Alcapenny and Bot and the Treacherous Forest

by Andrea Leigh Youngman

Alcapenny and Bot aren’t your average kids. They’re unusually smart, brave, and creative. They can even talk to animals. In one important way, however, they’re way below average: Alcapenny and Bot are only three inches tall.

For such little people, they seem to get into a lot of mischief, and big trouble leads to grand adventure. When a passing hawk flies off with Alcapenny, Bot is sure she’s still alive out there somewhere in the woods. But how will he find her? Can a three-inch boy save his tiny sister before she becomes bird food?

Bot isn’t about to let his size stop him from finding Alcapenny. He sets off into the forest on the back of his new guinea pig friend, Isabella. Carl the mouse, who is determined to shed his tame ways and become a real wild rodent, joins them. In the meantime Alcapenny discovers a whole new world of animal allies and enemies in the wilderness. Despite her love for her furry forest friends, Alcapenny misses home. The wild life is exciting, but both Alcapenny and Bot learn that no matter how little you are, family is a real big deal.

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 2, 2015

About the author

Andrea Leigh Youngman grew up in Michigan, where long hours wandering the woods first captured her imagination and fueled her love of storytelling. She earned a BFA in creative writing from Stephens College and an MFA in fiction from Murray State College. She considers her grandchildren to be her most important literary critics. She lives in Missouri with her husband and two German Shepherds.

Reviews

[Adam Carlisle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for class. It’s a kids book but was pretty good. Maybe my child will read it one day

[A. Umaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an educator, instilling in my own children a love of reading has been a priority. Alcapenny and Bot and the Treacherous forest has revived an aspect of that dying art that I had almost forgotten (my older children have children of their own)- that is reading as a communion between parent and child. The story of Alcapenny and Bot exceeds the reading ability of my seven year old son; it does not exceed the power of his imagination. So I read the book to him, a couple of chapters each evening (never enough to satisfy him, of course, but all that the constraints of modern life allow). He has created quite a ritual around the reading these past days. It must be done in bed, with all but the reading light extinguished. He wants me on one side, his mother on the other, and snuggled safely therein, gasps and sighs and giggles as the adventure unfolds. His only concern is that as the bookmark nears the back cover, he wants to know when the next book is coming!
We travel to school together each morning, he to the elementary and first grade, I to the high school and chemistry and physics. It is about a 20 minute commute. Our conversations these days turn to Alcapenny and Bot. He analyzes what has been read, and informs me of the deeper truths the literature reveals (My God! What powers of perception a child has!). And then he speculates on what possible turns the adventure may take next. All rather high brow literary stuff for a portly old gentleman and the son of his dotage.