When Eliza Jane Murphy–line leader, captain of the worm rescue team–impulsively pockets a sparkly green stone from her classroom’s “Exploring Green” display table, her heart crumples. My heart stopped singing. My letters went wonky. I was too heavy to swing! I wanted to put it back . . . But what if someone saw? But when she discovers that nearly everyone in her family took something once in their lives–from her baby brother and mom, to her nana with her sausage-stealing dog–Eliza overcomes her shame to make things right. A hilarious and heartfelt story about stealing and finding the courage to do the right thing.
A great book providing a relatable story to help kids through the emotions of making a mistake and finding the courage to fix it. I like that her family, especially her parents, are their to comfort and help her.
Cute illustrations and does a wonderful job exploring Eliza Jane's actions and guilt in a way that normalizes it so that children don't feel alone while also emphasizing the importance of rectifying the mistake.
Abigail Rayner was born in England where they have lots of history and rain. She spent her childhood visiting castles, picnicking in cars, and getting told off for writing stories during maths. When she grew up, she became a reporter and moved to New York, where she was encouraged to write stories, but not the made-up kind. These days she lives in New Jersey, with her wonderful husband, two brilliant kids, and three terrible cats. She never gets in trouble for writing stories.
Molly Ruttan (mollyruttan.com) illustrated I Am a Thief (by Abigail Rayner), and The Stray is the first book she has both written and illustrated. She grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, earned a BFA in graphic design from the Cooper Union School of Art in New York, and established a career as a graphic designer and illustrator in Los Angeles. She is married to her childhood friend and music producer, Gabriel Moffat. In addition to illustrating, drawing, painting, and writing, and parenting three daughters, Molly works part-time as a freelance graphic designer; plays drums and sings in the eclectic-folk rock band New Garden; creates artwork for, records, and performs as a backup singer and percussionist in the progressive art rock band Phideaux (bloodfish.com); and is a member of the Silverlake Conservatory of Music’s adult choir Silverlake Singers.
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