Linda Jacobs Altman

The story begins with a young girl named Amelia extolled her hatred for all manner of roads. Quickly we discover that Amelia's family are migrant workers, and she resents the constant travel and moving necessitated by her family's need to move for work. Amelia has to get up and pick apples for three hours before school starts. Unlike previous years, this year Amelia's teacher takes steps to make sure she is included in the class. After school, Amelia discovers an "accidental" road, more of an overgrown footpath, that leads her to a large tree. Following her personal road each day, she sits beneath the tree, a rare representation of permanence in her life. However, the end of the harvest nears and Amelia begins to dread the impending move. Amelia comes to the solution of creating an "Amelia box" full of things that she identified with, and buried it at the old tree like a time capsule. Now that she had a place to call her own, Amelia didn't dread moving so much anymore. Many more children than specifically the children of migrant workers are going to be able to identify with this book, particularly military children, but really any kids that have had to make significant moves in their lives. The sense of belonging and security is something universally experienced and desired, so we can all find some part of ourselves in Amelia. On the surface level, this book can also introduce the concept of migrant workers to school-age children, and in some schools, help normalize the population of migrant children to other students unfamiliar with the practice.… (more)