THE GREAT UNEXPECTED by Sharon Creech. Harper, 2012.
Naomi and Lizzie love living in Blackbird Tree. The two orphaned girls have found homes with loving families here. There is not too much excitement in this town, but things are about to change with the arrival of a young boy who literally falls out of a tree in front of Naomi and Lizzie. Finn is a strange lad to say the least. He certainly has more than an air of mystery to him. Before long, things are changing for Naomi and Lizzie and the town. And then comes the Dingle Dangle Man. As events are unfolding for Naomi and Lizzie, across the ocean, there is more planning, planning that will affect the two girls in ways they cannot even begin to imagine. Sharon Creech's story will puzzle readers and then draw them in as they come to know and love Naomi and even talkative Lizzie. The mysterious overseas connection will have readers puzzling right along with the girls as the story moves lazily forward like a soft breeze blowing through Blackbird Tree. How the stories intersect is, of course, all part of the great unexpected. <549>
ON THE ROAD TO MR. MINEO'S by Barbara O'Connor. FSG, 2012.
It all begins when Sherman, the one legged passenger pigeon fails to return from his daily flight across the lake and back again with the rest of the flock. Somehow, Sherman manages to visit nearly everyone in Stella's small town. He spends some time on top of the garage with Stella and her friend Gerald; he lands on the head of Mutt Raynard; he even spends some time in a barn outside of town with the forever quarreling Ethel and Amos. Despite efforts, no one seems to be able to capture this elusive if gregarious pigeon. Sherman somehow manages to bring together all these disparate folks. In her inimitable style, O'Connor makes readers care about friends, family, neighbors, and this wonderful one-legged pigeon. <550>
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