Critically acclaimed author Kimberley Griffiths Little weaves a haunting story of friendship and family and the power of faith, once again set against the lush backdrop of the Louisiana bayou.

After her mother walked out on Shelby Jayne and her dad, Shelby thought she’d never speak to her mamma again. But with her dad leaving the country for work, it turns out she doesn’t have a choice: Shelby has to move back into her mamma’s house, deep in the heart of the Louisiana bayou.

Her new classmates tease and torment her, so Shelby’s relieved to finally find a friend in Gwen, a mysterious girl who lives alone on the bayou. But Shelby can’t help wondering if Gwen has something to do with the puzzling messages she finds hidden in the blue bottle tree behind her house. The only person who might be able to explain is her mamma — but Shelby’s not ready to ask. Not yet. It may take a brush with something from the beyond to help Shelby see that the power to put her own ghosts to rest is within her reach.

Kimberley Griffiths Little’s haunting and powerful tale brings one girl’s attempt to grapple with family, friendship, and forgiveness to beautiful, vivid life.

(Synopsis from Scholastic Press)

Circle of Secrets Teacher’s Guide

Circle of Secrets Mother-Daughter Book Club Guide

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REVIEWS:

Kirkus Reviews: A steamy Louisiana bayou is the atmospheric backdrop to a tale about a daughter’s estrangement from her mom, the mother’s long-held guilty secret and a restless ghost’s long-sought closure.

When her dad takes a job overseas, 11-year-old Shelby must stay with the mother who walked out on both of them a year earlier. Deeply resentful and wary of her healer mom’s isolated cabin deep in the swamp, Shelby gets drawn into mysterious doings involving strange notes hidden in glass bottles that hang from a tree near home . . The author serves up the setting well, evoking the sights, sounds and smells of the humid, tangled bayou. A very dramatic climax leads to a sweet, satisfying ending with some surprising twists and with reconciliation occurring for several characters. For readers who like their ghost stories more friendly than terrifying.  (Suspense. 9 -12)

Deep in the bayou country, Livie Moulaison’s mother arrives home from the hospital in a coma. Daddy is determined she will only get better surrounded by the people who love her best, but Livie is terrified of her mother’s lifeless condition and wracked by a guilty secret. The household is turned upside down when Aunt Colleen comes to nurse Mamma, but Livie and her cousin Thibodaux clash from the get-go. This annoying kid seems to know what her worst fears are – and plays on those fears to torment her. Finally, Livie travels into the forbidden recesses of the swamp to buy a healing spell from the mysterious traiteur in hopes that she can bring her mother back to life.

The Healing Spell Teacher’s Guide PDF (pdf)

The Healing Spell Mother-Daughter Book Club Guide (pdf)

HEALING SPELL jacket art (pdf)

Bank Street College Best Book of 2011!!!

The Healing Spell WON the Whitney Award for the Best Youth Novel of 2010!

AND a Crystal Kite Finalist!

AND A New Mexico Book Award Finalist!

“An incantational tale of Cajun magic and gators on the bayou and of the love and silence between mother and daughter.” RICHARD PECK, Newbery Medalist

“The Healing Spell is an atmospheric, affecting story of hope and devotion, as elegant and mysterious as bayou country itself.” CYNTHIA LEITICH SMITH, acclaimed author of Tantalize and Eternal

The Healing Spell Book Trailer!

Grade 6-10-A sequel to Enchanted Runner (Avon, 1999), this book stands on its own as a work of historical fiction and a time-travel story. Kendall, 14, has rediscovered his Native American roots in New Mexico at the Acoma Pueblo, ancestral home of his mother’s family. He is the last of the Snake Clan, a long line of warriors and mystics responsible for carrying out the yearly ceremonies that propitiate the gods and bring rain. In his modern existence, he is struggling to deal with the death of his mother. When his father remarries, the teen cannot accept the woman, and he flees into the desert. Transported back to 1598, he becomes part of the vibrant life of the Acoma people, who live on a mesa and farm the surrounding land. The tribe’s interaction with a group of Spaniards outfitted in armor results in tragic and devastating consequences, with Kendall a participant, witness, and one of the few survivors. Read the rest of this entry »

Kendall believes in magic. He can feel it when he runs. And since his mother’s death a year ago, the urge has become too big to explain. During her illness, Kendall ran to save her. Now he runs to retrieve the memory of her face. Sometimes, too, he imagines himself running like the warriors in Mom’s stories, Acoma Runners returning to his mother’s native pueblo tribe, to the cliffs of Acoma…Sky City…a place she promised they would visit together when he turned twelve. Read the rest of this entry »

Twelve-year-old Luke Espinosa dreams of becoming a great soccer player–a dream that seems impossible, since Luke has never played soccer and doesn’t even own a ball. But one day he spots an old, discarded soccer ball and his spirits soar. With his own ball, he can practice every day until he’ s good enough to make the school team. Then Luke discovers that his father, who left when Luke was a baby, is a professional soccer player. Now Luke is sure his dream is coming true. Soccer is in his genes. He’ll go live with his father and learn to play the game he loves. Read the rest of this entry »