(2) 4-6 In this bright, engaging tale set in medieval England, Coats lightly interweaves medieval craft and culture with deeper questions about work, value, and getting around the status quo. Tick has long helped her father make the tallow candles and beeswax charms that are their livelihood. Now that Papa’s losing his eyesight, her work is essential. She loves her sense of expertise and responsibility; especially, she loves working companionably with Papa. Then comes Henry, a boy apprentice, and Papa shuts Tick out. You will soon be changing, she's told, and chandler work isn't suitable for women. But Tick is named for St. Scholastica, patron saint of "just because something is so, doesn't make it right." She concocts her own plan to make and market beeswax charms at the annual Stourbridge Fair. Coats is a lively, capable storyteller and intelligently dovetails historical detail with issues--and a self-aware expressiveness in this first-person, present-tense narrative--that resonate today. Her plot twists, turns, and hinges on a pleasing, convincing mix of medieval practices and unusual but realistic circumstances that provide for a hopeful ending.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(3) 4-6 Creative Adventure Guides series. Some historical background and scientific or cultural information places the making and use of candles, knots, jewelry, and compasses in context for young readers. Each book has four chapters that culminate in step-by-step projects. Starting a Business outlines a small business plan for kids, with examples of successful young entrepreneurs. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Creative Adventure Guides titles: Get All Tied Up, Light Your Way, Starting a Business, Become an Explorer, and Get Connected.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo