Ayira - Tucker, Lewis G.

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Résumé :
In this exciting and inspiring children's chapter book aimed mainly at middle-schoolers, Ayira and her family are moving. Her beloved stuffed animals are on the moving truck, which overturns on a wet road. Ayira is distraught when her animals are lost in the wreckage. In her mind, each animal symbolizes a different part of her proud mixed heritage-a puma from Mexico, a chipmunk from Japan, a red fox from her home state. As a shooting star passes her window, she makes a fervent wish to be reunited with them. Because of her devotion, the toys magically become real animals, with the ability to speak, and begin a search for the little girl who loves them. When they find Ayira in her new home, they all decide the animals will be safer in the nearby mountains. Ayira visits almost every weekend. One weekend she is being tested to become a Junior Ranger. Part of the test is surviving a night alone in the mountains. At her campfire, she holds a special egg and makes a pact with her animal friends to be together forever. The fire blazes high and the animals are turned to smoke, which Ayira inhales and passes out. The next day while looking for a lost Junior Ranger, she discovers she has been given all the special abilities of her different animal friends. After a daring rescue, on the bus ride home Ayira whispers a silent thank you to her dear animals as she contemplates what her exciting new life will be like with the unique mixture of talents she now holds within her.

Biographie:
Lewis G. Tucker spent his childhood years in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as the fifth of seven children who all had vivid imaginations and very different personalities. The siblings endlessly made up stories about each other and those around them to tease, anger, and joke around at every opportunity. Lewis fantasized a lot, not unlike most kids, but then he began to write his fantasies out in stories, poems, and even in song. He finished my education with a B.S. in mathematics from Winston-Salem State University, then worked as an auditor with the local municipality before attending the University of Oklahoma where he performed and directed several shows while finishing his Masters in Fine Arts. After settling in Los Angeles, he performed for more than a decade with the African American Drama Company while teaching math and theatre in the local school district. During his tenure as a teacher he earned his second MA, in education. Being a teacher of middle schoolers allowed him to revisit his childhood on a regular basis. He often remembered the siblings who inspired him growing up, while being inspired the antics of by his students, his nieces, and their friends. He often wondered...if he combined them all into one child, with what kind of child he would end up with? That thought led him to creating the main character of the book, Ayira, with a multi-ethnic heritage. He hopes she can become a role model for all children, but particularly those of mixed backgrounds.