Synopses & Reviews
Ten-year-old Comfort Snowberger has attended 247 funerals. But that's not surprising, considering that her family runs the town funeral home. And even though Great-uncle Edisto keeled over with a heart attack and Great-great-aunt Florentine dropped dead--just like that--six months later, Comfort knows how to deal with loss, or so she thinks. She's more concerned with avoiding her crazy cousin Peach and trying to figure out why her best friend, Declaration, suddenly won't talk to her. Life is full of surprises. And the biggest one of all is learning what it takes to handle them.
Deborah Wiles has created a unique, funny, and utterly real cast of characters in this heartfelt, and quintessentially Southern coming-of-age novel. Comfort will charm young readers with her wit, her warmth, and her struggles as she learns about life, loss, and ultimately, triumph.
Review
"This sweet story has an old-fashioned feel."
—Booklist
Review
"This sweet story has an old-fashioned feel."
—Booklist
"Piper Lee is an instantly likable, flawed character with a good heart. Hand this one to kids who want realistic fiction with just a dash of excitement."
—School Library Journal
"Winget's poignantly flawed characters and honest emotional circumstances draw readers into a story that feels like its set in a simpler time and place."
—Publishers Weekly
"Piper's voice is authentically youthful, as are her questionable decisions, and plenty of kids will find common ground with her as she struggles with her mother's remarriage and with the fact that her father is gone for good."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Synopsis
In this warm and witty middle-grade debut set in the deep South, ten-year-old Piper Lee struggles to accept her daddy's death, her mama's upcoming marriage, and the new step-family that will come along with it. But when her plan to call off the wedding spirals out of control, Piper Lee must face the consequences and figure out how to fix things.
Synopsis
Whether she likes it or not, ten-year-old Piper Lee DeLuna is about to get a new family. Four years after the plane Piper's daddy was piloting disappeared, her mama is remarrying. The way Piper sees it, Mama's being plain disloyal. Besides, who'd want to get stuck with a prison guard for a stepdad and that weenie, Ginger, for a stepsister? But when Piper Lee hatches a foolproof plan to get the wedding called off, it quickly spirals out of control. And by the time Piper realizes what shes done—and just how much she really cares about her new family—it might be too late. Told in Piper Lee's irresistible Southern voice, A Smidgen of Sky is about new families and new beginnings.
Synopsis
Ruby Lavender and Miss Eula are a pretty good team, for a couple of chicken thieves. What other granddaughter-grandmother duo could successfully drive the getaway car for chickens rescued from a journey to the slaughterhouse, paint a whole house shocking pink, and operate their own personal secret-letter post office?
So, when Miss Eula leaves for Hawaii to visit her new grandbaby, Ruby is sure that she will have a lonely, empty, horrible summer in boring old Halleluia, Mississippi. What happens instead? She makes a new friend, saves the school play, writes plenty of letters to her favorite (and only) grandmother . . . and finally learns to stop blaming herself for her grandfather's death. Not too bad, for a nine-year-old.
Synopsis
Ten-year-old Comfort Snowberger learns about life's surprises in this funny, poignant, and very Southern coming-of-age story.
Synopsis
Fourth grade is tough for self-deprecating misfit Ida May when her quirky best friend moves away
Synopsis
As Ida May begins fourth grade, she is determined never to make another best friend--because her last best friend moved away.and#160;This is a doable plan at first. Thanks to bratty, bossy Jenna Drews who hates Ida, no one in class has ever really noticed her before.and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;It's when the sparkly Stacey Merriweather comes to her school that her plan goes awry. Ida reaches out despite her fear, butand#160;doesn'tand#160;say helloand#151;instead she writes Stacey anonymous notes.and#160;Soon their friendship develops without Ida ever having to reveal her real identity. Until she has no choice.and#160;And that's when the true friendship begins.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;Debut author Julie Bowe tells a charming story that will win the heart of any girl who's faced her fear sideways.
About the Author
Julie Bowe grew up in Luck, Wisconsin. Actually, she grew up "out of Luck"-about a mile and a half. As a fourth grader, she basically hated math and sports, but she loved to read and draw, and hoped to be an artist some day. Today she still feels a distinct aversion to numbers and athletic equipment. But she still loves to read and likes to think that she makes pictures with her writing. She also still lives in Wisconsin.