Bibliograph

The lost language, by Claudia Mills

Type

Label

The lost language, by Claudia Mills

Language

eng

Index

no index present

resource.interestAgeLevel

Ages 9 to 12, Holiday House

resource.interestGradeLevel

Grades 4-6, Holiday House

Literary Form

fiction

Main title

The lost language

Responsibility statement

by Claudia Mills

Summary

Sixth grader Betsy is the one who informs her best friend, Lizard, that thousands of the world's languages are currently threatened by extinction; Betsy's mother is a linguistics professor working frantically to study dying languages before they are lost forever. But it is Lizard who, gripped by the magnitude of this loss, challenges Betsy, "What if, instead of WRITING about dying languages, like your mom, you and I SAVED one instead?" As the girls embark on their quest to learn as much as possible of the near-extinct language of Guernésiais, their friendship faces unexpected strains. With Lizard increasingly obsessed with the language project, Betsy begins to seek greater independence from her controlling and charismatic friend, as well as from her controlling and charismatic mother. Then tragedy threatens Betsy's life beyond what any words can express, and Lizard does something unthinkable

Target audience

pre adolescent

Classification