The Baby Project

Eleven-year-old Jessica is excited about her new class project. She gets to research the animal of her choice and, with her best friend and project partner Margaret, give a multimedia presentation on the subject in front of the entire class. Then, at a family meeting, Jessica's engineer mom announces that she's pregnant. Her two older brothers, wrapped up in their own adolescent lives, take the news in stride but Jessica is thrilled, and so is Margaret. The two girls quickly decide that instead of researching the duck-billed platypus for their project, they'll study babies. But despite all of their reading, research, and discussion, Jessica and her family are still unprepared for the drastic changes little Lucie brings to their lives, leaving them touched and forever changed. Tender, moving, remarkably realistic, and laced with refreshing humor throughout, this beautifully written novel is reminder of the strength that can be found in an ordinary family.