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The Tender Moments of Saffron Silk: Kingdom of Silk (Book 6) by Glenda Millard, illustrated by Stephen Michael King
JUDGES' COMMENTS
Sixth in the Kingdom of Silk series, this slim volume is a stand-alone read with Glenda Millard weaving the family’s backstory unobtrusively through the book. The story focuses on Saffron, the youngest child in a loving, free-thinking and often eccentric family. Saffron, who loves reading myths and legends, history and Anne of Green Gables, immerses herself in the characters, especially Joan of Arc and Anne. When firebirds start raging in her head, she thinks they are her imagination gone wild. However, their appearances increase, followed by debilitating headaches until, finally, she collapses on Apple Pie Sunday and is sent to the city for tests.
Glenda Millard’s prose is lyrical, her characters realistic and beautifully drawn. In other hands this story could have been sentimental and cloying, but Millard‘s command of language gives us a gentle depiction of a loving family that celebrates ‘differentness’, and who support each other through difficulties. The tenderness and sensitivity of Millard’s prose is reflected in Stephen Michael King’s whimsical illustrations. This book is a joy to read and share.