Synopsis "The Land Across The Stream"
When Emily discovers an enchanted land in the forest, it changes her lonely life forever. Emily never met her father, her angry mother drinks too much, and try as she might to take care of herself, the other kids mock her unruly hair and old clothes. When Emily meets a group of bullies who taunt the fact that she has no one to love her, Emily runs into the woods and cries like she's never cried before. She sobs so hard that her pain comes flowing out of her mouth in a dark ghostly apparition called a Glimmer. As the Glimmer wafts over a stream, Emily, both horrified and shaken, looks up to see a little cat with the sweetest rosebud face staring at her. When Emily follows the cat to her home across the stream, she meets trees who speak by thrumming and animals who teach her about both love and courage.Emily learns that Destiny, one of the laws of Magic, drew her to this land. Darkness, an ancient evil force, feeds on Magic; leaving despair where there was once joy and beauty. Darkness threatens to destroy the enchanted land, where Emily has finally found love and belonging, as well as her own world. Emily travels to Darkness Edge, where the malicious force has taken the form of a writhing crater. It spews a deadly fog whose touch slowly bleeds life and Magic from its victims. Whole forests have been destroyed; for miles animals lay waiting for death from despair. Although the landscape becomes increasingly cold and forsaken, Emily is warmed by the tenderness of her traveling companions. Emily realizes that to save all that she holds dear, she must face the thing she fears the most; the Glimmer holding all her pain.The author has made available a detailed description of how to use The Land across the Stream to teach children how mindfulness can be used to achieve emotional regulation. You can find this on her website: www.amydfrankel.com
