Best friends El and Jo are the smallest students in their class, and they're two peas in a pod. Even their names are short. But in springtime, something happens: Jo starts growing like a weed, while El feels smaller every day. When their teacher has each student take home a class plant to care for over the summer, everyone reaches over El, and she's left with a small, flowerless aster. But over the next few months, big changes happen—the aster begins to bloom, and so does El. This gentle tale shows readers 5 to 8 how we all grow, if not the same way, and the illustrations are charming, including a page full of Jo and El's summertime letters.