This is the second in the new chapter book series featuring Ryan Hart. I admit I am especially fond of this series because it is set in Portland OR, my hometown and features favorite places from my own childhood including the Saturday Market, Oaks Park, and my beloved county libraries. I also very much appreciated how the faith of Ryan Hart’s family is depicted in the moral lessons they impart and the summer bible camp she and her brother attend.  Ryan spends a summer preparing for the birth of her baby sister and adjusting to all the changes that entails from doing more chores to choosing a name. This series is longer and more complex than some chapter books making it best for 6 to 10 year olds–a good companion for readers of Clementine, and Ramona. 

And now a personal aside. The majority of children of all races in this country are religiously observant. The entire culture of worship, vacation bible school and summer camp, church based sports teams and scout troops, social justice activities, youth groups, rites of passage, and sacraments, all of it, gets left out of children’s books and there’s absolutely no reason for it. Even in conversations specifically about diversity we seldom include religion and that’s a blind spot that could use some attention.