Mo Wren, lost and found

It seems like it is so hard to find children's books about happy families these days. First the junior high books and now the elementary school books have taken on the task of presenting Families with Big Problems. Parents Getting Divorced. Abusive Parents. Alcoholic Parents. Even Homeless Families.

Mo Wren is an exception. Yes, Mo's mom has died, but that's not the focus of this book. The plot centers on how difficult it is to move and make new friends when you are a child. A very common and difficult experience for kids, I think, and one that this book handles in a beautiful and realistic way.

You grow to love Mo and her little sister and her dad and all her old neighbors and her new neighbors as you read this book. Mo is befriended in her new home by the kid that annoys everyone, and Mo is torn about becoming his friend. A very common experience for kids, and, again, one that this book handles in a beautiful and realistic way.

I finished the book and found that I loved it so much that I wanted to read the first book in the series, What Happened on Fox Street. Let's hope the author is hard at work on book three. Delightful.

Thank you to the author who sent me this copy for review.