Greenwillow Books (Hardcover), ISBN 0060730242

Ida B Applewood of Lawson's Grove, Wisconsin, spends carefree days exploring her family's orchard with her dog Rufus, a.k.a. The King of Slobberville. She talks to the brook, and she names and confides in the trees, welcoming their advice. When one particularly obstreperous tree warns that "hard times are coming," the young girl worries at first but later dismisses the prediction as simply warning of a brewing storm.

The storm may blow over but Ida B's troubles are just beginning. Loving parents home-schooled Ida B since her disastrous first few weeks as a kindergarten student. But her mother's illness forces Ida B to return to public school. Fortunately Ida's caring teacher knows just what the 9-year-old needs, even if Ida B herself can't admit it. When their teacher realizes Ida's math skills could be put to work to help a struggling classmate with his multiplication tables, the young girl finds a friend.

Whether terrorizing a family who dares to build a house on property Mr. Applewood sold to pay for his wife's medical treatment or daydreaming in the orchard, the young heroine of Katherine Hannigan's first novel speaks in a voice both sassy and melodic. Ida B pouts and complains about school and struggles mightily with her family's choices, and we listen.

This story of a stubborn youngster's struggle to make sense of her changing world makes a great classroom or parent-child read-aloud. A vivacious and imaginative book, Ida B will delight middle-grade readers and their adults. And remarkably, nothing in this delightfully honest story prevents younger siblings from listening along.

Augusta Scattergood

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