Open: A Midwife’s Journey
- Book Review: The Blue Cotton Gown
- Book Review: The Midwife of Hope River
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Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.
Crossposted at Talk Birth.
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