book data
669 ratings,
4.05
average rating, 190 reviews
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published
April 12th 2005
(first published 2004)
by Listening Library (Audio)
binding
Audio CD
literary awards
2005 Printz Honor Book, Newbery Honor Book
isbn
0307281833
(isbn13: 9780307281838)
description
Not only is Turner Buckminster the son of the new minister in a small Maine town, he is shunned for playing baseball differently than the local boys. ...more
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1 star (7)
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avg 4.05
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in March, 2009
Alright...I have so much to say about this book...this is a winner, a really good book. Excellent. My first Printz Award book for this class. More soon.
Okay..Here's the "more soon" part. This book won the Printz Award, and I really like how they describe their criteria for literary excellence and quality on their website by what it is not. For example, a book is not quality simply by being popular. Although, of course, the two are not mutually exclusive. This book do...more
Okay..Here's the "more soon" part. This book won the Printz Award, and I really like how they describe their criteria for literary excellence and quality on their website by what it is not. For example, a book is not quality simply by being popular. Although, of course, the two are not mutually exclusive. This book do...more
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bookshelves:
audio,
awards,
from-my-high-school-library,
i-own-this,
newbery,
printz,
tiffs-favorites,
top-ten,
young-adult
recommends it for:
everyone ages 12 and up who can appreciate a well-written, touching tale
Wow. This was an incredibly written, heartbreaking tale. I absolutely loved it. I listened to it on CD while traveling, and so many times I wanted to pull my car over, rewind, and write down a quote from the book. The writing was just amazing. What more can I say.
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Read in March, 2005
The friendship between a preacher's son and a black girl in 1912 Maine is tested by the prejudice of the townspeople. Great character development. It was good, but I wouldn't have given it a Newbery honor book award.
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If I hadn't come to the book with such a hardy mistrust of children's-book-awards and their accompanying cliches, my skepticism might never have been tickled. With that baggage in tow, however, I couldn't help noting each time a stock figure or a cliche appeared. By halfway through the book, I had a mental checklist: "crazy" old lady who is actually subversive and intuitive? check. small boy against the capitalist machine? check. small town as a microcosm of the world (or at least nati...more
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Read in February, 2008
This is a young adult novel that I've been hearing about for the last year. It is remarkable, and I now wish I'd read it earlier. I want everyone I know to read it --it's that good. It's set in 1912 in a small town in Maine. The main character is the teenage son of a minister who has a new job in this town--so this boy, Turner, his father and mother move from Boston to Maine. Turner doesn't hit it off with the local boys, but one day when beachcombing he meets Lizzie Bright--one of the young Afr...more
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Read in November, 2007
This book is a very well-written, very entertaining book set in 1912 about a minister's son who moves to Phippsburg, a small town in Massachusetts, when his dad is asked to pastor the church in that small seaside town. When he arrives, our 13 year old protagonist doesn't get along with any of the other kids from that town and ends up befriending a young girl who lives on a nearby island called Malaga.
The problem is that the people of Phippsburg are trying to evict all persons living ...more
The problem is that the people of Phippsburg are trying to evict all persons living ...more
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5 comments
Read in February, 2009
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Read in February, 2009
This book begins in 1912 when Turner Buckminster moves with his mother and his minister father to Phippsburg, a small town in Maine. As the minister's son, Turner is constantly watched, and with each succeeding encounter, he feels like he doesn't measure up to the townspeople's expectations. And then one day he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, and he stops caring about the people in Phippsburg. Lizzie and her grandaddy live on nearby Malaga Island with a community of people who have been living ther...more
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Read in March, 2008
I loved this book! It's a coming-of-age historical fiction novel, and it's unlike any I've read before. I tend to skim through books, skipping over words or whole lines here and there, but while reading this book I repeatedly found myself backing up to reread things I'd missed. The writing is beautiful - poetic! I'm anxious to read other works by this same author. I would highly recommend this to lovers of young adult fiction!
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Read in February, 2009
I absolutely loved this book. Just as a warning: it's a little sad and emotionally draining. That's probably why I loved it so much.
A minister's son, Turner Ernest Buckminster, moves to Phippsburg, Maine, from Boston. He hates everything about the place all summer until he meets Lizzie Bright, a black girl his age living on nearby Malaga Island. When he finds out that some people of the town want to throw everyone off Malaga, he feels it a terrible injustice.
This story ...more
A minister's son, Turner Ernest Buckminster, moves to Phippsburg, Maine, from Boston. He hates everything about the place all summer until he meets Lizzie Bright, a black girl his age living on nearby Malaga Island. When he finds out that some people of the town want to throw everyone off Malaga, he feels it a terrible injustice.
This story ...more
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Read in June, 2009
I enjoyed listening to this book.
In this book, Turner learns that adults don't always do the right thing, but that doesn't stop his attempts to do so.
Thinking back on it, the book could be seen as heavy on the lessons, but the story was about Turner learning them, and they were well balanced with the more adventurous aspects of the story.
For the most part, Turner seemed like a real kid to me. Perhaps he was a little too good to be true, but he wasn't perfect...more
In this book, Turner learns that adults don't always do the right thing, but that doesn't stop his attempts to do so.
Thinking back on it, the book could be seen as heavy on the lessons, but the story was about Turner learning them, and they were well balanced with the more adventurous aspects of the story.
For the most part, Turner seemed like a real kid to me. Perhaps he was a little too good to be true, but he wasn't perfect...more
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Read in March, 2009
Turner Earnest Buckminster III is a sweet boy to be sure. And his easy friendship with Lizzie Bright is charming. However, the story seems to be lacking in support both historical and plot-wise.
Throughout the entire novel I was perplexed as to the period the story was allegedly set: is it 1812, when a young boy would appropriately dream of heading off to "the territories"? Or is it 1912, since Mrs. Hurd reached her full height sometime during the Civil War?
As ...more
Throughout the entire novel I was perplexed as to the period the story was allegedly set: is it 1812, when a young boy would appropriately dream of heading off to "the territories"? Or is it 1912, since Mrs. Hurd reached her full height sometime during the Civil War?
As ...more
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Books like this are few and far between. This book is a Newbery Book and I am really surprised that it is considered part of the children's literature genre. This book boldly confronts racism, and hate. The meanings and symbolism in the book are something that adults are more likely to grasp fully. The writing is so well done that while reading this book you almost feel like you have taken a trip to Maine. I had to look it up on a map because I could feel such a strong connection with the tow...more
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a little boring
Slow beginning and middle. Picks up a little in the last 1/4, but not enough to make up for the other 3/4. The book tries to teach a message, but it takes so long in getting there that its a little bit anti-climatic once it does come.
Slow beginning and middle. Picks up a little in the last 1/4, but not enough to make up for the other 3/4. The book tries to teach a message, but it takes so long in getting there that its a little bit anti-climatic once it does come.
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Read in June, 2006
Turner Buckminster is unhappy. He's in a new town at the start of a summer, as the minister's son, he is required to keep his shirt tucked in and not get dirty, AND the kind of baseball he knows is NOT the kind played by the local boys. An outcast from the start, Turner eventually befriends a black girl named Lizzie Bright. Things are looking up, until the town, who are VERY uncomfortable with whites and blacks even talking to each other, finds out and the new friendship is forbidden. Turner...more
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zowie. big fan of mr. schmidt's. this one is darker, and has sort of an Issue-capitol-I in it, but is based on actual historical incident and again, you don't care, because you're so busy believing the characters. one lovely moment in near beginning, an older woman and youngish boy who know nearly nothing about each other have meeting of minds over "lighting out for the territory" - one of my favorite phrases in literature, along with "only connect", which is pretty much t...more
Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
Young adults
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy was a pleasure to read. It was so full of beautiful language and descriptions that it was often easy to forget that it was really about the ugly topic of an incident of racism and prejudice in a small Maine community in the early 1900s. This book is a great way to address these difficult and controversial topics in a way that teens can understand and identify with. Many teens have probably had friends that their parents didn’t approve of, and most (all?) t...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommended to Katherine by:
Printz winner; Newbery winnerrecommends it for: anyone, especially teens and teachers
Fans of Bridge to Terabithia and To Kill a Mockingbird will enjoy this exquisitely poetic book, based on true events occurring just after the turn of the century. It may be a tad slow for some young students, as Schmidt revels in the blending of setting with characterization, just as one would slow down the workings of their mouth to savor a particularly delightful morsel of food. However, the charming humor keeps things moving along just when it threatens to become a bit top heavy with purpos...more
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I did not intend to like this book, I must admit. The hardcover cover illustration was . . . well, off-putting for me, and I'm really glad they did something new, because this is a book not to be missed. Based on true events, it's the story of a preacher's son who befriends a free black girl, on the eve of her community being destroyed to make way for a resort. Yep, a New England community of freed slaves and their children were ousted from their homes so that the view wouldn't be spoiled. B...more
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