A Likely Place

A little boy who can't spell or ever seem to please his parents spends a week with a kooky babysitter and makes a special friend.

While his over-protective parents are away on a trip, Lewis meets and makes a connection with an old Spanish shoemaker who teaches him that he can think for himself.

Publishers Weekly

Overprotective parents leave their son in the care of an appealingly eccentric baby-sitter who allows him some freedom. Ages 8-12. (May)

After surviving a chaotic childhood in the U.S. and Cuba and giving up her own daughter for adoption at age 20, Paula Fox went on to pen award-winning children's books and a series of acclaimed novels. Today, she is enjoying a kind of literary renaissance as her work is hailed by contemporary writers including Jonathan Franzen.