May/June 2005
— A five-year-old's joy at her first ballet recital turns to tears when she's the only dancer without flowers, until her grandmother picks a makeshift bouquet from the grounds.
— The Angel’s Command by Brian Jacques; Philomel Books: New York, 2003; $23.99 I was excited yet worried throughout most of this book. When the La Petite Marie first set sail...
— A young ranch hand fired for accidentally burning a barn struggles to find work until one rancher gives him a second chance, leading to his vindication when the real arsonist...
— At dusk, a writer sits on a cold rock sketching the last light while frogs sing, watching her huge shadow wave across the page as darkness falls.
— A girl finds escape and identity through playing her dusty family piano, culminating in a Christmas Eve performance where she becomes one with the instrument.
— Two friends visit an aquarium and walk the pier, where floating red roses on gray ocean water prompt reflection on breaking patterns.
— The Blue Roan Child by Jamieson Findlay; Scholastic, Inc.: New York, 2oo4; $16.95 Imagine this: you are an orphan and you work in a horse stable owned by Kind Hulvere....
— A skilled hunter rejected by her village for not conforming to gender roles discovers a cloud city where women hunt and men weave, then returns home to acceptance.
— A girl ice-skating encounters a mysterious stag who leads her and her pony on a dangerous journey through frozen streams to discover a secret clearing that becomes hers.
— During the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, a young girl saves a lost child while fleeing through the chaos of Pompeii's destruction.