When six-year-old Austen Kittredge was sent up north to live on his grandparents' farm in 1948, little did he know that he would spend the next 12 ...
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reviews
May 16, 2011
Doreen
rated it: 
I LOVE Howard Frank Mosher. A few years ago I read (at the encouragement of my baseball-loving son-in-law) "Waiting for Teddy Williams" and agreed with Dave that this was one of the best baseball books I'd ever read. Not only were the descriptions of baseball (pitching, stategy, love-of-the-game) picture-perfect, but the characters were also drawn with a box-full of color pencils. Deep and varied, real and yet somehow tinged with an aura of historical sentimentality. This book, "N
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Jun 24, 2009
megan
rated it: 
Austen Kittredge is sent to live with his Granfather and Grandmother on their farm in Vermont after his mother dies and his father feels he cannot take care of him on his own. The story progresses in pockets of time from when Austen is six years old to his transition to adulthood at 18...most of the stories, however, happen when Austen is quite young. There is an eccentric cast of players in the Kittredge Family, from his anti-social Grandfather who hates all school teachers to his Egypt-Obses
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Oct 19, 2011
Gregg
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After I had read Mosher's Walking to Gatlinburg I had to read everything else our library had by him -- it was that good. I missed this one the first time around, but it might be the best one of all. It's written as a series of vignettes taking place during the years a young Austen Kittredge spends on his grandparents' farm in northern Vermont. Those who have read Mosher's books will know that despite the well-drawn characters, Vermont really is the main one, and a fabulous one it is.
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Nov 06, 2011
Dave
rated it:
Truly 3.5 stars as many of my choices are in between. Time for Goodreads to update and add half stars. This is my fifth installment of the Mosher series of Kinneson and Kittredge tales, and nearly rose to four-star status but for the lag in the last fourth of the book. Reverent as always in his portrayal of the great white North (the Vermont-Canadian border and the "folk" who abide the realm), the story follows the coming of age of Austen, son of a widower and namesake of his grandf
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Dec 31, 2007
Jon
rated it: 
This book, so redolent of Vermont and a certain type of life, is my favorite piece by my favorite Vermont writer, Irasburg resident Howard Frank Mosher. The book tells the story of a young boy whose widowed father sends him to live with his grandparents in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. It’s a bit less well-known than Mosher’s A Stranger In The Kingdom, but it’s a far less by-the-numbers narrative.
The book contains a near-culmination of a thread that has been woven through all of Moshe More...
The book contains a near-culmination of a thread that has been woven through all of Moshe More...
Jun 24, 2011
Nathaniel
rated it:
Years after reading it, I still subconsciously think about this book on a regular basis. Or, more accurately, I think about the first half, when the narrator is growing up with his grandparents in rural northern Vermont and constantly watching them argue and have misadventures. However, the book goes downhill as soon as a very important character dies near the middle. Afterward, the second half is less memorable, and, of course, it ends the same way that all Mosher books end: progress came to th
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May 24, 2011
Tom
rated it:
This is a coming of age novel about a boy of seven going to live with his grandparents in northern Vermont in the mid 40's to mid 50's. It describes the lives of the Kittredge family members who live there, their strange mountain ways. Think the Hatfields and Mc Coys in the southern mountains. Educated on the ways of the land that they occupy. A real heart-felt novel full of love for the characters that the author portrays. I give it an A-/A.
Mar 18, 2011
sarah
rated it:
This was a book that my sister Carol, who lives in Vermont, gave to my parents. It's a charming look at life in rural Vermont through the eyes of a young boy who goes to live with his grandparents in the late forties. He sees a Vermont that is isolated, but changing fast. It's similar to Cold Sassy Tree, and I kept thinking I'd like to be reading it with a 12 year old Philip, but those days are long gone!
Apr 19, 2010
Sally
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Loved this book. Not a complicated read but a wonderful story of a VT Northeast Kingdom family during the early 1900's. Tough, stubborn and resilient. Carrying on life together despite their differences. A boy of 6 goes to live with his grandparents on the family farm and stays until college. Circumstances today dont make people like this anymore.
Apr 16, 2011
Steve
rated it:
Not too bad a coming of age story set in far northern Vermont in the 1950s(?) In what would almost work as a collection of short stories, Mosher develops his characters well -- a wholesome kid, a quirky grandmother and grumpy grandfather.
Mar 04, 2009
Lisa
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read this following a trip to Vermont and New Hampshire. Loved the sense of place.
Jan 30, 2012
Lisa
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Good coming of age tale. Set in Northern Kingdom of BT. Great characters.
May 17, 2010
Anne
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Man, this guy is my new favorite author. This book was just so...peaceful.
Jul 25, 2007
Mike
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This book took me to another place and time. Mosher told it like it was and that's all I expect a writer to do. I didn't know Vermont from atom before I read this one and I'll probably never go there, but at least now I have what seems like an authentic document of what it might have been like for young Austen Kittredge. That's good enough for me.
Oct 11, 2011
Wendy
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The narrative makes me feel like I'm watching a movie, it's such a vivid depiction. Really enjoying this good read.
May 29, 2010
Jessica
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This is one of those books you don't really think about when you aren't reading, but really enjoy when you are...know what I mean? Rich characterization and details, it's a kind of slow detailing of a family's life in the Northeast in the mid 1900s.
Dec 17, 2009
Abby
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This novel was well written, and was an enjoyable read about a young boy living with his grandparents in Vermont. Many of the lessons learned and the scenes from the book remind me of my own childhood and my father. Rustic living-a passion of mine anyway!
Nov 04, 2011
Carly
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Not a genre I ever expected myself to appreciate - but despite the backwoods setting, a fine example of character development and subtle, yet resonant perspectives on human relationships.
Apr 13, 2011
Ashley
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A well writen book, without a doubt. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending, but the descriptions were fantastic none the less. And lets just say the Lyle The Pink Crocodile made me cry.
Feb 02, 2010
Deena
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I really loved this book about life in Northern Vermont in the 40s from a boy living with his grandparents just as life around him and in Vermont is really changing. Beautifully written.
Feb 06, 2012
Jan 31, 2012
Jan 24, 2012
