“Positive examples of parenting offer the children guidance as they learn important lessons in responsibility, forgiveness, and understanding, and a happy ending levels the playing field between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ kids through friendship and a home for Blue Daisy. Back matter features recipes connected to the story, and the note on poetry and prose easily ties the book to language arts lessons.”—Booklist
“An easy-to-read, heartwarming lesson in trust-building.”—Kirkus Reviews
“The book contains several scaffolds for readers just moving into longer works. Quatrains preview each of three sections, while a fourth serves as an epilogue and succinctly closes the novel. Sam’s three-line stanzas provide a nice structure for the text, and sixteen full-page black-and-white illustrations present a visual representation of the characters and highlight main points in the story.” —The Horn Book
“Alternating chapters in differing styles, poetry for Sam and prose for Katie, help to convey how each character communicates; Sam seems restrained alongside Katie’s constant clip. Apologies offer weight in this slim volume by Frost (Applesauce Weather), and result in a more generous view of neighbors and a realization that even kind people can make mistakes.”—Publishers Weekly
“the emotions and ethical notes ring true, and kids will find much food for thought here. Shepperson’s friendly monochromatic line and watercolor art is sweet and homey, a tonal match to the text.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
QUICK VIEW
