It is the 1590s and one of the ways merchants in Europe sell their wares is to go to fairs. Mindel’s older brother usually goes with her father to the Leipzig Fair. But, when her brother can’t go, she accompanies her father instead. Her father is a printer and will have a booth where he will sell the first volume of Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, a comprehensive book on Torah law. Driven by Lazar, an elderly man with a horse and wagon, they travel over a hundred miles from their home in Prague. Arriving at the fair, Mindel is amazed at the mix of people who have come to sell everything from furs and medicines to horses and ale. Just as exciting is an acrobatic and mime team who thrill their audiences each time they appear. They soon meet Mrs. Gelb, a cousin of a neighbor in Prague with her own booth to sell cloth. She immediately becomes Mindel’s surrogate mother. Mindel comes from a large family and she soon becomes homesick. Mrs. Gelb suggests that the best way to combat this is to keep busy and suggests that Mindel sew herself a new dress with material she gives her. Since Mindel does not know how to sew, Mrs. Gelb becomes her teacher. This is a double gift: not only will she learn a new skill, but for the first time in her life she will have a dress that is not a hand-me-down.
Each of the merchants hope to make a profit. So when Lulu von Spreckles arrives, a woman who buys only the most expensive cloth, Mrs. Gelb and others are eager to have her as a customer. However, Lulu is difficult. She is superficial and self-centered. She proceeds to buy bolts of material which are stolen and becomes hysterical as a result.
The thefts become the focus of the book. Mindel spearheads the plot to find the thieves and, with the cooperation of all the characters, is successful in discovering and punishing the people responsible. The mystery keeps the reader involved and shows how Mindel’s unselfishness in giving the finished dress to her younger sister changes Lulu’s behavior in a positive way.
Third in a series, this sweet story will delight readers ages 7 – 10.
