Birdy by N West Moss

I need to try and be happier—but I don’t know how

When they told her that her mother had finally died, Birdy lay on the floor of the McGraths’ apartment (they had been next-door neighbors for Birdy’s whole life), sirens wailing outside, and thought the world would stop, but it hadn’t. After a while, she heard noise on the street below: people shouting, taxis honking. The world kept spinning. When the McGraths brought home chocolate ice cream that night, it tasted good, which was surprising. Life moved forward.

Birdy (her real name is May) and her brother Mouse (his real name is Michael) are sent to live with distant, elderly relatives named Mitzie and Shadow. Birdy is told this is temporary until a foster family can be found. She is told she will be able to stay with her precious brother - they won't be separated. But are these things true. What if Birdy and Mouse are separated? What if these strangers don't like her? 

The urgent thing was to stay together. The only thing they carried with them of any value now was one another.

She thought of saying a lot of things, like thank you for taking us and thanks for keeping us together and thank you for coming all the way to New York City even with your husband in the hospital, and for not asking a lot of questions, but Birdy hated saying thank you all the time. It made her feel needy, which she guessed she was. “Okay,” she said again, to fill the quiet of her missing thank-yous.

Birdy wondered why Mitzie and Shadow wanted them. She had thought maybe they were broke and wanted kids there to do chores. Why else would two old people take kids into their house? It didn’t seem like that, though—they didn’t seem broke.

Birdy is on high alert. She has been ever since her mum became ill. Taking care of Mouse is her responsibility. In a way Birdie has never had the chance to be a child - to play, to laugh, to make friends or to have fun. 

She tried not to think about her mom dying all alone in the hospital without the two of them there, coughing a lot probably, no one to hold her hand. The painful thoughts spooled out from Birdy like she was a ball of misery twine. She didn’t want to think about how much she missed her mother, or how mad she was at her for dying, or for being so sad, or for leaving Birdy in charge all the time. She was mad at her mother for having to work so much, and for being impatient.

As is often the way with stories like this there are so many heart-wrenching misunderstandings. These of course give this story so much tension that you will just keep turning pages desperate for that all important, happy ending.

One of the most beautiful (and teary moments) in this story comes when Birdy visits the charity shop. She is looking for new clothes but we know she also loves to read. One of the staff offers her The Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt but Birdy says no (inside my heart I was telling Birdie to say yes). 

“We just got a whole set of the Tillerman Cycle books.” When Birdy didn’t say anything, he said, “They’re old I guess, but my sister loved them. With this kid named Dicey who runs away from home with her brothers and sisters.” That sounded interesting, but Birdy tried to act like she wasn’t listening. ... “I can give you a deal if you want the set.” Birdy waved her hand and hunched over and walked as fast as she could to the register, carrying her clothes in her arms. She didn’t have seven dollars to buy all those books. Forget it. Go away, she thought. GO AWAY. ... “Hey,” he said to Birdy. “We have to make room for new books just coming in, and if you want these you can have the whole set for a dollar.” His voice trailed off. “If you want.” He waited. “I checked with my boss and she said it was fine. A dollar for all seven.” 

I guarantee you will fall in love with the characters in this story and with the kindness offered by Mitzie, Shadow and most of all by the new uncle the kids meet - a guy named Clay. Then there is teenage camp counsellor named Bruce - I just wanted to hug him for his kindness, sensitivity and emotional intelligence.

He was really looking at them, like they were the only people in the world and he was seriously interested in them. He looked at them like he had all the time in the world, like there was nothing better on earth to do than to spend time right there with them in the driveway. So, this was her mother’s brother.

I added this book to my Kindle because Colby Sharp highly recommended it and BOY oh boy he was right. N West Moss is actually Nanette West Moss and this is not her first book but it is her first Middle Grade book.

There's something oddly comforting about this story. Maybe I just want to hang out with Mitzi while she bakes in the kitchen. Ms Yingling

Bookseller blurb: Eleven-year-old Birdy and her younger brother, Mouse, have always looked out for each other. They make the perfect team: Birdy is realistic and practical, while Mouse is affable and trusting. After their mother dies of cancer, Birdy and Mouse are forced to move out of the city to the country with relatives they've never met. Aunt Mitzie and Uncle Shadow's house is full of organized chaos, and it takes Birdy time to adjust to having adults around. But the kitchen is always stocked, and both kids are allowed to play outside as often as they want. There's only one problem: it's all temporary. Their social worker has promised to find them a permanent home by the next school year, whether they want to leave or not. As the summer unfolds, Mouse starts to feel attached to their new life. But Birdy knows better-adults have never been reliable. When Birdy's fears get the best of her, she makes a big mistake that could jeopardize their future.

Here are two more beautiful quotes:

It was peaceful, like they were healing up after a long illness or something. A thought was forming in the back of Birdy’s mind (one she wouldn’t understand completely until later) that maybe sitting with your brother, or whoever loves you most in the world, is how a person grieves. Piling little rocks and leaves and feathers on top of one another can make you start to feel like your chest isn’t collapsing. While she was looking for stuff to pile on top of other stuff, she had a sense of what “better” might feel like and how to steer toward it.

It was a sudden feeling that inflated something in her, like drinking too much soda in one gulp. She didn’t want to like him. She knew that hope was a dangerous thing that could make you feel especially good and then when the truth of things came out, however high up your hope had taken you was how far down you would fall.

Companion books:

Missing May

Same Stuff as Stars

The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman

One for the Murphys

The Higher Power of Lucky

Something like Home

Pictures of Hollis Woods

The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko

There are two tiny hints on the first page of this book that tell you something is not quite right - that Hank and his three-year-old sister Boo (short for Bridget) are all alone. 

"Grandma Mae taught me how. She said a big brother has to know how to change diapers in case his mom forgets."

"I don’t want to run into anyone who might ask about Mom."

Grandma May - past tense - so she is gone and clearly mum is not there either but why? How long has mum been gone? Hank is only eleven - do these kids have money? Is there any other family they can call on for help? AND then there is a dreadful knock on the door:

“Open the door. Mrs. Hooperman. Geri! Geri Hooperman.” He bang-bang-bangs. “I know you’re in there, Mrs. Hooperman. And I have every right to enter the premises.” He rattles the doorknob. Boo puts her hands over her ears and burrows into my leg. We get in the shower stall, but we can still hear. “You owe six months’ rent, Mrs. Hooperman. I’ve given you multiple warnings. We have started eviction proceedings. I need payment in full by tomorrow morning or you and your kids will be forcibly removed. Did you hear that, Mrs. Hooperman?” He slaps the door."

Hank knows that he has to leave. Mum has disappeared before but never for a whole week. On his field trip permission form (yes he had to miss the field trip) his mother wrote a name and an address. Hank knows Lou Ann was a friend to his late grandmother. Early the next morning they set off. The journey takes all day and several bus changes until eventually they arrive and while this place feels safe it also feels very temporary.

"Why is my life a Would You Rather game? Not a funny one, like Would you rather have a cute girl tell you your fly is down or announce to everyone that you have dragon breath? Mine is, Would you rather be evicted or take a bus for four hours to a person’s house you don’t know?"

Finally let's go back to the title. The tenth mistake. Here a quote to explain this (without tell you Hank's worst mistake):

"I hate making mistakes. Little ones are not so bad. You forget to write your name on your homework. On a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst, that’s a level two. You can survive a level two mistake. You don’t get credit for doing the assignment that day. Big deal. But mistakes on the eight, nine, or ten level…they’ll take you out. You forget to hold your little sister’s hand and she runs in front of a car. TEN! TEN! TEN! I never did that, but I came close. Even an almost TEN! is terrifying. I don’t want to choose wrong. But doing nothing can be a mistake too."

One of the many parts of this book that I truly loved was the way the other kids at Hank's new school were so fantastic - thank goodness he didn't have to encounter an awful bully as happens so often in realistic fiction books like this one. I just wanted to hug Ana, Carmen, Legend, Tadeo and Quincy.  And of course Ray, the man next door is a true hero in this story. He felt so real I actually thought about writing him a thank you letter.

The best part of this, which Choldenko mentions in the end notes, is that the kids at school are accepting of Hank, even when he can't tell them everything about his life. They are kind, understanding, and help out when they can. Even Tadeo, Ray's nephew who is jealous of Hank for several reasons, is nice to him. Ms Yingling

There are also small but deeply moving acts of kindness in this story - a lady on the bus gives Hank exact instructions about how to find Lou Ann's house; his mum's hairdresser has no idea where mum has gone but she carefully recuts Hank's hair after the disastrous one from Lou Ann; Coach P recognises Hank has a talent for basketball (you can see that on the cover); Carmen invites him to sit with her group on his first day at lunch time (this is huge); and there is always the nutty up nutty down song:

“Nutty up, nutty down, nutty turn yourself around. Nutty pillow, nutty bed, nutty covers over your head,” and she climbs in bed. Then I hold her hand until she falls asleep."

This book will break your heart. I was so invested in this story but I had to keep telling myself Gennifer Choldenko is sure to rescue Hank by the end of the book and yes, she does but not in a saccharine or contrived way - thank goodness. 

Publisher's Weekly said: "A gut-punch tale that is by turns heartbreaking and hopeful.” 

One of the most complex characters in this book is Lou Ann. She loves little Boo right from the start when the two kids turn up at her door late at night, but she is on her guard about Hank. He is tall for his age. He looks like a teenager. We only get glimpses of this, but it seems Lou Ann had a very bad time with her own teenage son - whatever happened all those years ago she has never recovered. 

I kept hoping Hank was misinterpreting Lou Ann's reactions and discipline and seeming lack of kindness or compassion. I expected a big scene at the end where Lou Ann would reach out a hug Hank and that he would understand her better but, my reading friend, that does not happen - and I am glad. How wonderful to not be able to predict the ending.

Several times each week I catch a bus to the city. It is about a 50-minute trip so it is good to have a book to read. I have loaded quite a few recommended US titles because, yes they have been recommended, but also it is often impossible or impossibly expensive to obtain the print copies of these here in Australia. (Note the paperback of The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman will be available here next month).

Yesterday I started reading The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman. I read it going to the city, I read it coming home, I read it before bed, I read it at 2am and I finished it over breakfast! YES, you know what I am going to say because I have said it before, this book is THAT GOOD! And the final chapter will make you sob.

Publisher blurb: When eleven-year-old Hank’s mom doesn’t come home, he takes care of his toddler sister, Boo, like he always does. But it’s been a week now. They are out of food and mom has never stayed away this long… Hank knows he needs help, so he and Boo seek out the stranger listed as their emergency contact. But asking for help has consequences. It means social workers, and a new school, and having to answer questions about his mom that he’s been trying to keep secret. And if they can’t find his mom soon, Hank and Boo may end up in different foster homes–he could lose everything. Gennifer Choldenko has written a heart-wrenching, healing, and ultimately hopeful story about how complicated family can be. About how you can love someone, even when you can’t rely on them. And about the transformative power of second chances.

IF I have not convinced you that this is a book you will love please take a look/listen to Colby Sharp talking about The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman. AND please read the Kirkus Star review too.

This book might remind you of The Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt. Here are some other companion books:

The Boy in the Suit

Small as an Elephant

Almost Home

The Star outside my window

You can see more books by Gennifer Choldenko. I previously LOVED these books:

No passengers beyond this point

Dogtown and Mouse and His dog

The Magpie Riddle: A Goldfish Boy Mystery by Lisa Thompson

Melody and her mum live in a Chestnut Close. The houses form a semi circle and so naturally everyone knows everyone. Near the street there is a old graveyard and Melody likes to wander through with her dog Frankie. Melody has one friend in the street - a boy called Matthew. We met him in the first book. Jake also lives in Chestnut Close but he speaks very bluntly to Melody and he almost feels like a bully at times. He also seems to be taking Matthew away from Melody. Then Melody meets Hal. Hal is a boy with a strange story. He is living in an old abandoned house at the back of the graveyard. He tells Melody he works for a spy agency and that he is reporting on the activities of a jewelry thief. Some of his story seems quite impossible but Hal persuades Melody that he does work for MI8 and he enlists her help to decode mysterious riddles that are left in the graveyard.

Melody, herself, has her own life problems. Her father left the family some time ago in awful circumstances. Now mum is trying to sell their house. Melody misses Matthew too.

A neighbor decides everyone should help to clear up some weeds in the graveyard but Melody is worried the adults will find Hal. She needs to call on Matthew and also Jake to help her move Hal into an empty house in Chestnut Close. But Mr Charles has the only key and Mr Charles also seems to be holding onto a letter from Melody's dad. 

Blurb from author page: Melody Bird has discovered an old, abandoned house in the corner of the graveyard, and a mysterious boy called Hal who is hiding out there… Hal tells her that he’s a spy-in-training, using the house as a base for his undercover surveillance of a known local criminal. Her friends Matthew and Jake don’t believe that a teenager would be entrusted with this mission and turn the tables to spy on him, uncovering secrets and unravelling a mystery as they go.

In the US this book has a different cover and title:

Take a look at the Kirkus review

I confess I wrecked my own reading of this book by, early into the reading experience, jumping to the final pages to preview the ending. My reaction to this book is less positive than the first installment. There were a few too many 'issues' and the idea (spoiler alert) that a child could be totally hidden from the system seems a little too farfetched. If this was at all possible I needed Hal to be more confused about 'real life' and also I did worry that he was not getting enough food! My labels on this post will give you some idea of the 'issues' faced by the main characters.

When I spotted this book I recognised the series - The Goldfish Boy. Here is my previous post:

The Goldfish Boy

Kirkus Star review

Here is the third book in the series and I think Lisa Thompson has a plan for a fourth title:

Blurb: When a skeleton is found buried in an elderly neighbour’s garden, Matthew, Melody and Jake are determined to discover its identity and who was responsible for its death. At the same time, the long-lost son of the neighbour arrives, with his young son in tow. But are the pair really who they are claiming to be – or are they imposters? As the kids investigate, they uncover incredible secrets and a plot to stash some priceless jewels on the Close…

Here is the webpage for Lisa Thompson. I do think this series have very appealing covers. 

The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron Illustrated by Matt Phelan

Here is a word from this book which I love - splendiferousness

Lucky has never met her dad. Her mum died from a freak accident when she stepped on some electrical wires that had blown down in a severe storm. Lucky was only eight when this happened and so she has lots of unanswered questions. Lucky's father was previously married in France. When Lucky's mother dies, he asks his first wife to come and take care of Lucky. Brigitte does come but she thinks this will only be needed for a short time until a foster parent is found. Brigitte has come from France and so she faces an enormous shock when she finds herself in Hard Pan, California - population 43. This place is in the desert and Lucky and Brigitte live in a set of joined trailers. 

It is very clear Brigitte loves and cares for Lucky but Lucky is filled with doubt. She is sure Brigitte misses her own mother back in Fance and that one day, possibly very soon, Brigitte will leave. Lucky is desperate to stop this happening so she hits on a plan to run away expecting this to somehow convince Brigitte that she is needed.

Lucky has two young friends. A small boy named Miles who has been sent to live with his grandmother. Miles loves cookies and one special book - Are you my Mother?  I loved this book when I was a small child too. The trouble is Miles, aged five, cannot read and so he keeps asking Lucky and her other friend Lincoln to read it for him. Lincoln is a wise friend but his obsession is knots. Lucky does appreciate his wise words but she also is a frustrated with his focus on knots. Lucky also has a special loyal dog named HMS Beagle.

Here are some text quotes:

A breeze rattled the found object wind chimes at the Found Object Wind Chime Museum and Visitor Center, and the high desert air carried that sound in front of it, all the way across town, down to the three trailers at the very end of Hard Pan. Just the sound of those chimes made Lucky feel cooler. But she still had doubts and anxious questions in all the crevices of her brain, especially about how to find her Higher Power. If she could only find it, Lucky was pretty sure she’d be able to figure out the difference between the things she could change and the things she couldn’t, like in the little prayer of the anonymous people. Because sometimes Lucky wanted to change everything, all the bad things that had happened, and sometimes she wanted everything to stay the same forever.

Lucky got Brigitte as her Guardian when she was eight years old. The reason was that Lucille, Lucky’s mother, went outside one morning after a big rainstorm, and she touched some power lines that had blown down in the storm. She touched them with her foot.

Or, let’s say that her Guardian just gave up and quit because Lucky did something terrible. The difference between a Guardian and an actual mom is that a mom can’t resign. A mom has the job for life. But a Guardian like Brigitte could probably just say, “Well, that’s about it for this job. I’m going back to France now. Au revoir.” There poor Lucky would be, standing alone in the kitchen trailer, at rock bottom. Then she would have to search for her own Higher Power and do a fearless and searching moral inventory of herself, just like Short Sammy and all the other anonymous people had had to do.

Her eyes, skin, and hair, including her wispy straight eyebrows, were all the same color, a color Lucky thought of as sort of sandy or mushroomy. The story she told herself to explain it was that on the day before her birth, the color enzymes were sorting themselves in big vats. Unfortunately, Lucky decided to be born a little ahead of schedule, and the enzymes weren’t quite finished sorting—there was only one color-vat ready and the color in that vat was sandy-mushroom. So Lucky got dipped in it, head to toe, there being no time for nice finishing touches like green eyes or black hair, and then, wham, she was born and it was too late except for a few freckles.

Seen from a little distance, Lincoln looked better, in Lucky’s opinion—you could imagine how he’d look when he grew into his ears. Like, as he got older his head wouldn’t look as big and his neck would definitely look less scrawny. So far he didn’t look like a president, which was what his mother was hoping and which was why she named him Lincoln Clinton Carter Kennedy. Lucky knew he’d rather be president of the International Guild of Knot Tyers. Mothers have their good sides, their bad sides, and their wacky sides, but Lucky figured Lincoln’s mother had no way of knowing at the time he was born that he would turn out to be so dedicated about knots.

She suddenly understood that she’d been doing everything backward. She’d thought you looked for your Higher Power and when you found it you got special knowledge—special insight—about how the world works, and why people die, and how to keep bad things from happening. But now she knew that wasn’t the right order of things. Over and over at the anonymous meetings she’d heard people tell how their situation had gotten worse and worse and worse until they’d hit rock bottom. Only after they’d hit rock bottom did they get control of their lives. And then they found their Higher Power.

There are sad moments and moments of great tension in this story but there are also some very funny events such as the snake in the clothes drier (Brigitte is terrified of snakes); and when Lincoln decides he needs to fix the sign outside town - "Slow children at play" to say "Slow, children at play". The free government food is hideous but also utterly crazy especially the tasteless yellow cheese. 

The Higher Power of Lucky has 160 pages so it is a very quick book to read but somehow I just didn't want it to end. And I was so pleased that I totally wrongly predicted the ending. 

There has been some controversy about this book in the US because early in the story Lucky overhears one of the people speaking at the 12 Steps Program (she loves to hear the stories from people with various addictions about how they found their 'High Power' after hitting 'rock bottom'. Short Sammy's story involves his dog and a snake and includes the word 'scrotum'. Lucky listens outside the Found Object Wind Chime Museum and Visitor Center, where she works clearing up rubbish after each group comes for their meeting. Read an interview with Susan Patron here about this issue. Sadly, Susan Patron died in 2023. You can read more about the plot and find discussion questions on the publisher page. 

Publisher blurb: Lucky, age ten, can't wait another day. The meanness gland in her heart and the crevices full of questions in her brain make running away from Hard Pan, California (population 43), the rock-bottom only choice she has. It's all Brigitte's fault -- for wanting to go back to France. Guardians are supposed to stay put and look after girls in their care! Instead, Lucky is sure that she'll be abandoned to some orphanage in Los Angeles where her beloved dog, HMS Beagle, won't be allowed. She'll have to lose her friends Miles, who lives on cookies, and Lincoln, future U.S. president (maybe) and member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers. Just as bad, she'll have to give up eavesdropping on twelve-step anonymous programs where the interesting talk is all about Higher Powers. Lucky needs her own -- and quick. But she hadn't planned on a dust storm. Or needing to lug the world's heaviest survival-kit backpack into the desert.

Hard Pan may be lightly populated, but every soul is uniquely unforgettable, from 5-year-old Miles, shameless cookie hustler, to Lincoln, serious knot-tying addict. Readers will gladly give themselves over to Patron, a master of light but sure characterization and closely observed detail. A small gem. Kirkus Star review

After reading The Higher Power of Lucky please go out and find Are you my Mother?

The other two books are Lucky Breaks (2009) and Lucky for Good (2011) - the series is called Lucky's Hard Pan trilogy. The good news that book one can stand alone - it does leave the way open for the sequel but everything is beautifully resolved in this first installment. 

I have absolutely no idea how I discovered this book The Higher Power of Lucky - it is a title I recently added to my Kindle library. Maybe I saw it on a Newbery list because it was a Newbery winner in 2007. Over the Christmas week I read so many fantastic books - I will be sharing them here over the coming days - Flight of the Puffin by Ann Braden; The Wanderer by Sharon Creech; The Frindle Files by Andrew Clements; The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys; The Might Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis; Busted by Dan Gemeinhart; and Queen of Thieves by Johan Rundberg.

Runaways by EL Norry

Visiting Gleebooks the other day I spied this book which was published in 2025. I had not heard of the author EL Norry but the cover looked intriguing.

I would call this a collision story. Dreadful things have happened to these two kids who come from very different backgrounds, but life events mean that they do meet or as I have said collide.

July has been in foster care on and off but recently she has moved back with her mother. Mum was caught up in drugs and alcohol, but she has been on a program, now has a job and has a plan for further study. Things should be good for July but then her mum invites an old (and dangerous) friend to stay and July is sure her mother will go back to her old habits, so July runs away hoping to find the last foster carer who was kind and understanding.

Jamie's dad has recently left the family and now his mum has moved in with a wealthy man called Garrett. Jamie is sure Garrett does not like him and now his mum has decided he will attend a posh school which means he won't be with his true friends. As the story begins Mum has gone away for a few days and Jamie is left with Garrett. Things do not go well and then Garrett bluntly tells Jamie that his dad is not just away - he is in jail. Jamie is furious and he pushes Garrett down the stairs at home. Convinced Garrett is now dead, Jamie runs away.

The voices of the two kids in this book are set out in two different fonts. It does take a long time in the story for these kids to meet each other and of course neither of them is prepared to share the truth about why they are now in Bournemouth. As is often the scenario for stories involving running away, over the course of the story July has her belongings stolen and later Jamie's money, bag and shoes go too. 

I read Runaways in one sitting. It is an action-packed story that races towards an expected but not too predictable or saccharine happy ending. 

Publisher blurb: Jamie and July are both eleven-year-olds living in London – but they have very different lives. They meet for the first time at Waterloo Station in the last week of the holidays. They are both desperate to get away from home. July is really worried about her unreliable mum - she needs to get help. Jamie has done something terrible - and left in a panic. Despite their worries, the sun is shining and, as they escape everything they've left behind in the city, Jamie and July can't help but sense adventure in the air. But running away isn't just harmless summertime fun. What are they really trying to escape? And will either Jamie or July find a place that finally feels like home?

July and Jamie learn some hard truths about life, love, the fallibility of parents and the strength of those they can really trust. Friendship and finding your way in life isn’t necessarily easy but there is always hope. Scope for Imagination

Alternating chapters gives each child a voice, allowing the reader to empathise with their actions as they experience the potential pitfalls and dangers of leaving home- being exploited, robbed, finding somewhere safe… E L Norry manages to handle these threats in an age appropriate way yet leaves the reader in no doubt as to how real these dangers are. However, this story is ultimately one of hope, one with a (two!) happy ending which leaves the reader uplifted and optimistic for Jamie and July’s futures.  I really hope this book gains the recognition it deserves. Beautifully written, deeply moving, it is essential reading for everyone.  Through the Bookshelf

About EL (Emma) Norry: I’m an author based in Bournemouth. I write fiction and non-fiction for 8-14 year olds (sometimes called MG, middle-grade). I also write many other things, including a couple of episodes of the UK soap opera, EastEnders. ... As a child, I grew up in the care system. I was born in Cardiff, Wales but moved around a lot. .... I’m passionate about diversity and inclusion and showing children that authors can come from different backgrounds.

Companion books:

Bird and Sugar Boy

Raven Winter

Charlie and Me 421 Miles from Home

Runaways

Talking to Alaska

Summer of the Gypsy Moths

Gossamer by Lois Lowry

Where do dreams come from? For myself, my dreams are really vivid stories, and I have several each night - many are repeated scenes and many involve dangerous situations such as being lost or in an out-of-control car or with no way to make a phone call home. Perhaps our dreams come from the tiny creatures in this book but where do they get the ideas to create our dreams? Littlest One is learning to do this. Each evening she goes with her teacher and she practices touching objects very softly, using her gossamer touch, so she can gather happy memories. These are then threaded together and sent into the ears of the humans in the house.

Who lives in this house? There is an older lady who is living alone but then a young boy arrives. He is coming for foster care. He has been so badly damaged, and his response is to react to everything with violence. Littlest One and Thin Elderly work hard to gather tiny fragments of happiness for young John but there is danger and it is close. Have you considered nightmares - these are given to us too, but these come from Sinisteeds. Littlest One can hardly bare to think about these awful creatures and knows she and Thin Elderly will need to work really hard to protect John from revisiting his worst experiences.

Each morning Littles One and Thin Elderly return to their gathering place called The Heap:

"This gathering, this dwelling place where they slept now, heaped together, was only one, a relatively small one, of many. It was a small subcolony of dream-givers. Every human population has countless such colonies - invisible always - of these well organised, attentive, and hard-working creatures who move silently through the nights at their task. Their task is both simple and at the same time immensely difficult. Through touching, they gather material: memories, colours, words once spoken, hints of scents and the tiniest fragments of forgotten sound. They collect pieces of the past, of long ago and of yesterday. They combine these things carefully, creating dreams."

This book is a strange mix of magic and sweet fairy-like characters juxtaposed against extreme domestic violence that has been metered out to a very young child and his mother. There were times, reading this slim novel of 140 pages, that I just had to walk away and take a breath. I would recommend this book for mature readers aged 11-12+. If you believe in magic and crave stories with a happy ending this might be a book to explore.

Wikipedia have a detailed entry with the full plot of Gossamer and a character list. You can see other books by Lois Lowry here - of course you probably know her famous titles such as The Giver; Number the Stars; and I have talked about Tree Table Book; Bless this Mouse; The Windeby Puzzle; Gooney Bird Green; The Willoughbys; and the sequel The Wiloughby's Return.

Publisher blurb: Where do dreams come from What stealthy nighttime messengers are the guardians of our most deeply hidden hopes and our half-forgotten fears This imaginative novel from New York Times bestselling author Lois Lowry confronts these questions and explores the conflicts between the gentle bits and pieces of the past that come to life in dream, and the darker horrors that find their form in nightmare. In a haunting story that tiptoes between reality and fantasy, two people—a lonely, sensitive woman and a damaged, angry boy—face their own histories and discover what they can be to one another, renewed by the strength that comes from a tiny, caring creature they will never see.

For such a slim work, the characterizations of Thin Elderly and Littlest are strong—she the sprightly little girl learning her trade, he the bemused and patient elder. The prose is light as gossamer; the story as haunting as a dream. Kirkus Star review

Kirkus gave Gossamer a star but Ms Yingling had the opposite reaction. 

Companion book for younger readers:

The Night Fairy

Something like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango

Laura is sure it is all her fault. The authorities have taken her mum and dad away. Laura now has to live with an aunt who she does not know. She has to go to a new school. And she is not allowed to phone her mum or dad she can only write letters to the rehab facility. She is wracked with guilt. Why did she make that 911 phone call? This was such a bad decision, or was it?

Her aunt has so many house rules - Laura is constantly on edge worried about doing the wrong thing. Luckily school is okay and without even trying she does make a really good friend - a boy named Benson who is also an outsider. Benson has Sickle cell anemia which means he cannot join in sport activities and he has to spend long periods in hospital. Laura is not sure at first if it is wise to make a friend because surely she can go back home very soon - any day now - but then days become weeks, and weeks become months. 

I love books where a dog helps with the healing of a character - Laura finds an abandoned puppy. Her aunt does let him stay and Laura names him Sparrow. She finds out about a program where dogs can go into care facilities like the one where her parents are. They work as therapy dogs so all Laura needs to do is train Sparrow, pass the training test and then find a way to visit Harmonic Way. This is a good plan but then her parents discharge themselves, they disappear and even though she writes to them every week she never receives a reply. 

The review by Ms Yingling will give you lots more plot details (Spoilers too). Colby Sharp talks about Something Like Home: "Beautiful, powerful, unforgettable." I totally agree - this is a perfect Verse Novel - you can find more of them by selecting that label from my sidebar. Highly recommended for readers aged 11+.

Arango’s writing is a joy to read, combining strong storytelling, compelling characters, and rich language. Kirkus Star review

Arango’s writing is intimate and heartbreaking, tackling such hefty issues as cultural identity, addiction, the pain of displacement and the anxiety it causes, and the adulation and rationalization that a child in pain can offer to adults they love. Arango accomplishes this with the believable voice of a girl in crisis and by tapping into compassion for all the characters amidst moving scenes of joy and connection. Horn Book

Haunted by her guilt and lack of autonomy, Laura is struggling to find a place in a new school and in a house with rules she doesn’t understand when she discovers an abandoned puppy and sets out to train him as a therapy dog. Maybe he will be the key to visiting her parents so she can apologize and they can all go home together. School Library Journal

Companion books:

Waiting for Normal

Wish

When Friendship followed me Home

Almost Home

Scarlet Ibis

The Other Shadow by Tania Ingram

Thomas is only ten at the start of this book, but his life is so complex. His dad has died and mum is not coping. There is no food at home and she often stays in bed all day. Thomas needs food for himself and his little sister, who is only two years old, so he is forced to beg and steal. Then one evening mum goes out and she does not come home. 

Thomas and Tilly are taken to their first foster home. The parents in that home are kind but after just two weeks Thomas and Tilly find themselves back with mum. A social worker is assigned to visit but this will only happen once a week, then once every two weeks and then the social worker goes away and no one comes for six weeks. Mum becomes very ill again and so Thomas and Tilly are taken to a different foster carer. This place is not a kind home. The older son from this family is cruel and violent. Eventually Thomas and Tilly are taken to another foster home and this one is good. The children get their lives back and there is love and food and clean clothes and a new school for Thomas which means he can and does make a fresh start. But ... then they have to go back to mum and it is clear things will again spiral out of control. 

Reading this book is a roller coaster ride. I started my reading late at night and then had to put the book down after one especially violent incident. I resumed my reading this morning desperately hoping no other truly bad things would happen to these kids. 

Terrible things do sadly happen to these children but then someone steps into help. That's the roller coaster. I cried and then I sighed. I gasped and then I felt some relief. Chapter 13 is one turning point where Thomas feels able to talk to an adult and the loss of his dad and the moods of his mum. In Chapter 20 he talks to Em his foster sister about the Other Shadow. I am a little confused about the role of the shadow - at times it feels connected with Dad because it offers some wisdom (which Thomas doesn't always follow) then at other times the shadow is a distraction. The shadow is a tall thin man with a mop of curly hair - no one else can see him and Thomas worries that seeing this shadow might be sign that he also has bipolar like his mum. 

Here's how The Book Muse explains the shadow: Throughout the novel, Thomas has an invisible friend, I guess you could call it, that he refers to as the Other Shadow who turns up at various stages throughout the book. The Other Shadow is a protector of sorts and makes Thomas feel safe at times, but at other times, he wants it to go away so he can settle and be calm again, be able to move on with his life. ... It is almost a manifestation of his worries at times, the thing that he is unsure of, and unsure of how to deal with, but there is also a sense of hope as Thomas starts to feel like he can talk to people about it 

I have read quite a few middle grade books about parents (often mothers) who have a serious mental illness. I have also read other middle grade books about the experience of living in foster care. Tania Ingram does not spare her readers in this, at times harrowing, story of Thomas and his little sister who have to navigate their complex life circumstance following the death of their dad. It seems especially hard that Mrs Douglas, the social worker, cannot offer more help but I guess that is actually the reality of our Mental Health system. I did celebrate the ending of this book but I am not going to spoil this. 

In the interest of disclosure - all of life experiences do influence us - I had a very strong reaction to this book. As a teenager I did experience very similar confusions to Thomas - I won't go into any details here, but my own family relationships made this book, at times, very hard to read. 

The reviewer at Just So Stories loved this book and she goes into a lot more plot detail: This is a book that will go straight to the heart and will remain with the reader for a very long time. I believe it is a book that will speak to those children who are in the most fraught of circumstances and will give others an insight into the tragedy of some families. ... I cannot urge you strongly enough to get hold of it – I know the cover is not one that jumps up and grabs you – but this is the time for discerning readers to look past that and walk a mile in another kid’s shoes.

I do agree it is an important book and it is sensitively told but this is a book that I would only share with very mature readers aged 11+ or better yet 12+.

Just a word of warning. The Scholastic teachers notes for this book make NO concession for class groups where a student or even more than one student has had an experience like Thomas. I was so shocked to read their suggested activities. As the child of a parent with mental health issues I would have found these tasks very confronting:

Thomas’s mother has bipolar disorder, which, while it can be well-treated with medication these days, as we see in the novel, a severe case like Thomas’s mother can also be difficult to treat because people often dislike how the medication makes them feel. How common is bipolar disorder, and how does it affect people? In pairs or small groups, research more about how it manifests, how it can be treated, and how it affects the person who has it, as well as their family, when it is untreated. What are some other mental health conditions that you have heard of? As a class, name as many of them as you can, and then write down next to each one what you know of it. In pairs or small groups, choose one mental health disorder that you have named, and research it further.

In my view these two activities are highly inappropriate for a Grade 6 Primary school class. 

Tania Ingram is an internationally published author of children’s picture books, novels and poetry. She has a master’s degree in clinical psychology and prior to becoming an author, worked as a child psychologist.

This book has been added to the CBCA 2025 Younger Readers Notables list, but I think it better suits the Older Readers category. If you are considering this book for your school library or if you received it as a part of a Standing Order package, I strongly suggest you read it yourself before recommending it to a student and I also strongly caution against using this book as a class read aloud. 

This book might make you think of the mother in Goodnight Mister Tom and also The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson. Other companion books:

Small as an elephant

The Secrets we Keep

Waiting for Normal

How I saved the world in a week

The Star outside my Window

This book explores the experiences of foster care