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Maeve, Avery, Katani and Charlotte are the Beacon Street Girls. Their friendship became the beginning of the club which now includes the little dog, Marty. When Marty escapes the confines of his leash, the girls will use everything in their power - and then some - to find the little dog.
The search for Marty takes several interesting turns, including a wild goose chase to a disreputable part of town and a visit with a local sports celebrity. It will require the efforts of all the girls to solve the mystery of the missing pooch. Meanwhile, Katani faces a crisis of her own with her autistic sister, Kelley. Their parents depend on Katani to help supervise her older sister. When her mother and father decide to enroll Kelley in riding classes, Katani is forced to attend to be her peer coach. Katani’s skill at riding and her love of horses comes as a surprise to everyone, including Katani.
This short novel presents a realistic picture of friendship among girls of this age. Katani and Kelley highlight the struggles between siblings, even without the addition of the autism element. The description of the therapeutic riding class is well done and provides a good introduction to this program. The use of teamwork to solve the mystery of the missing dog and the dilemmas that result show readers how working together can pay off. The kid-friendly website for this series, www.beaconstreetgirls.com, offers additional activities and ideas about these characters.
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Joyce Rice/2008 for curled
up with a good kid's book |
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For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews,
visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)
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Lucky Charm (Beacon Street Girls #8)