A Girl Named Zippy

A Girl Named Zippy (2001) by Haven Kimmel. After reading Kimmel's "She Got Up Off the Couch," I had to go back and read "A Girl Named Zippy" again to see if it was as good as I remembered. It was better. The subtitle of this book is "Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana." Never heard of Mooreland? Me neither. It's a town of approximately 300 souls where little Zippy Jarvis grew up, and I doubt there's really much special about Mooreland, except that its the home town of Haven Kimmel (her grown-up, married name). Kimmel perfectly captures the voice of a young, rebellious and scandalously poor young girl of about 10 years old, who worships her father, is scared to death of the old woman who lives across the street, and has many young friends in spite of her lack of personal hygiene. Zippy has an astonishing number of adventures for someone from such a small town, but they all sound real and utterly convincing. Grade: A