May/June 2002

Story·Max Strebel, age 12 — A girl befriends bear cubs, discovers her taxidermist father killed their mother, and years later must choose between saving him from a bear attack or protecting the animal.

Story·Rebekah Carbajal, age 12 — A boy complaining about chores falls asleep and wakes in the past where he must work on a farm, learning to appreciate modern conveniences.

Story·Zhang He, age 12 — A girl falsely accuses her best friend of stealing her birthday watch, destroys their friendship, then discovers the watch under her bed months later.

Story·Marie Agnello, age 12 — A twelve-year-old discovers seventy-five letters from 1919-1923 between her great-grandmother and a French pen pal, Cécile, who died at age twenty.

Poetry·Alexa Bryn, age 11 — A granddaughter observes her grandfather's dementia, as Holocaust memories resurface while present moments fade, yet his gentle spirit and their bond remain intact.

Story·Lyra Mulhern, age 13 — A girl's special day with her father is interrupted when he brings home an abused horse, and she discovers her calling in helping the animal heal.

Story·Hilary Miller, age 13 — A Thai girl defies her overprotective mother to save their home by selling the family's beloved mango tree to pay off the mortgage.

Story·Lucy Lumsdaine, age 13 — After her mother's death, a girl obsessively fills her life with activities until a poetry assignment about sadness breaks through her denial.

Book Review·Barry Denenberg, Reviewed by Cassy Charyn — One Eye Laughing, the Other Weeping: The Diary of Julie Weiss by Barry Denenberg; Scholastic, Inc.: New York, 2000; $12.95 When someone says the word “Jewish” do you feel a...