Trudi is a dwarf, and she longs to meet someone who looks like she does, “someone who would look at her with joy—not curiosity.” In the meantime, she hangs from doorways and tree limbs, wishing her arms and legs will grow. Trudi meets Pia when the circus comes to town. Also a dwarf, Pia does a wild animal act that is awe inspiring, and no one in the mesmerized crowd seems to notice or care about her size. Pia’s complete comfort with who she is and how she looks is a revelation to Trudi. “To Pia, long arms were ugly, long legs unsteady. Tall people looked odd, too far from the ground.” In Ursula Hegi’s remarkably accessible adaptation of her complex adult novel Stones from the River, a girl begins to understand that her sense of isolation is rooted in what she thinks about herself rather than how she looks. There’s a trademark offbeat quality to all human figures in Giselle Potter’s art style. As a result, Trudi’s physical difference is suggested without being emphasized. What is conveyed clearly in both art and story is the warmth and love of this significant friendship. (Ages 6–9)