(3) 4-6 Abandoned by her parents during the Depression, MaryJake Wildsmith is mistaken for a boy and decides to adopt that persona. As "Jake Smith," she finds a home with a Civil War widow, earns money selling bottles to a moonshiner, and learns the truth about her parentage. The conclusion may be too good to be true, but the novel, like its heroine, is so sweet-natured that most readers won't mind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Mark Coyle. Because Page's father is unstable and violent, Page and her mother leave Alabama and move to Big Bend National Park in Texas, where Mom secures work as a teacher. Set in 1953, the novel is strong on atmosphere but short on dramatic action. Most of Page's experiences in her new town are commonplace; a plot line concerning a hidden treasure evaporates halfway through the book. Bib.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta