About the Author

Patricia Reilly Giff is the author of many beloved books for children, including the Kids of the Polk Street School books, the Friends and Amigos books, and the Polka Dot Private Eye books. Her novels for middle-grade readers include The Gift of the Pirate Queen and Lily's Crossing, a Newbery Honor Book and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book. Nory Ryan's Song, her most recent book for Delacorte, was an ALA Notable Book and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Patricia Reilly Giff lives in Weston, Connecticut.

Reviews

Newbery Honor novelist Giff (Lily's Crossing) brings together two appealing young characters in this story of friendship, family and finding where one belongs. When fire destroys the apple crop on his family's upstate New York farm in 1941, Brick's parents must find work elsewhere and send their son to live temporarily in Brooklyn with Loretta, an old friend. Loretta, a nurse, years before adopted a young polio victim, Mariel, whom she had cared for in a hospital located near Brick's family's farm. Though she loves Loretta, the girl is determined to find her birth mother, of whom she has faint memories. Mariel is drawn to the likable Brick, yet initially her embarrassment at her polio-scarred legs (which, in her mind, "curved like the pretzels in Jordan's candy store") prevents her from talking to him. But when he shares his resolve to return home to help a beloved elderly neighbor harvest his apple crop, Mariel encourages him to make the journey. Impulsively, she decides to accompany him and to visit the hospital where she was taken when stricken with polio, hoping to find clues to her mother's identity. The pieces of the plot snap together a bit too easily and snugly as Giff solves each youngster's dilemma. More credible is the emotion that runs high and affectingly throughout the narrative, as well as the many period details. Ages 8-12. (Oct.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Gr 4-6-The year is 1941; the Dodgers are vying for the pennant, and Mariel lives just blocks from Ebbets Field. Though she is happy with her "almost mother" Loretta, she is preoccupied with who her birth mother was. Hospitalized in Windy Hill with polio at age four, she was lovingly nursed back to health by Loretta, a nurse who subsequently adopted her. Now Brick, Loretta's friend's son, is coming to stay with them because a fire has destroyed his father's apple orchard, forcing his parents to find work elsewhere. Unhappy as the boy is to be sent away, he is further tortured because he helped Claude, a grandfatherly neighbor, save his orchard while his own family's trees burned. Though Brick is determined to get back to his town 200 miles away to help Claude harvest the apples before winter, he and Mariel become fast friends, and he is not bothered by her legs that curve "like the pretzels." The children run off to save Claude's apples and solve the mystery of Mariel's past. Claude invites Brick to stay on and gives him a sizable orchard of his own. Mariel, finally at peace with herself, returns to Brooklyn. Children will understand the protagonist's self-consciousness about her misshapen legs and her wish to be like the other kids. They will applaud her spunk and admire Brick's loyalty and determination. Giff's writing is filled with wonderful details that appeal to all of the senses. Readers experience the treacherous fire just as realistically as they cheer when Mariel catches a fly ball. A compelling story of two unforgettable youngsters, their strength, and their friendship.-Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.