Nine-year-old Kid Kyle is the ace navigator for his Uncle Hank, a taxi driver in New York City. Kyle loves spending time with his uncle, with whom he meets the most extraordinary people, people like Marcella and Ruby. The elderly woman and the small child are a spirited, daunting pair, but nothing to be afraid of, Kyle realizes. They live with Lydia, Ruby's mother, in a large old house that is filled with wonder and love and it draws Kyle and Hank like a magnet. For Kyle, whose parents' arguments are growing more and more scary all the time, it becomes a haven, and then a home in almost every sense of the word, a place where he feels safe and wanted. For both Kyle and Ruby, Marcella's wise and challenging outlook on life and death and change is something mysterious yet solid to contemplate as she tries to prepare them for the sorrow that life inevitably holds, and the joy that is always waiting to be reclaimed. A whimsical yet emotionally substantial debut from author Richard Mosher. (Ages 8-11)

Kid Kyle is happiest when he's being the navigator in his uncle Hank's taxi. Cruising the streets of New York City, he escapes his parents' fighting and learns all sorts of things, like how to spot tourists and other big tippers. But Kyle's strict Wall Street parents don't approve of Uncle Hank's freewheeling ways. Imagine what they'd say if they found out the pair had befriended three quirky downtown witches? "Mosher has a way with characters. This is a delightfully off-center group, with a richness of spirit." -- "Booklist" "Winningly told...For all its eccentricity, the core of this story is solemn and wise."