Footprints in the Snow | Dedicated Review

Book Review of Footprints in the Snow
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The Children’s Book Review

What to Expect: Family, adventure, interruptions, relationships with wild animals.

In yet another touching animal story from Alison Bellringer, readers will meet an impetuous 10-year-old from a chaotic family, whose instincts about wild animals are sound (even if his judgment about shortcuts is not).

Mack has hurt his arm while taking a shortcut through the forest with his best friend, Katrina, when he ran into a mountain lion! He keeps trying to tell everyone what happened, but no one ever seems to have time to listen to him. In fact, all they are interested in doing is scolding him for getting into mischief again.

Mack is quite glad, especially when his father suggests that if a dangerous predator is roaming around, they might need to organize a hunting party. Then, one winter day, he and Katrina spot tracks and blood in the snow—something small and defenseless is alone and injured in the woods where the mountain lion might still be lurking! In their determination to help, Mack and Katrina have a surprise in store.

Mack is a typical impish little boy, and readers will love laughing along with his mother’s distracted attempts to keep up with his adventures and his own growing frustration at being unable to tell his story fully. Amid the humor, however, is the solemnity of the moment when Mack returns the injured baby to its mother, reminding us that in the midst of our human concerns and activities, the wild is there waiting to interact with us—if we’re willing to give it our attention.

This short chapter book is a thought-provoking and entertaining story for any reader who loves animals and wild spaces.

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About the Author

Alison has been writing short stories for friends and family for many years and always enjoys exploring her creativity when putting pen to paper, so she is excited to have the opportunity to share her love of writing with others.

Alison loves spending time with her pet dog, a Labrador x Huntaway called Smoky, teaching her tricks and taking her for walks. She lives in a small town in New Zealand near many beautiful parks and beaches.

Alison has been playing trombone since about 2010, euphonium since mid-2019, and always likes getting together with a few friends to ‘make a joyful noise’ and share music. She also enjoys a bit of freelance photography when she gets the chance, especially if it involves sunsets.

One of her books, The Bronson Escapades, is a Silver Recipient of the Mom’s Choice Awards® honorary seal of excellence, and The Wolf Cub is a 2^nd Place winner of the Royal Dragonfly Book Award Competition of 2024 in both the ‘Education’ and ‘Coffee Table & Gift Books’ categories, in addition to obtaining Honorary Mention in several others: Best Cover Design, Children’s Chapter Books, Middle Grade Fiction, and Animals/Pets (a complete list of results can be found on the Story Monsters Book Awards website). Alison’s 2024 trilogy titled Whisper, Lucas, and Escape have also been presented with the NAPPA Award winning seal. Alison greatly appreciates receiving this outstanding recognition, as well as all the other encouraging comments on her earlier works.

For more information, check out alisonbellringer.ampbk.com.

Dedicated Reviews allow authors and illustrators to gain prompt visibility for their work. This is a sponsored*, non-biased review of Footprints in the Snow. Learn more about getting a book review …