The Horn Book Guide

INTERMEDIATE FICTION

Springstubb, Tricia

Moonpenny Island

295 pp. | HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray | February, 2015 | Trade ISBN 978-0-06-211293-4 $16.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-06-211295-8

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Gilbert Ford. Ohio's Moonpenny Island is lousy with fossils--specifically trilobites (one of the first creatures to develop eyes) from the Cambrian period--as sixth-grade townie Flor learns when a geologist and his daughter come to explore. Flor's growing, if sometimes awkward, awareness of change and heightened understanding of those around her result in a unique protagonist who, like a fossil, creates a lasting imprint.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2015