Reviewed by: One Time by Sharon Creech Deborah Stevenson, Editor Creech, Sharon One Time. HarperCollins, 2020 [272p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780062570741 $16.99 Library ed. ISBN 9780062570758 $17.89 E-book ed. ISBN 9780062570772 $9.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 4-6 Gina Filomena, age eleven, is a "child with an overactive imagination. Very overactive," and she therefore is motivated by her inspirational new teacher's focus on creative writing and the question "Who are you?" She's also thrilled when Antonio, the similarly imaginative new boy next door, joins her class, but she's jealous when her classmates all claim his attention. Then Antonio suddenly departs the class and moves away, and the students are left to process the absence and realize what knowing him meant to them. Creech writes Gina's narration with comfortable magic; Gina is a girl who revels in her Italian grandmother's gifts of gloriously bold clothes and tales of the karmic actions of the Angel Lucia, so she takes in stride Antonio's reports of an elephant down the street, and her family similarly greets them with calm welcome. The real focus here is the magic of storytelling, as the class falls in love with Miss Lightstone's literary leadership (references to several beloved texts of youth literature are scattered throughout) and develops their own voices. Short chapters helpfully pace out the story and give it rhythm that would [End Page 12] work in reading aloud as well as reading alone, and a coda that describes where the characters are twenty years later is wishful but it champions the long-term validity of childhood dreams. Ultimately, the book renders the familiar charmed in a way that will gratify youngsters seeking to bring enchantment into their own lives. Copyright © 2020 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois