Around 5:00 a.m. on a warm Sunday morning in October 1953, my Aunt Belle Left her bed and vanished from the face of the earth.

Ooh, sounds really mysterious and spooky doesn’t it? Well, it is mysterious, and maybe a little bit spooky. Because Belle Prater lived high on a mountain with her less-than-mannerly husband and her poor little boy and even though they didn’t have much to speak of, they always had each other. Until, of course, that mysterious morning in October when something turned inside Belle Prater, and she vanished for good. It was then that her poor little boy Woodrow was sent down the mountain to live with his grandparents. And it was there that he became fast and best friends with his cousin Gypsy. Woodrow’s quick wit, determination, heartwarming sincerity and especially his outrageous stories quickly endear him to his family and to the town.

This book is so filled with interesting and funny characters that it was hard at times not to laugh out loud and make a public spectacle of myself. Actually, I probably did do that once or twice! But it was well worth it. Belle Prater’s Boy is heartwarming and life-affirming and funny and smart and, well, you get the picture. There’s also a sequel to this book called, The Search for Belle Prater. You can find them both at your library! Happy reading!

Other Books You Might Enjoy:

• The Search for Belle Prater by Ruth White
• Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
• The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg
• On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer