(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Merrilee Liddiard . Twelve-year-old Cove, lonesome after best friend Nina moves from Martha's Vineyard to NYC with her dads, makes three new friends. One, an elder-home resident, teaches Cove to sew. In hopes of visiting Nina, Cove determines to win a spot on a Project Runway–like show. Blecher's characters are well rounded, and her sense of place--including the vacation destination's socioeconomic disparities--effectively conveyed. Occasional sketches (ostensibly by Nina) are interspersed.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Merrilee Liddiard. During WWII, Sam and Keiko's class is knitting socks for U.S. soldiers. Before Keiko's family is sent to an internment camp, kindly Keiko leaves behind a note and a pair of hand-knitted socks for Sam's soldier brother. Sam (whose family is Jewish) determinedly makes a scarf to mail to Keiko in return, the phrase come home safely taking on new meaning for him. Many of the border-framed illustrations aptly look like vintage photographs. Appended with information about internment camps.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019