Once again, Dr. Julia E. Antoine
creates a story that resonates with readers. In her tenth book Megan’s Troublesome Pronouns, in the Too Clever series, Dr. Antoine uses a
very interesting mechanism to help her eleven year old character, Megan Moffat,
deal with the loss of her father – association. Association causes triggers to
be ignited in our brain, thereby affecting our responses or answers to certain
events, incidents, or questions. Megan Moffat uses association, a trick she
learned from her father, not only to help her with those troublesome pronouns
but also to keep the memory of her father alive.
Appropriately titled, Megan’s Troublesome Pronouns gives the reader a detailed analytical view of
Megan coping with the loss of her father through mastering her understanding of
pronouns. It may seem unrelated and one may wonder what does understanding
pronouns have to do with coping with loss? Writing and reading were the common
thread that connected Megan and her father. In developing her writing skills
and mastering the English language, Megan felt she was forever linked with her
father and that she was making him proud.
Also, in choosing the topic “Coping with Change” for her writing
project, Megan is able to use the method that allows her to express her feelings
freely. Here she chronicles the memory of a father who had impacted her life
greatly.
Megan’s Troublesome Pronouns educates readers on the healthy ways of coping with the loss of a loved
one, and this is especially seen in Megan’s connection with others around her.
Megan was able to see that her actions also affected those around her; that
while she grieved, others like her mother and brother Dilan, and her best
friend Hailie were grieving too, each in their own way. Antoine shows that coping mechanisms vary and
children should be encouraged to embrace what works for them, as long as the
coping mechanism is not a destructive one. The book deals with death, a
delicate subject matter, in a very age appropriate way. By highlighting Megan’s
struggles and emotions, a touching realistic story emerges, and Antoine once
again captures the hearts of her readers.
Megan’s Troublesome Pronouns is
available, along with other books in the series, on the author’s website, http://www.too-clever.com
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