Wings to Fly

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

This sequel to the award-winning Ticket to Curlew continues the story of
the Ferriers, a pioneer family. It is July 1918, and Sam’s younger
sister Josie, now 12, takes over as narrator of Celia Barker
Lottridge’s episodic and historically authentic saga of the Ferriers
and their neighbors.

Despite the book’s episodic nature, there are two continuing story
lines. The first involves an abandoned house and the Grahams, a family
newly arrived from England. Deserted because the owner’s new bride
could not accept the flat, treeless prairie, the house fascinates Josie
and her new friend, Margaret Graham. The girls’ curiosity becomes
piqued when they discover that some unknown individual is cleaning the
deserted house. As the pair’s friendship matures, Margaret reveals
that her mother, who wants to return to England, has not unpacked the
family’s belongings. Josie finds a way to involve Mrs. Graham in the
community, as well as a use for the abandoned home.

The second story line centres on the mores of a period in which there
were limited opportunities for women to achieve their potential. Josie
finds her symbolic ideal in Katherine Stinson, a young woman who flew
the mail from Calgary to Edmonton. The reader comes away with the
realization that, when the right time comes, the feisty Josie will
herself use her “wings to fly.” Highly recommended.