The Namer of Spirits Paperback – October 4, 2021

A delightful read. Ash, a twelve-year-old girl with a very special ability, is relatable, kind, and just a little bit sad. After befriending the dao fora, a people guided by ancient natural wisdom living in Sky Trees, she embarks on a quest to save her magical world with an extraordinary Puppy and regal mist creatures. In the NAMER OF SPIRITS, Mitchell spins a fabulous story drawing sharp parallels between a magical world in peril due to poverty, greed, fear, and despair and our own, tenuous Planet Earth. All while managing to end on a hopeful note.

As with Mitchell's The Last Panther, I absolutely loved this book! For any parent or educator looking for resources to teach young readers about complex environmental concerns, this story offers an amazing hook. The young protagonist Ash and the companions she meets along her journey will both challenge and inspire readers to consider perspectives that differ from their own and to explore the layers of responsibility that drive climate change impacts. The story is an exciting adventure in a fantasy world filled with imaginative, memorable characters and encounters but also an exploration of the patterns of human behavior that influence our decision-making and systems. It is a beautiful recognition of our psychological connections to the earth and a guide for spiritually reconnecting with and valuing the plants, animals, and other humans we share it with. This is a story for all young readers and educators who care about the planet!-Rebecca L. Young, Confronting Climate Crises through Education: Reading Our Way Forward & Literature as a Lens for Climate Change: Using Narratives to Prepare the Next Generation

My son and I read this together and were riveted. My son is 9 and enjoys advanced-level fantasy, including Harry Potter and Wings of Fire, and he loved the characters and storyline as much as the unique fantastical elements. As a parent, it was so fun to ask him questions about what he thought was happening and what he thought would happen in the story; he was completely engrossed and understood the book's observations about water, agriculture, trees, and human integrity. Overall, this is a beautifully written and relevant must-read for anyone who is interested in the future of agriculture, believes in the strength of the human spirit, and appreciates a good adventure along the way.

Todd Mitchell has done it again! The Namer of Spirits is a gorgeous MG eco-fantasy that explores a significant environmental issue. His compelling narration guides readers through twelve-year-old Ash Narro’s adventure of self-discovery. To save her village, she must maneuver opposing sides of rainforest destruction and its consequences. Along the way she befriends a boy who should be her enemy, tames a spirit trying to destroy her home, and discovers her power to shape what things become with her words. Mitchell models the social and ecological complexities of deforestation for young readers with intelligence and compassion, revealing our shared humanity, and that even the smallest of us has the power to bring balance and healing to our world. Highly recommend!

A fantastic journey into pressing ecological concerns and how we orient ourselves among them! While the message is not subtle (nor should it be, given the middle-grade audience), the narrative and themes are multi-faceted and nuanced, sensitively evoking layer upon layer of the realities of deforestation, economics, climate change, and identity. These layers find expression in relatable, relevant characters that fill the narrative with tension, humor, wonder, hope, and heartache. Expertly crafted and sensitively handled from start to finish, in The Namer of Spirits Mitchell weaves an accessible, compelling, fecund, and sensitive narrative that should be appealing to both middle grade and adult audiences!

In The Namer of Spirits, Todd Mitchell has created a wonderful and beautiful world that can also be terrifying and brutal. Twelve-year-old Ash is catapulted from her ordinary life, to one where she encounters magic, as well as good and evil, as she searches for the solutions to the devastation her world is experiencing. With a gentle, deft touch, Mitchell allows his hero to find her true self, and her true friends, while literally saving the world. Generous doses of humor and puppy love keep the story light while exploring the scary people and events Ash must confront.

I was captivated in the first pages and didn't want to put it down. Beautiful imagery, if only the story wasn't it was so close to today's truth in the Amazon. Hopefully this story will help the next generation to take action and speak out to save the environment. A great read!

I bought this book for one of my children, but once I started reading it I was spellbound by the story of Ash, a girl with unique abilities to name and tame spirits, and her quest to save her village. This is a book that kids of all ages and adults will love for the lyrical writing and for the subtle ecological message.