HANNAH'S FANCY NOTIONS

From the author of the popular ""M & M"" easy readers, a historical novel on a more advanced level. Hannah, nearly ten, must mn the family house, since her older sister (Rebecca) is their only wage earner. Rebecca works in a mill; their father, a paperhanger, is too depressed by their mother's recent death to work. Hannah decides to make Rebecca a bandbox as a birthday present; unfortunately, preliminary attempts with wooden forms and paper from her father's stock are a failure. However, she later finds the forms repaired and discovers that her father has decided to help. The resulting bandbox not only delights Rebecca but results in enough orders from customers to turn the family fortunes. In a note, Ross adds that the story is based in part on the experiences of a 19th-century bandbox maker, Hannah Davis. The present-tense narrative is a bit flat and the plot simplistic, but Hannah is a plucky heroine; middle-grade girls will enjoy her success.