The Monarchs of Winghaven

Name: The Monarchs of Winghaven
Brand: Dreamscape Media
Availability: InStock
Author: Naila Moreira
ISBN: 9781666660173

Author: Naila Moreira

Narrator: Kate Coventry

Unabridged: 6 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Published: 05/14/2024

Categories: Children's Fiction, Animal Stories, Science & Nature Stories, Children's Social Themes

Synopsis

Sammie, a budding naturalist, knows of a secret and wonderful place: Winghaven, an abandoned lot in the middle of the suburbs where wildlife flourishes. She spends hours making notes and drawings in her meticulous field journal. When Bram, a new boy, turns up with his camera, Sammie worries he’ll give away her hidden haven—after all, the other boys at school bully her. But Bram is a scientist like Sammie, and together they observe tiny pond creatures, a pileated woodpecker with a red crest like a pirate’s bandana, and thriving monarch butterflies whose habitats are becoming scarce. When Sammie and Bram discover bright flagging tape encircling the trees, they learn Winghaven is in danger from a local developer—and it’s going to take courage, spirit, and science to save it. This beautifully written story, full of details about the natural world, includes Sammie’s field illustrations as well as real-life notes on keeping a nature journal, studying monarchs, and bird-watching.

About Naila Moreira

Naila Moreira teaches science writing at Smith College and has been writer-in-residence at the Shoals Marine Laboratory in Maine and the Forbes Library in Northampton, Massachusetts. Her creative nonfiction and science journalism have appeared in Science News for Students, the Boston Globe, the Seattle Times, and elsewhere. She is also an award-winning poet. She lives in Massachusetts.

About Kate Coventry

Kate Coventry is an experienced audiobook narrator who loves voicing feisty female leads in stories rich with emotional complexity. Her voice particularly shines in children's, middle grade, and YA, as well as fantasy, sci-fi, and literary fiction. A classically trained vocalist and violinist, she also enjoys working out with friends, drawing portraits, concocting herbal remedies, reading to her kids, and watching Marvel movies with her husband.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Emily on October 04, 2024

We grow milkweed for monarchs and raise caterpillars indoors, so I was pretty excited about this book. It started out fairly promising. Sammie and her new friend are passionate about nature. I appreciated the rich vocabulary and interesting details about how scientific studies are designed. But the......more

Goodreads review by Alisa on April 12, 2024

This was so cute! I love the friendship between Sammie and Bram. It’s incredible to have a friendship that you completely understand and can relate to one another on a deeper level. I loved seeing Sammie’s illustrations of their days in Winghaven! It makes me wish I had a special place like they do.......more

Goodreads review by Rebecca on June 12, 2024

Sammie recently moved, and was not happy until she discovered a seemingly vast (from descriptions) "empty" lot full of woods and fields where she can be a naturalist to her heart's content--so long as her mother doesn't know she's going there, because she's supposed to go right home after school. Bu......more

Goodreads review by Rosi on December 17, 2023

Sammie loves nature and the science found in the great outdoors. She has found a special place near her new home. It is a great open field with some woods and a pond that is filled with birds and bugs and all kinds of flora and fauna, and it is largely untouched. But her mother says she isn’t suppos......more

Goodreads review by Denise on February 17, 2025

This is a lovely book about nature, friendships, and growing into who you really are. A wonderful story for all ages. Sammie is alone in her world, preferring the company of bugs to people. She discovers a beautiful undeveloped piece of land she can explore as an amateur naturalist. One day her peace......more

Quotes

In this gently passionate tribute to natural spaces, a children’s debut, Moreira adeptly brings the setting to life via detailed descriptions of wildlife and foliage alongside pen illustrations from Sammie’s journal. Grounding environmental awareness and deforestation worries with Sammie’s personal struggles surrounding dealing with bullies and managing her temper, Moreira delivers a fulfilling tale.