• Age: 12 to 15
• Grade: 7 to 10
• Reading age: 12 to 15

The car lurches to a halt.The old man finally rolls down his window, studies Laker for one eternal moment while his daughter, behind the steering wheel, fumes and listens to the radio. Laker stands, shrunken and zipped and snapped and collared inside his damp, sweaty leather jacket, and then he hears this unexpected question: Do you do yard work?

Kicked out of his house, sleeping on the street, Laker Wyatt meets eighty-three-year-old Henry Olsen, a lonely widower with family troubles of his own -- a bossy daughter and a beautiful granddaughter, Charlene, with whom Henry admits he doesn't always get things right.

Eventually, Laker's stay with Henry leads him not only to the revelation of a long-kept secret, but to a deeper understanding of the mysteries and difficulties of love.

Martha Brooks lives in Winnipeg. Her book Traveling on into the Light was named to the international 1996 IBBY Honour List and is an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults. Two Moons in August and Paradise Caf and Other Stories were Governor General’s Award nominees; the latter also received the 1991 Boston Globe Horn Book Award for distinguished children’s fiction. When not writing, Martha can be found performing in local jazz clubs. Maureen Hunter is one of Canada’s most successful playwrights. Her work has been produced extensively on Canada’s major stages, in the United States, and Britain, and by CBC and BBC Radio. Atlantis was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award and Transit of Venus, premiered by the Manitoba Theatre Centre, became the first Canadian play ever staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company of Britain. A native of Saskatchewan, Maureen now lives on the banks of the Red River in Winnipeg.

Martha Brooks' profile page

• Short-listed, Governor General's Literary Awards: Text
• Winner, Mr. Christie's Book Award
• Winner, McNally Robinson Book for Young People Award
• Long-listed, Ruth Schwartz Award

Flavoured with compassion, bittersweet humour and Brooks' characteristically restrained poetic prose. The story moves inexorably towards a final, brilliant revelation.

Toronto Star

A crossover book, Being with Henry has a place in adult collections as well. Highly recommended.

Canadian Children's Literature - CBRA

The characters here are poignant and believable, and the writing is poetic and moving...

VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)

a warm and compassionate story of relationships and need...about the mystery and the difficulty of love.

Brandon Sun

...expands the horizons of the coming-of-age story...unrelenting in its emotional authenticity...[a] highly polished novel...

Quill & Quire, STARRED REVIEW

...a highly readable and interesting book...

Resource Links

...a moving story about families and belonging...beautifully told, with characters readers will believe in.

Kliatt

Brooks deals with universal adolescent themes of home, self and romance with a fresh hand, creating a memorable story that begs repeating.

Kirkus Reviews