Monday, March 24, 2008

Seeing Sky Blue Pink

Ransom, Candice. 2007. Seeing Sky Blue Pink.

"How about a wheelbarrow ride?" Sam asked. He tamped the earth around the base of the dogwood tree he had just planted.

Maddie is a young girl--8 to be exact--who is making some adjustments. Her mother has just remarried (Sam is her stepfather), and they've just moved to the country. She had been used to having perfect days with her mother. And quite honestly, she's not sure that perfect days can happen in the country, in her new home, with her new dad. The narrative takes place over the course of one summer. A summer that turns out to have quite a good number of perfect days. The writing, the characters, everything about this one is just right. Maddie's voice is authentic as can be. And I'm thrilled at the portrayal of good stepfather. So often in books (though more in YA books than kids books) the stepparent still carries the stigma of being "evil" or "mean." Sam is good through and through. And his growing relationship with his new daughter is a gem. This is a portrait of a happy--but all-too-human family.

I loved this book. And I definitely recommend it!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for your kind words about Sky-Blue Pink. It's the book that sailed straight from my heart, as I've often said. How I miss those perfect--and even not-so-perfect--days with my stepfather.