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My very favorite book in middle school. Set in 1890's Canada, this tale of an orphan who gets herself into all sorts of scrapes because of her adventuresome spirit, this is not a book everyone likes. Still, girls who like historical fiction, girls who are quiet, introspective, smart and a little different from their peers, and girls who are fans of Alcott will be served well by this book. I have two students reading this now (I handed it to one after she enjoyed A Tree Grows in Brooklyn!) -- I do a little happy dance whenever anyone checks this book out.
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More accessible to a larger audience, Julie Andrews Edwards' (yes, the actress) book Mandy is a book that is absolutely wonderful, but no one can explain why.
Mandy ( and there are better covers available) is an orphan in an English orphange, finds a cottage in the woods that she cares for, and eventually finds a family to love. I have a student who checks this book out twice a year just to reread it. I was given a copy of this in 1974 for Christmas!
When girls check out Maud Hart Lovelace's Heaven to Betsy, I tell
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How funny (as in interesting, not ha-ha). I just downloaded "Anne of Green Gables" last week to listen to as an (unabridged) audio book (as soon as I finish listening to "Dracula", which I've never read, either).
ReplyDeleteI LOVE "Mandy" -- I read it in elementary school & middle school & rediscovered it last year at work & read it again. Julie Andrews has other books, but I've never read them; I have considered trying to get my kids to read "Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles", or whatever it is called, but just haven't gotten around to it (yet).
Have a great weekend,
~W