First published 2011
Calpurnia watches her daddy struggle to find fish for the market. The Depression has hit their forest community hard. Food runs short and money grows scarce. Her little dog Buggy Horse stays close as she worries about their troubles. Mother Albirtha, the forest's wisest woman, shares a mysterious tip with the young girl. Following this guidance, Calpurnia discovers a hidden river. She pulls the pink paper roses from her hair and uses them as bait. Beautiful catfish fill her line, enough to feed everyone in the swampland with plenty left for her father to sell. The next day she returns to find the magical river again. Mother Albirtha explains that some miracles happen only once, appearing exactly when needed most. The river has vanished forever, but it served its purpose when hope seemed lost. This Depression-era tale captures how grace can arrive in desperate moments through the eyes of a determined child.
Genres: family-life, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate
Tropes: found-family, grace-in-desperate-times
Setting: Forest, Swampland
Period: Great Depression
56 pages · Hardcover · Atheneum Books for Young Readers