"I won't share 'cuz it's not fair!" is nine-year-old Isabella Speedwalker-Juarez's motto. It's all because she's stuck in a room with her toddler brother, Dozer. Mom says Izzy has to adapt to Granny's tiny trailer, where they've just moved because money is tight and Mom is worried about losing her job at the gum factory. Izzy knows what will make everything better - an above-ground pool. She'll swim in it for hours, and she won't share it with anyone, not even her new classmates or her friend Deborah Nibblebitz-Fifer. With help from Zachary O'Toole, the neighborhood handyman - and from Deborah - Izzy plans to hold a car wash to raise money. But when things finally start to go her way, a tornado damages the neighborhood, and Izzy begins to rethink her motto. Sparkling illustrations and a large dose of warmhearted humor make Isabella's dilemma - and change of heart - easily identifiable to young readers everywhere.

ALICE MEAD is the author of the popular Junebug books, as well as Madame Squidley and Beanie and Year of No Rain. She lives in Maryland. MARYANN COCCA-LEFFLER has written and/or illustrated many books for children, including Jack's Talent and A Vacation for Pooch. She lives in Amherst, New Hampshire.