The Portrait, the Wind, the Chair

Book excerpt: During the windstorm of the century, ten-year-old Lucy and her fourteen-year-old sister, Terroba, find themselves marooned alone in Gramma's old house. With the phones dead, the electricity out, and Mom nowhere in sight, Lucy must deal with a chair with a mind of its own and a dead gramma who won't stay in her portrait. Her night of imagination and adventure leaves Lucy with a new ability to face her fears and embrace the love that is all around her. Commissioned and produced by the Seattle Children's Theatre, this play "...focuses on everyday matters that many preteen children face... Things like trying to get along with your older/younger sibling, even when they're driving you nuts. Trying to be brave even when you don't feel brave. Learning to accept the illness and death of a loved one. And using fantasy as both an escape and a route to self-discovery."--Back cover.