• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 3 to 7
• Reading age: 8 to 12

Teresa stays with her aunt and uncle in Vancouver and spends her days at the hospital preparing to walk on a new prosthetic leg. Her teenage brother, Tom, stays with her for the first weekend. He surprises her by playing enthusiastically with two old dolls and a log dollsí house that Teresaís relatives gave to her. When Tom leaves, Teresa is bereft, even more so when he doesnít call or answer her letters. Finally, she reaches out to him, but in so doing pushes him further away. Now, Teresa must find a way to confront her brother and to master her new leg so that she can go home in time for Christmas. One day an image entered author Ainslie Mansonís head. A little girl was flying down to the city from the north. She was going to a hospital and she was scared. As time went on, Ainslie realized that the girl was going to get a prosthesis. With that knowledge, the book began to grow. Careful research made authentic all the details about getting a leg; skill with storytelling turned Teresa into a real girl with doubts, troubles and joys, many of them unrelated to her disability. The dolls, Tape and Curly, are real dolls that Ainslie was given as a child. Ainslie did exactly what Teresa does in the story that nearly lost her her brotherís love forever.

Ainslie Manson is the author of several inventive historical books for young people, including Just Like New (the tale of a young girl who sends her favorite doll to an English child during World War II) and Baboo (the story of the daughter of Canada's first prime minister, who lived life to the fullest despite her severe disabilities). Ainslie Manson lives in Vancouver.

Ainslie Manson's profile page

• Short-listed, Red Cedar nominee
• Short-listed, Chocolate Lily nominee
• Short-listed, Hackmatack Children's Choice Award nominee
• Commended, CCBC Our Choice
• Short-listed, Silver Birch nominee

"Highly recommended."

CM Magazine