Janet Taylor Lisle

The pond is called Quicksand Pond. It's a shadowy, hidden place full of chirping, shrieking, croaking life....

Motherless Olivia and Nellie go to live with their elderly Great-Aunt Minty, who knows little about children, but a lot about her overgrown garden....

As Robert watches the townspeople's hostility toward the German Artist Hoffman build, he worries about his sensitive cousin Elliot's friendship with the artist....

When Ruben and Jeddy find a dead body in an evening suit washed up on the shore, they are certain it has to do with smuggling liquor. It is spring 1929, Prohibition is in full swing, and many in their community are involved. Soon the boys, along with Jeddy’s strong-willed sister, Marina, are...