Carly Bean Bitters, 11, lives with her elderly aunt in a ramshackle house at the edge of the Whistle Root woods. Carly is lonely because her “contrary clock” is reversed—a medical oddity that makes her sleep at dawn and rise at dusk. During the summer, she rarely sees anyone. If it weren’t for the rats, especially a musically talented one named Lewis, she would have little interaction at all.

Exquisitely illustrated by Rebecca Bond, this gentle, satisfying young fantasy by Christopher Pennell is filled with unforgettable, quirky characters and imagery. A perfect read-aloud, it shows how one can find friends in the unlikeliest of places - windowsills, rabbit burrows, the library.