The Stray — Dick King-Smith

On her seventy-fifth birthday, Henrietta Hickathrift decides to run away from her old age home. With her life savings of £50 and all her belongings in one suitcase, she takes a train to the seaside to begin a new life. What she finds when she gets there are the five children of the Good family -- Angela, Eleanor, Rosie, Barney, and Rowley -- who take her home and bake her a cake. What begins as a birthday party turns into an overnight stay -- and the overnight stay turns into a permanent adoption, as Henny's resourcefulness and optimism quickly make her indispensable. Suddenly the stray (as Henny calls herself) has found a new family -- and the Good family has found a companion and a trusted friend.

The charm and wry good humor that have made Dick King-Smith one of our best-loved children's writers shine brightly in this story about home, family, and friendship.