Lisa Rowe Fraustino

"In this loving, warmly sentimental tale an old man fondly remembers his childhood days with his grandmother. Louis may be blind but that doesn’t stop him from sniffing out Gran, with her bleach-and-lilac scent, wherever she may be hiding, or playing “touch your nose” with her and a mirror, or listening to her “molasses voice” as she reads aloud, sitting in a favorite hickory chair. When Gran dies, Louis’s family gathers to reminisce, and learns from her will that she’s hidden notes in the possessions she wanted specific people to have. Endowed with what Gran always called “blind sight,” Louis proves best at finding those notes—but not one is addressed to him. Given the option to pick anything he’d like to keep, he chooses the chair. Restrained colors and upright, elongated figures give both feelings of dignity and intimacy to Andrews’s (Sky Sash So Blue, 1998) paint and fabric tableaux; facial features are shadowed or indistinct, but the body language clearly expresses the warmth and respect with which this family is bound. On a sweet closing note, the aging Louis finds his own youngest grandchild asleep in that hickory chair, her fist around an old, long-lost message that had been hidden in the padding for so many years. It says that the chair is meant to be his, of course, as he knew all along. A fine story with a theme seldom visited. (Picture book. 6-9)"… (meer)

Deliverance "Liv" Trembley confides in her diary about her fears and dreams during the events of 1692 in Salem Village, Massachusetts, evoking a convincing character of her age for the period. The author has done well to portray what a girl of 12 years might be like, and what cultural influences affect her life (results of the French and Indian War, the community's reliance on religious guidance, her family changed by war and disease). It appears to be an accurate account of a number of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials, as well as some of their accusers. A quick read, though a little sparse on details, with believable characters, aimed at a young audience.… (meer)

This is such a touching story. When the book started, I had no clue that he was blind until Louis said it. I think the author did a great job depicting the love a grandmother has for her grandchildren. I like how they portrayed Louis to be a normal boy and didn’t start out by showing his disability. I was also fascinated with how cool he recognized her by her scent. Definitely was emotional when his grandmother passed, but amazing he was able to share the moments he did when she was still alive. The hickory chair was the ultimate symbol of the memories they shared. This was so beautifully written and even made me forget Louis was blind because I was so captivated with his relationship with his grandmother.… (meer)