From Ant to Eagle

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Pub Date 01 Apr 2017 | Archive Date 30 Apr 2019

Description

My name is Calvin Sinclair, I'm eleven years old and I have a confession: I killed my brother. 


It's the summer before grade six and Calvin Sinclair is bored to tears. He's recently moved from a big city to a small town and there's nothing to do. It's hot, he has no friends and the only kid around is his six-year-old brother, Sammy, who can barely throw a basketball as high as the hoop. Cal occupies his time by getting his brother to do almost anything: from collecting ants to doing Calvin's chores. And Sammy is all too eager - as long as it means getting a "Level" and moving one step closer to his brother's Eagle status. 


When Calvin meets Aleta Alvarado, a new girl who shares his love for Goosebumps books and adventure, Sammy is pushed aside. Cal feels guilty but not enough to change. At least not until a diagnosis causes things at home to fall apart and he's left wondering whether Sammy will ever complete his own journey…  


From Ant to Eagle.

My name is Calvin Sinclair, I'm eleven years old and I have a confession: I killed my brother. 


It's the summer before grade six and Calvin Sinclair is bored to tears. He's recently moved from a big...


Advance Praise

"An honest portrayal of love, loss, and friendship in the face of a life-changing journey." — School Library Journal


"Lyttle’s debut is an uncommonly honest examination of mortality and the ways in which growing up complicates sibling relationships. ... Lyttle delicately tackles the subjects of grief and death, trusting middle-grade readers with a sophisticated story that includes notes of humor. A moving and ultimately hopeful book." — Booklist


"Lyttle's voice for Cal is appealingly direct and articulate ... and his account of his struggle to cope will appeal to readers. Tender, direct, and honest." — Kirkus Reviews


"From Ant to Eagle is absolutely terrific. I was very moved and many elements of the story—the cancer crumble, beliefs about life and death, the nature of palliative care, the role of nurses, physicians, and the patients themselves in the oncology wheel—were not only riveting but informative.” — Paulette Bourgeois, Author, Franklin the Turtle


"I was prepared for From Ant to Eagle to be a 'sad' book, but to describe this book with just one emotion would be doing this extraordinary debut author a disservice. This is a book about fear, joy, frustration, acceptance, forgiveness, anger and, above all, love. This is a story of emotional truth that is sure to captivate readers of all ages." — Ashley Spires, Bestselling author and illustrator of The Most Magnificent Thing

"An honest portrayal of love, loss, and friendship in the face of a life-changing journey." — School Library Journal


"Lyttle’s debut is an uncommonly honest examination of mortality and the ways in...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9781771681117
PRICE $9.95 (USD)
PAGES 256

Average rating from 42 members


Featured Reviews

Damn it, I always try to steel myself before reading a book that I know will be sad, and yet every time - every damned time! - I end up ugly crying. I can’t help it.

So Calvin Sinclair is eleven years old and he has an adorable six-year-old brother called Sammy. It’s not a spoiler that Sammy dies - it’s literally mentioned on page one. Somehow I thought “OK, I can tough this out, I won’t cry, I’ll be strong and objective and I’ll write a nice review for the internets.”

Yeah, nope.

This book had me in a puddle. Stories about siblings always reduce me to a puddle because I have siblings. I loved reading from the perspective of the older brother because, as the youngest sibling, I have no idea what that’s like. I was on the receiving end of the torment, so I related really hard to Sammy but it was nice to see Calvin’s thought process, the reasons why he can just casually torment his brother, but at the same time love Sammy to pieces. I also really liked the relationship between Calvin and Aleta - it was sweet and felt realistic, considering these are two eleven-year-old kids trying their best to process grief.

So yeah, if you’re in the mood a weepy middle-grade, or if you’re looking for a way to introduce the grieving process to adolescent readers, then you should read this.

I don’t recommend reading it on public transit because you will cry. If you cry easy, then you will cry. Be warned.

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I love everything about this book. Even though it tackles a difficult subject matter., the story draws you in and the author does a wonderful job of balancing the heavy moments with some lighthearted and tender moments as well. It leaves the reader with much to think about and is a very realistic portrayal of all of the characters in a crisis. I love Cal and that the story is told through his eyes. This is a wonderful book for both children and adults and should be a must read for anyone whose lives have been touched by cancer or any other potentially fatal disease.

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Devoured this book in a matter of hours!

I have been dying for months to read this book. It first came to my attention as a giveaway on Goodreads which unfortunately I didn’t win. Then months later I saw it offered on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was so elated to see that NetGalley email in my inbox saying my wish has been granted and ordering me to go download. I quickly obeyed!

Calvin (Cal) Sinclair is an eleven year old boy recently moved from the big city of London, Ontario to the small country town of Huxbury with his father, mother, and younger brother Sammy. It’s the summer before sixth grade and like any typical older brother; Cal is tired of playing with his six year old brother. Sammy like any little brother idolizes his big brother and like any big brother Cal can be mean and cons Sammy into doing things for him by employing the “Level” system as a means to motivate and control his brother. Eagle is the highest level and Sammy wants to be like his big brother and have that status so bad he will do anything Cal asks in order to earn it. That summer a new girl moves to their town and suddenly Cal drops his brother like a ton of bricks to spend time with the quiet and shy girl Aleta. Cal feels a little bad ditching his brother but he wants free of his constant shadow. It isn’t until tragedy strikes the family does Cal realize how much he loves his brother and the strong bond between them.

Oh my gosh. This book. Amazing. I want a tangible copy of this book for my bookshelf. This story was truly an eye opener for me. I cant say why it is because it will totally ruin the story for you. I can only say that if you have not personally gone through this experience you have absolutely no idea the pain both physical and mental that’s involved. That was me. Completely naive. Now having read this story I have a very small measure of what Cal and his family went through. The author did a fantastic job creating this story. I have read no plot like it and the characters were thoroughly developed and so real that they fit perfectly into the storyline. Cal didn’t seem like a fictional character, he was this typical big brother that I found myself laughing at because of the many tricks and cons he played on his little brother that were so similar to the same tricks I did to my little brother when I was eleven-ish. Reading this story you will laugh, cry, get annoyed, and definitely pissed off but in the end you will truly appreciate the love, friendship, and strong bond between brothers.

I would recommend this book to reader’s middle grade and up. This book is categorized as mainly as teen/young adult but I think middle grade readers as young as 12 would enjoy.

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Such a strong voice of a child who cares and feels deeply. The author brings the sadness of illness, and the beauty of family and friendship to life. Highly recommeneded.

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This is a heartbreaking middle grade novel about six year old Sam and eleven year old Calvin. Cal's your typical tween - he wants to watch TV, ride his bike with the mysterious new girl, and avoid spending time with his little brother. He most certainly isn't concerned about Sam, who's feeling left behind yet too sick to do much about it. But when the summer ends, and Sammy is diagnosed with cancer, Cal becomes obsessed with making amends.

So many tears! I loved both boys, as well as Oliver, the Mennonite teenager who has been in the children's oncology ward for 670 days. Oliver's seen so many children come and go, and is wiser than his years. He's also a source of both practical information and comfort for Cal, whose parents are weathering through their own emotional journeys.

This was well-written and compassionate, a book delicately balanced between the realities of childhood cancer and the possibility of hope.

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This book is an excellent work of realistic fiction. It portrays the relationship between siblings very well, capturing the push and pull of having a brother to play with, yet also wanting time to hang out with friends of one's own. Calvin, the older brother, is eleven and bored over summer break. His younger brother Sammy is only six and can't do many of the things Calvin can. But Calvin has created a game with challenges that he makes up and Sammy has to complete to gain a level. Sammy started at Ant level, but wants to attain Eagle just like Calvin. Even with such entertainment available, it's understandable that when Calvin makes friends with a new girl from church, he wants to have fun without Sammy around all the time. When the family realizes Sammy is very ill, then Calvin begins to feel guilty over ignoring him all summer when he wasn't busy sending him on missions like spraying a bees nest to earn another level. And Cal's friend Aleta has her own guilty feelings to deal with over something from her family's past.

The characters really come to life in this story - the older brother annoyed by a younger tag-along; the new girl who captures the boy's attention; the younger brother with a case of hero worship for his sibling; the parents stressed by their child's illness. Readers can easily picture people they know in similar situations. Who hasn't hear siblings whine, "Do I have to play with him?" And many readers have probably has the experience of meeting a new kid at school, or in the neighborhood and being intrigued by the novelty of making a new friend. The saddest part is that some readers may also have firsthand knowledge of being in the hospital with a family member who is undergoing extensive tests. The portrayal of how each person within Calvin's family deals with the stress of the medical situation is heartrendingly real and may cause some tears among readers.

Recommended for middle grade readers who enjoy realistic fiction centered around family and friendship, and who don't mind some sadness and scenes that will bring out intense emotions.

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Heartwrenching, real, and told in an unforgettable voice.

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