One Square Inch by Claudia Mills

Mills, Claudia One Square Inch, 168 p. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2010.  $16.99.  Content: G.  After a visit to their grandfather, Cooper, 11, and his little sister, Carly, have deeds to eight square inches of land somewhere up in the northern reaches of the Yukon.  As their mother’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic, Carly and Cooper come with more and more exotic stories and elaborate decorations for their “Inchland” and they try to keep their mothers peculiarities from their closest friends and concerned teachers.  This is the second of three books that I have read recently about preteens dealing with a mentally ill parent – something they should never have to do.  It would be a good book to read aloud to a class or I can hope that the kids who need its message will find it and recognize that they need to get adult help.  EL – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher.