The Great Unexpected: An Enchanting Story of Orphan Friendship, Irish Mystery, and Forgiveness for Kids (Ages 8-12)

The Great Unexpected: An Enchanting Story of Orphan Friendship, Irish Mystery, and Forgiveness for Kids (Ages 8-12)

<p>From Newbery Medal winner and bestselling author Sharon Creech comes a grand, sweeping yarn that is a celebration of the great and unexpected gifts of love, friendship, and forgiveness. With a starred review from <em>Kirkus</em> <em>Reviews</em> calling it an "enchanting tale to treasure," <em>The Great Unexpected</em> captures the heart and the imagination.</p><p>Humorous and heartfelt, this is a story of pairs—of young Naomi and Lizzie, both orphans in present-day Blackbird Tree, USA, and of Sybil and Nula, grown-up sisters from faraway Rook's Orchard, Ireland, who have become estranged.</p><p>Young Naomi Deane is brimming with curiosity and her best friend, Lizzie Scatterding, could talk the ears off a cornfield. Naomi has a knack for being around when trouble happens. She knows all the peculiar people in town—like Crazy Cora and Witch Wiggins. But then, one day, a boy drops out of a tree. Just like that. A strangely charming Finn boy. And then the Dingle Dangle man appears, asking all kinds of questions. Curious surprises are revealed—three locked trunks, a pair of rooks, a crooked bridge, and that boy—and soon Naomi and Lizzie find their lives changed forever.</p><p>As two worlds are woven together, Creech reveals that hearts can be mended and that there is indeed a gossamer thread that connects us all.</p>