Cynthia Lord’s A Handful of Stars

I asked my husband to pick out a book for me from the large stack that resides on my shelf.  He gamely looked at the titles and covers and chose this one.  I groaned and told him, “It’s summer…I don’t want to read a sad book about a dead dog!”  I thought I had the plot already figured out, even though I love Cynthia Lord (Rules, Touch Blue) and should have known she’s good enough to surprise me.

This book is perfect for my realistic-fiction loving students who enjoy stories about friendship and/or animals.  I’m going to buy an additional copy of this book to keep for a special book/note combo for when a student might need some extra attention and advice on what to do when friendships hit hard times.

My favorite quote in the book is, “To do brave things, you don’t have to be hugely brave.  You only have to be a little bit braver than you are scared.”