cover image Annie and the Old One

Annie and the Old One

Miska Miles, Patricia Miles Martin. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $7.99 (44pp) ISBN 978-0-316-57120-3

Annie, an Indian child, resorts to extremes in trying to prevent her dear grandmother from dying. The ""old one'' has said she will return to Earth when she has finished helping Annie and Annie's mother to weave their new rug, so the child does everything she can to delay the project. When the grandmother explains her beliefs, Annie understands and no longer attempts to hold back time. PW praised Miles for a story representing ``a difficult challenge'' and Parnall's pictures that ``reflect the dignity of thetext,'' in the 1971 Newbery Honor book. (68)