The Birthday Room: Part 1

By KEVIN HENKES

Two of the things Benjamin Hunter received for his twelfth birthday took him completely by surprise: a room and a letter.

The room was from his parents. The letter was from his uncle.

The room was on the second floor of the house, in the tree-shaded corner of what until a few months earlier had been a musty, unused attic. Ben's parents had reclaimed the attic by having it remodeled to add extra living space to their small, cramped bungalow.

Two dormers had been raised -- one on the front and one on the back of the house -- and three rooms had been built.

The largest room was for Ben's mother to use as a weaving studio.

The other good-size room was for Ben's father; he had been dreaming for years of a quiet space all his own where he could work on his poetry and listen to his jazz CDs.

Publisher: HarperCollins

Price: $12.95

Age group: 8-12 years