Little Audrey

"What else would you wish for?" Daddy says. "If you could have anything in the world, what would you wish for?" I shrug. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe . . ." "Maybe what?" "For us to live better than we do." He does not say anything. In 1948, award-winning author Ruth White lived in Jewell Valley, a coal camp nestled between the hills of southwestern Virginia, with her mother, still mourning for a baby who died four years earlier; her father, who spent the weekends and most of his pay out drinking; and her three older sisters, Audrey, Yvonne, and Eleanor. Told in Audrey's voice, this is how the author imagines Audrey's experiences during a time of great trauma for the White family – and what happened before they were able to live a better life. This snapshot of life in a coal camp, complete with everyday heartaches and joys – as well as stories, songs, and jokes – is Ruth White's most personal work to date. Little Audrey is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.