A small village in Switzerland's Italian-speaking region of Ticino provides the perfect background for this endearing contemporary fable, told in 44 brief, often comical chapters. When a young American named Zola comes to live in the house attached to the tower where an angel has sojourned for hundreds of years, things get lively. The angel's narrative voice is earnest, often puzzled and frequently indignant. Full of mixed appreciation for and apprehension about human beings, it is filled with phonemic mix-ups, word coinage, inverted grammar and nonsense that soars and fizzes, giving the impression of a goodhearted and slightly zany transcendence. Helping a ragtag bunch of homeless runaways sheltering in a chicken shed becomes Zola's project for the angel, while Zola's father begins work on his dream of creating an international peace school. Everyone-the orphans, Signora Divino (the cranky widow next door), Zola's father, even the incessantly barking dog-is on the way to redemption by the end. Brimful of grace and cheer; moving, funny and sweet-and begging to be read aloud. (Fiction. 8-11)
Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech crafts a truly endearing story, one that is imbued with happiness, wonder, and an appreciation for all the little things that make life big. With beautiful, fresh new cover art, this is a gem of a book.
In the winding stone tower of the Casa Rosa, in a quiet little village in the Swiss Alps, lives one very unlikely angel-one that is still awaiting her instructions from the angel-training center. What happens to an angel who doesn't know her mission? She floats and swishes from high above, watching the crazy things that "peoples" say and do. But when a zany American girl named Zola arrives in town and invades the Casa Rosa, dogs start arfing, figs start flying through the air, lost orphans wander in, and the village becomes anything but quiet. And as Zola and the angel work together to rescue the orphans, they each begin to realize their purpose and learn that there is magic in the most ordinary acts of kindness.
This heartwarming tale of an unlikely angel and a zany American girl is perfect for bedtime stories and will teach young readers the magic of kindness and purpose.
HarperCollins 2024
Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech crafts a truly endearing story, one that is imbued with happiness, wonder, and an appreciation for all the little things that make life big. With beautiful, fresh new cover art, this is a gem of a book.
In the winding stone tower of the Casa Rosa, in a quiet little village in the Swiss Alps, lives one very unlikely angel-one that is still awaiting her instructions from the angel-training center. What happens to an angel who doesn't know her mission? She floats and swishes from high above, watching the crazy things that "peoples" say and do. But when a zany American girl named Zola arrives in town and invades the Casa Rosa, dogs start arfing, figs start flying through the air, lost orphans wander in, and the village becomes anything but quiet. And as Zola and the angel work together to rescue the orphans, they each begin to realize their purpose and learn that there is magic in the most ordinary acts of kindness.
This heartwarming tale of an unlikely angel and a zany American girl is perfect for bedtime stories and will teach young readers the magic of kindness and purpose.
HarperCollins 2024
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170355976 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 09/22/2009 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Age Range: | 8 - 11 Years |
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