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Ruby Holler
A School Library Journal Best Book of the YearDallas and Florida are "the trouble twins," shuffled around all their lives, longing for a loving place to call home. Tiller and Sairy are an eccentric older couple restless for one more big adventure. And Ruby Holler is the beautiful, mysterious place that changes all their lives forever. Accelerated Reader(R) title for ages 8...more
Hardcover, Large Print, 288 pages
Published
June 1st 2003
by Thorndike Press
(first published February 1st 2002)
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Sep 12, 2008
Hayley Kirkland
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
childrens-chapter-books
Dallas and Florida, orphans, have had a remarkably tough life. Nobody wants them or ever cared for them. Florida has a very rough and negative pattern of speech. She everything is “putrid” or “nasty” and she believes everyone (except Dallas) is trying to harm her. This negativity is a defense mechanism. She has been hurt and let down so many times before that she doesn’t trust a soul. Dallas deals with this in a different way. He escapes to vivid dreams of nature and calm places to get away from...more
4 likes · like · see review
view 1 comment
Jul 17, 2008
Angela
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
childrens-lit
I enjoyed the story and felt that the interaction between the four main characters was realistic and well-written. I would recommend it for fans of young adult novels in general as a clean, clever story about the strength of love and family ties.
Unfortunately, it had several technical drawbacks, in my opinion: For instance, sixty-six chapters averaging about three or four pages each made the book feel very choppy, even awkward - it just didn't work for me. I also didn't like spending so much tim...more
Unfortunately, it had several technical drawbacks, in my opinion: For instance, sixty-six chapters averaging about three or four pages each made the book feel very choppy, even awkward - it just didn't work for me. I also didn't like spending so much tim...more
Recently I have been reading Newbery Medal and Honor book winners. Some are good, some are bad. Most are forgetful. But I have realised that there are certain theme's that prevail in child lit. Now I don't know if this is lack of theme's that both children enjoy and an adult would enjoy writing or if kids really do enjoy reading about runaways, but this is what this book is. Just another runaway book. The two protagonists are orphans who plan on running away bcause of previous hurtful experience...more
1 like · like · see review
This has been on my list to read for some time; I've always remembered attending a presentation by a member of the Newbery committee who was extremely disappointed that this didn't win at least on honor. I found it interesting that in many places this is described as "low fantasy", which I don't really see other than the dreams. It was coincidental that this is the second book in a row I've read where the main characters break a lot of things (the former was Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians). An...more
Thirteen-year-old Dallas and Florida Carter are orphaned "trouble twins" who live in Boxton Creek Home for Children run by greedy and neglectful Mr. and Mrs. Trepid. Tiller and Sairy Morey, a 65-year-old couple who live in nearby Ruby Holler, want to “borrow” the twins for a while to go on adventures with them, Florida with Tiller on a Rutagabo River boat trip and Dallas with Sairy on a visit to the island of Kangadoon. When they go back into town to pick up supplies, the twins accidentally tell...more
1. Rating: 5
2. A book review from Publisher's Weekly says, "The characters introduced here two abandoned children, their villainous guardians and a kindly country couple might have stepped out of a Dickens novel, but as Creech (Love that Dog) probes beneath their facades, the characters grow more complex than classic archetypes. Florida and her brother Dallas, raised in an orphanage run by the cold-hearted Trepids, rely on each other rather than grownups for support. They become suspicious when...more
2. A book review from Publisher's Weekly says, "The characters introduced here two abandoned children, their villainous guardians and a kindly country couple might have stepped out of a Dickens novel, but as Creech (Love that Dog) probes beneath their facades, the characters grow more complex than classic archetypes. Florida and her brother Dallas, raised in an orphanage run by the cold-hearted Trepids, rely on each other rather than grownups for support. They become suspicious when...more
Aug 29, 2012
Ela
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
9-12 year olds
Shelves:
childrens-fiction,
carnegie-winners
The two main characters are stryeotypical 'Tracy Beaker' orphans combined with the styreotypical idea of badly behaved twins; so in this feild I was unimpressed as I found it completly unoriginal. In fact I found the most interesting charcters were the owners of the orphange, the woman was a pefect example of someone who fails to see the consequences oof her actions, someone who likes the idea of things but fails to carry out the actions that would allow it to suceed. I found that thier relation...more
Jul 08, 2012
Marilyn
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
finished-summer-books
I felt that Ruby Holler was an ok book. The chapters seemed a little scattered a times. Although over-all I think this was heart warming story that most people will enjoy. The story is about fifteen year old twins, Dalas and Florida, who are orphans at the Boxton Creek Home owned by Mr. and Mrs.Trepid. Ever since Dalas and Florida have been sent back from their first temporary home the Trepids have given them the nickname the trouble twins. The trouble twins are always sent back from their daily...more
Sharon Creech is a new author for me and I really enjoyed this book. Although delivered with a lighthearted touch, this book covered some serious topics and will resonate with young teens trying to find their role in the world, and the balance between dependence and independence.
The main characters are twins Dallas and Florida, who have been in foster care all their lives. Creech does a nice job of detailing their trials and tribulations, and the coping mechanisms they have evolved, without bei...more
The main characters are twins Dallas and Florida, who have been in foster care all their lives. Creech does a nice job of detailing their trials and tribulations, and the coping mechanisms they have evolved, without bei...more
Orphans and twins Dallas and Florida have been shuffled from foster home to foster home...finally ending up in the Boxton Creek Home for Children. Mr. and Mrs. Trepid, who run the home, are not kind, in fact, far from it. The foster homes the twins have been in haven't been loving either. Along come Tiller and Sairy, an older couple, who are loving, yet eccentric. They've raised four kids of their own and long for adventures. Dallas and Florida come to live with them for the summer in Ruby Holle...more
Ruby Holler is about the twins Florida and Dallas who are living in an orphanage and have been passed between one family to the next. They are labeled the "trouble twins" and are finally given the chance to find out what family is when an older couple, Tiller and Sairy, decide to adopt them for the summer. I personally love Sharon Creech's work and had extremely high hopes for this novel. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the work. I think the idea behind the story could have been extremely...more
Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech
Reviewed by Linda Yang
Imagine living in a Children’s Home, with people who make you work all day and sit in a dirty basement for at least two hours (as punishment). Dallas and Florida long to get out of such a place by taking a midnight train. But the day never comes, because before they know it an old couple (Sairy and Tiller) want to adopt them. At first they’re very nervous, mostly because of all the other bad experiences they had when they were adopted. At Ruby...more
Reviewed by Linda Yang
Imagine living in a Children’s Home, with people who make you work all day and sit in a dirty basement for at least two hours (as punishment). Dallas and Florida long to get out of such a place by taking a midnight train. But the day never comes, because before they know it an old couple (Sairy and Tiller) want to adopt them. At first they’re very nervous, mostly because of all the other bad experiences they had when they were adopted. At Ruby...more
I recognized Ruby Holler's cover from my elementary school days, and picked it up seeking some literary comfort food. Boy did I find it. The prime audience of this story is probably 12-year-olds...but I really enjoyed this charming, cozy story. It's about love, trust, family...Creech's tone is masterful as it would appeal perfectly to the elementary/middle school reader, but I'm 18 and loved it and never felt talked down to. It's one of those stories, I think, where the older you get the more yo...more
Dec 23, 2010
Rayda
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
childrens_lit,
creech_sharon
I'm in the middle of this remarkable book and already I have sobbed at the tenderness and reality of it. It is a story of two Trouble Twins who live without love in a Home for Children. Then they have the opportunity to spend the summer with a couple whose children have already moved on. The couple lives in a remote place called Ruby Holler. Watching the mother slowly win over the two children with her love and understanding and refusal to punish is reminding me what I should be doing as a teach...more
Jan 23, 2013
Steve Clark
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
realistic-fiction
Another winner from Sharon Creech, this feels like stepping into a Norman Rockwell painting. I suppose there are plenty who will, then, find it overly sentimental and a bit simplistic, but I enjoyed it. There is a nostalgiac quality to Ruby Holler--both the book and the setting--that takes me back to a place and time from my own childhood, and that undoubtedly sways my reaction. I suspect, however, that many of us have a Ruby Holler somewhere in our past (or present) lives, so I don't believe I...more
A tour de force; I think that this is the most fitting way to describe Sharon Creech's dynamic novel, "Ruby Holler".
Rarely do so many lovable and winsome characters merge into the pages of one story while each retaining an individual sense of stark realism as in this book. From the opening paragraphs I was irreversibly drawn to Dallas and Florida, and to the lives that they had led as irrepressible orphans even before "Ruby Holler" began.
Sharon Creech shows a magnificent ability for intricate...more
Rarely do so many lovable and winsome characters merge into the pages of one story while each retaining an individual sense of stark realism as in this book. From the opening paragraphs I was irreversibly drawn to Dallas and Florida, and to the lives that they had led as irrepressible orphans even before "Ruby Holler" began.
Sharon Creech shows a magnificent ability for intricate...more
I'm reading the books on my kids Battle of the Books list of books for next year's competition. I want to be able to discuss all the books with them to help them prepare. So, this is one on the intermediate team's list (4th & 5th graders). About a boy and a girl who are orphans and twins. The author tells the sad story of their life at the orphanage and numerous foster home placements that didn't work out. Then they go to stay with Tiller and Sairy in Ruby Holler and we learn about the adven...more
May 28, 2012
Rebecca
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
childrens,
book-group
Dallas and Florida have been dubbed the 'trouble twins' due to the fact that they constantly question authority and are generally clumsy and rambunctious. Having being shifted off to various homes throughtout their short life, they call a depressing group home for children their 'home' but they dream of running away on a train and never coming back.
Tiller and Sairy are an older couple who feel like their home of Ruby Holler is empty without the presence of their children who are now grown up and...more
Tiller and Sairy are an older couple who feel like their home of Ruby Holler is empty without the presence of their children who are now grown up and...more
Aug 10, 2011
Cathy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Cathy by:
Newbery Award - 2002
Shelves:
award-winning,
juvenile-fiction
"Trouble twins" Dallas and Florida are orphans who have given up believing there is such a thing as a loving home. Tiller and Sairy are an eccentric older couple who live in the beautiful, mysterious Ruby Holler, but they're restless for one more big adventure. When they invite the twins to join them on their journeys, they first must all stay together in the Holler, and the magic of the place takes over. Two pairs of lives grow closer, and are changed forever.
Filled with humor, poignancy, cooki...more
Filled with humor, poignancy, cooki...more
Good children's book for upper elementary readers. However, I do have to admit that I am tired of the disadvantaged orphans theme that seems to be running amok in children's literature. In this story Dallas and Florida are those two orphans who have had lives of abuse and neglect. They reside in an orphanage that makes Oliver's home for boys look great. Then, a kooky older couple from Ruby Holler decide that they need traveling companions and "borrow" the kids from the home. They plan on traveli...more
Ruby Holler
By Sharon Creech
Dallas and Florida have been labeled trouble twins. No matter what they touch, you can expect it to be broken, dirty, or ruined when they get done with it. But it’s not entirely their fault. Dallas and Florida are orphans and have to live with the putrid couple, the Trepids. The Trepids have been trying to get rid of the trouble twins for quite some time, but every family that is even slightly considering adopting always sends them back. Dallas and Florida have grown u...more
By Sharon Creech
Dallas and Florida have been labeled trouble twins. No matter what they touch, you can expect it to be broken, dirty, or ruined when they get done with it. But it’s not entirely their fault. Dallas and Florida are orphans and have to live with the putrid couple, the Trepids. The Trepids have been trying to get rid of the trouble twins for quite some time, but every family that is even slightly considering adopting always sends them back. Dallas and Florida have grown u...more
Ruby holler is a great story about twins who live in an orphanage but dont get treated fairly.When an old couple walks in saying they want to adopt twins, dallas and florida arent too happy about that since they have always wanted to escape on the night train. Now they in a home in the quiet woods. They plan to escape on the night train but every time they do they get caught. The old couple plans on spliting up on their vacation and taking one child with them, but will dallas and florida do it?...more
This story mainly revolves around thirteen year old twins, Dallas and Florida, who have been passed around from foster home to foster home. They are sent to live with an older couple out in Ruby Holler, and upon their arrival, begin to slowly falnin lovebwith the enchanting and secluded holler against their will. I enjoyed this book, but at times it was a little odd. I feel likebthe characters coulc have been developed a little better. Another minor thing that bothered me was how Dallas and Flor...more
My grandma gave me this book to read after getting it from one of the teachers she works with, she is a volunteer at an elementary school. To be honest, in the beginning I thought I was a little too old to really enjoy it. But I actually found it to be a great book for children and adults.
The main story is about two orphan twins who are living in a children's home and keep getting bounced around to different places. I think the story really captures the anxiety and insecurity that many children...more
The main story is about two orphan twins who are living in a children's home and keep getting bounced around to different places. I think the story really captures the anxiety and insecurity that many children...more
This book is Ruby Holler, and it is by Creech Sharon. I really enjoy this book because it is about two twins that never get picked from their orphanage and the owners are so rude to them, but then one day their lives changed.
My favorite part of this book is when the two twins get picked by this two nice people that really care about them. They feed them and give them food. The kids really like these people but before they get used to them, they still want to run away and get on the mid night t...more
My favorite part of this book is when the two twins get picked by this two nice people that really care about them. They feed them and give them food. The kids really like these people but before they get used to them, they still want to run away and get on the mid night t...more
Dallas and Florida are orphans. They get sent to a older couple named Tiller and Sairy. They live in Ruby Holler. They both needed a companion to go on their trip. Sairy is having a expedition in Kangadoon looking for a bird. Tiller is going boating down the Rutabago River and taking Florida. Dallas and Florida don't know what to think. They are scared about being apart but excited to go on trips. Tiller is mad that Sairy didn't want to go boating with him, and thinks taking Florida is a bad ide...more
I decided to read Ruby Holler because it's always been one of my favorites, in the 'Bingo Board' I think it completes the box about Friendship because Florida and Dallas don't actually trust Sally or Tiller for quite some time and when they do a beautiful friendship forms.
My favorite quote from the book:
"Dallas, take a whiff, Whats that you smell?" He inhaled. It was the best smell in the world. Bacon, Welcome home Bacon.
I learnt that even if you don't like someone or something at first, you s...more
My favorite quote from the book:
"Dallas, take a whiff, Whats that you smell?" He inhaled. It was the best smell in the world. Bacon, Welcome home Bacon.
I learnt that even if you don't like someone or something at first, you s...more
The book moved rather slow for me. However, once Chapter 46 hit, I couldn't put the book down. There's unexpected twists that I didn't see coming that really kept the plot moving. I love how the reader can begin to see the children soften and really take to their new family. The chapters were shorter, which can be beneficial for young readers who get scared by lengthy readings. This would be a great book to disect! Between the dreams being referenced, the dad being noticed, etc. A great idea to...more
"Dallas and Florida look set to stay in the orphanage for good until and elderly couple ask the children to come and live with them in Ruby Holler. Dallas and Florida are used to going to people's homes and not staying,so they don't expect much from their latest invitation. However,Tiller and Sairy Morey are an unusual couple. For one thing they keep their money under stones in secret hiding places. But with kids who don't always obey the rules, this may not be the best plan and things don't tur...more
May 10, 2010
Vera
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
8th-grade-2009-2010-sam
The book Ruby Holler is about 2 sibling orphans, trying to find trust, strengthen there relationship, and make their life seem worth living. Dallas and Florida, got dropped off in a box at an orphanage at birth (twins) and have been living at the Boxton Creek Home for Children ever since. Dallas has always wanted to be able to trust someone and go on an adventure, but since he and Florida had such horrible experiences at numerous adoption homes, it’s hard, especially for Florida who won’t trust...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ruby holler is a very good book | 4 | 38 | Nov 09, 2012 03:55pm |
I was born in South Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and grew up there with my noisy and rowdy family: my parents (Ann and Arvel), my sister (Sandy), and my three brothers (Dennis, Doug and Tom).
For a fictional view of what it was like growing up in my family, see Absolutely Normal Chaos. (In that book, the brothers even have the same names as my own brothers.) Our house was not only full of...more
More about Sharon Creech...
For a fictional view of what it was like growing up in my family, see Absolutely Normal Chaos. (In that book, the brothers even have the same names as my own brothers.) Our house was not only full of...more
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