Wonder, Hope, Love, and Loss

Book excerpt: Three classic stories for young adults about the wonder and power of our connections with nature and each other. Gene Stratton-Porter was a pioneer naturalist, wilderness advocate, and author. She wrote both fiction and nonfiction about the woods and swampland that she loved so much, and her tales of finding independence and courage through building a relationship with nature touched millions of readers both when she was writing and to this day. In Wonder, Hope, Love, and Loss: The Selected Novels of Gene Stratton-Porter, three of her most timeless classics are collected in one volume. A Girl of the Limberlost, Freckles, and The Harvester demonstrate the power of Stratton-Porter’s writing for young people as she explores how the natural world can provide not just a means of sustenance, but also a source of strength in the face of the world’s difficulties and, ultimately, a place where you can be true to yourself. In both A Girl of the Limberlost and Freckles, we see young Elnora Cornstock and an orphan boy known only as Freckles develop a love of Limberlost Swamp, using it to gain independence and find true connections with others. Taking place in the woodlands of the Midwest, The Harvester tells the story of a young man who lives on his own and who heals an ill girl. In each book, nature is a powerful force that helps the characters deal with the pain of their pasts and the uncertainty of the present. With a foreword by award-winning essayist Scott Russell Sanders, Wonder, Hope, Love, and Loss: The Selected Novels of Gene Stratton-Porter brings together three classic novels that deserve a place on any young adult’s bookshelf. Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.