Nutmeg Book Club: The Canyon’s Edge

Nutmeg Book Club, a group celebrating Connecticut’s own kid’s book award for kids in grades 4-6, is BACK! Books are available for pickup starting January 2 with a special Nutmeg Book Club Kit that includes activities, stickers, bookmarks, and other goodies related to the book!

This month we are reading The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling. Read the book on your own and then join us at the library for a fun discussion and related activity. Our meeting is on January 31 from 4-5 PM.

About the Book: Hatchet meets Long Way Down in this heartfelt and gripping novel in verse about a young girl’s struggle for survival after a climbing trip with her father goes terribly wrong.

One year after a random shooting changed their family forever, Nora and her father are exploring a slot canyon deep in the Arizona desert, hoping it will help them find peace. Nora longs for things to go back to normal, like they were when her mother was still alive, while her father keeps them isolated in fear of other people. But when they reach the bottom of the canyon, the unthinkable happens: A flash flood rips across their path, sweeping away Nora’s father and all of their supplies.

Suddenly, Nora finds herself lost and alone in the desert, facing dehydration, venomous scorpions, deadly snakes, and, worst of all, the Beast who has terrorized her dreams for the past year. If Nora is going to save herself and her father, she must conquer her fears, defeat the Beast, and find the courage to live her new life.

Nutmeg nominees are chosen by a committee of school media specialists, public librarians, and reading teachers, as well as a small selection of student representatives in the appropriate age range for that reading material. Each spring, students are allowed to cast their votes for the nominee they think should win the Nutmeg Award.

Criteria includes the age of the book, and require that the books be well-written, with strong characterization, vivid setting, striking language, a well-constructed plot, and plausible conclusion. Nutmeg nominees may cover sensitive topics. For more information about how nutmeg books are selected, please see https://www.nutmegaward.org/about/faqs

Essex Library programs are free and open to the public.
Registration is required.