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Plain Girl
An Amish girl, Esther feels like "one black bird against the sky" in her plain clothes. So when she's forced to attend public school she's terrified. She fears the new world she must enter, fears the way she sticks out next to other kids, and--most of all--fears she may do what her brother did: run away and join the sinful but great wide world she's only just discovering.
Paperback, 168 pages
Published
August 1st 2003
by Sandpiper
(first published 1957)
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A few goodies from this book:
* "She was taught always to return one kindness with another. Or perhaps even with two."
* "Always, her whole life, Esther had learned what kindness was. It was to think of others before yourself. It was to think of their comport before your own."
* "Whenever she made a good prayer she felt peaceful afterward. Every prayer she had ever made for a good and necessary thing had always been answered."
* Esther is an Amish girl who has to go to public school because of Penns...more
* "She was taught always to return one kindness with another. Or perhaps even with two."
* "Always, her whole life, Esther had learned what kindness was. It was to think of others before yourself. It was to think of their comport before your own."
* "Whenever she made a good prayer she felt peaceful afterward. Every prayer she had ever made for a good and necessary thing had always been answered."
* Esther is an Amish girl who has to go to public school because of Penns...more
There is some fantastic depth to this book. In many ways Virginia Sorensen was always ahead of her time, dealing in her stories with complex and richly layered varieties of human emotion that some authors of the time would have thought too abstract for children to appreciate.
In Plain Girl, we see the multidimensional struggle that Esther goes through as she begins to see more of the world apart from her family's deep, settled Amish history. Esther has been indirectly burned by the outside worl...more
In Plain Girl, we see the multidimensional struggle that Esther goes through as she begins to see more of the world apart from her family's deep, settled Amish history. Esther has been indirectly burned by the outside worl...more
We just finished this book. It turned out to be quite a different children's chapter book, than I expected. I was expecting this little Amish book to be a sweet story about a sweet Amish girl, who learns to stick up for herself and her way of life when forced to attend public school.
Instead it raised some pretty heavy questions about what the Amish believe is right or wrong. Esther is exposed to "the world" and realizes that many people in it, and things of it, are pretty nice. The main story is...more
Instead it raised some pretty heavy questions about what the Amish believe is right or wrong. Esther is exposed to "the world" and realizes that many people in it, and things of it, are pretty nice. The main story is...more
May 03, 2012
Phoebe
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Cheryl
Shelves:
historical,
juv
Esther's world is small and contained within her Amish community. When she witnesses some men arrive and tell her father that Esther must go to school or her father will be put in prison, she is secretly excited. She loves the idea of school and can't wait. Meanwhile her older brother has left the Amish and struck out on his own, but her strict father won't allow his name to be spoken. Esther is torn between love and admiration for her brother Dan, curiosity about the world outside, and respect...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This was a really nice book written in the 50's about an Amish girl deciding about her place in the world. There was a lot to talk about in this book, it took us over a week, although it was good enough to read in one sitting by yourself.
I did think a lot of the conversations we had were over my 5 year old's head, and my 7 year old got most of them, but probably not all.
These are hard things to decide, I think. Things I still haven't figured out for myself. I like books like this that make you...more
I did think a lot of the conversations we had were over my 5 year old's head, and my 7 year old got most of them, but probably not all.
These are hard things to decide, I think. Things I still haven't figured out for myself. I like books like this that make you...more
A sweet, didactic, old-fashioned read, both in manner and content. For readers of Louisa May Alcott, Lois Lenski, All-of-a-Kind Family, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Heidi, Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, or even The Penderwicks. That blobby daub-y cover has got to go, however. Nobody likes Expressionism on children's fiction covers.
I like this book because it is about a girl whos parent do not approve of being modern. The girl is named Esther. Esther is Amish. Esthers brother Daniel ran away so he did not have to be Amish. Esther is forced to go to school. She meets a girl dressed in pink. The two girls become friends and play together. Daniel comes home and the family is happy.
Such a nice, simple book to read. Even though it's short and easy, Virginia Sorensen writes in such a way so that you feel as if you know the characters personally and you're left with a feeling of happiness once the story comes to a close.
What a delight to find this book on Dina & Carina's shelf, when I realized I left my kindle at home. I haven't read it for years, and it was as delightful as I remember.
I read this book multiple times as a child and my copy grew quite dog-earred. I wish I could find it in ebook format to add to my collection.
Violet's 2009-2010 reading page: http://happyheartsmom.typepad.com/swe...
A wonderful, wonderful story! Sometimes children's literature can be more wholesome than adult works! Truly a classic.
Feb 22, 2009
Joanna
added it
I learned a lot about the Amish in this book. A good read! :)
Aug 01, 2011
Cwbest
added it
Universal story of acceptance, friendship, and the family bond.
Jun 11, 2009
Ehbluemle Bluemle
added it
Plain Girl by Virginia Sorensen Waugh (2003)
it is great! it really shows the Amish culture!
Sep 12, 2010
Sari Lynn
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Sari Lynn by:
Jane
Shelves:
ya-fiction,
book-of-the-jane-club
An enjoyable story of an Amish girl experiencing culture shock when she goes to public school, and makes her first non-Amish friend.
I read this outloud to my 10 year old daughter. We both enjoyed it. It is a sweet story about making choices between old & new traditions and ways of life.
Cute book.
I enjoyed this story when I read it as a kid and again the second time around. Nice depiction of Amish life.
A somewhat romanticized view of Amish culture but a very sweet story.
This classic can be accessed online.
May 24, 2012
Rebecca
added it
I have enjoyed this book over and over since childhood. I probably read it originally in about 1965. Here it is 2012, and I'm reading it again!
about Amish girl
May 10, 2013
Karla
marked it as to-read-school-curricula
May 05, 2013
Ab
added it
Apr 27, 2013
Alicia Wood
marked it as to-read
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VIRGINIA SORENSEN (1912-1991) was born in Utah, and it was her family's own stories that influenced her early novels of the American West.
More about Virginia Sorensen...
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01 nov. 16:14