I picked this book out of one of those scholastic catalogues they send home with schoolkids. There wasn't even a synopsis or ANYTHING, but I just knew from the little picture of the cover that I wanted to read this book.
It was the toe socks! You can look at that cover and you know that this is one of those cute little quirky numbers that's going to make you feel warm and fuzzy, and it is. I didn't buy it, though. I decided I wasn't going to spend money on any books right now. So my nephew went to his classroom library and found it for me--he's a sweetie.
It's about a girl named Zoe Elias. Zoe wants to be a piano player, but when her slightly agoraphobic dad goes to buy a piano, he sees an organ, gets a little excited and nervous, and buys it instead. The dad is a perfect oddball--he will leave the house on occasion, but mostly just gets lost and has to be talked home by a friendly tow truck driver. He also subscribes to one of those take-classes-at-home colleges, and at the start of the book has, like, 26 "diplomas"!
Zoe is disappointed with the organ, but since it comes with 6 months of free lessons she learns to play it anyway. She's actually good at it, and although she still wishes it were a piano, she sticks with it, and I LOVE THAT!
Also there's this kid named "Wheeler" who just decides one day to be her friend, and he ends up being a sort of lifesaver to her family, and the most frustrating thing happens at the end--Zoe asks him about his family, and he says "it's a long story" AND THEN THE STORY ENDS. I'm really really hoping that Urban is, RIGHT NOW, writing the sequel. That would make me happy.
This is a short book, for me, but it'd give a 4th-grader a very nice read, and I would recommend this to anyone. Seriously. It's hella-cute.
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