Julia and the Art of Practical Travel

ABOUT THE BOOK

When her grandmother passes away and the once majestic family estate is sold, eleven-year-old Julia Lancaster and her Aunt Constance must take to the road to find Julia's long lost mother. But first they pack their practical travel things--silver candlestick holders, a few oriental carpets, some steamer trunks, and Julia's beloved brownie camera, which she will use to document their travels across 1960s America. On the road, Julia and her aunt meet a cast of peculiar characters including guitar strumming hippies in the West Village, a legendary voodoo queen in New Orleans, the honorable proprietor of the World's End Cattle Ranch, and the sheriff, mayor, fire chief, and reverend of Gold Point, Nevada (population: 1). But will they find Julia's mother and a place to call home?

Poignant, engaging, and funny, Lesley Blume's new novel is a meditation about finding one's home--both literally and figuratively--and how important (and difficult) it is to do so, especially during turbulent times.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lesley M. M. Blume is the author of many critically-acclaimed books for children, including Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters,The Rising Star of Rusty Nail, and Tennyson, which the Chicago Tribune praised for its, "brilliant, unusual writing."