Rules for Stealing Stars by Corey Ann Haydu

Silly (Priscilla) and her sisters have just moved into the house their mother grew up in.  There is a lot of history in this house, for the girls and their mother, and it isn't all good history.  Silly's older sisters don't want to let her hang around with them, but they need all of the sister power they can get to be strong when their mother's sickness gets worse.  As the bond between the girls is challenged by the outside forces of the older girls' boyfriends and the mother's drinking, it is also strengthened by their adventures into the magical closets in the old house.

Rules for Stealing Stars by Corey Ann Haydu (Lexile: 720; Interest Level: Grades 3-6) blends reality and make-believe in a remarkable way as the girls discover their parents' fairytale and realize how much they must work together to make each other strong enough to deal with the grown-up challenges they must face.  Readers who search for a little magic in the everyday will enjoy this story, as will readers who have ever wished for magic to help with the difficult realities of parental shortcomings. (336 p.)

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