This book hasn't been translated in English yet. It's by a Italian author, Davide Morosinotto, who also wrote Red Stars which I have read last year and which I really recommend (for both yourself and your children).
This novel is a bit less mind-blowing that the other I've read and is less accessible for adult readers. It's a very good adventure book for children age 9 to 12, depending on their reading skills, but myself being in my late 30's it felt more like a childrens book than Red Stars ever did.
The story revolves around 4 children, growing up in America, early 20th century. They live in the bayou and are not the most obvious friends you'd picture but their personalities go well together. Each has their strenghts and weaknesses and most of those are being touched lightly on their adventure.
Their adventure is actually taking back an hourglass they've wrongfully acquired while ordering something from the famous Walker & Dawn mail order catalogue. It takes them from the Bayou to Chicago. It's is quite a wild ride, but it's less appealing that the actual outcome is mentioned on the cover of the book (how to get rich with only 3 dollars).
Still, a good book for children, less so for adults. But great artwork though. The cover is beautiful and the pictures inside the book are great as well. It adds to the ambience of the book.
