Snowdrops for Cousin Ruth

by Susan Katz

Together with her elderly, exuberant cousin Ruth, who has just moved in next door, Johanna tries to dissipate some of her family's grief over the death of her little brother, which stunned her sister, Susie, into silence.

Genres: Picture Books, Young Adult

192 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

Susan Katz is the Camp Fire Girl on the left in the photo, which is what she still looks like on the inside. On the outside, she's morphed into the author of eight children's books.

Her first book was a middle-grade novel, SNOWDROPS FOR COUSIN RUTH, winner of the Paterson Prize and a Publishers' Weekly Flying Start honor.

Her most recent books are THE PRESIDENT'S STUCK IN THE BATHTUB (Clarion Books, Feb., 2012), a Junior Library Guild selection, and the humorous science-fiction e-book, FLAT LIKE FRED. story of the boy who saved the Earth from alien tadpoles and the planet Bovine (where the cow who jumped over the moon landed) from its terrible mouse-elephant rampages.

Her picture book. OH, THEODORE! was an Oprah Pick, winner of a Utah Beehive Award and a Texas 2 x 2 Award, as well as a selection of the New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing.

WHEN THE SHADBUSH BLOOMS, co-authored with Carla Messinger - the story of two Lenni Lenape girls living through the round of the seasons, one in modern times and one in historical times - was a finalist for a National Children's Choice Book award.

Currently she's working on the final stages of a new children's novel, THE UNKNOWN LAND, and a collection of poems about Theodore Roosevelt and his six children, ARCHIE AND QUENTIN, Poems of a White House Childhood.

Reviews

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful story told with heart and humor from the point of view of nine year-old Johanna Rush. Josie, as she is often called, and her family are struggling after the sudden death of her seven year-old brother Johnny. What used to be a happy family is now fraught with grief and tension. Josie's parents never want to talk about Johnny, and her younger sister Susie, Johnny's twin sister, has completely shut down. She has stopped speaking and barely reacts to anything. Josie does not find much comfort at school either, since she is dealing with a strict teacher and an intimidating bully. Thankfully, Josie finds good support in her fiercely loyal friends and in 82 year-old Cousin Ruth when she moves in next door. Cousin Ruth helps Josie and her family come back to life after such a devastating loss and touches the lives of everyone around her with her insight and compassion. It is clear the author respects her audience enough to tell a sensitive story with no kid gloves. It is honest and realistic yet humorous and loving. I highly recommend this book for anyone regardless of age, especially for anyone dealing with the loss of a loved one. I first discovered this story from an excerpt in an "American Girl" magazine in the 1990s.