Kyleah's Tree

Kyleah's Tree
by Janet Muirhead Hill

KYLEAH'S TREE by

Illustrated by:

Category: Contemporary

Age Recommendation: Grades 6+

Release Date: 8/20/08

Publisher: Raven Publishing, Inc.

Reviewed by:

Rating: 5 Stars

Kyleah's father and twin brother had just disappeared after their parents' divorce, and then her mother died.

Kyleah's life in foster homes has been lonely and she feels great despair from the loss of her family. Now she

climbs her favorite tree each morning just at sunrise, because she is sure that if she makes a wish just as the sun

starts to appear over the horizon, and she keeps her eyes closed until the sun is in full view, her wishes will come

true.

Her main wish is to find her father and brother again.

Kyleah doesn't really feel like she fits in with her foster family, and she and her foster brother, Benjamin, plot to

run away. Benjamin has a family in Moose Jaw, just across the Canadian border, and since Kyleah came from

Montana, she thinks she might find family members there.

The great escape is filled with suspense and emotion, and sometimes the adventure turns dangerous as they flee

from Kansas to Canada, stowing away on vehicles or catching rides when they can. Kyleah and Benjamin

sometimes contradict each other as they tell lies about who they are to keep from being caught by the authorities

and sent back to the Holcomb farm.

This story addresses the emotional problems of being abandoned and living within the foster

care

system. It

shows how a child might imagine threats that either don't exist or are misinterpreted, and might be tempted to take

matters into their own hands.

Herb Leonhard's black-and-white illustrations add visual depth to the story. We have come to expect great

characters from Janet Muirhead Hill, and Kyleah and Benjamin are impossible to forget. This great storyteller is a

master at realistic, but nearly heart-stopping excitement, in a fast-moving plot

with

a satisfying ending.