Zoe and the Mysterious X

William Blackburn is a professor of English at the University of
Calgary.

Zoe and her friends are puzzled by a large white “X” that one day
appears on the road outside her house. She finds out a week later when
an engineer and work crew arrive to move the road—right through
Zoe’s house! A series of predictable—and deliciously exaggerated—
complications ensues. Life at home becomes increasingly problematic,
reaching a critical point when Zoe’s grandmother resigns her job as
the family’s crossing guard. Zoe, an enterprising child, solves her
family’s problem by painting another “X” on the road, which causes
the road to be moved again.

Zoe and the Mysterious X is a short, pleasant, funny fantasy well
complemented by Ruth Ohi’s many colorful and whimsical illustrations.