Betsy Byars (1928–2020)

This is sparse, powerful and wonderfully written. Filled with lovely poetic images of life in 1889, it is a tale of impressions seen through the eyes of Amen McBee, the youngest of five sisters.

Mr. Tominski is a secretive man who lives on the McBee property. Long ago he rescued Amen's father. In gratitude, he is allowed to remain on the property and is respected by Amen's father. When Amen's twin sisters weave nasty tales of Mr. Tominski, difficult feelings arise and misunderstanding abounds show more with dire consequences.

I liked this book. Each word was used wisely and, without pounding the message, the author made a sensitive point about understanding those who are different.

Recommended. show less

Even though this was written with children in mind, I found myself getting emotional reading this story about three children in foster care. One child had been raised by elderly twins and doesn't even know his real birth date or age. The second child had both of his legs broken when his dad in a drunken rage "accidentally" ran over them. The third child, the one with the most personality, was abandoned by her parents and comes across as very jaded about the whole system. She is the one who show more came up with the nickname "pinballs" because they were bounced around the system exactly like pinballs, with no control over their destinies. It takes some time and some hard lessons learned before each child realizes they are not pinballs. show less

I re-read this book that I loved so much as a child. Basically, this book is perfect. The trend in children's books now is that you have to grab the reader by the throat in the opening line and have non-stop action. But this gentle, contemplative book is of its time (the '70s) and is essentially character-driven. I remember as a nine-year old thinking this book was really "deep"--and I still think so! Also, I was really amazed at Betsy Byears' dead-on portrayal of autism, even though she show more doesn't call it that because people didn't usually receive that diagnosis back then. (Charlie had a high fever as a baby, then stopped speaking, and now stims on beautiful objects, has poor fine-motor skills, has trouble with transitions, and needs his routine.) Charlie and Sara are both very lovable characters and their small-town world is so real. show less

Clever, how this plays with tropes but without calling attention to them. One keeps being led to think that bad things are going to happen, that this is going to be one of those 'therapeutic' novels for kids, one in which kids can see that other kids have worse lives than they do so they (the reader) should be able to develop coping skills just like the protagonist.

But, no, this is isn't a morality play. It's a loving portrait of a happy family having some mostly funny adventures. Bigger show more adventures than most of us have, but nothing bleak. Thank goodness.

They both looked honest, respectable, and miserable. They couldn't wait to get out of court and look like themselves again."

Fried shredded wheat: soften the shredded wheat in hot milk, put a scoopful on the griddle, flatten, and fry. Best with lots of syrup.

I would have loved this whole series when I was a child, so I'm rounding up from 3.5 stars." show less