Prairie Evers

In adult author Airgood's (South of Superior) upbeat first novel for children, she introduces irrepressible Prairie Evers, a 10-year-old country girl whose skill at turning bad situations into good ones is as impressive as the size of her heart. After moving from North Carolina to rural New York, Prairie dreads attending school and sorely misses her grandmother, who decided to return to North Carolina shortly after the move. Having been home-schooled previously, Prairie doesn't like the idea of being "caged" with classmates ("I wasn't much used to children and I didn't believe I'd like them"), and she fears she'll be at the bottom of the "pecking order." Her first few weeks at school are rough, but Prairie has loving parents and a brood of chickens waiting for her at home. Another outsider at school, Ivy Blake, isn't so lucky, and when Prairie offers to be her friend, both girls find that they can accomplish all kinds of "impossible" feats with a little determination. Sprinkled with comforting words of advice from Prairie's practical-minded grandmother, the book radiates warmth and wisdom. Ages 8%E2%80%9312. Agent: Joy Harris Literary Agency. (May)