From: Sally Miller <derbymiller>
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 11:43:56 -0500

I regret to admit that Kira-Kira and Lizzie Bright are still sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. I don't know what to blame -- my appetite for books or the relish in reading that causes me to read slowly, hearing every word I see on the page before me. But I have read Al Capone, and I enjoyed it very much. I was especially pleased to find such a good book with a title that is sure to draw in boys. In addition, I feel that the active plot will engage young readers so much that they won't even realize how much the sympathetic portrayal of Natalie is teaching them about compassion. The mother's preoccupation with Natalie's problem is shown very realistically and believably. It's been some months since I read the story, and I must confess that the arc of the narrative is vague in my mind -- I remember it as being somewhat episodic -- but perhaps that's a shortcoming of me as a reader. Sally Derby
Received on Thu 17 Feb 2005 10:43:56 AM CST