This book is wonderfully creative. Mary Vigliante Szydlowski has a very vivid imagination to create creatures as entertaining as the farbles. They are cute, lovable, and friendly. This book offers lessons on hygiene, cleanliness, and responsibility. It teaches children to care for and appreciate the environment around them. Books that teach and offer so much are rare to come by. I recommend this book to all ages. The farbles are great fun!

A rerelease of a book I read over ten years ago. This is a haunting story of a girl abused by her parents & the system for not being "normal" -- she's mute. The story follows her from a childhood most often spent tied to a tree like a dog, to her involuntary commitment in a state institution (circa 1950s?) that is abusive and degrading. Yet she survives w/ the help of herself and a few friends made along the way. Not an easy book to read but worth your time.