Don't Feed The Boy is a novel by an Alabama author named Irene Latham. Mrs. Latham is from Birmingham, and I met her this past summer while attending the Alabama School Librarian Association's summer conference. My 6th grade daughter read the book first and enjoyed it so much that she recommended it to me. In this book Mrs. Latham tells the story of 11-year-old Whit, a boy who lives at the Meadowbrook Zoo. (His mom is the zoo director, and his dad is the head elephant keeper.) Whit is largely ignored by his kind but work-obsessed parents. His only interactions are with zoo employees and Ms. Connie, the teacher his parents hired to homeschool him. His longings to leave zoo grounds and have a friend his age become a reality when he meets Stella, a mysterious girl who comes to the zoo each day to draw the birds.
Don't Feed The Boy is a satisfying story of a friendship between two very different people. I recommend this book to girls and boys between the ages of 8 and 12.
By Mrs. Norton
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