The Wonder of Wildflowers

Ten-year-old Mira must balance the loyalty she feels towards her family with the desire to be accepted by her new classmates in this powerful coming-of-age story about identity, community, and finding a place to call home.

I’m not like most of my classmates. At least not yet.

My family came to this country when I was five years old, but we’re so close to becoming citizens now. This means we’ll finally be able to use Amber like everyone else. Then I will be as special as the rest of my classmates, the ones who were born here with magic already in their veins.

But most of all, no one will compare me to Daniel anymore. Daniel who doesn’t even try to fit in, who actually seems proud of being an outsider.

Once I take my first sip of Amber, I will be on the inside.

I hope.

Anna Staniszewski is the talented and prolific author of over a dozen books for young readers, ranging from the novels Once Upon a Cruise and The Dirt Diary series, to picture books such as Dogosaurus Rex and Power Down, Little Robot. She was a Writer-in-Residence at the Boston Public Library and a winner of the PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award. Currently, Anna lives south of Boston with her family and teaches writing and children’s literature at Simmons University.