The Gift
Terry Jackson was certain she would hate Southwest, Florida. All her friends were in Chicago, Chicago was home. But the old man Terry meets on the beach is different from anyone she ever met in Chicago, and the magical sand he gives her takes her places that she never dreamed existed. The most important gift he gives her, however, is one that can't be measured through an hourglass.
“…The 92-page “The Gift” is about a girl in Southwest Florida transported back through time where she can see what this area looked like before development began. The book offers lessons in the environment and preservation. Writing a book was in the back of my mind for a long time, I thought the conservation aspect would help children better understand the environment,’ Schmelz said. …”
- Ken Moore, Naples Daily News
"I read The Gift by Gary W. Schmelz. It's a great book! It's about a young girl named Terry who lives in Southwest Florida. She meets an dold man who gives her a special gift that allows her to back in time to certain periods of Earth. Terry gets to see dinosaurs, strange fish, and huge plant and animal life from the Earth was forming. But when she does something in the past that really affects their future, she's in deep trouble. Can she fix her problem?
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I won't spoil the ending for you, but I do reommend The Gift. It's a short book but it keeps your attention the whole time. It's very exciting but also informative, because you get to learn about younger Earth. You should definitely read The Gift by Gary W. Schmelz.
- April Patten
"I read the book, The Gift by Gary W. Schmelz. I thought that this book is very good. It describes the ocean life in so much detail that it feels as if you are there in person. The story is very entertaining, yet educational at the same time. I think this book will be enjoyed by a lot of readers, especiallyif they like science ficiton books."
- Melissa Mejia