Can you imagine if your school was at risk of being shut
down if more kids did not attend? Yeah, I knew you’d like that.
But Tess, age 11, goes to school in a one-room schoolhouse
on a small island off the coast of Maine. There’s just a handful of other kids
who attend her tiny school, because Tess’s island doesn’t have that many
children. Tess’s mom is the teacher. And when you live on small island, school
is one of the things that keeps you busy and entertained. The school is part of
Tess’s life, along with the lobster boats, the ocean, the salt breeze, the sea
birds, and the ferry.
Yet the state of Maine won’t fund her school and keep it
open unless more kids attend. But where will Tess’s tiny island get more kids?
No new families are moving to their island, but several families have a cool
idea – adopt some foster children who need a good home.
So Tess’s family decides to adopt a 13-year-old redheaded boy
named Aaron. Aaron has been moved from family to family, and it’s about time he
gets a solid, loving family. Tess is really, really excited. She’s always
wanted an older brother.
But when Tess takes Aaron around the island, he seems
unimpressed. And when he sees their little one-room school, he actually says, “I
can’t believe I had to quit my jazz band to come here.” He doesn’t seem to like
the other islanders, and he rarely smiles. Tess has a problem. How do you get
someone to love an island if he’s determined to hate it?
Touch Blue by
Cynthia Lord. 186 p. New York: Scholastic, 2010. Virginia Readers’ Choice
(Elementary/Intermediate) for 2012-2013. This title would also work well for
middle schoolers.
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