Classic Rereads: Spring begins in March by Jean Little

One of the things I love about Jean Little's characters in her realistic chapter books is her ability to look at the same situation and characters from completely different viewpoints. In Mine for Keeps she shows Sally, a girl who has cerebral palsy and is coming home after living at a residential facility. Her struggles to be independent, to become part of her family again, to have friends and function at school are defined through her dog, Susie, who is painfully shy and has a lot to learn. Sally has two sisters, bossy older Melinda and wild baby Meg.

Now it's Meg's turn. She's older now and Sally is the perfect older sister who always does everything right. Nothing goes right for Meg. She's failing in school, constantly daydreams, and when it looks like she's going to get the one thing she desperately wants, a room of her own, it turns out she's going to have to stay with Sally because Grandma Kent is coming to live with them. After many painful struggles, Meg and her new dog Robbie, who is also a "wild child," finally begin to see new hope with help from friends and family and their own courageous determination.

Although this story was originally written in the 1960s, it is still spot-on. Meg's struggles at school, her desperate feeling that everything she does goes wrong, her clashes with her grandmother and sisters, every one is something a modern girl can completely sympathize with. I've looked at several books showing extended families having to move in together because of economic circumstances, but this is the one I'd choose. Same thing for dealing with school difficulties. Maybe in a modern school Meg would get testing and extra help - maybe not. Either way, it's her own determination and the love of family and friends that finally starts her on the way to fixing all the things that are going wrong.

Who will read this? Kids who like realistic and family stories.

Bring it back? Yes please! We need more books showing families struggling with finances, kids who struggle in school, and the encouragement of resilience in kids' personal lives.

Availability: A later paperback version was published in Canada, but there are currently no available editions. You can buy it used though.