About the Author

Gloria Whelan is becoming quite a presence on our list with her National Book Award winner HOMELESS BIRD, her solid backlist of historical fiction titles, and the upcoming publication of AFTER THE TRAIN.

Reviews

"With a nod to Twain's The Prince and the Pauper, Burnett's The Secret Garden, and Spyri's Heidi, Whelan spins a tale full of mystery and intrigue. - The Horn Book"In the tradition of Frances Hodgson Burnett. An old-fashioned and enjoyable read." - School Library Journal"Fueled with old-fashioned girl power." - ALA Booklist (starred review)

Gr 4-8-Orphaned by the influenza epidemic in British East Africa in 1919, 13-year-old Rachel is sent by conniving neighbors to visit an elderly man in England, passing as their daughter-his granddaughter-to pave the way for their return and the inheritance of his estate. The daughter of a missionary doctor and his wife, Rachel has grown up connected to the African countryside and people. Terrified that to reveal her secret would hasten Grandfather Pritchard's death, and fearing life in an orphanage, she goes along with her new identity as Valerie Pritchard. But she cannot help but get involved with his love for the birds on his land, and she entertains him with stories about what is happening outside his sickroom and what kinds of things her "friend Rachel" saw in their African world. In the tradition of Frances Hodgson Burnett, this is a satisfying story of an intelligent but unassuming girl who wins the heart of an elderly man who is not such a fool as his wastrel son might think. Woven throughout are descriptions of the natural world and the people of what is now Kenya, as well as the surroundings of an early-20th-century English estate. Rachel's love for her rural African world is convincing, and readers will be gratified by the way she contrives to return and continue her parents' work. An old-fashioned and enjoyable read.-Kathleen Isaacs, Towson University, MD Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.