Milam McGraw Propst

From Parents' Choice®:
In 1898, after her mother's death, Ociee runs wild with her brothers in Marshall County, Mississippi. Her mother's sister, Aunt Mamie, has other plans for Ociee. Her loving father agrees and packs his only daughter on the train to go live with her aunt on Charlotte Street in Asheville, North Carolina; it is the biggest metropolis that the child has ever seen. This protagonist, lively and sympathetic, stars in a story that is permeated with familial love. A 2000 Parents' Choice® Recommended winner.

Excerpt:
The only remaining female in the George Nash family, Ociee chooses to view herself as more brother than sister. Her favorite outfit is soft, worn dungarees and her brother Ben's old shirt that Mama made. Ociee's hair is a wispy web of curls and, dreadfully, it usually falls in her face when her self-tied ribbons slide down her back. Her gray eyes sparkle as she delights in chasing strangers who dare to wander upon her Mississippi farm.

This same little tomboy also goes to great pains to cook and clean and make a home for her beloved Papa and brothers Fred and Ben. She tries valiantly to fill the hole her Mama's death has left in the family. She fingers Mama's locket and hopes the touch of it will make things better.

Ociee endears herself to all while she struggles through the trauma of her mother’s funeral to finally celebrate her young life. Her eyes learn to see beyond stereotypes and traditional viewpoints as she looks into the hearts of people and finds only what is strong and joyful within them. Ociee giggles as only an innocent child can giggle; yet her youthful spirit carries what would seem to be the wisdom of an older soul.

Ociee triumphs over the sadness, fear, and anxiety of the painful occurrences of her early life. In doing just that, she will bloom in a new garden and sow seeds of love in the lives of those who come to know her in a new home on Charlotte Street.