The Empty Space on Shelf Nine. This item is unavailable.The Empty Space on Shelf Nine

On Monday, eight-year-old Mara places her class’s handmade storybook on Shelf Nine. At Friday’s reading night, her little brother Eli will get to find their family page all by himself: Dad with a frying pan, Papa with a dish towel, one flying pancake, and Eli’s red sock peeking out under the table.

By lunchtime, the book is gone. A parent has objected to the page about Mara’s two-dad family, and the school has removed all twenty-six stories while it decides what to do. A copy at home cannot replace the shared book. Leaving out page nine would leave a space the whole class could see.

With reading night getting closer, Mara must find words that are truly hers—and listen to a friend caught in the disagreement, too.

An illustrated chapter story about family, friendship, and speaking up for a place in a shared book.