Stray (Book, Turtleback Scho)

"On her seventy-fifth birthday, Henny Hickathrift leaves the old-folks home with its 'boring people' and sets off on a journey that lands her in the seaside resort of Saltmouth, with all but one penny of her 50 pounds spent. When she spots a stray dog on the beach, she writes in the sand, matter of factly and without a trace of self-pity, 'I am a stray old woman.' A family of five red-haired children spot her message and quickly invite her home, where even their dubious father is charmed by Henny's delight in everything she finds and by her straightforward sense of loyalty and honor. The china figurines depicted on the book jacket hint at the fairy tale qualities of this endearing story Henny defeats a burglar, adopts a stray dog, and wins the lottery but the author does such a fine job of grounding the story in the everyday details of contemporary English life that even the less plausible elements of the plot seem possible....many will appreciate the glimpse into the life of a kindly old woman and her adoptive family". Booklist