Author(s): Kevin Henkes

Middle Fiction 8-12-year-olds

Alice Rice looks forward to her family’s Florida vacation every year, and this year is supposed to be extra special, because she will turn ten years old. But then her favourite other vacationers cannot come, and her honorary aunt Kate brings a new boyfriend with a six-year-old daughter. Mallory is . . . difficult. Alice tries her best to stay positive, but it’s so hard when everything is changing. The one thing that could salvage her vacation would be finding a rare, flawless junonia shell. But even that triumph might be a mixed blessing. Illustrated throughout by the author - a Caldecott Medalist - Junonia is a pitch-perfect young middle grade novel. Alice’s story is one of growing up - just a little at a time - and of the gifts we give each other.