Emma Dilemma, the Nanny, and the Secret Ferret

Emma finds herself out on a limb – literally! All fall, winter, and spring, she has dreamed of returning to her family’s summer home on the lake and to her special tree. When she finally is able to climb into the tree’s welcoming branches, her reunion is interrupted by the disconcerting sounds of lumbering machinery headed her way.
The fate of her tree is only one of the dilemmas in Emma’s life. Not wanting to abandon her one ferret (which would only be tended by a neighbor stopping by the house to feed it), Emma secrets her pet into a backpack and into her nanny’s car so that she has it at the vacation home with her. Now she learns that putting off telling the truth only makes it harder when she has to come clean.
While Emma’s age is never definitively given, she seems to be about fourth or fifth grade. She is the second eldest in a family that includes two working parents, an older brother, younger sister, and younger twin brother and sister, a nanny, a dog, and two pet ferrets. This middle-grade novel is a nice blend of truth and consequences.
Recommended by Katherine Stehman, Librarian.