Artemis Sparke and the Sound Seekers Brigade
Age range 9 to 12
When Artemis Sparke has had it with humans, she heads to the nearby salt marsh to hang out with the birds, plants, and mollusks who don’t make a big deal of her stutter. The shoreline sanctuary is predictable, unlike her family and friends, and the data in her science journal proves it. But one day that data goes haywire, and her bird friend RT confirms it: the salt marsh is dying.
Artemis discovers that the historic hotel where she lives with her mom may be part of the problem, but speaking up would mean confronting the cranky hotel owner who happens to be her mom’s boyfriend and boss. Artemis conjures up help from deceased ecologists, and as she works to untangle their clues, she finds family secrets that could be the key to saving the salt marsh but also may destroy her life as she knows it.
'...Artemis Sparke is pure energy! ...Kenna’s well-crafted debut is a timely gift.' — Leslie Connor, National Book Award finalist and author of The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle and Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?
Kimberly Behre Kenna grew up on the Connecticut shoreline where she spent much of her childhood outdoors exploring the waters and beaches of Long Island Sound. As a former teacher, she enjoyed writing plays with her students about historic ecologists and then resurrecting them on stage to solve present-day problems. Now, as a writer, she gets to daydream daily about stories that celebrate brave kids finding voice in nature. Visit her at kimberlybehrekenna.com