The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea: The Story of Annaliese Easterling & Throckmorton, Her Simply Remarkable Sock Monkey (Hardcover)

Description

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A charming sock monkey reunites a fractured family in this simply remarkable novel in the tradition of The Velveteen Rabbit and The Penderwicks.

Meet Throckmorton S. Monkey. He’s everything a sock monkey is supposed to be: Loving. Loyal. A very good listener. And he’s never, ever—not even once!—stopped smiling. Yet Throckmorton has been long forgotten by his keeper Annaliese Easterling, and he seems doomed to live out his days lost and lonely among other abandoned stuffed animals.

But then one day Great Grand Mama Easterling sends engraved invitations to forty-nine sock monkeys to attend her ninetieth birthday along with their human keepers. Throckmorton is thrilled! The arrival of his invitation brings him back together with Annaliese. And he vows to do something so remarkable, so amazing, she will never want to be separated from him again.

Indeed, over just a few days, Throckmorton will survive being buried in a blizzard. He’ll be spared from a vicious attacker. But best of all, he’ll find a way to reunite Annaliese with the one person she most longs to know. Not bad for a stuffed toy—if you’re to believe that’s all Throckmorton S. Monkey really is…

About the Author

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Eileen Beha is the author of The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea and the celebrated middle grade novel Tango: The Tale of an Island Dog. A former middle school principal, Eileen received an MFA in creative writing from Hamline University. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and their two dogs, Tango and Daisy. Visit her at EileenBeha.com.

Sarah Jane Wright has been illustrating the world around for as long as she can remember. She is the artist behind Sarah Jane Studios, which has a huge following on Pinterest and is a thriving business on Etsy, selling prints, wallpaper, etc. She also illustrated The Secrets of Eastcliff-by-the-Sea. Sarah Jane loves being a mom to her four small children and currently resides in Utah.

Praise For…

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* "This original, heartwarming and highly amusing tale about lovely, lonely Annaliese is related by Annaliese's sock monkey, Throckmorton S. Monkey. . . readers will enjoy such spectacles as the Grand March of sock monkeys and keepers and the mayhem that follows. Throckmorton’s careful observations of human nature, coupled with his inability to move freely, add a pleasing, fresh dimension. This unusual novel is old-fashioned in the best sense of the word, conveying universal truths and values through the use of sentient toys."
— Kirkus Reviews, July 2014, *STARRED REVIEW*

Centered around a rich, eccentric elder and the stuffed animals she created for her descendants, Beha’s well-paced debut often seems like a throwback to children’s books written decades ago. Set in a remote seaside home in Maine where the children are tutored, the story is made even more quaint by its narration, particularly attuned to the tender feelings of a hand-sewn sock monkey...[Beha's] her main characters, particularly Throckmorton, are sweet and sympathetic.
— Booklist, August 2014

Beha's (Tango: The Tale of an Island Dog) humorous story with a gothic setting stars a family of stuffed sock monkeys who may not speak to their human "keepers," but have many thoughts and emotions nevertheless...Throckmorton's sweet contemplations about friendship and loyalty—mixed with some honest reflections about abandonment—will have many readers dusting off their own favorite stuffed pals.
— Publishers Weekly, September 22, 2014

...Throckmorton is an engaging narrator, and budding mystery lovers may enjoy piecing together the story of Olivia’s return and also figuring out the identity of the thief...youthful fans of cozy manor house mysteries and those who believe their stuffed animals can come to life when unattended may be an appreciative audience. Understated and fluid monochromatic illustrations add atmosphere.
— The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, October 2014