Meeting Miss 405

Sweet, satisfying, original and real! Peterson has created a gem of a book -- written with honesty, wit, and heart.

Since her mother is unavailable while being treated for an illness, Tansy is required to report to a new babysitter, the mysterious Miss Stella who lives in apartment 405. Behind these doors, Miss Stella conducts a full, rich, and rather unusual life.

Tansy is a real character: the kind of fun and feisty little girl our daughters frequently are. Tansy is working her way toward understanding complex problems, including her mother's illness, a classmate's life-threatening allergy, and her own complicated emotions.

Peterson's prose is elegant, her language interesting. She gets inside a child's quirky head, yet never talks down to the reader. Highly recommended: a four wine-gum rating. (Why wine gums? Read the book to find out!)

I look forward to more work from this fine author.

Tansy's my kind of girl. Stands independently, but lets go when she learns the truthfullness about some parts of her life. A great little book. A great little read. Love Miss Stella.
I do expect more good reads from Lois Peterson soon.

Crafted with originality, humor, revelations, and life truths that are integral to the story, Lois Peterson has written an entirely satisfying novel for young readers. It delights with its rhythm, color, sensory images, and a fully engaging heroine, who faces the reality of separation from her mother and shows how, in the face of adversity, a child can grow, thrive, care for others, and express her creativity. Although written for children, this is a book I highly recommend that adults read, for the sheer pleasure and the truths about life.
- Elizabeth Lyon, editor and author of six books on the craft of writing