Here's the orange tree that was the inspiration for my book. The birdhouse looks like my husband, Gerry.

This is a PDF file. Reading Group Guide Orange Street pdf (2.3MB)
This is a PDF file. DRAW YOUR OWN STREET! (411.8KB)
Interview with Joanne: Child Development and Children's Books
The real reasons successful books look and sound the way they do

One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street

Abrams, April, 2011
ISBN 978-0-8109-9719-6

CHRIS BUZELLI'S WONDERFUL COVER!


This is my newest middle grade novel. It revolves around a neighborhood's one remaining orange tree and the secrets told, grand ideas shared, and events witnessed in its presence. The story is told in the viewpoints of the street's many inhabitants, past and present.

2011 National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) Children’s Products competition Gold Winner

Summer 2011 Kids' Indie Next List: "Inspired Recommedations for Kids from Indie Booksellers"

2011 Southern California Independent Booksellers Book Award Finalist in the Children's Novel Category

KIRKUS, starred: "Fully realized characters and setting definitely make this one morning on Orange Street amazing."

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, starred: " Fascinating and thought-provoking, the writing has a gentle cadence, richness in detail, and is charged with emotion. The book, like the oranges on the Orange Street tree, presents segments of life that are both sweet and tart and sure to satisfy."

PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY: "...realistic, evocative novel, which features a warm and believable community of adults and children... culminating in a confrontation that resolves several mysteries and brings out the best in everyone." Ages 8–12. (Apr.)

LIBRARY MEDIA CONNECTION, starred: " Readers will be delighted with the author’s talent for showing how everyone is somehow connected."

NEW YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS: "In one marvelous chapter the tree tells its own history...This deceptively simple book reminds us how important the things we sometimes take for granted are: friendship, family, love, and the interconnectedness of our everyday world."

AUDIO EXCERPT FROM LISTENING LIBRARY, RANDOM HOUSE, Narrated by Lisa Baney:, www.listeninglibrary.com