Something's At My Elbow

About the Book

A young adult fantasy for people of all ages

Ten-year old Eliza-Bridget eagerly anticipates the arrival of her favorite aunt for an overnight stay.  But next morning, Aunt Corinthia is nowhere to be found.  A frantic search by the family and the authorities turns up nothing.  

In what has become the worst month of her life, a sad Eliza-Bridget meets a tiny wild thing at the edge of the school playground.  Its name is Kiba, a pixieish creature about 6 inches tall. Her most incredible features are her big bright-red ears--they're like butterfly wings, ready to wrap her in a protective cocoon or to open wide to all the sounds of nature.  Kiba turns everything into rhyme--a snatch of birdsong becomes an exuberant poem, the wind in the grass is caught neatly in a burst of verse.  

And Kiba is also magic--a magic that she shares with the sad little girl, making Eliza-Bridget the same size, and allowing her to play in a familiar, yet totally strange, new world where flowers tower over her like trees. What follows are wondrous adventures as Eliza-Bridget encounters friendly and not-so-friendly animals, forgetting her problems and responsibilities in the big size world.

But what happens when her mute younger sister Mouse also disappears?  Eliza-Bridget discovers there are some things Kiba's magic can't do--and that it takes courage to find your right place in life, especially when it means losing something important.

About the Author

Kathleen Burns has been a proofreader, editor, magazine writer, emergency room worker, English teacher in Japan and medical transcriptionist. Her hobbies include animal rescue, reading, horses, and hiking.