The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea
The Story of Annaliese Easterling & Throckmorton, Her Simply Remarkable Sock Monkey
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A charming sock monkey reunites a fractured family in this simply remarkable novel in the tradition of The Velveteen Rabbit and The Penderwicks.
Meet Throckmorton S. Monkey. He’s everything a sock monkey is supposed to be: Loving. Loyal. A very good listener. And he’s never, ever—not even once!—stopped smiling. Yet Throckmorton has been long forgotten by his keeper Annaliese Easterling, and he seems doomed to live out his days lost and lonely among other abandoned stuffed animals.
But then one day Great Grand Mama Easterling sends engraved invitations to forty-nine sock monkeys to attend her ninetieth birthday along with their human keepers. Throckmorton is thrilled! The arrival of his invitation brings him back together with Annaliese. And he vows to do something so remarkable, so amazing, she will never want to be separated from him again.
Indeed, over just a few days, Throckmorton will survive being buried in a blizzard. He’ll be spared from a vicious attacker. But best of all, he’ll find a way to reunite Annaliese with the one person she most longs to know. Not bad for a stuffed toy—if you’re to believe that’s all Throckmorton S. Monkey really is…
“This unusual novel is old-fashioned in the best sense of the word, conveying universal truths and values through the use of sentient toys” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Beha's (Tango: The Tale of an Island Dog) humorous story with a gothic setting stars a family of stuffed sock monkeys who may not speak to their human "keepers," but have many thoughts and emotions nevertheless. Nine-year-old Annaliese Easterling has temporarily forgotten about her childhood sock monkey, Throckmorton S. Monkey, until her rich, quirky, and elusive Great-Grandmama Easterling invites all the sock monkeys (which she crafted as gifts when each family member was born) and their keepers to her 90th birthday party. Since the aging matriarch's will states "no monkey, no money," relatives begin a mad search for all the sock monkeys they've abandoned. Annaliese, whose mother disappeared years earlier, cherishes Throckmorton's company once again as she sleuths for secrets about her family history in anticipation of the Valentine's Day party. Throckmorton's sweet contemplations about friendship and loyalty mixed with some honest reflections about abandonment will have many readers dusting off their own favorite stuffed pals. Ages 8 12.
