This book has been on my tbr for literal ages. I almost skipped it but I’m super glad I didn’t. I love books that follow families down their linkages and this book did that in such a beautiful way. I was totally captivated by this family’s story, and I’m grateful that I was able to read it :)

3.5/5 stars.

Never thought that I’d enjoy a western novel, but I suppose that one that follows queer female and non-binary people would be the one that I would. Not the best book out there, it was definitely slow in some places, but I enjoyed it in the end.

I'm not a scientific person at all, but I am a very nature-oriented person. This book has helped me see things not from a strictly scientific perspective but from indigenous perspectives as well. It was very enlightening.

There was a lot that happened in this one. In glad that I read it, but it wasn’t one I’d pick up in my own outside of the Booktube prize. I'm glad I did get the opportunity to read it through and see this perspective.

I read this book as a judge for the Booktube Prize.

This book built and built and built itself up and I was HIGHLY disappointed by the ending. 1.5/5

I read this book as a judge for the Booktube Prize.

This book really was a trip. I listened to it instead of reading and think that that was a good choice for me. This book was very in-depth and I feel like I got to know the characters really well. For some reason, I had a hard time connecting to some of the characters, but as we continued, that got a lot better. 3.5

3.5/5 stars!

Okay, this was super cute! I was able to just fly through this one! It was a slow start, but I really loved it. It would be a wonderful book to add to my library since I'm moving to 5th grade next year :)

This is such a fun book! I read it so many years ago, but have such a wonderful time reading books with my students <3

I love reading books with my students <3 <3

Full Review from my blog Owl Eyes Reviews

I bought this book a while ago and I was a little nervous that I wasn’t going to connect with it anymore. I read a lot of childrens and middle grade because I was not to be an Elementary school teacher. So, I decided to continue with this book even though I had my doubts.
At the beginning of the book, I wasn’t really connecting with the writing and the characters. But, after a while, I fell in love. All the animals were really wonderful and I got attached. I weirdly identified with Ivan when it come to wanting to protect people, but not knowing how. I feel like that all the time.
The end of this book had me crying. I really love gorillas and elephants and this book just deepened my love even more <3

It is so fun to read books with kids and to see their reactions to things <3