Johnson and his sister Beebee seem to be all alone in the world. Their mama has gone away many times before, but something tells them she won???t be coming back this time.& nbsp; Then a social worker comes and takes them to stay with their aunt Gracie, whom they???ve never met.& nbsp; Johnson and Beebee are skeptical???who is this Gracie and why does she want to take care of them?& nbsp; But most of all they worry about their mama.& nbsp; What will happen to her?& nbsp; Will she come back for them?& nbsp; Warily, though, the children come to trust Aunt Gracie, and in the process they learn what family is all about.& nbsp; & nbsp; This child??'s eye view of a brother and sister entering foster care is a heart-wrenching exploration of trust, forgiveness, and the true meaning of family.

"Woodson's (Miracle's Boys) affecting story introduces a boy and girl seemingly abandoned by their mother. "Sometimes my mama went away for a day. Sometimes for a lot of days. That's how it was with our mama," says Johnson. A kind woman appears at the door, explaining that her job "is to make sure little kids get taken care of"; it sounds good to Johnson, but his more cynical older sister, Beebee, warns him the woman means foster care: "It's when you live with somebody that's not your mama." Eventually, the woman drives the siblings to their mother's sister, who is estranged from their mother. Aunt Gracie is as warm and welcoming as her clapboard house with its sprawling porch, flowerbeds and tire swing. Johnson is enchanted by the idyllic setting and by his aunt, who bakes cookies and tucks him in at bedtime, and even Beebee slowly warms up to her. After a visit to their apparently hospitalized mother, who assures them that Gracie will care for them until she is able to, the two return to Gracie's open arms. Muth's (Gershon's Monster) spare paintings, often set as vignettes against a white background, effectively convey the children's sense of isolation and, later, belonging. Muth evokes the characters' emotions and supplies information that Woodson wisely omits from Johnson's narration (the emptiness of the apartment, with the children's spilled glasses and broken toy; the hospital setting). Because of Woodson and Muth's restraint, the rosy qualities of this tale do not impair its emotional truth."
-- Publishers Weekly