Connected - We Are All Connected - According to Talon, Connected by Gigi Sedlimayer - And Talon,Encounter!

 

Gigi Sedlimayer has created a wonderful children, (and adults) story about, no kidding, Condors - a family of 3, one of which was raised by the human main character and child, Matica! She named the bird Talon, who had been taken by poachers and then rescued by Matic, helping him from his egg to become his substitute mother.

How Cool is that! I've been following the series from the beginning, so when I learned about the latest, I went out and bought two that I hadn't read yet: Connected and Encounter--very different types of stories but both with a continuing message...

Of Connection...

Connected has an important message which is relevant at any time, but perhaps more important than ever before, in our present days of chaos... Sedimayer uses the tool of repetition to ensure that we all understand just how important for all of us to know just how much our lives matter, including those of our animal neighbors... 

With a family of four, Matica is already a leader as she has taken full responsibility for raising Talon as well as learning how to communicate with him. She has come to recognize his movements or his sounds and quickly realized that he could understand her as well.  Soon, the real parents of Talon found their son and became...connected...to Matica and her family. Soon they were named, Tamo and Tima, and also responding to attempts to communicate with their human friends...

In this important story, Mitica is invited to meet the Indian Tribe's Elder and Leader, Elcano, who was 117 years old... She was scared--as most of us would be having been requested for a private audience with the most important man in their village!

With great apprehension Matica followed Pajaro to his father’s hut. As much as she knew, he was the oldest and wisest in their village. She had never seen him and was afraid to confront him. I think not even Dad had seen him lately, she thought. He probably met him in the beginning, when we arrived. Yes, I remember him walking with Dad. Yes. He must be really old now because he never comes out of his hut anymore. I have seen people around his hut tending to him, but that is all. She had asked about him once, but she never got a real answer. Why does he want to see me now and for that matter personally? Why can’t Pajaro go alone and show the leaf to him? Why me as well? Will he accept me? Will he be mad at me? Will he laugh at me? Scream at me? Her old insecurity grabbed her again, squeezed her heart. Her heart pounded against her chest. She kept back a little. Do I really like to see him, go to him? Not really. She didn’t know how to tell Pajaro, so she just tottered after him...

Matica waited outside the door, staring at it as if she wanted to penetrate it, to see what’s behind it. It seemed an eternity to her, but in fact it was only a few seconds later when the door opened again and Pajaro slipped out to her. He said, ‘My padre wants to see you now. His name is Elcano. Please address him with his name or ‘sir’. Come.’ He took her hand and together they walked in. He really wants to see me personally, Matica thought, toddling timidly...

As Pajaro and Matica kept standing by the door, not moving at all, waiting, the round head turned slowly around to face them. Groaning noises escaped his open mouth with colourless, wrinkly and thin lips. A very sharp nose, not too big and not too small, in a much wrinkled and very thin face captured her attention; also his high and deep furrowed forehead that ended in the bald scalp. She couldn’t see his eyes. They were hidden and nearly covered by thick, bushy white eyebrows. His high cheekbones stuck out and framed his face, standing over his shrunken cheeks...

He speaks English. That’s good, Matica thought. He refers to me as daughter? Relaxing for a few seconds after the strain to sit up, Elcano rested his head on the pillow and closed his eyes, breathing deeply with open mouth. But soon he opened his eyes again, lifted his head and fixed them on Matica. She still stood by the door, not sure if she should approach Elcano. They stared at each other. His gaze intimidated her, nearly paralysed her. She couldn’t take her eyes away from his eyes as if they hypnotised her. They looked dark and round and were deep-set under the white, bushy eyebrows but looked alert and bright and were moving constantly...

Matica could only nod then whispered, ‘Sir, I’m…’ ‘Eeeeeeaaa, it is all right, believe me.’ Elcano’s arm went into the air again then he cleared his throat. ‘There you have it. My body,’ he tapped the bed he was laying on, ‘doesn’t like to live anymore, but my brain will live and is functioning very well. Yes, yes, it is the truth. They have a fight, my body and my brain, every minute of the day and night and I have to live with it in between. I tell you that, just in case you wonder. Yes, yes.’ Matica, boldly now, stepped one step closer, leaning forward and said, ‘Sir...

Once outside Matica inhaled deeply, then leaned her back against the wall of the hut and closed her eyes. We are all connected. I’m his daughter...

After the adventure when Matica and her father visited a nearby town, resulting in an injury to her father, Talon had brought leaves for Matica to use on him. After they were safely home, the family were anxious to know about the leaf that was making the healing so fast... And, so it was, Matica was invited to visit the elder and leader of the village, Elcano... It was a very long and strange, and, actually, frightening experience for Matica to see a man who was so old and how his body was affected. There were long pauses for Elcano to rest, but he knew of the leaf and confirmed it had healing powers. And then talked about how the condors and the family and the village were all connected, calling Matica, the daughter he wished he had had...

But what would all of this mean for Matica in the future?

Shooting at Them 

Terrified, Matica didn’t know what to do. She just lay on Talon, snuggled her head into his shoulder, not really wanting to see it all. She prayed that God would protect them, that if they started shooting the bullets will not go through them, will not hurt or injure them, but will pass by without hurting anyone. Bang! Bang! She heard the first two shots. ‘No!’ she yelled into Talon’s shoulder and squeezed her eyes closed. She could not see the bullets but somehow, she heard the bullets whizzing and passing them. Or was it her imagination?

 

Just as she opened her eyes to see what was going on, Tamo jerked and turned at a sharp angle. 

Oh my god, did a bullet hit him? We have to get away, Matica thought and lifted her head to look around. But where can we go? They have seen us. Wherever we go they will follow us. We can’t fly home. Then they’ll know where we live. We have to hide. It’s the only way in the moment to get away from them. 

Tima wouldn’t stop screeching in her high pitch-warning screech now and flew straight up into the sky. 

Yes, Matica thought. We have to get out of the range of the bullets first, then we have to decide what to do, most likely hide. Tima has the right answer. Then she yelled, ‘Talon, follow Tima up. We have to get out of range. We can’t fly home, they’ll see which direction we fly and will find out where we live. It will endanger the Indians as well. We can only fly in the opposite direction, away from them or hide. They must have good rifles that they can reach us up here. Better we hide, Talon.’ 

Bang! Bang! Another two shots passed them.

 

Matica grinned. They’re bad shooters. They are too excited to see us. Well, that’s good for us, otherwise they wouldn’t have missed. After all condors are big targets, I would say. 

Next Tamo dived directly at them. ‘No!’ Matica yelled after him. ‘Tamo, don’t attack them. The bullets are faster than you.’

Tima screeched at Talon not to follow her then she dived after Tamo. As she reached him she flew under him and bumped into his tummy, pushing him up, screeching. 

Talon flew with Matica higher up. She hoped the bullets wouldn’t reach them there. 

Bang! Bang! Two more shots. 

Tamo shook his head and pulled in his left wing. A feather sailed away. 

Oh my God, a bullet found its target, Matica thought aghast and worried. Oh no! Was his wing hit or was it only a graze, or was it only a feather that flew away, not his wing, his flesh?...

Early in the series, we learn that poachers are working in the area to capture wild animals and sell them. In Encounter, we are once again learning that the poachers are back! Matica, who has raised Talon from this birth--breaking out of his shell--is instantly on alert as she pictures all that happened in the past and worries what those with guns could do. While the condors could perhaps defend themselves, Matica was too afraid that they might actually get shot! 

From the earlier book where much time is spent on realizing the connection of the condors to Matica and her family, as well as to the local Indians, we move into a more fast-paced time when the poachers are near enough that some type of planning was needed to defend all those who are now connected, including the condors... But what could they do, the poachers had long guns that could be used from a distance and the villagers had no need for guns in their daily lives. Could they protect themselves and all living humans...and animals? 

For me, both of these books brought to my mind what was happening in Ukraine. How can some humans strike out against others with no reason other than desire for money and/or power. Along with others world-wide who are watching what is happening, I am thrilled to see that Ukrainians of all ages and sexes are prepared to defend their democracy, their country against an enemy who think nothing about moving against anyone who is blocking their personal desires...  

And just as I applaud the Ukranians... I also applauded with Matica and the entire village and nearby villages in their efforts to act humanely to all that had become connected...  Gigi Sedlimayer has created a series that, while geared toward children in their reading efforts, has also created the stories that are important to all humanity as we consider, especially, the animal kingdom.