The three Parlin children have arrived at their grandmother's house earlier than usual this summer, and on this bright Sabbath morning, they're going to church. Seven-year-old Dotty Dimple, whose real name is Alice, finds herself caught in the small but piercing anxieties of childhood: comparing herself to other girls, grappling with what it means to be generous, learning that virtue isn't always what it appears to be in Sunday school. The world is fresh and beautiful, as if God just made it. New grass is growing. Dandelions dot the fields. But Dotty's heart carries a shadow of envy as she watches another girl named Jennie, and she must work through feelings she barely understands. Sophie May writes with a naturalist's eye for detail and a psychologist's understanding of how children actually think. The result is a portrait of childhood that feels authentic rather than sentimental: Dotty is sometimes vain, sometimes selfish, always trying to figure out what makes a person good. These small moral struggles matter enormously to her, and they will matter to any child reading along. This is a book for readers who love gentle period stories about growing up, where the adventures take place in a grandmother's kitchen and the great dramas are learned in Sunday school.
