This was a beautiful book - simple and yet moving. The characters were drawn with quick, spare lines, but nevertheless they were true and vivid. And a very nice exploration of dealing with loss. This is an example of literature written for kids that reaches another level. ( )

After the tourists leave the Island at the end of summer Larkin's family is left a baby, Sophie, to care for until her mother can look after her herself. Sophie's arrival creates the chance for Larkin to express her anger at her parents after the death of her newborn baby brother. Her parents never talk about him and didn't name him. Larkin never saw him and has not had her grief recognised and acknowledged. Once her anger is verbalised the family begins to heal. ( )

This book changed my life. It is about a family that has lost a baby and then are given one to take care of. It is so poignantly tied to Joy and Peter. I was able to tell PM that when she came to a conference in Greensburg a few years ago, maybe 2003?

My first copy was a strip copy from BN, so I don't currently own one. ( )

Twelve-year-old Larkin returns home one day to discover a baby sitting in a basket in the driveway of her family’s house. The only clue to the baby’s appearance is a note from the child’s mother. “This is Sophie,” the note reads. “She is almost a year old and she is good…I will come back for her one day. I lover her.”
Larkin, her mother and father, and her grandmother all welcome Sophie into their home, caring for her and reaching her games and e3w words. As Sophie grows, she leans to walk and speak. Larkin and her family come to love this baby as their own, all the while knowing that Sophie’s mother will return one day to take her from them. ( )