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Starbuck Family Adventure #3
A Voice in the Wind
[shared copy] The Starbuck family is anything but ordinary. There are two sets of Starbuck preteens Liberty and July, and their little sisters Charly and Molly. But even more extraordinary is the fact that all four children have the ability to teleflash―they can talk to each other without saying a word! It's a power that comes in handy whenever these adventurous kids are on the trail of a villian.
Before the Starbuck family embarks on a trip to New Mexico, a whisper comes through the wind to Liberty. It leads her and her twin, July, to an ancient hillside dwelling that was the site of a tragedy. In their quest to rectify the wrongs of the past, the twins encounter a group of thieves who will stop at nothing to steal the artifacts in the ancient home.
Before the Starbuck family embarks on a trip to New Mexico, a whisper comes through the wind to Liberty. It leads her and her twin, July, to an ancient hillside dwelling that was the site of a tragedy. In their quest to rectify the wrongs of the past, the twins encounter a group of thieves who will stop at nothing to steal the artifacts in the ancient home.
184 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1993
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113 people want to read
About the author
Kathryn Lasky
263 books2,297 followersKathryn Lasky, also known as Kathryn Lasky Knight and E. L. Swann, is an award-winning American author of over one hundred books for children and adults. Best known for the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, her work has been translated into 19 languages and includes historical fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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August 6, 2021This author is so creative that I simply must check out one of her books whenever I find it. The Starbucks have twins - not just one set but two. In this story they head for New Mexico where their father has a job. So meet July and Liberty and their little sisters, Charly and Molly. The twins have a unique skill. They can communicate with each other without talking. It’s called teleflashing. However, before they travel Liberty hears a whisper seemingly through the wind..
In New Mexico the whispers continue leading the inquisitive twins to an old, old dwelling where something tragic happened. Liberty and July visit the site where they meet a six-hundred-year-old Native American ghost potter who cannot rest until she has a pot that was broken in the past.
The problem is that thieves are roaming the area to collect every shard of Anasazi artifact they can find. Of course, the twins encounter the thieves with some of them caught while others gather shards that they have found to complete the pot.
The cool thing about the book is that the author teaches the reader not only about New Mexico and its lovely landscape but also about its culture and history. This is a wonderful little read by a talented writer who really knows how to weave a story for children and the adults who may be reading it to them.
In New Mexico the whispers continue leading the inquisitive twins to an old, old dwelling where something tragic happened. Liberty and July visit the site where they meet a six-hundred-year-old Native American ghost potter who cannot rest until she has a pot that was broken in the past.
The problem is that thieves are roaming the area to collect every shard of Anasazi artifact they can find. Of course, the twins encounter the thieves with some of them caught while others gather shards that they have found to complete the pot.
The cool thing about the book is that the author teaches the reader not only about New Mexico and its lovely landscape but also about its culture and history. This is a wonderful little read by a talented writer who really knows how to weave a story for children and the adults who may be reading it to them.
September 14, 2010
This is the last book in the Starbuck Family Adventure series, focusing on two sets of twins who can communicate through mental telepathy (basically talking to each other through their minds). The Starbuck family journeys to New Mexico for their father's latest job assignment, and both sets of twins (5-year-old identical Charly and Molly, and 12-year-old Liberty and July) are eager to explore their new home in the high desert. But along the way, they are caught up in a ancient tragedy that directly affects them in the present. The twins all must work together to set the wrongs of the past right—even if it means putting themselves in the way of greedy grave robbers.
Just so you know, this book is one that is so deeply woven into my childhood that I am completely biased. I read it at least 8 times in my life, probably more. I would take it out of the library every summer and reread it, until they unfortunately weeded it out of the collection. I managed to get my hands on a nice hardcover copy, thanks to the lovely Amazon Marketplace. This book sparked my interest in Native American culture and romanticized the Southwest for me. I still haven't gone there yet, but I plan to one day soon.
Lasky paints an incredibly rich and vivid picture of the Southwest landscape, using color and original yet descriptive simile to give a clear idea of the setting to the reader. This is a huge part of my attraction to this book—I wanted to go where the action took place because it sounded so magnificent and incredible.
She also doesn't shy away from using more advanced vocabulary in her writing. Readers will certainly learn new words here, as the meanings are clear from the context in which she puts them.
As far as plot goes, it's pretty fast-paced once they get to New Mexico. Murder, thieves, supernatural beings, a desperate search for ancient artifacts; all of it's in there. Not to mention it's well-researched and full of Native American culture and lore, with a little bit of history and some information on pottery-making thrown in there.
Just to warn you, Kirkus gave this a pretty bad review, but School Library Journal did not; I loved this book dearly and still do, so Lasky did something right. And just so you know, I didn't read the first two books in the series before this one.
Just so you know, this book is one that is so deeply woven into my childhood that I am completely biased. I read it at least 8 times in my life, probably more. I would take it out of the library every summer and reread it, until they unfortunately weeded it out of the collection. I managed to get my hands on a nice hardcover copy, thanks to the lovely Amazon Marketplace. This book sparked my interest in Native American culture and romanticized the Southwest for me. I still haven't gone there yet, but I plan to one day soon.
Lasky paints an incredibly rich and vivid picture of the Southwest landscape, using color and original yet descriptive simile to give a clear idea of the setting to the reader. This is a huge part of my attraction to this book—I wanted to go where the action took place because it sounded so magnificent and incredible.
She also doesn't shy away from using more advanced vocabulary in her writing. Readers will certainly learn new words here, as the meanings are clear from the context in which she puts them.
As far as plot goes, it's pretty fast-paced once they get to New Mexico. Murder, thieves, supernatural beings, a desperate search for ancient artifacts; all of it's in there. Not to mention it's well-researched and full of Native American culture and lore, with a little bit of history and some information on pottery-making thrown in there.
Just to warn you, Kirkus gave this a pretty bad review, but School Library Journal did not; I loved this book dearly and still do, so Lasky did something right. And just so you know, I didn't read the first two books in the series before this one.
June 19, 2023
I purchased this book for $.50 from my favorite used bookstore which is moving soon. Therefore, they have shelves and shelves of books to sell for $.50-$2. Bonus! I did not realize that Lasky also wrote the Guardians of Ga'hoole series when I purchased this one. I think I would read anything she writes. Today, while at that same bookstore for Independent Bookstore Day, I purchased The Journey, book 2 in that series for $.50. I will definitely search out bargain deals on these books for my grandkids.
IMO, this was definitely geared toward most juvenile readers, though I also enjoyed it. Two sets of twins who can communicate telepathically! What's not to like? ;)
IMO, this was definitely geared toward most juvenile readers, though I also enjoyed it. Two sets of twins who can communicate telepathically! What's not to like? ;)
April 19, 2013
Da ragazzina, lessi questo libro un sacco di volte! Divertente, irriverente e a tratti molto dolce...
May 10, 2015
22/25
5 original
4 good topic
5 fast read (even though it took me 10 days to read!)
4 plot
4 opinion
5 original
4 good topic
5 fast read (even though it took me 10 days to read!)
4 plot
4 opinion
December 3, 2018
The author does seem to have done at least the bare minimum of research on Navajo mythology (and having only done the bare minimum of research myself, that's pretty much all I can speak to on that topic). I did like Kyumi's story, especially the part where it really hit Liberty what it meant that she'd had her life cut short at such a young age: not only are there so many things she'll never get to do, she's spent the past several hundred years stuck as a lost spirit who can't even make her way to a proper afterlife.
That little subplot with the owl feathers and the skinwalkers also seemed kind of extraneous. It wasn't a bad idea, and there were a lot of plot threads in there that seemed to be building up to something big, but then nothing ever came of it. So Vera Snowflower was misled into thinking the Starbuck twins were witches when she found the owl feathers that someone had planted under their saddles, she has a few minutes showing a deep sense of betrayal and fear, and then... and then, nothing. The next time we see her, she's helping them out with no explanation given, and we never hear a single word of this subplot again.
Then there was the skinwalker subplot. It's made pretty clear that there's at least one skinwalker working with the terrorists-slash-graverobbers who'll stop at nothing to scare Putnam Starbuck off his job. It's also implied that this is the same individual responsible for leaving bone beads in Marguerite Greyeyes's desk drawer and Liberty and July's jellybean tin in order to threaten them. Oh yes, not to mention showing up to scare the pants off of Liberty at the same time that July, Charley, and Molly were being kidnapped by the rest of the gang, and therefore could not have been with them during the climax of the book. So, the terrorist gang got arrested (that is, if the Starbuck kids didn't straight-up murder them; the story is actually really fuzzy on that particular point, which is a horrifying thought in and of itself), but that skinwalker is still out there. Suddenly that happy ending doesn't seem so happy after all.
That little subplot with the owl feathers and the skinwalkers also seemed kind of extraneous. It wasn't a bad idea, and there were a lot of plot threads in there that seemed to be building up to something big, but then nothing ever came of it. So Vera Snowflower was misled into thinking the Starbuck twins were witches when she found the owl feathers that someone had planted under their saddles, she has a few minutes showing a deep sense of betrayal and fear, and then... and then, nothing. The next time we see her, she's helping them out with no explanation given, and we never hear a single word of this subplot again.
Then there was the skinwalker subplot. It's made pretty clear that there's at least one skinwalker working with the terrorists-slash-graverobbers who'll stop at nothing to scare Putnam Starbuck off his job. It's also implied that this is the same individual responsible for leaving bone beads in Marguerite Greyeyes's desk drawer and Liberty and July's jellybean tin in order to threaten them. Oh yes, not to mention showing up to scare the pants off of Liberty at the same time that July, Charley, and Molly were being kidnapped by the rest of the gang, and therefore could not have been with them during the climax of the book. So, the terrorist gang got arrested (that is, if the Starbuck kids didn't straight-up murder them; the story is actually really fuzzy on that particular point, which is a horrifying thought in and of itself), but that skinwalker is still out there. Suddenly that happy ending doesn't seem so happy after all.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews