THE GODMOTHER TREE

Like Katherine Paterson's The Smallest Cow in the World (1991), a book that depicted a Vermont farm family and was first published by the Vermont Migrant Education Program. Here, Laura, 10, and her family may not be typical migrants—a nearby uncle is a successful businessman, and her great-aunt, a physician, lives in South America—but their experience of moving from farm to farm, the parents overworked and underpaid and the kids feeling unwelcome in each new school, is painfully familiar. Their new place is a large but rundown house that Mom tackles with vigor; meanwhile, hardworking Dad, who loves farming, depends on the three children for help. Still, this owner is essentially fair and Dad's job is unusually secure. Meanwhile, a mysterious outbreak of vandalism is traced to middle child Ryan, disturbed by the latest move; gentle brother Luther, 16, is deeply depressed after accidentally killing a pair of fawns, but is comforted with Laura's help and his own artistic gift; and Laura finds sanctuary in a beautiful old tree where she goes to read. Things may work out a little too easily—Ryan's troubles are swiftly identified and effectively addressed, while everyone wins prizes at the county fair—but the setting is beautifully realized, the family interestingly idiosyncratic, warm, and believable, the social problems realistically portrayed. A likable story with real insights. (Fiction. 8-12)