Fortune's Magic Farm - Softcover

Suzanne Selfors is the author of Smells Like Dog, Smells Like Treasure, To Catch a Mermaid, and Fortune's Magic Farm. She lives with her husband on an island in Washington state where they are raising two children, a dog, a cat, and a flock of messy chickens.

Grade 4–6—Ten-year-old Isabelle, who was found on a doorstep when she was a baby and adopted by an elderly woman, lives in a dreadful boardinghouse in a town in which it never stops raining. She works long hours at Mr. Supreme's Umbrella Factory labeling boxes to support herself and her ailing grandmother. One day she is told that Grandma has passed away, and she decides to escape from Runny Cove. Upon running away, she meets Sage, a 12-year-old boy who tells her that she is not an orphan, but rather a tender, a member of the family who lives in hiding in the last place on Earth where magic grows. Sage takes her on a journey across the ocean to Fortune's Farm. Isabelle finds her new home to be a sunny place filled with fruit trees and magical seeds that immediately change her pale, prunelike appearance into a healthy body. Isabelle is faced with some tough obstacles and challenges to her loyalty but ultimately she wins her grandfather's approval and is able to bring about change in Runny Cove. The story gets off to a slow start, but upon arrival at Fortune's Farm, the descriptions of this magical land make it worthwhile. Readers will cheer for Isabelle throughout the story and despise Mr. Supreme and Mama Lu, the despicable owner of the boardinghouse.—Sarah Polace, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma, OH
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