The 25¢ Miracle
by Theresa Nelson
Winner of the Washington Irving Children's Choice AwardA School Library Journal Best Book of the YearA Selection of the Junior Library GuildStar light, star bright...Elvira wishes for a mother and finds instead the father she scarcely knew she had."Friendless and dreamy 11-year-old Elvira Trumbull lives with her unemployed, heavy-drinking father...and idolizes the town's children's librarian, Miss Ivy, who shares her interest in growing roses and provides her with the female affection she has missed since her mother died....Elvira is a splendidly realized character and a tough survivor....Miss Ivy is the wise person we all wish we could be....The complexities of Trumbull's character...add depth to the story....Readers will appreciate the changes they see in him and rejoice in the positive note on which the novel ends."—Starred review, School Library Journal