GRANDFATHER’S DANCE

The beloved story of Sarah and her family concludes with a touching marriage and a final farewell. Cassie Witting’s older sister Anna is getting married and Cassie just doesn’t get it. “I don’t love anyone for marrying…except for (dogs) Lottie and Nick.” Cassie thinks marrying a dog would be just about perfect. Everyone seems to have someone. Baby brother Jack shadows his beloved Boppa, Mama has Papa, the elderly Aunts, just arrived from Maine, have each other and Anna has Justin. When Cassie reads her journal to Grandfather, detailing her imaginary canine marriage, he encourages her to act out her wedding with the real dog, just in case he’s not there for her real wedding. Cassie knows what he means, but does not like to think about all the pills Grandfather has to take or how tired he seems to get. She just likes to watch his funny little jig and marvel at the connection between Jack and Boppa. MacLachlan tells the story of love and loss with the same clear, sensible prose that punctuate the other terrific stories in this series. Cassie and Jack will never forget their grandfather and neither will readers. (Fiction. 8-10)