Maud and Amelia are total opposites, except that they are both very old and cooped up together in a boring house, each on the end of an enormously long bed. Suddenly, they have a great idea: to embroider their huge white bedspread to add a little interest to their lives. Finally agreeing to sew their childhood house, they set to work, each in her own way. Amelia is prim and proper, remembering to make use of all the fancy needlework she learned years ago. Maud has forgotten exactly how to sew, but makes do creatively with old buttons, brass loops, and odds and ends of fabric. Maud's house turns into an enchanting jungle, with the ice cream man and the peacocks roosting on the roof, and plenty of crooked balconies and smoke-billowing chimneys. Amelia's is undoubtedly beautifully-stitched and wonderful to look at. In the end, the two switch sides to look at the other's work and are astounded at how differently they remembered and re-created their childhoods. I can certainly empathize with both sisters through this well-told, funny, warm-and-fuzzy story and beautiful illustrations.

I just recieved this book as a present from my parents for my graduation. This had been my favorite book as a child; every time I went to the library, I would search to find it, then ask my mom to read it to me. I identified with Maud as a four-year-old, and I still see the character in myself fourteen years later. I think this book instigated my desire to see both points of view to every circumstance and to see how people interpret the same situations. This book holds the most amazing story and illustrations.

This is a great book to use with Learning Styles and/or Left/Right brain. The two sisters embroider a bedspread with the same ideas but the results are totally different.

Romantic look at the English Civil War, when the Puritans rebelled against King Charles. Daryl Conyngton is a devoted Royalist. Charity Shenfield, an orphan and his neighbor, has grown up with Daryl. She comes from a neutral household, but her cousin Jonas grows more and more devoted to the Puritan cause. Charity goes to work for and live with Daryl's family and also devotes herself to the Royalist cause.

Set against a background of war, oppression, friendship and love, this is a readable story. Daryl and Charity are both strong characters. Jonas becomes steadily more dangerous, the enemy of both.

My only complaint is that the story is fairly short. A novel set in this era deserves and could stand up to the epic treatment. It's to the author's credit, though, that even though this story is simply told, it still manages enough depth to keep it engaging. Spring Will Come Again is the sequel.