When Pearl's mother, Ruby, leaves her at Aunt Ivy's house, at first Pearl thinks that she'll be back soon. But as the days stretch on, Pearl wonders if she'll ever return. It seems a pretty sorry state of affairs to Pearl. There's no one around except for Moonpie, the neighbor boy whose mother doesn't want him, either. But even so, Moonpie seems to have a kind of family. Ruby is the only family Pearl has ever known.< P>Available only in The Literacy Bridge 5.