It was a painting of three dogs, one black, one yellow, and one bright white, running under a night sky full of stars, across the barrens dotted with blueberries. And along the edge of a far-off road, a patch of tiger lilies.
“This winter, when I look up at the stars, I’ll imagine you in Maine playing in the snow with Lucky and Rosie,” Salma said.
“And I’ll imagine you in Florida wearing shorts and flip-flops and painting beautiful pictures.” Reaching for it, I also imagined Luna running right off the edge of the painting and up the steps of Salma’s house. Home again after a long time away.
And Mama looking down from Heaven, smiling to see those tiger lilies.
Then I saw something in the painting I hadn’t seen at first. All around the dogs—under their paws, along the little road, even surrounding the tiger lilies—the blueberries were different colors. Red, pink, purple, black, blue, white, and even some with stripes.
On each little blueberry was a tiny dot of yellow.
A whole galaxy of stars.
CYNTHIA LORD is the award-winning author of Rules, a Newbery Honor book and a Schneider Family Book Award winner, as well as the critically acclaimed Half a Chance and Touch Blue. She is also the author of the Shelter Pet Squad chapter book series. Lord is a former teacher, behavioral specialist, and bookseller. She lives in Maine with her family. Visit her at www.cynthialord.com.
Copyright © 2015 by Cynthia Lord
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lord, Cynthia, author.
A handful of stars / Cynthia Lord.
pages cm
Summary: When her blind dog slips his collar, twelve-year-old Lily meets Salma Santiago, a young Hispanic girl whose migrant family is in Maine for the blueberry-picking season, and, based partly on their mutual love of dogs, the two forge a friendship while painting bee boxes for Lily’s grandfather—but as the Blueberry Queen pageant approaches, Lily and Salma are confronted with some of the hard truths of prejudice and migrant life.
ISBN 978-0-545-70027-6
1. Children of migrant laborers—Juvenile fiction. 2. Hispanic American children—Juvenile fiction. 3. Blind dogs—Juvenile fiction. 4. Grandparent and child—Juvenile fiction. 5. Friendship—Juvenile fiction. 6. Blueberry industry—Juvenile fiction. 7. Maine—Juvenile fiction. [1. Migrant labor—Fiction. 2. Hispanic Americans—Fiction. 3. Blind dogs—Fiction. 4. Dogs—Fiction. 5. Grandparents—Fiction. 6. Friendship—Fiction. 7. Blueberry industry—Fiction. 8. Maine—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.L87734Han 2015
813.6—dc23
2014029526
First edition, June 2015
Cover art and design by Nina Goffi, created from the following images:
© iStockphoto: dog (Pumba1), blueberry (rimglow)
e-ISBN 978-0-545-70029-0
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Cynthia Lord, A Handful of Stars
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