A handful of seeds by Monica Hughes

A handful of seeds by Monica Hughes, illustrated by Luis Garay. Orchard, 1996.

A gentle story, with hidden depths. It tells the story of Concepcion living in the lessons her grandmother taught her, and how these help her survive in a South American barrio, after her grandmother's death. It also shows the depth of poverty that exists in the barrio. Concepcion finds strength in her belief that "Grandmother was looking down on her from the sky, and that her eyes were no longer misty with age but as bright as the star that shone over the barrio."