The Wheel on the School

The Wheel on the School
Meindert DeJong

I loved this book as a child (as well as several other books by this author), so when I saw it in a used book store I picked it up right away. Then I brought it home and read it all in one day. It's one of those books for children that is so delightful that one never outgrows it. Besides, three of the main characters are elderly.

Lina is the only girl in her tiny six pupil school. One day she writes an essay about storks. They nest on her Aunt's house in a neighboring town, but none of the lucky birds grace their Dutch fishing village. Lina, the teacher, and the five boys set out to investigate why. It is decided that they need to put a wagon wheel up on the steep roof so the storks have something to nest on. But can they find one?

Their search takes them all over the countryside, where they meet unexpected allies, nearly drown several times, and finally succeed in finding a wheel. But a major storm is killing the storks, migrating over the sea from Africa. Will any survive? Will any choose the little town of Shora for their new lives? They will if the townsfolk and the children have anything to say about it.

Warm, fresh, and lively, The Wheel on the School is a delightful tale of community, overcoming fear and prejudice, and the power of beliving in the impossible.

Besides, it's illustrated by Maurice Sendak. How could it get any better than that?