BLOOMING AT THE TEXAS SUNRISE MOTEL
THE WATER SEEKER
KEEPER OF THE NIGHT
PART OF ME
The Piper Reed series
PIPER REED, NAVY BRAT
PIPER REED, CLUBHOUSE QUEEN
PIPER REED, PARTY PLANNER
PIPER REED, CAMPFIRE GIRL
PIPER REED, RODEO STAR
PIPER REED, FOREVER FRIEND
A TLA Spirit of Texas Reading List Selection
A VOYA Top Shelf Selection
A Dorothy Canfield Fisher Master List Selection
A Kansas NEA Reading Circle Master List Selection
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
A VOYA Perfect Ten
“Artfully told.” —School Library Journal, starred review
“A novel that sings from the heart.” —VOYA, starred review
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kimberly Willis Holt is the author of many award-winning novels, including Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel, Dear Hank Williams, The Water Seeker, My Louisiana Sky, and When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. She is also the author of the popular Piper Reed chapter book series and several picture books. Holt was born in Pensacola, Florida, and has lived all over the world, from Paris and Guam to New Orleans and Forest Hill, Louisiana. She now writes and gardens in Texas, where she lives with her family, dog, and pet snail.
Visit her online at kimberlywillisholt.com, or sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Map
Chapter One: A World Away
Chapter Two: While-a-Way Lane
Chapter Three: First Appearance
Chapter Four: Look Closer
Chapter Five: Tea With a Spider
Chapter Six: The Giant
Chapter Seven: Snail Tale
Chapter Eight: Top-Notch Spy
Chapter Nine: Agatha Brown
Chapter Ten: Neighbors
Chapter Eleven: Moonlight Ride
Chapter Twelve: Daniel
Chapter Thirteen: The Return
Chapter Fourteen: Bird Feeder
Chapter Fifteen: Lost Boy
Chapter Sixteen: The Arrival
Chapter Seventeen: First Rehearsal
Chapter Eighteen: Attic
Chapter Nineteen: The Roof
Chapter Twenty: Heroes
Chapter Twenty-One: Dog Walk
Chapter Twenty-Two: Tilda Remembers
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Lemonade Girl
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Fireflies
Chapter Twenty-Five: Eight is Better Than Six
Chapter Twenty-Six: A Secret
Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Knot
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Something in the Wind
Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Invitation
Chapter Thirty: A Date
Chapter Thirty-One: The Plan
Chapter Thirty-Two: Tilda’s Plans
Chapter Thirty-Three: The Performance
Chapter Thirty-Four: Gifts
Chapter Thirty-Five: On While-a-Way Lane
Acknowledgments
Other novels by Kimberly Willis Holt
Praise
About the Author
Copyright
Text copyright © 2019 by Kimberly Willis Holt
Illustrations copyright © 2019 by Jonathan Bean
Henry Holt and Company, Publishers since 1866
Henry Holt® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010 • mackids.com
All rights reserved.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition of this book as follows: Names: Holt, Kimberly Willis, author. | Bean, Jonathan, 1979– illustrator.
Title: The Lost Boy’s gift / Kimberly Willis Holt; with illustrations by Jonathan Bean.
Description: First edition. | New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2019. | “Christy Ottaviano Books.” | Summary: When his parents separate, Daniel very unhappily moves to a cottage on While-a-Way Lane, but neighbor Tilda Butter helps him discover he has a special gift like hers.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018039237 | ISBN 9781627793261 (hardcover)
Subjects: | CYAC: Moving, Household—Fiction. | Neighborhoods—Fiction. | Human-Animal communication—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | Theater—Fiction. | Family problems—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.H74023 Los 2019 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018039237
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eISBN 9781627793278
First hardcover edition 2019
eBook edition April 2019