Trowbridge Road

Gr 5 Up–A beautifully honest account of trauma and childhood friendship that takes place in the early 1980s. June Bug Jordan has watched her world shrink after the death of her father from AIDS, a disease that is little understood and causes her mother to adopt an obsessive regime of cleaning and isolation. Left to her own devices, June watches her neighbor Nana Jean and her grandson Ziggy, who has come to stay on Trowbridge Road after a traumatic experience of his own. June Bug and Ziggy become the creators of a magical world that allows them to escape the demons of their everyday lives, as they transform into everything from dragons to farmers overlooking a snow-covered field. The story is told through June’s inner monologue, and the prose feels authentic to the voice of a middle grader, albeit one who has dealt with some very heavy things. The text richly illustrates the inner lives of children, and the subject matter is handled in a way that is honest yet age appropriate.