I was intrigued by the title and the water colors. The text did not deliver.

This book is twice as long as a typical picture book, with far too much text for a young child to sit through. The protagonist is two young to appeal to an older reader. And the content is far too dark for many children younger than ten to comprehend.

An absent father forces a mother to send her preschool daughter to stay at the local school all day, from before the building opens to hours after the last student leaves. This is either absurd or very scary, depending on one's disposition. Then, the father dies and the mother lies. The little girl fakes her disappearance to sneak into the house alone and read the letters. The happy ending is intended to be that the little girl has learned to read. But, does that really make anything at all okay?