PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Daphne Kalmar was an elementary and middle-school teacher for over twenty years. Exploring the natural world with kids was her passion as an educator-she owned seventy-five pairs of rubber boots so she could outfit each new class in September and lead weekly expeditions to local creeks and ponds. She has an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. A Stitch in Time is her debut.
Written in the third person limited to Donut's perspective, Kalmar's debut has an authentic voice that brings her protagonist vividly to life and lends her struggles with grief an immediacy that belies the 1927 setting. Donut is brassy and flawed but easy to love, especially in light of how much she values friendships and her growing self-awareness. --Booklist, starred review Kalmar introduces a delightfully intricate character in Donut, whose passions include bird taxidermy, memorizing tidbits from the atlas Pops gave her, and her friendships with affectingly portrayed Vermonters. The author leaves readers knowing that her insightful, articulate, and wry heroine will land--solidly--on her feet. --Publishers Weekly, starred review Kalmar transports readers into the woods of Vermont with her vivid descriptions. Readers will empathize with Donut's heartache over the loss of her father and her fierce desire to resist change at all costs. A superb read-aloud, educators and readers will find much to discuss. --School Library Journal Readers with an interest in historical fiction will appreciate this energetic and lively heroine dealing with loss as best as she can. --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
