January 18 feature: Autumn Street

Yes, this is the second Lois Lowry book I've featured this month. But Autumn Street is so different from the first one, in both writing style and character descriptions. It's written from the viewpoint of seven-year-old Elizabeth, who along with her mother and sister, lives with her grandparents while her father is fighting in World War II. Elizabeth's best friend Charles is the grandson of her grandparents' black cook. I found the thread of race relations that runs through the book to be open and plain. We learn about discrimination through a child's eyes. The book's end surprised me, but the pragmatic tenderness throughout the book is wonderful.