cover image What I'll Remember CL

What I'll Remember CL

Gina Willner-Pardo, Gina Willner Pardo. Clarion Books, $13.95 (40pp) ISBN 978-0-395-63310-6

Daniel is anxious about his upcoming weekend visit to his dad and new stepmother's house. They have some news, and naturally he imagines the worst: they're moving away, they're getting divorced, they don't want him to visit again. Surprised by the real announcement (he's going to be a big brother), he finds a whole host of new worries, but he also discovers common ground for forging a stronger relationship with his stepmother. The thorny issues of divorce, remarriage and newly blended families are adroitly handled in this sensitive chapter book, and inventive imagery (a friend's dog smells ``like the inside of a car on a rainy day'') adds staying power to Willner-Pardo's first-person narrative. The blurred edges of Krudop's subtle paintings enhance the meditative tone. Ages 7-9. (Mar.)