Shan L. Spyker at The Learned Owl [9/23]

Join us in welcoming back local children's author Shannon Spyker on Saturday September 23rd from 1-3pm. She will be signing her middle grade novel, The Way of the River.

Publisher Marketing:

"Never enter the malevolent forest," they were warned. But that just makes it even more enticing to bold and adventurous young Tillie.

After coaxing her worrisome older sister, Elinora, into joining her, together they travel deep into the strange and mysterious wood. There, at the edge of a powerful river, they find a shivering, abandoned wolfhound pup in need of help, and a forest teeming with sentient creatures. 

In their quest to reunite the pup, who they call Henry, with his canine family, Elinora and Tillie—along with Lina, Alister, Graham, Jamie, and their many allies—embark upon a wild and dangerous animal rescue mission that pits them against a greedy, unscrupulous showman. Along the way, deep connections are formed between one another as well as the forest and its inhabitants, enabling them to work together to help Henry...and unravel the centuries-old secrets of the legendary Kellandale Wood and the magical river Iveria flowing through it.

Kirkus Reviews 28 Great Indie Books Worth Discovering (June 2022)

Recipient of three Five-Star Reviews from Readers' Favorite

Debut author Shan L. Spyker "delivers a strong message of inclusiveness, love, and respect for all creatures" (Kirkus Reviews) in The Way of the River: Kellandale Wood (Book One), an impactful animal rescue tale that takes place within a mystical forest.

The first in the Kellandale Wood children's fantasy book series, it is a middle grade fantasy adventure with "a large cast of lovable, unforgettable characters" (Ariel Hakim, Banned Books Box), well suited for both young and young-at-heart readers who love stories such as Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro, Mary Stewart's The Little Broomstick, and CS Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia series.