Author: Virginia Sorenson
Illustrator: Beth and Joe Krush
Publication Date: 1956
Award won: 1957 Newbery Honor
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books.
Marly is a ten year old girl who lives in Pittsburgh with her older brother Joe and her parents. Her father was in WWII and cannot work. He is unwell. So Marly and her family go to the country where they meet Mr. Chris who shows them all sorts of wonderful things about sugaring season.
Longer Plot Summary on Goodreads
Review
I think that this is the kind of book that I would have loved had I discovered it as a young girl. I would have really identified with Marly and her discovery of nature. I am not really entirely sure that I was ever as enamored of nature as children in books were. Their encounters with nature were less full of stinging nettles than mine apparently. As it is I liked it well enough so that it gets a solid 3 stars on Goodreads. Marly is a likable character but she is a little naive.
Would I recommend it to children today? Well yes but it would have to be the sort of child who liked old-fashioned family focused books which is definitely not all children.
One of the reasons that I wanted to do this was to see how much children's books have changed over the years and how the kinds of books that win the Newbery have changed. This book is about a simpler time. There is very little in the way of modern conveniences.
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