September/October 2009
— The Wright 3, by Blue Balliett; Scholastic Press: New York, 2006; $16.99 The second mystery in a trilogy comprising Chasing Vermeer and The Calder Game, The Wright 3 stars two...
— After losing a theater role, a girl flees to a creek where nature's calm gradually soothes her devastation and helps her find peace.
— A young Egyptian girl yearns to help build Pharaoh Cheops' pyramid while managing household duties and missing her parents, who return unexpectedly at story's end.
— A twelve-year-old girl struggles with her widowed father's engagement to Jessica, fearing the loss of their special bond, until the wedding ceremony reveals she's being invited into a new family,...
— A peaceful pond scene transforms when a dead swan is discovered, prompting questions about death, grief, and the aggressive mourning behavior of its companions.
— A young cellist faces performance anxiety before a school concert, finding that the music transforms his fear into something better than summer itself.
— A girl finds an abandoned black lab in the woods with a note asking someone to care for him, then encounters him a year later, happy with a new family.
— The Dragonfly Pool, by Eva Ibbotson; Dutton Children’s Books: New York, 2008; $17.99 I’m not a big fan of fantasy books. So when I flipped through The Dragonfly Pool and...
— A sparrow clan leader, haunted by his mate's death, flees when his son faces the same predator—but the son survives to lead the clan home while the father finds healing...
— A single yellow leaf spirals down in an autumn forest, becoming a bright spot of color among the brown fallen leaves on a cloudy day.