Miracle at Clement's Pond

Pendergraft's debut is a warm, dialect-rich middle-grade novel with real emotional stakes — a found baby, small-town secrets, and the kind of community ripple effect that makes for satisfying reading. The plot asks readers to accept a fairly large coincidence right from the opening, but if you can get past that, the characters and sense of place carry you through. A worthwhile find for grades 4-6, especially readers who love Robert Newton Peck's Southern-flavored stories.