(3) K-3 Illustrated by S. D. Schindler. As young men, the narrator's grandfathers experience the Massachusetts blizzard of 1888 quite differently. Gregarious Walt was stranded alone in a barn; shy Fred in a crowded inn. Both assert that his was the "worst possible place," but Schindler's lively pen-and-ink illustrations tell a different story. The book's bifurcated telling demands careful attention, but once the pattern is established it's very funny.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(4) 4-6 Inspired by an 1854 incident--the threatened burning of a partially built Catholic church in Massachusetts--Hurst explores class and ethnic tensions as experienced by fifth-grade classmates, naive Charlotte and acerbic, witty Maggie. Yankee Charlotte lives in comfort, while Maggie's Irish family struggles to get by. The story is occasionally bogged down by a history-lesson feel.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) 4-6 After the sudden death of their father, Kate, Jesse, and adopted sister Sookan move with their mother from Brooklyn to a dilapidated farmhouse. Sookan's premonitions and her terror of the house's wallpaper lead the siblings to uncover the house's secrets and treasures. This ghost story provides some not-too-scary chills, but also some unintentional mysteries, as too many loose ends remain unraveled.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(2) 4-6 Hurst sets an absorbing personal story against an overlooked aspect of history: the families left behind during the Gold Rush. Eleven-year-old Sarah wishes her stern mother were more like her fun-loving father, and she can hardly bear it when he leaves their Massachusetts farm for California. A quick succession of events will keep readers turning the pages. An extraneous ending doesn't detract from the pleasure of seeing through Sarah's eyes.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2002

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by James Stevenson. No one bests James Stevenson in evoking the nostalgic past; he must have felt blessed in having Hurst's true and inspiring story about her father, a man with "rocks in his pockets and rocks in his head," to interpret. How her father went from running a service station--where his ever-growing collection of rocks lined the walls--to science museum curator makes for a rock-solid tale of unwavering dedication and determination.

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2001

(2) 4-6 Eleven-year-old orphan Etta takes refuge in an abandoned cottage along the Farmington Canal, a cottage already occupied by a boy hiding from his abusive father. The familiar story of wayfaring children joining forces for a new family group is briskly told and nicely integrated here with a little-known, and revealing, piece of social history revolving around the canal.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2001