Imani is adopted, and she's ready to search for her birth parents. Anna has left behind her family to escape from Holocaust-era Europe to meet a new family--two journeys, one shared family history, and the bonds that make us who we are. Perfect for fans of The Night Diary . Imani knows exactly what she wants as her big bat mitzvah gift: to find her birth parents. She loves her family and her Jewish community in Baltimore, but she has always wondered where she came from, especially since she's black and almost everyone she knows is white. Then her mom's grandmother--Imani's great-grandma Anna--passes away, and Imani discovers an old journal among her books. It's Anna's diary from 1941, the year she was twelve and fled Nazi-occupied Luxembourg alone, sent by her parents to seek refuge in Brooklyn, New York. Anna's diary records her journey to America and her new life with an adoptive family of her own. And as Imani reads the diary, she begins to see her family, and her place in it, in a whole new way. Praise for The Length of a String Sydney Taylor Honor Book, awarded by the Association of Jewish Libraries Tablet Magazine 's Best Jewish Children's Books of 2018 “Told in two voices which Weissman weaves together like a double helix, this is a story of family ties, some of which are broken by war, some broken by choice, some broken by unanswered questions. But by the end, readers will see that love and faith—from strangers, from friends, and from long-gone ancestors—have the power to knit us together with strings that are so much stronger than genetics. I loved this sweet refuge of a book.” —Kathi Appelt, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Underneath and The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp   “You’ll yearn with this wonderful heroine as she searches for long-ago Anna and her own hidden past. The characters are unforgettable, and the ending is entirely satisfying. A book readers will love; I know I did.” —Patricia Reilly Giff, Newbery Honor-winning author of Lily’s Crossing “ The Length of a String is a resounding continuum of connection and search for self. As universal as it is personal. A must read.” —Rita Williams-Garcia, Newbery Honor-winning author of One Crazy Summer “Weissman’s newest adds to her oevre of middle-grade novels featuring smart kids learning life lessons.” — Booklist “Pair this with Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars for Jewish historical fiction with heart. An excellent addition with strong curricular ties.” — School Library Journal “Both Anna and Imani are richly drawn characters, complex and sympathetic. . . . [A] moving, deftly plotted story.” — Publishers Weekly “The reader watches as [Imani] deepens her understanding of who she is and the world around her—page by page, emotion by emotion. . . . Highly recommended.” —Jewish Book Council Elissa Brent Weissman is the award-winning author of several middle grade novels, including the Nerd Camp series, and the editor of Our Story Begins , an anthology of writing and art by today's kids' book creators back when they were kids themselves. She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and earned a Master's degree in children's literature at Roehampton University in London. Named one of CBS Baltimore's Best Authors in Maryland, Elissa lives with her family in Baltimore, where she teaches creative writing to children, college students, and adults. 22 August 1941 t. 1950 Dear Belle, All my life I’ve shared with you. Before we were born, we shared Mama’s belly, splitting the resources so equally that we weighed the exact same amount at birth. The story of our arrival was our bedtime story for years and years. How the doctor didn’t realize there were two of us until nine minutes after I was born, when you followed me into life. (How you have always loved a good surprise!) How in those nine minutes, Mama and Papa had already named me Annabelle. How they were so shocked at your arrival, they didn’t think to come up with a second name. Instead, they split mine in two. I became Anna, you Belle. Twelve years later, we share more than a name. To strangers, we’re identical. We have the same straight brown hair cropped to the same place beneath our ears, the same gray-green eyes, the same pattern to our forehead wrinkles when we squint without our same-prescription glasses. We have the same height, the same weight, the same narrow heels that make buying shoes the same type of challenge. Save the mole on my left elbow that you lack, we are mirror replicas. So, like a name, we share our appearance. We certainly don’t share a personality. You are carefree and adventurous, while I am careful and cautious. You are quick to laugh, but also quick to cry. Your emotions flap back and forth like clothes drying on the line. We are both 12 but in many ways you are like our baby sister Mina, lashing out in anger in one moment, then jumping with delight the next, your hurt erased at the sight of something pretty. Don’t be angry at th