Listening for Leroy

by Betsy Hearne

Growing up in rural Alabama in the 1950s, ten-year-old Alice has no one to talk to but Leroy, the black farm hand, but when Alice's doctor father moves the family to Tennessee, she has trouble fitting in and she sorely misses Leroy.

Hardcover

First published November 1, 1998

About the author

Betsy Hearne is the author of numerous articles and books, including Choosing Books for Children: A Commonsense Guide, the folktale anthology Beauties and Beasts, fiction for both children and young adults, and picture books—one of which, Seven Brave Women, won the Jane Addams Children's Book Award. The former children's book editor of Booklist and of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, she has reviewed books for almost forty years and contributes regularly to The Horn Book Magazine.

Hearne was the former Director of The Center for Children's Books and a professor emerita in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she taught children's literature and storytelling for many years.

Reviews

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was prepared for something even more sad (coming of age story set in the 1950's south) so it was a relief not to be depressing. Yet, it still dealt with difficult issues, and I appreciated that too.
I think it's very well written. I loved the details of the scene. The sounds, smells, sights, feeling, etc. Lovely. Especially the part in Alabama.
And there was just some very good, thought-provoking treatment of families, being new, being home schooled, being different than the people in your community, race, religion, etc. Recommend it!