Horn Book

This, the sixth volume in a series of early chapter books featuring Dani and her friend Ella (My Happy Life, rev. 7/13, and sequels), confidently assumes an audi¬ence of loyal readers with a chatty opening phrase, “Here is some more about Dani…” This confidence is well placed. Once you’ve met these sturdy Swedish girls, you want to check in with them regularly. A bit of tidy backstory reminds readers that Dani’s mother died when Dani was of daycare age and that she occasionally goes to live with her grandparents when her father (who periodi¬cally “got sad”) isn’t up to caring for her. During one such interval, Dani and her grandma cook up a plan for Dani to travel by train, all by herself, to visit Ella in a neighboring town. Disaster strikes when, despite careful planning, there’s nobody to meet Dani at journey’s end, and, stranded in the railway waiting room, she encounters bullies who steal her cellphone. Intertwining with the main plot is a subplot involving her father’s ex-girlfriend, Sadie. All of this adds up to far more than the sum of its parts, with gentle humor and deep strains of resilience and kindness. Both writer and illustrator treat Dani with total respect throughout her distress and confusion. Adults are realistically flawed, and things don’t necessarily work out (although, after several honest conversations Dani has with both Dad and Sadie, there is some hope that they might), but all characters are portrayed with compassion and understanding. This series just gets better and better.