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5th out of 20 books
—
11 voters
Strawberry Hill
by
Mary Ann Hoberman,
Wendy Anderson Halperin (Goodreads Author)
When ten-year-old girl Allie learns that her family will be moving from their two-family home to their very own house in the country, she's hesitant until she finds out they will be living on a street with the magical name of Strawberry Hill. That changes everything! From her struggle to find a new best friend, to her quest for acceptance at her new school, Allie takes rea...more
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
July 1st 2009
by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
(first published June 11th 2009)
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Allie’s father had to find a new job when the depression hit. His family lives in New Haven and he works in Stamford. It is difficult not seeing them for a whole week. When things look up he finds a house for them. Allie doesn’t want to move and leave her best friend Ruthie behind. When her father tells her their new address is Strawberry Hill she changes her mind. She wants everything in her room painted pink. When she arrives it isn’t what she imagined. She can’t find the strawberries. She mak...more
It's the time of the Great Depression and Allie's father has been unemployed for a long time. When her father is offered a job and the family prepares to relocate from their two family home to their own house in the country, ten-year-old Allie does not want to go. She lives next to her best friend Ruthy Greenberg and Allie enjoyed the time she spent with the friendly Greenbergs' home. But when Allie hears that their new home will is called Strawberry Hill, she pictures a beautiful home surrounde...more
10-year-old Allie is sad to be moving away from her best friend Ruthie to a new town, but the fact that it's on a street called Strawberry Hill fills her mind with images of a hillside covered in green grass and ripe strawberries. Of course, it turns out to be an ordinary street with no strawberries in sight, but there is a farm nearby, plenty of room in her new house for her mom, dad, little brother, and Allie - and there are even two girls her own age on the street.
This turns out to be rather...more
This turns out to be rather...more
Strawberry Hill is a sweet story of friendship and family that takes place during the Depression. Allie is a ten-year-old Jewish girl who moves with her family to a house at the very beginning of the book. She is unsure that the move is a good idea, but when her father tells her they will be living on Strawberry Hill, and that she will have her very own room, she gets excited. Things are not what she expected when they arrive, however. She discovers that just because the street is named Strawber...more
This is a perfectly sweet and old-fashioned story for fans of The Saturdays, Betsy-Tacy, and other favorites. It is the Depression, so ten-year-old Allie's family has to move to a new town where her father can find work. When she hears that they will live on Strawberry Hill, Allie can hardly wait. Surely a place with such a name will make a perfect home! But the moving transition is harder than she expected and Allie spends the next year learning the true meaning of friendship.
The book is full...more
The book is full...more
Although the book is set during the Great Depression, the themes of friendship are something that will make sense to today's kids. When Allie moves to a new town, she struggles with deciding who to be friends with. Should she hang out with the girl next door, Martha, who is "cool" (although a bit boring) but already has a best friend? And will Martha think Allie is less cool if she hangs out with Mimi (an overweight girl who is a bit of a crybaby) across the street? Allie is afraid of even being...more
I am a big fan of some of Hoberman's picture books, so I had high hopes for her first chapter book. My expectations were not quite met, but it was still an enjoyable read. This is a sweet book about a little girl, Allie, during the Depression who moves with her family to a house on Strawberry Hill. She is sad to leave behind her best friend and fears that she will never make new friends. However, Allie does make new friends and learns that some friends are perhaps more worth keeping than others....more
Picked this ARC up at midwinter. It's a sweet read - definitely old fashioned. Will be great for those parents who don't want their kids to read anything with violence or other controversial subjects. This book takes place during the depression, when Allie and her family have to move to a new home on Strawberry Hill after her father finds work there. At first Allie is unhappy about leaving behind her best friend, but over the next year, she makes many new friends, and eventually comes to love St...more
I couldn't sleep last night so I read this advance reading copy of Strawberry Hill instead. I can see this book appealing to a lot of elementary age girls; the details about the depression are interesting, but the real story here is about Allie moving somewhere new and struggling to find out who her real friends are. I remember what it was like to be Allie's age, desperate to have a "best friend" who I could call my very own. I remember when Jenny, Emily and I got best friend necklaces, but clea...more
I previewed this. It has a lot to do with the traumas of moving and leaving friends and then the interpersonal dramas of mean girls/making friends/prejudices. Also deals with anti-semitism (she's Jewish and so is another girl in her new neighborhood.) Also - another round of Scarlet Fever in this story but it is dealt with a bit more drama and less explanation/comfort than All-of-A-Kind Family so could be more scary. Also - some pretty veiled stuff re: parents and their problems.
So - it wasn't...more
So - it wasn't...more
I love stories about the everyday lives of children growing up in old-fashioned times. And I did enjoy this story, but there were elements that unsettled me. The first was the use of the Lord's name in vain. Hated that. And the second thing that bothered me was it dealt with some pretty heavy subject matters that I would not feel comfortable having my children read in this genre. There was very little commentary or explanation to help children interpret what exactly they were reading. I would th...more
Strawberry Hill is nothing like Allie imagines it will be when she learns they'll be moving there. Or is it?
Hoberman's first novel is all about friendship: what it means to be "best friends", when to look deeper to find a friend, and when to let a friend go. The story has bits of prejudice (specifically, anti-Semitism), peer pressure, and judging by appearances, all of which will resound thoroughly with children. They've either seen it or lived it, and they'll understand everything thought that...more
Hoberman's first novel is all about friendship: what it means to be "best friends", when to look deeper to find a friend, and when to let a friend go. The story has bits of prejudice (specifically, anti-Semitism), peer pressure, and judging by appearances, all of which will resound thoroughly with children. They've either seen it or lived it, and they'll understand everything thought that...more
When I was looking for some stories to listen to on CD for a long car drive, I noticed this title. It is about a 10 year old girl who is Jewish during the Depression. Her dad has found a new job, and her family will be together again in a home on Strawberry Hill. She quickly made new friends, and she learns the true meaning of friendship. I was happy I stumbled upon this book by Mary Ann Hoberman which is her first novel. She has won awards for poetry which I also have loved.
This is such a great book - my kids and I listened to it while we were driving around in the car and they were reluctant to stop listening to it. My girls were able to relate to Allie's friends and schoolmates, identifying with girls that they had also encountered. Different situations in the story caused them to figure out what they would do in similar circumstances, and to discover the qualities that make a true friend. A truly delightful story!
This a a charming, nostalgic coming-of-age story, which my eight-year-old daughter and I both adored. It is an innocent look at childhood in yesteryear, and a lesson on the power of friendship. Hoberman briefly touches on anti-semitic attitudes pre-WWII in a small Californian neighborhood, but the book remains sweet and pure as the loveable characters learn that what is inside transcends outward appearances and even religious beliefs. This is children's literature at its best!
This was an enchanting story of a girl who relizes the simple things in life can make a whole lot of difference. At first, she is nad about moving, but when she finds out it is on a strawberry hill, she becomes excited. That little thing made and difference. The little things in life are good, and the things you can't see are still there. St. Paul once said that the things we see can fade away, but the things we cannot see last forever.
Allie's family moves away from the neighborhood she has known for a long time. This means moving away from her best friend Ruth. But she's moving to Strawberry Hill! Allie finds herself excited about living on a hill surrounded by strawberries. So she is very disappointed to find that there are no actual strawberries. But there a some very nice girls in the neighborhood. Martha, who lives next door and goes to the parochial school, quickly befriends Allie but makes it clear that Cynthia, who is...more
Allie's family moves to a new home in a new neighborhood as a result of the Great Depression causing her dad to change jobs. This book is mainly about Allie trying to figure out who is going to be her new best friend - the girl next door who seems just perfect but sometimes doesn't stand up for Allie (& already has a mean best friend) or the girl across the street with family troubles who everyone else makes fun of, but whose company Allie actually enjoys when she has to. A look at the diffi...more
Read this book aloud to the girls. There were some great lessons on friendship vs popularity and being kind. I was surprised at the level of depth on anti-semitism in a book for this age group but that also prompted good conversation. All in all I felt like it had much more promise and in the end didn't meet my expectations.
During the Depression, Allie's family moves to a new home and a new city, and the story focuses on her attempts to find friends and settle in. Allie's family is Jewish, but religion is presented as negative or not important, making this not a good message for a religious audience.
Though set during the Depression, the predominant theme of figuring out who your friends are (and how to be a friend) feels timeless. The book's period details are fascinating but don't take center stage. This would be a good pick for kids who have enjoyed book like The Penderwicks.
A very simple story that 1st or 2nd graders can easily follow along with, and maybe even read themselves. All about girls and best friends with episodes of anti-semitism, the depression, scarlet fever and moving. Everything is resolved quickly and positively.
A sweet, old-fashioned read, perfect for girls (I'd say 3rd-5th grades.) It's an adept portrayal of the intricacies of elementary school friendships, and an enlightening portrait of life in the Depression era from a 4th-grade girl's perspective.
This book about a Jewish girl who moves from New Haven, CT to Stamford, CT during the Great Depression is a nice, gentle read that explores what friendship means. Not a groundbreaking book, but still enjoyable.
Nine-year-old Allie is not excited about leaving her best friend and moving with her family to Stamford during the Great Depression. When she finds out that they're moving to a street called Strawberry Hill she has high hopes, but she'll still have to deal with starting a new school and navigating the complicated road to friendships in her new town.
This is a quiet sort of book with a classic feel. Allie's voice felt very real to me and many of the events may have been based on the author's own e...more
This is a quiet sort of book with a classic feel. Allie's voice felt very real to me and many of the events may have been based on the author's own e...more
this book is like the best book in the world! It is about a girls moving to a new place strawberry hill. The story is so RF and just the life of a girl and her interesting life.
What a great book! This novel takes place during the Depression but Allie and her family are able to survive with love and kindness.
Interesting portrait of friendship, with a smattering of Jewish life during the Depression. But, not exactly captivating.
This was a funny, light-hearted book with a happy ending but I had problems with it. It was supposed to be set in the Depression but it really did not feel like it. Some odd words seemed out of place such as "goofy" and "wierd" (p. 107, 108).
Very sweet girly story about 10yr old Allie growing up in CT during the 1930s and the drama of negotiating best friends.
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| BEST BOOK THAT I HAVE EVER READ IN MY WHOLE LIFE! | 1 | 2 | Jan 01, 2012 02:48pm | |
| nervous | 1 | 4 | Dec 08, 2009 05:43pm |
Work with her local Connecticut chapter of the Literacy Volunteers of America inspired her to create this series of books to encourage reading. She enjoys reading with her grandchildren.
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May 20, 2012 04:37pm