Barn Boot Blues

Gr 4–7—Twelve-year-old Taylor McNamara has just been uprooted from her city life (and the Mall of America) in Minneapolis to a farm with runaway sheep, smelly goats, and chickens that poop on her head—right before the start of the new school year. Although she faces a string of farm mishaps, the girls at her new school admire her poise (helped by a fair share of blind luck) when faced with dress code trouble on the first day. Nevertheless, stuck on the farm with no cable TV, no friends, and itchy chores, Taylor is not only homesick, but "friendsick," and even "schoolsick." Her new pals hatch a plan to get Taylor off the farm, with an unexpected result. Although the plot has some implausible situations, listeners will probably not notice. Friend's story (Amazon Children's Pub., 2011) is humorous and refreshingly free of angst and whining. Kate Rudd's voice is perfect as the first-person narrator. She varies her tone just enough for each character, and her breezy delivery parallels the story line. An enjoyable listen for tween fans of realistic fiction.—Jane Newschwander, Fluvanna County Public Schools, VA