Christie Matheson

Invites the reader to tap, rub, touch, and wiggle illustrations to make an apple tree bloom, produce fruit, and lose its leaves.

While ten-year-old Maya attends an elite private school on scholarship her classmates are unaware that she and her family are living in a homeless shelter, but on one poignant day Maya discovers having a house is not the only way to have a home.

"Twelve-year-old Alex loves playing soccer, and she's good at it, too. Very good. When her skills land her a free ride to play for Select, an elite soccer club, it feels like a huge opportunity. Joining Select could be the key to a college scholarship and a bright future--one that Alex's family can't promise her. But as the team gets better and better, her new coach pushes the players harder and harder, until soccer starts to feel more like punishment...