about the book
The only reason Lily met Salma Santiago was because her dog, Lucky, slipped his collar and ran away, across the blueberry barrens of Maine.
Nothing Lily yelled slowed the blind dog down—not “treats,” “leash,” or even “bacon.” But the sound of chip bag opening and the smell of a peanut butter sandwich sure did. He stopped and ate the whole thing!
It was Salma’s chips and sandwich that saved Lily from chasing Lucky all the way to Canada.
Before Salma, Lily never talked to the seasonal migrant workers. They were here and then they weren’t; there wasn’t enough time to make a friend.
But for some reason this is different.
Lily and Salma bond over painting bee boxes and talking about dogs. As Lily tries to raise money for a surgery to help with Lucky’s blindness, Salma decides to run in the Blueberry Queen pageant. No outsider has ever participated before.
Can the girls cope and overcome the prejudices that confront them?
about the author
Cynthia Lord grew up near a lake in New Hampshire and remembers ice-skating in the winter and swimming in the summer. She loved to lie on the pier and daydream about the books she had read.
In high school Cynthia started writing stories. One of her first was a ghost story that gave her nightmares—even though she was the one who wrote it! She also liked to write plays and poems, family newspapers, and short stories.
After she graduated from college, Cynthia got married and started teaching school. She had two children and loved reading to them. As they grew, she started writing fiction again. She wrote her first novel, Rules, about a boy who has autism, because her son also has autism.
Cynthia and her family live near the ocean in Maine. She likes to write in the early mornings, between 3:30 and 4:00 AM, because it is quiet and she can be alone with her stories and her dog.
Sources:
Author website
Author biography : Scholastic
Author interview: Bookish Serendipity
Author video interview: Scholastic
Book Trailer: A Handful of Stars
Also by Cynthia Lord:
Half a Chance. Scholastic. 2014.
Touch Blue. Scholastic. 2010.
Rules. Scholastic. 2006.
read more!
Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord
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