The Lost Boy's Gift

February 4, 2019
In this quiet tale of community and new friendship by Holt (Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel), nine-year-old Daniel and his mother move across the county to While-a-Way Lane following his parents’ divorce. Offbeat residents populate their new street: a “hopscotching mailman,” a pianist-turned-secret-saxophonist, and solitary garden enthusiast Tilda Butters, who can talk to animals. Guarded Daniel blames his mother for the move and is angry with his father for not visiting; he becomes focused on securing his dad’s attendance at his school production of Peter Pan. Though irritated by the energetic boy’s initial visit, Tilda understands feeling abandoned, and she tries to remember that “there is good in everyone” as their lives become intertwined. However, their relationship feels sudden and undeveloped, as does the book’s thesis that “everyone has a special gift”—beyond “the art of noticing,” few characters are explicitly shown to have one. Touches of the fantastic (chatty snakes, sympathetic fireflies) augment accessible, straightforward prose, which permeates the neighborhood personalities’ lives and motivations, lending this novel a gently bustling yet intimate atmosphere. Ages 8–14.

March 15, 2019
The dull and seemingly ordinary neighborhood in which Daniel fetches up with his newly divorced mom turns out to be anything but.Daniel's first impressions of While-a-Way Lane aren't good, as most of the neighbors are away for spring break, and he's already in a dark, missing-his-dad mood. But then he spots his next-door neighbor, an older lady named Tilda Butter, apparently talking to the air. Had he looked a bit closer, he would have seen her actually in conversation with a small snake named Isadora. Tilda is very good at looking closer, and as her third-person chapters tend to be much longer than Daniel's, it's largely through her eyes and memories that readers will see the wonders of While-a-Way Lane, magical and otherwise, unfold. Wondrous things that happen to Daniel include an exciting encounter with squirrels in Tilda's attic, landing a role as Lost Boy No. 8 in a school production of Peter Pan (his favorite book), and being followed home one evening by a cloud of fireflies. In Tilda's view, everyone has a "gift" (hers happens to be talking to animals), and though on the surface Daniel remains rather unappealingly sullen and unobservant until near the end, he ultimately rewards her faith in a way that adds further buoyancy to the upbeat finish. Both Bean's map and his chapter-head vignettes themselves reward closer looks. The cast defaults to white.After Daniel's experiences, readers will want to move there too. (Fantasy. 9-11)

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March 15, 2019
Grades 3-5 Holt applies her talent for writing quiet, heartfelt stories to this study of Daniel, a lonely boy struggling with his parents' recent divorce. The split has resulted in a move to a boring neighborhood with his mother and a new school, neither of which Daniel is happy about. Meanwhile, Tilda Butter is curious about her new neighbors, especially sad, young Daniel. His appearance stirs memories of Tilda's own arrival on While-A-Way Lane, which give way to recollections of how difficult being new can be. Daniel and grandmotherly Tilda strike up a tentative friendship that sees him through some hiccups in his new life and gives Tilda the boost she needs to take a few risks of her own. Holt's slice-of-life story is brushed with magic that, while not necessary to the narrative, lends it added charm. Quirky neighborhood characters occupy the idyllic town, and this serene backdrop gives Daniel and Tilda much-needed opportunities for uninterrupted personal reflection and positive steps forward.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)