IDA B...And Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster and (Possibly) Save the World
by Katherine Hannigan
Greenwillow Books
ISBN: 0060730242
Ages 9-up
256 pages

Ida B wakes up "on one of those days that start right and just keep heading toward perfect until you go to sleep." Most of Ida B's days are that kind of perfect. She has an idyllic life, being homeschooled by her loving parents and spending her days exploring their land and talking to her best friends, the mountain, the brook and, most importantly, the apple trees in her family's orchard.

This all changes when Ida B's mother discovers she has cancer. Soon her hospital bills mean that Ida B's dad must sell part of their land, including some of Ida B's beloved apple trees. Both Ida B's parents are too tired to teach her at home anymore, so she will have to go to regular school. Right then and there, Ida B decides to harden her heart, shut out her parents, her classmates and, most importantly, the new family building a house on what used to be her apple orchard. It takes time, love, and the quiet patience of the perfect teacher before Ida B can open up her heart again.

IDA B is a small, quiet book whose folksy charms may remind readers of the simple pleasures of Kate DiCamillo's BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE. The descriptions of Ida B's relationship to the land are particularly moving, and many of the chapters (especially early in the novel) could stand alone as small, well-crafted stories in their own right. This is a book that begs to be brought to life by being read aloud.

   --- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

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