Half Child — Kathleen Hersom

Gr 5-7-- When Sarah is born, it is her older sister Lucy who takes to her from the start. The rest of the family, goaded on by the villagers, concludes that Sarah, who is different from other children, must be a changeling child left by the fairies and might at any time be reclaimed by them. No one but Lucy grieves when one day Sarah disappears, not to return home again. The story is told in retrospect by Lucy 55 years after Sarah's disappearance, of how she learned what befell her sister after she wandered from home as a small child. Many years later, a child resembling Sarah turns up--or is it Sarah? The story is hauntingly and beautifully told in a strong and original style. It unfolds against the background of religious and political upheaval of the Cromwell era, with Royalists battling Puritans during England's civil war. The setting richly depicts the solitude and beauty of the Yorkshire hills and dales and brings vividly to life the superstitions and beliefs of 17th-century English country folk. Royalties are to be donated to Mencap, an English organization for the developmentally disabled. --Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NY