Violet is back with a little bit of helpfulness and a whole lot of heart in this third book of the effervescent Violet Mackerel series. Violet is the smallest in her family, and has a special affinity for Small Things everywhere. So when she finds a tiny ladybug in the garden, she expects she knows how it feels. It probably has to go to bed before all the others, and whenever it finds out something interesting (like that your ears keep growing all your life even when you are old), the bigger ladybugs probably say they already knew. Violet wants to help the ladybug, so she names her Small Gloria, puts her in a jar, and feeds her cheese toast. And then Violet wakes up to a horrible surprise. But thankfully, even as Violet learns a hard lesson about natural habitats, she realizes how nice it is to share her own habitat with a big sister. Gr 1-3-In this beginning chapter book, seven-year-old Violet Mackerel has a soft spot for Small Things, being one herself. She notices a sparrow trapped inside the local shopping mall and the ladybugs in her backyard. After being told to "buzz off" by her big sister, Nicola, for suggesting that she could use the ladybugs for her natural-science project, Violet decides to conduct her own experiment. She finds a jar and creates what she thinks is the perfect ladybug habitat. In the morning, "Small Gloria" is "the wrong way up," and the sisters offer each other some comfort. They work together to create a life-cycle ladybug project without removing any more of the insects from their natural habitats, and Nicola is awarded a special honorable mention for her project. Black-and-white pencil sketches placed strategically throughout provide additional plot support. The sweet and whimsical nature of the story will appeal to many readers.-Amy Commers, South St. Paul Public Library, MNα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. “Violet’s voice and good spirit is what readers will remember: thoughtful, caring, and with the right amount of self-absorption to mark her as a seven-year-old. Fans will appreciate how Violet has matured over the course of the series. The changes in the sisters’ relationship, forged in the absence of parental interference, make this entry the best in the series so far. Like Ann Cameron’s The Stories Julian Tells , this is an excellent example of a chapter book that takes new readers seriously.” ― The Horn Book, May June 2013 “In this third in a series of Australian imports starring this appealing, inventive child, Violet turns her attention to small creatures…. The death of animals, whether through accidents or of natural causes, often weighs heavily on children, and this deceptively simple early chapter book takes such concerns seriously without getting stuck there…. Readers who met Violet earlier will feel right at home. Still, this sweet family story stands alone and should attract new fans.” ― Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2013 “In this beginning chapter book, seven-year-old Violet Mackerel has a soft spot for Small Things, being one herself…. The sweet and whimsical nature of the story will appeal to many readers." ― School Library Journal, June 2013 “The ever-curious, often-pensive, imminently imaginative Violet Mackerel is considering the natural habitats of ladybugs and sparrows and little sisters…. Violet’s sweetness and [her older sister] Nicola’s humble patience make for an endearing story of sibling relations in this third book in the Violet Mackerel series.” ― Booklist, June 6, 2013 Anna Branford was born on the Isle of Man and spent parts of her childhood in Africa and in Papua New Guinea. Now she lives in Melbourne, Australia, with a large black cat called Florence. She writes, drinks cups of tea in her garden, and makes dolls and other small things, which she sells at early morning markets. Anna is the author of the Violet Mackerel series. Visit her atAnnaBranford.com. Elanna Allen lives in New York with her husband and sons, where she writes and illustrates children’s books and designs characters for television. She wrote and illustrated Itsy Mitsy Runs Away and has created characters for Disney, Nickelodeon, and PBS. Stop by and say hi at ElannaAllen.com. Violet Mackerel’s Natural Habitat Violet Mackerel is a seven-year-old girl who is at the shopping center with her mama. They have been there all afternoon, buying violin strings for Violet’s eleven-year-old brother, Dylan, and an Encyclopedia of Natural Science for her thirteen-year-old sister, Nicola, who is doing a special display for a school science fair. They have not been buying anything for Violet, unless you count gray school socks. Violet does not count gray school socks. And now Mama has bumped into Mrs. Lin from across the road and they are having an extremely long cup of tea in the food court. “With petrol prices as they are,” says Mama to Mrs. Lin, “it’s getting difficult to ma