Books with title Letters to Julia

“Upbeat and chirpy, and decorated with lots of kid-style illustrations, Leo evokes sympathy with a light touch.” — School Library Journal (starred review)The joys and trials of fourth grade —and of life with her father now that her mother is gone — play out in charming letters from Annie to her dog, Leo. Genuine and funny, Amy Hest’s first-person narration revisits a winning young character as she takes on a new year — and a new dog — with humor, honesty, and resilience.

The joys and trials of fourth grade — and of life with her father now that her mother is gone — play out in charming letters from Annie to her dog, Leo.Annie Rossi never, ever thought her father would let her have a dog. But now that he’s finally given in, she’s found the perfect ear for the stories of her day. She just writes them in a notebook hidden under the bed and reads them to Leo in her soft night voice, like the one her mother used when reading to Annie at bedtime before she died. And Annie sure has a million stories to tell! There’s mean Edward, who brags about his “noble goldfish” and gets her in trouble for accidentally lobbing a volleyball into his nose. There’s her best friend, Jean-Marie, who ups and moves to New Jersey (and wants to borrow Leo for company!). There’s the poem Annie writes about her mom, which Miss Meadows asks her to read for the class. And there’s her professor dad, who is finally coming out of his shell, even though he is an elderly forty-year-old with a serious personality. Genuine and funny, Amy Hest’s first-person narration revisits a winning young character as she takes on a new year — and a new dog — with humor, honesty, and resiliency.

Sarah Smith doesn’t remember much about her early years. She knows her mother died when she was six, and her father moved her and her younger brother to Northern Idaho. Once there, her life changed drastically.The only vivid memory she has of her early childhood is time spent with her best friend Juniper Holland. In her letters to Juniper, Sarah reveals her innermost thoughts and feelings about her reclusive life with three younger brothers in under the rigid oppression of her father and stepmother, who call themselves Separatists. Their lives are turned upside down by an FBI investigation of her father’s association with members of the Aryan Nation. When he refuses to be arrested on an illegal weapons charge, a standoff occurs. As the tension and violence escalate, Sarah faces life and death decisions in order to survive.

Sarah Smith doesn’t remember much about her early years. She knows her mother died when she was six, and her father moved her and her younger brother to Northern Idaho. Once there, her life changed drastically. The only vivid memory she has of her early childhood is time spent with her best friend Juniper Holland. In her letters to Juniper, Sarah reveals her innermost thoughts and feelings about her reclusive life with three younger brothers in under the rigid oppression of her father and stepmother, who call themselves Separatists. Their lives are turned upside down by an FBI investigation of her father’s association with members of the Aryan Nation. When he refuses to be arrested on an illegal weapons charge, a standoff occurs. As the tension and violence escalate, Sarah faces life and death decisions in order to survive.