I enjoy books for all ages. I remember on a flight home from London one year, reading through at least ten children’s books I had purchased. I thoroughly enjoyed them.

So, it should come as no surprise to anyone that I just finished a book at the ripe old age of 50, intended for ages 8-12. I had never read it before and the name caught my eye. I wish I remember where I saw it. I’m sure a child was reading it in a TV show or movie. It’s one I missed when I was young, The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White.

You probably recognize the name E.B. White because he wrote Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little. For years, we owned Charlotte’s Web, but I never read it. I saw the movie over and over again. I can sing the songs and even quote from it. I will read the book one of these days. I’m thinking Ashley may have borrowed it for her classroom.

I have only seen Stuart Little once. It was enjoyable and I would watch it again, but I have never read it either. Ashley probably has a copy I can borrow from her when I’m ready.

The Trumpet of the Swan was, what I would call a sweet book. I’m not used to reading a book for an 8–12-year-old, so I was constantly expecting some horrible turn of events. At one point, I feared a death, and then a kidnapping and then later, a theft, but none of those things occurred.

Those thoughts are in the mind of an adult who has heard horror stories – real life horror stories. Thankfully, those things never happen in a book intended for a growing child.

The book is about a swan, Louis, who has a voice defect (E.B. White’s description). He cannot make the noise a swan needs to make in order to win the love of another. The reader quickly learns that Louis isn’t going to let this defect stand in his way. He is determined to make his dreams come true with the cards he was dealt.

For me, it was wonderful to see Louis leave his home, attend school, travel and work in far off places. None of his siblings had the education he had. The story of Louis illustrates that a full life can be had for those who work for it.