Storyteller [Paperback]

Elizabeth is drawn into a dramatic story from the American Revolution when she discovers a portrait of her ancestor, a girl called Zee, who has a striking resemblance to Elizabeth. The girls' lives intertwine and Elizabeth's present-day story alternates with Zee's. As Elizabeth learns about Zee, and walks where Zee once walked and battles raged, the past becomes as vivid and real as the present.

PATRICIA REILLY GIFF is the author of many beloved books for children, including the Kids of the Polk Street School books, the Friends and Amigos books, and the Polka Dot Private Eye books. Several of her novels for older readers have been chosen as ALA-ALSC Notable Books and ALA-YALSA Best Books for Young Adults. They includeThe Gift of the Pirate Queen; All the Way Home; Water Street; Nory Ryan's Song,a Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Honor Book for Fiction; and the Newbery Honor BooksLily's CrossingandPictures of Hollis Woods.Lily's Crossingwas also chosen as a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book. Her most recent books areNumber One Kid, Big Whopper, Flying Feet, Eleven,andWild Girl.Elizabeth

Twenty-first Century

School's over; the weekend's here. Elizabeth heads for home. She'll put her feet up on the bench in the kitchen, read her library book, and finish off the brownies she and Pop made last night.

What could be better?

She trudges around to the back door, passing the living room, then Pop's workroom. She can see him through the window. He's long and lanky, his hair a little gray around the temples. He's leaning over his table, working on one of his carvings. On a shelf above his head, wooden animals march along in a row, and a face mask glares out at her. Weird. She tilts her head, picturing someone wearing that mask; a girl maybe, trying to look fierce. Her name would be . . .

Pop spots her. Elizabeth?

She climbs the steps, pushes open the door, lãå