Strawberry Girl ~ Lois Lenski
Charming in the order of Caddie Woodlawn or Thimble Summer. Birdie and the other characters are as complex as I'd expected. I enjoyed Lenski's description of the Florida backwoods. I appreciated "hearing" their speech and "seeing" their homes. In her foreward, Lenski mentions having visited Florida and spending time with the people she would write about. It seems she wanted to write stories set in a variety of communities in the States, so that Americans could get to know one another in a way. I like that.
Birdie and the other "main" characters -- Shoestring, Mr. and Mrs. Boyer, Mrs. Slater -- are fairly complex. Though the Slaters are set up as the antagonists, they are not without their redeeming qualities. They felt alive and unique and difficult to understand -- like real people.
The last couple chapters were a bit awkward and rushed as she tied up some loose ends and "redeemed" some of the characters in a way that felt contrived and clumsy, whereas the majority of the story followed as least some sort of an arc.
It'd be fun to read with young kids and is probably one of the better Newbery winners of its time, but there's not much else to say about it.
Birdie and the other "main" characters -- Shoestring, Mr. and Mrs. Boyer, Mrs. Slater -- are fairly complex. Though the Slaters are set up as the antagonists, they are not without their redeeming qualities. They felt alive and unique and difficult to understand -- like real people.
The last couple chapters were a bit awkward and rushed as she tied up some loose ends and "redeemed" some of the characters in a way that felt contrived and clumsy, whereas the majority of the story followed as least some sort of an arc.
It'd be fun to read with young kids and is probably one of the better Newbery winners of its time, but there's not much else to say about it.