The Secrets of Eastcliff-By-The-Sea — Eileen Beha

A charming sock monkey reunites a fractured family in this simply remarkable novel in the tradition of "The Velveteen Rabbit" and "The Penderwicks."

Meet Throckmorton S. Monkey. He's everything a sock monkey is supposed to be: Loving. Loyal. A very good listener. And he's never, ever -- not even once! -- stopped smiling. Yet Throckmorton has been long forgotten by his keeper Annaliese Easterling, and he seems doomed to live out his days lost and lonely among other abandoned stuffed animals.

But then one day Great Grand Mama Easterling sends engraved invitations to forty-nine sock monkeys to attend her ninetieth birthday along with their human keepers. Throckmorton is thrilled! The arrival of his invitation brings him back together with Annaliese. And he vows to do something so remarkable, so amazing, she will never want to be separated from him again.

Indeed, over just a few days, Throckmorton will survive being buried in a blizzard. He'll be spared from a vicious attacker. But best of all, he'll find a way to reunite Annaliese with the one person she most longs to know. Not bad for a stuffed toy -- if you're to believe that's all Throckmorton S. Monkey really is…