I read Moon Runner and loved it. I'm going to buy copies of all of Marsden's books for my nieces. With Moon Runner, Gold-Threaded Dress, and The Quail Club, Marsden is developing her own beautiful genre: moving, multicultural chapter books that speak to the hearts of elementary school children. From the very first page of each book she presents nuanced portraits of kids with important decisions to make. What I love about Marsden's characters is that they seem so real, not cardboard or over dramatized. Each moment, each decision the children make is honored and described. In between the plot points is rich detail, and crystalline moments where we can feel and experience some of the pleasures of being alive. She's creating something rare and valuable: nourishing, contemporary literature that kids will find accessible and fun to read.

I read Moon Runner and loved it. I'm going to buy copies of all of Marsden's books for my nieces. With Moon Runner, Gold-Threaded Dress, and The Quail Club, Marsden is developing her own beautiful genre: moving, multicultural chapter books that speak to the hearts of elementary school children. From the very first page of each book she presents nuanced portraits of kids with important decisions to make. What I love about Marsden's characters is that they seem so real, not cardboard or over dramatized. Each moment, each decision the children make is honored and described. In between the plot points is rich detail, and crystalline moments where we can feel and experience some of the pleasures of being alive. She's creating something rare and valuable: nourishing, contemporary literature that kids will find accessible and fun to read.