The perfect book for girls and boys who look to find adventure and magic in surprising places!

What if you were really bored with your life? What would you wish for?

Penelope Grey wishes for something—anything!—interesting to happen, and here’s what she gets:

• Her father quits his job.
• Her family runs out of money.
• Her home becomes a pit of despair.

So Penelope makes another wish, and this time the Greys inherit a ramshackle old house in the middle of nowhere. Off they go, leaving the city and their problems behind them. Their new home is full of artists, tiny lions, unusual feasts, and true friends. Almost immediately, their lives are transformed. Penelope’s mother finds an unexpected job, her father discovers a hidden talent, and Penelope changes her name!

Penny’s new life feels too magical to be real, too real to be magic. And it may be too good to last . . . unless she can find a way to make magic work just one more time—if it even was magic.

Any Which Wall author Laurel Snyder introduces a quirky cast of characters as pleasantly strange as they are deeply real. Abigail Halpin adds to the charm with her distinctive line drawings.

Fans of Polly Horvath’s My One Hundred Adventures, Ingrid Law’s Savvy, and Jeanne Birdsall’s The Penderwicks will be enchanted by Laurel Snyder’s alternatively humorous and poignant look at small-town life and what it really takes to become a happy family.
© Photo: Sonya Naumann
LAUREL SNYDER is the author of Any Which Wall, Up and Down the Scratchy MountainsBaxter, the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher, and Inside the Slidy Diner. In addition to her books for children, Laurel has written two books of poems and edited an anthology of nonfiction called Half/Life: Jew-ish tales from Interfaith Homes. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and an occasional commentator for NPR's All Things Considered. Laurel lives in Decatur, Georgia. View titles by Laurel Snyder
ABIGAIL HALPIN is an illustrator living in southern Maine, a few miles from the sea. Her illustrations are a blend of traditional and digital media, and she has illustrated many beautiful children’s books including Finding Wild, Fort Building Time, Itzhak: A Boy Who Loved the Violin and the Anne Chapter Book series (Anne Arrives, Anne's Kindred Spirits, Anne's School Days, Anne's Tragical Tea Party and Anne Dares). View titles by Abigail Halpin
  • NOMINEE
    Bank Street Child Study Children's Book Award

About

The perfect book for girls and boys who look to find adventure and magic in surprising places!

What if you were really bored with your life? What would you wish for?

Penelope Grey wishes for something—anything!—interesting to happen, and here’s what she gets:

• Her father quits his job.
• Her family runs out of money.
• Her home becomes a pit of despair.

So Penelope makes another wish, and this time the Greys inherit a ramshackle old house in the middle of nowhere. Off they go, leaving the city and their problems behind them. Their new home is full of artists, tiny lions, unusual feasts, and true friends. Almost immediately, their lives are transformed. Penelope’s mother finds an unexpected job, her father discovers a hidden talent, and Penelope changes her name!

Penny’s new life feels too magical to be real, too real to be magic. And it may be too good to last . . . unless she can find a way to make magic work just one more time—if it even was magic.

Any Which Wall author Laurel Snyder introduces a quirky cast of characters as pleasantly strange as they are deeply real. Abigail Halpin adds to the charm with her distinctive line drawings.

Fans of Polly Horvath’s My One Hundred Adventures, Ingrid Law’s Savvy, and Jeanne Birdsall’s The Penderwicks will be enchanted by Laurel Snyder’s alternatively humorous and poignant look at small-town life and what it really takes to become a happy family.

Author

© Photo: Sonya Naumann
LAUREL SNYDER is the author of Any Which Wall, Up and Down the Scratchy MountainsBaxter, the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher, and Inside the Slidy Diner. In addition to her books for children, Laurel has written two books of poems and edited an anthology of nonfiction called Half/Life: Jew-ish tales from Interfaith Homes. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and an occasional commentator for NPR's All Things Considered. Laurel lives in Decatur, Georgia. View titles by Laurel Snyder
ABIGAIL HALPIN is an illustrator living in southern Maine, a few miles from the sea. Her illustrations are a blend of traditional and digital media, and she has illustrated many beautiful children’s books including Finding Wild, Fort Building Time, Itzhak: A Boy Who Loved the Violin and the Anne Chapter Book series (Anne Arrives, Anne's Kindred Spirits, Anne's School Days, Anne's Tragical Tea Party and Anne Dares). View titles by Abigail Halpin

Awards

  • NOMINEE
    Bank Street Child Study Children's Book Award

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