Amelia's Family Ties (by Marissa Moss)

In AMELIA'S FAMILY TIES, Amelia meets her father for the first time and wrestles with all the questions and emotions that come in the aftermath of divorce. Author Marissa Moss handles it with realism and ease. Nothing is sugarcoated, from the awkwardness and missteps of the first meeting to the reluctance to accept the stepmother to the eventual confrontation of the long-absent parent by a child. A wide range of conflicting emotions and reactions are well represented from all family members' points of view.

As always, the pictures are a big hit: Bright watercolor illustrations depicting scenes of family drama and funny, related images support the text well. This book has fun, visually busy pages, and it's hard to resist the charm of the familiar black-and-white composition-notebook format, complete with a class schedule and information charts.