Trey and Troy Landry are 12-year-old twin brothers growing up on a New Hampshire farm. Even though Troy is the impulsive trouble maker, and Trey the more dutiful and introverted one, they share an incredibly close bond. One day Troy is accidentally killed by hunters poaching deer on the farm. Trey is devastated and channels his grief into caring for an injured deer, which he names “Tawny.” As their friendship deepens, however, Trey finds it harder and harder to release Tawny back into the wild.
What he learns in the process of letting go—about loss, love, and the healing power of nature has even more relevance for youth today than when this critically acclaimed novel was first published.
Original Novel: Chas Carner
Adaptation: Eliza Huberth
Illustrations: Lea Faske
To read the original novel or listen to the audio book, click here.
“A beautiful and breathtaking book... we are transported by the magic of words. Rarely has the atmosphere of a New Hampshire farm been so palpably evoked. Tawny is a book that is moving and true. It is written with love, and its language is beautiful. There is nothing more to say—except that I cried at the end.” ~ Barbara Wersba, The New York Times Book Review, April 30, 1978
Sample Scene
One night while Trey and his mother Barbara finish chores in the barn, Joseph Landry returns with an injured doe, rescuing her from a pack of hungry dogs.
Recommendations and Honors for
Tawny’s Original Publications
A New York Times Best Book of the Year (1978)
Recommended by the Library of Congress
ALA Booklist Starred Review
International Reading Association Classroom Choice
Kirkus Reviews Recommended
Children’s Book Review Service Featured
University of Chicago Center for Children’s Books Selection
New York Public Library Featured Children’s Book
Cleveland Public Library Featured
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award Master List
Janusz Korczak Literary Award Honoree
Georgia Children’s Book Award Honoree
