This a sad story. Two young girls move in with their aunt because their mother is having a hard time dealing with grief of losing a child. The girls must deal with their grief at their aunts house who often is difficult in their eyes. This book was depressing and I actually had a hard time to finishing it because it felt like it was stagnant towards the middle. I don't think I would use this in a lesson but I would have it in the classroom because a student who have a loss, would be able to find a friend in this book and relate to it. ( )

Thanks to Lunacat (Jenny) for recommending this gem!

Come watch the sunrise on Aunt Patty and Uncle Hob's roof with thirteen year old Willa Jo and her seven-year old grief stricken, mute "Little Sister."

It is hot and steep and dangerous, but the view allows a vista different from what is happening inside the grieving souls of two lonely, heart-broken little girls who recently lost their baby sister.

Once you are up there, why leave? In fact, why not stay throughout the day as neighbors gawk and Aunt Patty vigorously plys her guilt in an attempt to bring you down. In fact, it is Aunt Patty's take charge attitude, lack of understanding and extreme rules that drove you up there in the first place.

This poignant and profoundly sensitive 1990 Newbery Honor book is a gentle look at a family broken apart and uprooted by a series of unexpected events which yield heartbreaking sadness.

The original family of five becomes four when the unemployed father leaves; then they become three when sadly the baby of the family dies. Little Sister retreats inward and refuses to speak while Willa Jo is left to temporarily fend for the family.

While the loving, artistic mother mourns her losses, she valiantly attempts to hold on, but the enormity of her sadness leaves little room for the nurturing of the remaining children, who now become a family of two as they are taken away to live with their mother's sister and her husband.

Well intentioned, childless Aunt Patty is trying her best, but she misses the mark when coping with the two sad little girls who desperately miss their mother and struggle to understand loss and the change it brings.

Walk gently and quietly sit on the roof as dusk approaches and watch as loving, understanding Uncle Hobs is there beside the girls.

Earlier he not only climbed out, but he is now dancing while lending a helping hand and open heart as we slowly understand that Aunt Patty isn't evil, that mother truly does love her children, and if we look high enough, we will indeed find baby.

Highly recommended. ( )

Willa Jo is sitting on the roof. She is joined by her mute 'Little Sister' and together, they sit and watch the world.

This isn't a story of plot. There are no dramatic revelations, no twists, no turns, no stark revelations that shake you to the bone. What it is, is a novel of the quietness, the acceptance, the confusion and the weariness that grief brings.

There is the silence, the weight of grief pressing down until you fear to break the quiet. The welling up of sorrow coming from deep in your stomach until it strangles you. The feeling of isolation, of watching the world go by and wondering what the point is any more. Of feeling that you will never belong again, because of this wall around you, where noise doesn't come in, and nothing gets out. Where the whole world but you seem to be speaking another language.

This is one of those books that is so quiet, you don't hear it coming until it punches you in the stomach. You don't know its got inside until you know what is going to happen and you are begging for it not to. I sat on the roof with them, and I knew exactly how it felt.

A YA book with the emptiness of grief, and the overwhelming strength of love. ( )

Getting near to baby captures your heart with its tragic and meaningful plot. A family, who is without a father while he searches for a job, has their baby's life taken by tainted water at a day trip to the nearby carnival, causing them to let themselves go and only do what has to be done. The two children, Willa Jo and wordless Little Sister, are "rescued" by their Aunt Patty to come live with her for a period of time. Once there, they end up climbing up onto the rooftop to watch the sunset, and end up staying, attracting all of the curious neighbors. Getting near to baby will deeply move you with its passion and meaning, as it did for me. ( )

So sad... This touching book outlines a family's grief and struggle to move on. A review for you:
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-8-A touching examination of grief and healing, of the affects of a tragedy on a family, and of loss and acceptance. Willa Jo Dean, one week shy of her 13th birthday, crawls onto the roof of Aunt Patty's house to watch the sunrise. Little Sister follows her, as always. Much to Aunt Patty's chagrin, the sisters stay on the roof, ignoring her pleas and threats to come down. The novel encompasses one day's sunrise to sunset. In a series of flashbacks, Willa Jo tells of the death of Baby from drinking tainted water at a carnival, of their mother's blaming herself and incapacitating grief, and of Little Sister's refusal to talk. The girls have been taken to their aunt's house, where they have spent an uncomfortable three weeks, missing their mother, their baby sister, and being at odds with the well-intentioned yet bossy and humorless Aunt Patty. By day's end, the girls are reunited with their mother, reconciled with their aunt, and realize that death is not to be feared, that life is short, and that love brings healing. Couloumbis's writing is strong; she captures wonderfully the Southern voices of her characters and conveys with great depth powerful emotions. Indeed, this is a book about feelings and relationships, and the reverent tone and child-focused attempts to understand the unknowable ring true in a deeply satisfying manner. While the lack of action as well as the nonchronological flashbacks may prove a challenge for some youngsters, this is a compelling novel that will speak to special readers. ( )