cover image Miracle at Clement's Pond

Miracle at Clement's Pond

Patricia Pendergraft. Philomel Books, $13.95 (199pp) ISBN 978-0-399-21438-7

Lyon Savage is a boy who dreams that J. Edgar Hoover is after him, and who wishes his pa, Bear, would join him in Clement's Pond for good, not just as a visitor. When Lyon and friends Sylvie and Justin find an abandoned baby, they secretly deliver it to a spinster, Miss Adeline, who names the baby Miracle. Their action ultimately reunites families and paves the way for Bear Savage to meet the baby's real mother, who becomes his bride. The homey flavor of the writing sets readers down in Clement's Pondwith folks both ornery and gentleand infuses the story with tall-tale elements that are easy to swallow. There is more than one miracle at Clement's Pond; this portrait of a small town of the past is moving and humorous, with inhabitants that readers will be darn glad they met. Ages 10-up. (June)