Authoress Paulette Bourgeois is from Winnipeg. Brenda Clark is from Toronto. In 2007, she created a sweet shooting star series. They dreamed up “Franklin” in 1986, a precious juvenile turtle and his family. I easily gave five stars to all my books by them that I have so far. I gave hearty four stars to one authored by Sharon Jennings, who seemed to take over a lot of story writing from Paulette since 2002.
Any title with the word “lost”, like our beloved turtle’s 1992 story, is emotionally hard. Even though he is well schooled in his parents’ warning not to meander off of the path into the forest, he unintentionally detours into it while navigating a challenging game of hide & seek with friends. No one, no person or animal, wants to be lost and no parent, guardian, family member, or friend can stand not knowing where their loved-one is for an instant. One of our beloved cats, who thankfully has a tattoo, has been missing a long time. Not one prayer in five years has failed to ask for his return home to us, soon. Offering to help animals you do not know and to return them, is enormously important.
Thankfully, the young group for whom “Franklin Is Lost” is written, resolves the situation in a few minutes. Those several pages of the dear little turtle’s sojourn eased my emotions with hopeful turns. Turtles have hard, protective shells into which they can hide until the morning. “The Incredible Journey” equally reassured us of the resilience, stealth, and resourcefulness of felines. They can hide, eat, drink, and travel very well until they are home with us again. The relief of Franklin’s parents and himself, asleep as usual with his teddy bear, is a dear sight for us to see.