JULIET'S STORY

All the really grand stories that Juliet has ever heard have come from her elderly friend Paddy Old. When he dies, she's not only unprepared for the loss of the storyteller's company; she mourns his words, In her grief she ruins her friendship with Kitty Ann, while her parents, who are expecting a second child, perceive her only as a sullen problem. Then, in swoops Grandmamma to take the girl on a trip, during which Juliet not only hears others' stories but finds a few of her own. In his first book for children, the well-known author retells old tales with the compact energy and tidiness of a master, anchoring them betwixt events as Juliet travels from her Irish home by ship and train, witnesses one man after another fall for pretty Grandmamma, and learns to be a prime mover in mischief. Brisk and bubbling with good will and the imaginings of a gentle girl. (Fiction. 11-13)