So I bought the audio version of the book (it’s narrated by Joel Clarkson and is very well done!) and continued to check Amazon.ca, hoping it would be made available in Canada. Even my public library said they couldn’t purchase it. My search for a place to buy the book, however, came up empty.

I have been wanting to get my hands on this one for a long time! When The Green Ember was first published, it created quite a stir among my online book club members, and I was quite excited by the rave reviews it received from many of my favourite authors, bloggers, and book reviewers. There is much in it that reminds me of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Hobbit.

The story is full of nourishing themes: good vs evil, redemption, self-sacrifice, loyalty, bravery - all the good stuff that feeds the imagination and inspires children (and all of us really) to be the heroes of our own stories. The Green Ember features adventure, suspense, and a wonderful selection of inspiring quotes. It is the story of two young rabbit siblings, Heather & Picket, who lived very ordinary lives (supposing you were a talking rabbit of course) in Nick Hollow until their family was kidnapped and their home destroyed by an army of evil wolves. Smith’s desire is to tell new stories with an old soul, full of old virtues and “vintage adventure”, and that’s just what he did.

Smith’s The Green Ember is just such a book. They may be hard to find at times, but they are being written. I love them! But I do realize that all classics were new at some point in time and that just because an author is now dead does not mean their books are good or wholesome.Īs much as I get excited and feel compelled to tell everyone I know when I discover a classic work of children’s literature that I missed out on as a child, I’m even more excited when I discover books of equal value that are being written today. Let me confess to you straight out that I tend to have a bias towards the older, time-tested children’s classics.

The Green Ember by S.D. Smith