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Are You Looking For a Heartwarming Dive into the Wonderful Landscape of Early 1900s New York City?
Lily has to do EVERYTHING. She bakes Daily Bread, minds her thumb-sucking little sister, hangs laundry on the roof, and keeps up with home chores her big sisters list. She even fetched a nurse from the Henry Street Settlement to save Mama and the new baby. Now the bossy public health nurse, who visits each day to attend to somber Mama and the bawling baby, sends Lily on errands throughout the Little Italy streets. Things turn around when Lillian Ward, the Henry Street Settlement head nurse, hears Lily’s powerful voice, she invites Lily to sing in the Children’s Choir. Lily sneaks to the choir and the forbidden play yard with tag-along Gigi on Wednesday afternoons. Her schemes unfold when she needs permission to sing with the choir at the New York Highlanders Fourth of July baseball game at Hilltop Park. The Yanks need a morale booster, and Lily and the choir may be the ticket to keep fans cheering and buying beer, Cracker Jack and ice cream. More trouble arises when a mean girl wants Lily’s solo, and the “Black Hand” terrorizes the neighborhood.
Let’s hear from some of Antoinette’s readers:
“Mrs. Martin’s attention to sensory detail and historical fact guides the reader through the difficult and sometimes dangerous events that befall Lily and her family. And as a gifted storyteller, Mrs. Martin has the reader turning the page to discover what happens next in the life of Lily Taglia, making this middle-grade novel entertaining as well as educational.”
“For anyone interested in urban history in the early 1900s, in the lives of people on the Lower East Side, and in the history of immigration, this is a book not to be missed. Written for middle-grade readers and succeeding eminently at that, the book is also one that would appeal to readers of all ages. Highly recommended.”
“I am so excited to continue on the journey with Margaret and Lily in Mrs. Martin’s second book in the series.”
So what are you waiting for? Click “buy now” and prepare for a world of wonder and a child’s imagination!