Badger on the Barge

I discovered "Badger on the Barge" while doing a survey/review of children's literature. On a scale of 1 to 10, this book rates about a billion. It is that much better than all other children's literature I've encountered (and that's quite a lot). It's a very good adult's book too. It contains five substantial, meaty and engaging stories and is appropriate for fourth grade and up. The writer has complete respect for her characters and her readers. I'm tempted to refer only to child readers, but it's true for all, including us adults. There are zero cheap tricks here. The general theme is the encounter between a child and an interesting adult or an interesting situation, like a badger kept as a pet on a barge, or a girl who meets a very old woman who lives in and is the caretaker of a topiary garden. Luckiest of all will be the adult who can read these out loud to a child. More general themes are issues of family and relationships, growing up, and empowerment. Several protagonists are girls. If you are planning on reading aloud, you may care to read it yourself first: there are places your voice may crack and break.