The Daring Escape of Beatrice and Peabody

Bee is an orphan who lives with a travelling carnival. Every day she endures taunts for the birthmark on her cheek - though her beloved Pauline, the only person who has ever cared for her, tells her it is a precious diamond. When Pauline is sent to work for another carnival, Bee is lost. Then a scruffy dog shows up, as unwanted as she, and Bee realizes that she must find a home for them both. She runs away to a house with gingerbread trim where two mysterious women, Mrs Swift and Mrs Potter, take her in. They clothe her, though their clothes are strangely out of date. They feed her, though there is nothing in their house to eat. They help her go to school, though they won't enter the building themselves. And only Bee seems able to see them . . . Whoever these women are, they matter. They matter to Bee. And they are helping Bee realize that she, too, matters to the world - if only she will let herself be a part of it. With an arrestingly original voice, this book stays with you long after reading. Anyone who has ever felt lonely will find a friend in Bee.

Kimberly Newton Fusco is the author of two previous, award-winning novels for children published in the USA, Tending to Grace and The Wonder of Charlie Anne. Before becoming a novelist, Ms. Fusco, a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City, was an award-winning reporter and editor for the Worcester, Massachusetts, Telegram & Gazette. She lives in Foster, Rhode Island, with her family. You can visit her on the web at kimberlynewtonfusco.com.