As she learns to love her new home, she discovers that she is The Chosen One, gifted with the ability to magically heal any animal she touches. After her parents are killed in a fire, she is sent to live on her grandmother's game reserve in South Africa. It follows the adventures of Martine, a young British girl.

John on Walden Media's site.Legend of the Animal Healer is a fantasy book series by Lauren St. As far as I can tell, it's slated to be released this year. And definitely worth noting is that it looks like Walden Media is making a movie starring AnnaSophia Robb (yeah you know her she was Leslie in Bridge to Terabithia).

There's a booktalk posted at Booktalks - Quick and Simple. Read more reviews at Fuse #8 (where Betsy addresses the issue of Martine's race) and Deliciously Clean Reads. John's beautiful website to find out a bit more about her and her books. It looks like a fourth book - The Elephant's Tale - is due out in the UK in August, but I don't know when it'll be hitting the shelves in the US.Ĭheck out Lauren St. John has penned a few other adventures with Martine - Dolphin Song (2008) and The Last Leopard (March, 2009). Overall, I think this is a story that will appeal to kids and I think the cover and title alone are enough to intrigue.įor those who do pick up the book and enjoy it, Ms. I wish the background characters were a little more well-developed and, to be completely honest, I found some parts of it to be a little hokey. Martine's a likeable character with a special gift that many kids will envy - the ability to speak to (kind of) and heal animals. The White Giraffe kept reminding me of Lionboy, another kid-talks-to-animals fantasy book that I really enjoyed. It's quite a pleasant thing to be reading in cold, wet Chicagoland and find yourself transported to a lush jungle. John lived on a reserve in Zimbabwe when she was a child and her experience with the animals and plants really shows in this book. My favorite thing about this book is the rich setting. until one rainy night when the white giraffe appears to her and Martine finds out that she must meet her destiny.

When she hears stories about a mythical white giraffe that supposedly lives on the reserve, Martine is skeptical.

Unspeakably sad and somewhat of an outcast at school, the only thing Martine can be happy about is the lush African wilderness that surrounds her new game reserve home. When 11-year-old Martine's parents are killed in a house fire, she's shipped off to South Africa to live with a grandmother who doesn't seem to want anything to do with her.

Martine the white giraffe