Half a Chance

One of the first grown-up gifts I requested as a child was a camera. My grandma and parents helped fund a Minolta 110 camera, and I used it all through high school, secretly wishing to use the Nikon my father owned that required far more knowledge and planning for an actual photograph. Now, I have two cameras I love (in addition to Camera+ on the iPad), and I feel somewhat at a loss when my camera is at home and I am out walking and observe something that I so want to capture.

So, I could relate immediately to Lucy, the daughter of a photographer in Cynthia Lord's latest novel Half a Chance. With her mom and dad and dog (appropriately named Ansel), she is settling in to a lakeside home in New Hampshire. When her father leaves for a photography assignment in Arizona, he asks Lucy to watch out for portfolios that will be mailed to him for judging. She scans the paper which describes the contest and is both astounded and hurt that he did not tell her. Photography is their shared passion! 

As Lucy seeks creative opportunities to satisfy each word or phrase on the contest list, she gets acquainted with her new neighbors, the Bailey family. Though they are summer residents, they know the lake well and invite her to assist them in Loon Patrol, a task she relishes. She so appreciates the friendship of Nate, a boy her age, but it is his grandmother, Grandma Lilah, who especially captures Lucy's attention. 

Like Lucy, I want to fulfill the requirements on the list, just for my own pleasure. I look forward to someday fostering the opportunity for students to read the book and take the photos over the summer!