Journey to the Homeland
by Hannah Stahlhut
by Hannah Stahlhut
JOURNEY TO THE HOMELAND by Hannah Stahlhut
Illustrated by: Hannah England
Category: Fantasy
Age Recommendation: Grades 6+
Release Date: 3/21/08
Publisher: Baker Trittin Press
Reviewed by: Grandma Bev
Rating: 5 Stars
Sixteen-year-old Hannah Stahlhut, a home-schooled high school student, decided she would test her writing skills and
enter the 2007 Tweener Time International Chapter Book Competition. The challenge was for high school students to
write a book especially tailored to 8-12 year olds. Her entry, JOURNEY TO THE HOMELAND, emerged as the
winning novel.
In the mythical land of Diggeret, an eight-year-old orphan, Keegan, is looking for a home. He is able to communicate with
animals, and has developed a friendship with a jaguar that he calls Adrian, named after his mother.
This gift is misunderstood and, due to fear, he is forced to leave every place that he comes to until he finds a family in the
settlement of Crempton who offer to give him a home. For the next three years, he lives with them, helping with chores.
In the neighboring country of Iviannah, the King has heard rumors of a child who can talk to animals, and he sends his
soldiers to search for this child.
They overhear Nora, a young girl from Keegan's village, as she tells a wild tale of being rescued by a jaguar, and they are
sure that she is the child they are looking for. They kidnap her to take her to the King. Keegan realizes that they were
really looking for him and so he and Adrian set out to rescue her, along with the help of a smart-aleck bird.
Their adventures and ingenuity in outsmarting the soldiers is electrifying. The suspense builds to a dramatic and satisfying
climax.
JOURNEY TO THE HOMELAND is an exciting story with fast action, great characters, and a well-developed plot that
will keep young readers entranced from beginning to end.
Illustrated by: Hannah England
Category: Fantasy
Age Recommendation: Grades 6+
Release Date: 3/21/08
Publisher: Baker Trittin Press
Reviewed by: Grandma Bev
Rating: 5 Stars
Sixteen-year-old Hannah Stahlhut, a home-schooled high school student, decided she would test her writing skills and
enter the 2007 Tweener Time International Chapter Book Competition. The challenge was for high school students to
write a book especially tailored to 8-12 year olds. Her entry, JOURNEY TO THE HOMELAND, emerged as the
winning novel.
In the mythical land of Diggeret, an eight-year-old orphan, Keegan, is looking for a home. He is able to communicate with
animals, and has developed a friendship with a jaguar that he calls Adrian, named after his mother.
This gift is misunderstood and, due to fear, he is forced to leave every place that he comes to until he finds a family in the
settlement of Crempton who offer to give him a home. For the next three years, he lives with them, helping with chores.
In the neighboring country of Iviannah, the King has heard rumors of a child who can talk to animals, and he sends his
soldiers to search for this child.
They overhear Nora, a young girl from Keegan's village, as she tells a wild tale of being rescued by a jaguar, and they are
sure that she is the child they are looking for. They kidnap her to take her to the King. Keegan realizes that they were
really looking for him and so he and Adrian set out to rescue her, along with the help of a smart-aleck bird.
Their adventures and ingenuity in outsmarting the soldiers is electrifying. The suspense builds to a dramatic and satisfying
climax.
JOURNEY TO THE HOMELAND is an exciting story with fast action, great characters, and a well-developed plot that
will keep young readers entranced from beginning to end.