The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant,
‘What good is it?’ Aldo Leopold, Round River, 1993
My name’s Elizabeth Barker and the story, Elizabeth’s Landing, is about me. Not just me, of course. That could get boring.
Our Barker family relocation plan started when Mom, Dad, and I moved to Port Winston, Texas, January 2010. We came to help Grandma Linnie keep tabs on Grandpa after his heart attack. Mistake number one: Dad stopped him from taking his shrimp boat out alone. Grandpa paid him back by hanging around our house, telling us how to run our lives.
At fourteen I don’t take much looking after, but with Dad heading landscape crews full-time and Mom in Mexico on her first big photojournalism assignment, Grandma took over the “understanding Elizabeth” department. If it weren’t for her, Becca, and a few other people, I’d have walked back home to Missouri by now.
One way or another, Grandpa the opinionator is to blame for this story, starting the Saturday morning he said stupid stuff about me. I ran off to the Landing to chill out and practice my photography. Who knew I’d end up defensive tackle for a nesting sea turtle against three creeps looking for something to hurt? Maybe fate or Mother Nature stepped in. All I know is, one of the earth’s most endangered animals, a Kemp’s ridley, changed my life.
She and her buddies also got me in trouble with Grandpa, the bullies from the beach, and a developer with deep ties to something that forced Dad out of here thirty years ago. Grandpa was part of that, too. And a family secret, until I blew the lid off, figuring it was key to saving the Landing for the turtles, fixing our family, and proving Grandpa wrong about me. Maybe. Things didn’t always go the way I figured.
Truth is, like the turtles, we all need a place to call home. Elizabeth’s Landing is about finding our way.
That’s it. Not all of it, of course.
Elizabeth’s Landing Sample Chapters
Discussion Guide
SILVER ~ YOUNG ADULT FICTION
CATEGORY WINNER ~ CHILDREN’S/JUVENILE FICTION
FIRST PLACE IN ALL FICTION
GOLD ~ MOM’S CHOICE AWARD
For ages 10 to ageless.
Part of book sale profits supports sea turtle conservation programs.
Get in touch through the CONTACT ME page. Leave your e-mail and a note. Do the “FOLLOW ME” thing at the bottom of any page, and get notes each time a new post is up. The blog covers environmental topics and stories about kids and young adults making the world better in all sorts of ways. I’m really excited about that part. Check out “Elizabeth’s Sea Turtles” for more about the Kemp’s ridley. Katy, my author, talks about herself under “About Me.” Her Facebook page is: Katy Pye-Author.
Thanks for stopping by and for doing what you can. Elizabeth
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PHOTO CREDITS ~
Kemp’s ridley hatchling: Katy Pye; “Port Winston:” Katy Pye; shrimper: Diane Wilson; Beach bocce: Mike Abell; Kemp’s ridley: Adrienne McCracken; Texas Indian Blanket wildflower: Katy Pye; camera and Kemp’s ridley hatchling: Katy Pye
