sunnie
I'm ashamed to say that the first English novel I read was The Trumpet of the Swan, a children's book. Before that I had seen English version of "Wuthering Heights", "Pride and Prejudice", but only to see the beginning, probably because I had already read this books for Chinese version, without curiosity lead, I gave up halfway.
The Trumpet of the Swan is quite attractive to me, the story is full of warmth, make me feel peace of mind.
Louis, a trumpeter swan was born without a voice, After becoming aware of this his father said, 'Do not let an unnatural sadness settle over you, Louis. Swans must be cheerful, not sad; graceful, not awkward; brave, not cowardly. Remember that the world is full of youngsters who have some sort of handicap that they must overcome. You apparently have a speech defect. I am sure you will overcome it, in time. There may even be some slight advantage, at your age, in not being able to say anything. It compels you to be a good listener. The world is full of talkers, but it is rare to find anyone who listens. And I assure you that you can pick up more information when you are listening than when you are talking.'
This is the story of how Louis finds his voice. With the encouragement of his father, Louis sets out to overcome his problem. One way of doing this Louis decides, is to learn to read and write and so he sets off to Montana to find his friend Sam Beaver. Louis goes to school with him and learns to read and write, but when he returns to the lakes and falls in love with the beautiful swan Serena, he is upset that Serena can't read his sign, which says 'I love you'. Once again his parents are determined to help him find a new way of expressing himself and it is his father who dreams up the brilliant solution that will put Louis firmly on the path to success. Then his father steals him a real brass trumpet. Louis practices it again and again, and finally blows his song from the trumpet. The music not only move Serena, also win the respect and admiration of people. Finally Louis finds his voice and love and freedom.
The characters in this book are lovable. The plot is intriguing. The climax is fascinating. There are many parallels to real life that can stir up great conversations with yourself or your friends.
This story is about overcoming hardship, finding what you really want to do in life, taking care of nature, accepting others, kindness.
School Library Journal commented’ Humor abounds and beauty of nature, of relationships, of time passing shines through... will captivate children of all ages.’ I highly recommend that you read this fresh story.
