Scarlet Ibis

April 15, 2018
Twelve-year-old Scarlet Ibis Mackenzie struggles to care for her brother and protect her family.With a mother who sleeps and smokes her way through most days, Scarlet has shouldered most of the household responsibilities as well as the care of her sensitive younger half brother, Red. Scarlet works hard to keep her family together, but it's not easy to predict her mother's bouts of anger and melancholy and support her brother through hair-trigger emotional upheavals, all while trying to ward off social worker Mrs. Gideon. Her worst fears are realized when a fire destroys the family's apartment, and Scarlet is placed in foster care without Red. With some cursory Americanization to help the book make the leap across the pond as well as a dash of her signature wildlife enthusiasm, Lewis explores an array of complexities, all to do with family and resilience. Scarlet's separation from Red (explained as necessary due to Red's autism spectrum disorder) exacerbates what Scarlet sees as existing splinters of difference (Red is white like their withdrawn mother, and mixed-race Scarlet is dark-skinned like her absent father). And Scarlet uses Red's fascination with feathers and birds--including the baby pigeon that survives the apartment fire--to find not only a way into her brother's world, but the hope of reuniting them in the new security of a foster home.Sadness and hope combine in this heartfelt British import. (Fiction. 11-14)

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May 1, 2018

Gr 4-6-Scarlet Ibis Mackenzie takes her name from a bird native to her father's homeland of Trinidad. She's never met her father and has seen only one picture of him that her mother holds close. "Mum says I have his eyes and his smile. She says I have his skin too. Like the color of soft caramel." Her brother Red has never seen his daddy either. Red's skin color is "white, white, white" and his hair is a "shock of orange." Red also has autism. He is very close to Scarlet; no one else appreciates that he knows every species of bird and holds a vast collection of feathers that he gently inventories each day. Their mum never leaves the house and rarely gets out of bed. Scarlet takes care of all of them. She tries to put on a good front for the social worker so she doesn't take Red away, but when tragedy strikes, the family is separated. Scarlet is sent to foster care and no one will tell her where Red was placed. This poignant story examines issues of racism, discrimination, and disability with compassion and depth. Scarlet has had to grow up fast in order to keep her family together but she still longs for the same things every 12-year-old does: friends, acceptance, and stability. Readers will empathize with Scarlet's story and appreciate her deep connection with her brother. VERDICT A loving story of family and the bonds of trust between siblings; a fine addition to elementary school shelves.-Carol Connor, Cincinnati Public Schools

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