Books with author Susan Bonners

Adjusting to the new neighborhood thanks to the sound of musicIt's hard enough moving to a new place, and for Annie there are plenty of extra burdens. Her mother seems sad and worried all the time, having a baby brother makes getting settled in even harder, a box of her prized horse figurines has been lost, and to top it all off, the new house is far away from Annie's favorite uncle, who shared with her what she loves best of all: piano music. But it turns out that piano music can also be found in her new neighborhood. Each evening when Annie roller-skates, she hears beautiful melodies coming from a house down the street. It is the source of the music, the elderly Mrs. Bergstrom, that eventually provides Annie with hope that the new place may someday feel like home. Young readers will easily identify with Annie in this charming early chapter book from the Christopher Award-winning author of The Silver Balloon.

A mysterious painting is uncoveredKate Harris has always spent the summer with her family on her grandparents’ farm. But this year she is going to be at the beach with the Langs, family friends Kate hasn’t seen since she was a baby. She is worried that she won’t get along with the Langs’ daughter, Alison. Yet she has never seen the ocean and there is something about it that intrigues her.Exploring the new town helps divert Kate’s attention from her homesickness, as do the drawing lessons she and Alison take at the Art Association. Then Kate and Alison go to an auction, and Kate impulsively bids on a soot-covered painting. Uncovering the artwork underneath and solving the mystery of its origins and prior ownership requires some determined detective work that takes Kate on an unexpected journey. In understated prose, Susan Bonners has crafted an insightfulstory about a first summer away from home and those first steps from childhood into young adulthood.