Honor Book, NAPPA AwardsRobin is sad! His dad is away on a business trip and will miss his birthday. But when Robin finds an envelope filled with red licorice hanging on the family clothesline, he's convinced it is a gift from his dad. His daddy always buys him red licorice!

As other envelopes arrive on the clothesline, Robin begins to believe the clothesline is magic. But in the end, the power of brotherly love and the tight bond of family give Robin all he needs to feel better with his dad's time away from home.

A Note to Parents offers more strategies for bridging the miles while a parent is away and helping children learn to deal with the challenges of short separations.

Illustrated by: Marion Arbona