Kids into books - The Gap

This weeks title: The Gap

Author: Marie Gibson

Publisher: Scholastic, $11.95

Illustrator: Kim Baird

Age group: 8-11 years

She swung around, flipping her long dark hair over one shoulder. It swung like a silky curtain as she climbed back onto the train.

Matthew sighed. Why couldn't Rosie and Annabelle get on together? He blamed Annabelle. After all, she was more than ten years older than Rosie. But at the same time he knew it must be a putdown for Annabelle, having a little sister who was charming to everyone but her.

When the family had first decided to go on the vintage train trip for Matthew's thirteenth birthday, Grandma had promised to look after Rosie. "Little Nicholas will be enough for you to look after," she'd said to Mum, "although I'd take him too if you weren't still breastfeeding."

Breastfeeding was another problem for Annabelle. She hated it when Mum fed the baby in front of strangers. Just after getting on the train Mum had unbuttoned her dress and cuddled the baby to her.

"She'd never have done that while she was married to Dad," Annabelle whispered to Matthew.

Matthew had to agree with Annabelle, but there were a lot of things Mum did now that she wouldn't have done then. And most of them were good.