Drizzle

Starred review from March 1, 2010
With a sense of magic that recalls Ingrid Law's Savvy
, this bighearted coming-of-age story stars 11-year-old Polly Peabody, who lives with her family on a farm like no other. At Rupert's Rhubarb Farm, magic abounds: chocolate rhubarb flourishes; it rains at 1 p.m. every Monday; there's a lake in which no one can drown; and tourists clamor for rides on the giant umbrella. But when a mysterious mist descends, things go haywire: Polly's brother, Freddy, gets sick, her Aunt Edith threatens to sell the farm, and Polly gets in a fight with her best friend, Harry (a chocolate rhubarb plant). While Aunt Edith encourages Polly to read Emerson and look for opportunities away from the farm, in her heart Polly knows that she belongs nowhere else, and she must overcome her numerous fears (like of the farm's giant insects and slimy “slugsand”) to discover her own gift and save the farm. “I have to believe that something good can always happen. In other words, I believe in magic,” says Polly, whose oddball traits and sensitivity make her a lovable, sympathetic narrator. Van Cleve's debut is emotionally subtle and action packed with a highly memorable setting. Ages 8–12.

April 1, 2010
Gr 4-6-Polly Peabody, 11, lives on an unusual rhubarb farm where it rains at exactly 1 p.m. every Monday, and some of the plants taste like chocolate. Like her parents and her grandmother before her, Polly loves the farm with all her soul. When Aunt Edith shows her a secret room, a library, filled with writhing ivy and bugs that fly in patterns that spell out words, she is thrilled. But then the weekly rain stops, plants start to die, Polly's older brother becomes ill, and Aunt Edith pressures Polly's dad to sell the property. Now Polly must interpret the farm's signs and symptoms to figure out both the problem and the solution. Why won't those insects just spell out what she needs to do rather than give her vague and puzzling hints? Polly's anxiety and lack of self-confidenceshe is reading Emerson's "Self-Reliance"keep her from making friends and dealing with a bully at school, although for readers, as for Polly, it's the stuff that happens on the farm that is most compelling. In general, Polly's insect and plant acquaintances are more developed than most of the humans, who never quite become convincing characters. However, Polly's gradual discovery of her own strange power and the joy she takes in her ability to help those she loves best is both entertaining and gratifying. Give this whimsical fantasy to fans of Ingrid Law's "Savvy" (Dial, 2008)."Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2010
Grades 5-8 Eleven-year-old Polly has no friends at school. Her best friend is Harry, a unique rhubarb plant on her familys midwestern farm, where it rains miraculously at the same time every Monday, and tourists come to enjoy a giant, amusement-park umbrella ride that her family has built. Polly and Harry communicate: he nods when he agrees with her and swats her with his leaves when he is angry. And Polly can talk with bugs, as well as plants. Her peaceful life on the farm changes, though, when the rain stops suddenly and her brother gets deathly ill. Does she have the power to save both the farm and her sibling? Pollys wry interaction with Harry and other plants and wild creatures is the best part of this debut fantasy that has an environmental slant. The water conservation message at its core will make young, activist readers cheer for Polly as she works with friends, and sometimes with enemies, to bring back the rain and save the world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)