THE STORYTELLER
Leila Moss Knox
Langdon Street Press (2015)
ISBN 9781935204534
Reviewed by Evan Weldon (age 13) for Reader Views (8/15)
“The Storyteller: My Years with Ernest Thompson Seton” by Leila Moss Knox is a book about six-year-old Leila who, due to a respiratory disease, is forced to leave Los Angeles to live with her aunt and uncle in New Mexico. Although at first Leila is shy, she warms to her aunt and uncle quickly and even begins to refer to her uncle, Ernest Seton, as “granddaddy.” Over the three year period that she spends in Santa Fe with her much beloved and influential “granddaddy” and Aunt Julie, she learns all about the local plants and animals through the stories of her granddaddy and aunt.
The book was a compilation of events during Leila’s stay, as well as short stories from her granddaddy and drawings of the things and placed described. By far my favorite story in the book was about Lobo. Lobo was a gigantic and cunning wolf who had been stealing livestock from the local farmers; Ernest Seton was asked to hunt Lobo down. Although he spared no effort in trying to capture Lobo, the cunning wolf was able to outwit him every time, except when Ernest was able to capture his mate. Lobo, driven mad by grief, was then finally caught. However, Ernest had come to respect the wolf so much that it convinced him to never hunt again. Although this was my favorite story, there were many other fun and memorable stories.
I would recommend “The Storyteller: My Years with Ernest Thompson Seton” by Leila Moss Knox to people who like learning about different cultures and wildlife. This book was a great blend of history and stories, as well as interesting events from her stay with granddaddy and her aunt. I really enjoyed this book and think many other people will too. At the end of this book the author said that her goal was to kindle interest in “granddaddy’s” stories for her readers. She succeeded.
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