Alice McLerran

This is a book for every child, but especially ones who live in the desert. The plot isn't complex: a group of children make an imaginary town. Playtime like this is sorely needed for our children, but nowadays, children don't always know what to do in the unstructured playtimes. And of course, the Barbara Cooney art is fantastic.

This book would be good for primary grades. It is about a girl creating a make believe town with her friends. I would use this in younger grades to get them to dream.

In college now but I read this as a child and thought of it the other day when walking around my old elementary school. I can still remember trying to make my own Roxaboxen with my friends at the playground. Like the kids in the story, I won't forget about Roxaboxen and plan on sharing the story with my own children someday.

I miss these "imagination" days as a kid. I like the book for the nostalgia it causes.