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16th out of 137 books
—
674 voters
May B.
by
Caroline Starr Rose (Goodreads Author)
I’ve known it since last night:
It’s been too long to expect them to return.
Something’s happened.
May is helping out on a neighbor’s Kansas prairie homestead—just until Christmas, says Pa. She wants to contribute, but it’s hard to be separated from her family by 15 long, unfamiliar miles. Then the unthinkable happens: May is abandoned. Trapped in a tiny snow-covered sod hous...more
It’s been too long to expect them to return.
Something’s happened.
May is helping out on a neighbor’s Kansas prairie homestead—just until Christmas, says Pa. She wants to contribute, but it’s hard to be separated from her family by 15 long, unfamiliar miles. Then the unthinkable happens: May is abandoned. Trapped in a tiny snow-covered sod hous...more
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
January 10th 2012
by Schwartz & Wade
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Sep 21, 2011
Sherrie Petersen
added it
May B is an unlikely hero: a 12-year-old girl with a learning disability, fending for herself during a harsh prairie winter. In the wrong hands, the story could tend toward melodrama. Or it could just plain be boring. Fortunately, this story is neither.
May's story unfolds in verse. The style works well in this book, emphasizing the stark prairie and the simplicity of of May's every day existence. Author Caroline Starr Rose manages to weave in plenty of historical details, adding another rich lay...more
May's story unfolds in verse. The style works well in this book, emphasizing the stark prairie and the simplicity of of May's every day existence. Author Caroline Starr Rose manages to weave in plenty of historical details, adding another rich lay...more
May B. by Caroline Starr Rose is an absolutely lovely novel written in verse. I had never read a novel in verse before, but this was done so well, reading it was pure pleasure. The story flowed effortlessly, the scenes described in detail such that I felt the cold of the blizzard.
May B. is a strong young girl to whom all young readers can relate. She is mad at her parents for sending her away to help another family, but she loves and misses them anyway. She has trouble reading, so she keeps work...more
May B. is a strong young girl to whom all young readers can relate. She is mad at her parents for sending her away to help another family, but she loves and misses them anyway. She has trouble reading, so she keeps work...more
Historical fiction in verse is hard to carry off and ultimately I compare everything to Out of the Dust which is most unfair on my part. I think Rose's job was even more difficult because so much of her book deals with one character alone - but what a strong character May is. May's fight for survival alone on the prairie is fascinating enough, but the flashbacks into her learning difficulties when she was at school make the character even more relatable and intriguing. I think Rose definitely wi...more
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I picked this up from NetGalley.com because I love verse novels and historical fiction. I've done graduate work with nontraditional text structures in childrens' and YA literature, so I gravitated right to it.
May B. is charming and a fast read. Rose's inspiration in the works of Laura Ingalls Wilder is clear. I couldn't help but feel that this was Wilder's The Long Winter with a more contemporary focus.
May B. is a twelve-year-old girl (although I had a hard time seeing her that young in my mind)...more
May B. is charming and a fast read. Rose's inspiration in the works of Laura Ingalls Wilder is clear. I couldn't help but feel that this was Wilder's The Long Winter with a more contemporary focus.
May B. is a twelve-year-old girl (although I had a hard time seeing her that young in my mind)...more
This is the first novel in verse I've read.
May B is a girl who's parents left her to work for Mr.and Mrs. Oblinger for a few months. She is abandoned when Mrs. Oblinger runs away from her husband who goes right after her. She is left alone on the farm for five months and her food supplies eventually run out.
In the beginning she questions everything. She is very insecure about herself because she has a learning disability and people think she is stupid and not worth the trouble. When she has no...more
May B is a girl who's parents left her to work for Mr.and Mrs. Oblinger for a few months. She is abandoned when Mrs. Oblinger runs away from her husband who goes right after her. She is left alone on the farm for five months and her food supplies eventually run out.
In the beginning she questions everything. She is very insecure about herself because she has a learning disability and people think she is stupid and not worth the trouble. When she has no...more
Reread. I reread this novel in verse because a couple groups chose it as their book for our novel in verse unit (it was snatched up after I booktalked it!) The Sharp-Schu Book Club will also be talkinga bout it this week. This time around I appreciated the internal struggle May B. trying to figure out what she was going to do. I was also more aware of how awful Teacher was this time! This would be a good novel to pair up with Hattie Big Sky. ORIGINALLY READ FEB. 2012: This is Little House on the...more
I love stories in verse therefore I wasn't much surprised when I ended up enjoying May B. a whole lot more than I had expected to. There's this cleanliness about the poetry that makes it easy to read. The thing with writing a story in verse is that you have to be very careful about the details you put and the ones you leave out. Because of the structure, you cannot, as you would in prose form novels, describe things to the minute detail. I felt that May B. very successfully portrayed Mavis and t...more
If I had to choose one word to summarise May B it would be brave. The character, her actions and even the chosen writing style: all brave and bold and perfect. I loved the lyrical rythm of the verse and how it contrasted so perfectly with May's own problems with reading. I loved how vividly the author managed to create the barren and harsh landscape with so few words. Barely anything was given to this description but I still got an excellent sense of life and it's hardships.
Without giving too mu...more
Without giving too mu...more
This book is so beautiful. It’s the kind of book I would have loved when I was a tween (is that the term now? I’m so old, lol)—it’s got an intensity and seriousness to it, but it’s still so accessible. I’ve never read a novel in verse before and wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it. I wondered if it would slow down my reading. Instead though, I think it made it swifter, while at the same time, some of the line breaks would add punch to thoughts, descriptions, or emotions.
This story is intense, un-...more
This story is intense, un-...more
May B., by Caroline Rose Starr, is an inspiring story about 12-year-old Mavis Elizabeth Betts, a girl with dyslexia who dreams of being a teacher someday. Written entirely in verse, the 240-page book is a quick and engrossing read."I catch what's not said:/it's foolishness to keep /pretending. /What sort of teacher can't /read out lessons? /Maybe May B. can /Maybe May B. can't"
May B.'s life-altering experience begins when she is volunteered by her parents to help out a neighbor because his new w...more
May B.'s life-altering experience begins when she is volunteered by her parents to help out a neighbor because his new w...more
I blew through this novel in verse like a blizzard on the prairie. This pleasant, fast hour and a half read will be great for students; however, it didn't quite work for me. May lives with her family on the Kansas prairie and is pulled from school so she can make money working for a newly married couple. The bride is young and surly toward May. It isn't clear if she is a mail-order bride (she says she isn't but it seems that she is) or daughter of someone wealthy. I wasn't sure the significance...more
Nov 28, 2012
Barbara
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
animals,
bullies,
disasters,
families,
literacy,
ncbla2013,
novels-in-verse,
reading,
rural-life,
school,
seasons,
self-esteem,
teachers,
weather,
names
In this novel in verse, twelve-year-old May Betterly is sent to work for a newly-wed couple on the Kansas frontier. But the Oblingers are having trouble from the start. Try as he might, Mr. Oblinger just can't please his bride who eventually deserts him to return to Ohio. He, in turn, goes after her but doesn't return. May is left to fend herself with a limited amount of food and no one nearby to help. At first conscientious about doing her chores, May becomes less and less concerned with them u...more
This was a book about May Beets- a young girl who gets sent off to work as a "housekeeper/maid" for the Oblingers to earn money for her family. Once she arrives at the couple's house, she is aware of how unhappy Mrs. Oblinger is. Because of her unhappiness she decides to run away without telling her husband. In a panic, he sets out to look for her, leaving May B all alone in their house/hut. Stranded in the hut with little food and nothing to do, May B struggles through the winter months and has...more
May's parents are in need of money on the Kansas frontier, so they hire her out to Mr. Oblinger and his new bride, who has come from Ohio to live in a sod house on the prarie. The work is not too hard, but Mrs. Oblinger is so sad and negative that May misses her home desperately. She tries to keep up with her school work, but has much trouble reading. When Mrs. Oblinger decides to go back to Ohio, her husband follows, leaving May alone. He doesn't come back. At first, May is glad to be by hersel...more
Oct 02, 2012
Liza Wiemer
added it
I had to read May B because of the outstanding blog post by Gae Polisner: Friday Feedback: If I Can't Go In Reverse, I'll Settle for Verse http://tinyurl.com/94epf5t and all I can say is THANK YOU! May B is an excellent MG, historical fiction, free verse novel that takes place during the pioneer days on the prairie. May's parents send her to help at a neighbor's homestead, and then something horrible happens. She's all alone, fighting for her survival as winter comes, bringing a nasty snowstorm....more
Hm. I didn't realize when I picked this up that it was a novel in verse. I actually got excited when I saw that--I like novels in verse, because it allows the author to really play with nuances of language and space. However, after finishing, I wished there had actually been more substance behind the style.
I admire Ms. Starr Rose's choice to make her main character not the spunky, extremely bright wunderkind girl who seems to populate most teen books. May (Mavis) is grumpy, a bit petulant, and s...more
I admire Ms. Starr Rose's choice to make her main character not the spunky, extremely bright wunderkind girl who seems to populate most teen books. May (Mavis) is grumpy, a bit petulant, and s...more
Mavis Elizabeth Betterly, or May B., has been hired to help at a neighbor’s farm. On the Kansas prairie that means the neighbor is 15 miles away and May will be there from August until Christmas. She doesn’t want to go, she’d rather stay in school, but her family needs the money her work will bring.
When the neighbor’s new bride decides she can’t handle life on the prairie any more, she leaves, and the neighbor goes after her. Neither returns. Left alone, May must fend for herself for months with...more
When the neighbor’s new bride decides she can’t handle life on the prairie any more, she leaves, and the neighbor goes after her. Neither returns. Left alone, May must fend for herself for months with...more
Picked up this book as I was about to go to sleep while on vacation. Figured I could read for fifteen minutes or so and finish it the next day. Wrong. My eyes about gave out, but I read it all the way through in one sitting. What makes May B. special, aside from the lovely writing and vivid imagery, is the main character herself. I found myself remembering back to being a child, how I had the fantasy of living on my own, out on the prarie like Laura from the Little House books. So there I was, l...more
May B. is the story of twelve-year-old May Betterly. May lives with her parents and older brother, Hiram, in a sparsely populated area of Kansas in the late nineteenth century. (Readers of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books will recognize the setting, as it is very similar to those described in those books of the prairies in Minnesota and Wisconsin.)
The book is written in free verse, which makes it a much faster read than any of Wilder's books. In Part One May has discovered she is to liv...more
The book is written in free verse, which makes it a much faster read than any of Wilder's books. In Part One May has discovered she is to liv...more
This somewhat intriguing book is one that invites more discussion and thought than it might first appear. It's a verse novel, which hardly anyone likes, but I don't think this one will get quite as much of the now-cliche complaints that "there's no reason for this to be in verse" and "just a regular story chopped up funny". The verse novel effect results here in a story that takes place entirely in the narrator's head, which turns out to be pretty effective.
I found the first third pretty cliched...more
I found the first third pretty cliched...more
Publishers Weekly: Set on the Kansas prairie in the 19th century, this debut novel in verse presents a harrowing portrait of pioneer life through the perspective of 12-year-old Mavis Elizabeth Betterly, called May B. After a disappointing harvest, May’s family sends her 15 miles away to help a farmer and his new bride (“She’s fancy and tall,/ but I’ve caught it right away—/ she’s hardly older than I”). May bravely faces the loss of family and the opportunity to attend school, until a homesick Mr...more
It’s Kansas in the days of horse-drawn wagons and houses made of sod. Mavis Betterly, otherwise known as May B., must go live with the newlywed neighbors and help them keep house. The problem is that the neighbors are fifteen miles away, and May doesn’t want to go. She wants to stay home and continue to improve her reading, a subject she finds very difficult. May goes, only slightly comforted to know that her father will come back right before Christmas to bring her home.
But with months left to...more
But with months left to...more
It’s Kansas in the days of horse-drawn wagons and houses made of sod. Mavis Betterly, otherwise known as May B., must go live with the newlywed neighbors and help them keep house. The problem is that the neighbors are fifteen miles away, and May doesn’t want to go. She wants to stay home and continue to improve her reading, a subject she finds very difficult. May goes, only slightly comforted to know that her father will come back right before Christmas to bring her home.
But with months left to...more
But with months left to...more
I'd seen reviews of this book some time ago, so when I finally saw it on the shelf at the library, I snatched it up. And read it in about an hour. This particular novel is a novel in verse, which I wasn't initially sure about (sometimes novels in verse feel too cryptic for me). However, it didn't take long to get drawn into the story of May B., a twelve-year old girl who gets sent to live with a newlywed family to earn some extra money for her own family. The move sends her to the edge of the Ka...more
Before I read this book, I didn't realize it was written entirely in verse. I noticed that it had over 150 chapters and was a little worried. But, some of the chapters are literally one sentence long. I have mixed feelings on this book. I'm not generally one who seeks out poetry. Sure, I can appreciate a good verse, but I'm not one to sit down and peruse a book of poetry. (For the sake of clarification, this book isn't written in Dr. Seuss-style. It's more free verse-style.) So, the fact that th...more
Author Caroline Starr Rose describes her striking debut novel in verse for middle grade readers as "part Hatchet, part Little House on the Prairie, part Out of the Dust. It's a story of courage and hope."
Set on the Kansas frontier, this novel tells the story of May, who's just twelve years old when her pa pulls her out of school and hires her out to a couple who've recently moved out to the endless Kansas prairies. "I won't go," is the book's poignant first line, but of course she has no real c...more
Set on the Kansas frontier, this novel tells the story of May, who's just twelve years old when her pa pulls her out of school and hires her out to a couple who've recently moved out to the endless Kansas prairies. "I won't go," is the book's poignant first line, but of course she has no real c...more
What an interesting story! I have to say that I am not a fan of reading in verse. I freely admit that I do not get it? Is there a special way I should be reading them? I was a little ways from the beginning when I decided to put it aside for another book. After I was done with the other book, I came back to this one and I am sooo glad I did! I even feel bad that I put it hold for even a little bit. I couldn't even remember why I had a problem with reading in verse in the first place. Really, it'...more
About the Book: May has been sent to a neighbor's homestead to help out. It's only for a few months and it's a way her family can earn some extra money. Plus, it's not like she's doing much in school anyway-she's having trouble reading, so why does she need school? The neighbor's new bride isn't liking life on the Kansas prairie and she needs help cooking and cleaning. But when a tragedy leaves May alone as winter approaches, May must rely on her wits to survive.
GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: May B is...more
GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: May B is...more
I don’t recall ever reading a novel-in-verse and now I wonder why I haven’t. I tend to favor stark prose and this qualifies. I absolutely loved the writing style. Not to mention it perfectly suits the story of May B., a young girl abandoned on the prairie during a harsh winter. The writing in this is extraordinary and much is said in so few lines. May B. is a brave young girl yet she still acts like a young girl in exactly the way she should. Unlike so many young adult and/or middle grade books,...more
Recommended grades 5-8. Author Caroline Starr Rose cites her inspiration for her historical novel in verse, May B (Random House 2012) to a childhood of reading Laura Ingalls Wilder. Reading about Laura's schooldays made her wonder about Laura's contemporaries with learning disorders. How were they taught? What cultural assumptions were made about them? To satisfy this thought experiment, Rose created May B, a twelve year old girl with dyslexia who dreams of becoming a teacher, if she could only...more
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I'm the author of MAY B. (2012) and the forthcoming OVER IN THE WETLANDS (2014).
More about Caroline Starr Rose...
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“So many things
I know about myself
I've learned from others.
Without someone else to listen,
to judge,
to tell me what to do,
and choose
who I am,
do I get to decide for myself?”
—
3 people liked it
I know about myself
I've learned from others.
Without someone else to listen,
to judge,
to tell me what to do,
and choose
who I am,
do I get to decide for myself?”
“Some days I sit in the rocker,
the quilt about me though it's hot outside.
I shun the sunlight,
groan to think of the water I must fetch,
the steps I'll have to take,
the work that's needed
just to exist.”
—
2 people liked it
More quotes…
the quilt about me though it's hot outside.
I shun the sunlight,
groan to think of the water I must fetch,
the steps I'll have to take,
the work that's needed
just to exist.”
