Emma's Yucky Brother

Jean Little's superb early chapter book captures all the emotional ups and downs of adoption and sheds some light on the complex and stressful transition from foster home to adoptive family. Jennifer Plecas manages to portray a world of feelings on the expressive faces of her simply drawn characters and track the evolving moods of the entire family as they move toward empathy and acceptance. Adoptive families will find this sequel to Emma's Magic Winter a great addition to their libraries, as will any reader going through difficult changes. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

Jean Little is the author of more than twenty-five books for children. In addition to Emma's Magic Winter, her first I Can Read Book, Ms. Little's works include the novels Lost and Found, Different Dragons, From Anna and Hey World, Here I Am, illustrated by Sue Truesdell. Jean Little has always been interested in adoption, and she had a first-hand experience with it when her sister adopted two children several years ago. The family has nine pets, the most recent addition being Henry Higgins, a talking African gray parrot. Although Jean Little was born with scarred corneas that severely impair her vision, she has always loved to read and to write. She writes with a voice-activated computer and travels widely with her Seeing Eye dog, Pippa. Ms. Little lives in Ontario, Canada.