WHERE I LIVE
by Eileen Spinelli
Dial Books for Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0803731221
ISBN-13: 9780803731226
Ages 7-up
112 pages

Diana is a young girl who loves astronomy and Scrabble. She writes poetry, keeps a diary, and lives in a nice yellow house with her own room, which is decorated with astronomy charts. A family of wrens nests in a willow wreath on the front door. Her best friend Rose lives nearby, and they spend a lot of time together. Her little sister Twink can be a bit annoying at times, but the two girls usually get along. Diana’s grandfather, who lives at the other end of the state, writes her letters. Her father tells silly jokes and her mother bakes delicious brownies. Diana’s life seems happy.

But things change, as they often do. First, Diana’s father loses his job. Then Grandpa Joe falls off a ladder and breaks his arm, so her mother drives to Pittsburgh to take care of him. When her mother returns home, Diana hears what she thinks is very bad news --- the family will be relocating to Pittsburgh to live with Grandpa Joe. As much as Diana loves her grandfather, she doesn’t want to move. It means leaving behind her best friend Rose, her school, the wren family, her room decorated with astronomy charts --- everything that is familiar to her.

Diana is very unhappy, even though Grandpa Joe has painted her room midnight blue to show off her astronomy charts and bought her a brand-new computer so she can email Rose everyday. Everyone is trying to cheer Diana up, but she doesn’t want to feel better.

Diana’s mother drives her back across the state to attend a poetry workshop. A famous poet, Mary Elmore DeMott, heads the program. She is full of energy and enthusiasm, encouraging the children to be brave, love themselves, notice what is going on around them, and write their thoughts and feelings in a notebook. What Diana learns at the workshop helps her come to terms with her new home and her life there.

The softly-shaded, simple, black-and-white illustrations by Matt Phelan capture the gentleness of Eileen Spinelli’s writing. Each little non-rhyming poem tells a story and is accompanied by an illustration. WHERE I LIVE gently guides young readers through the confusing feelings and necessary adjustments that occur when someone moves.

   --- Reviewed by Carole Turner

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