The Defender

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I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this.
I'm sure nits could be picked, but I really liked Turgen, and I thought the drawings just wonderful. And it's concise; a quick introduction to "northeastern Siberia." In some ways it reminded me of a previous Newbery read, Dobry by Monica Shannon... though this was about an old man and that was about a little boy.

I loved how the villagers and their Shaman learned a lesson in Christian compassion without any vengeance or even disrespect for their traditional superstitions. And of course the wild sheep (both sexes known as 'rams' because both have horns) are wonderful.

"Everywhere there is life and everywhere there are warm human hearts."

A Newbery Honor Roll title, which really was as good as many Newbery award books. It’s set in Siberia and unlike many Newbery titles is not about the coming of age of a young person. Rather it’s more about the coming of age of an idea. This book is about an old man who the other villagers consider odd because he has developed a fondness for the local rams which have become endangered by trophy hunting. An excellent read.

A man living in the mountains in Siberia struggles against village rumors and fights loneliness by befriending the wild rams also living in the mountains.
Too simple and saccharine for my tastes.

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