"There was a time not so long ago..."

...when people traveled by trolley car, street lamps were lit by a lamplighter each night, and most clothes were sewn at home. The world was growing up. And so is Anna, who struggles to learn math, longs for a new red coat, falls from her roller skates, and takes a marvelous ride.

Set in Baltimore just before World War I and based on the girlhood of the author's own mother, Anna's story reveals that growing up is complicated, no matter when you do it.