Strawberry Girl: A Newbery Award Winner

It was hard for me to pick this up. I thought it would be the perfect book for me but I found myself uninterested. I learned alot about Florida's early days though.

I grew up in strawberry country in Plant City, Fl in the 60's. So close to my red headed heart. Passing down through the generations to my grandchildren. 🍓

When I was a child, Lois Lenski was one of my favorite authors. I read Strawberry Girl when I was around 7, and I loved it. I think it introduced me to a rural poverty that was otherwise out of my experience, and left me with a sense of empathy for people whose lives were very different from my own. Nearly 40 years later, I still remember it.

True to life adventures in a rural setting in Florida in the early l900's, the characters present an understanding of what "it was like, back then." Great award winning book! Enduring classic...

I love this book very much although they use broken English like ain't,biggety,iffen and many other things. But later on,I got used to it. It is about Birdie and her family who have moved to the Florida backwoods. They settle down in the Roddenburry house which is next to the Slaters family. Sam Slater,the father of 6 children always gets drunk and is always angry. When Mrs Slater and her children come to Birdie's house for the first time,she thinks Birdie's family is superior to theirs. Birdie is planting strawberries and Mrs. Slater tells the Boyers that the strawberries will die but the Boyers do not listen. Meanwhile,Birdie Boyer gets to know Shoestring,Essie and Zephy. One day, Mr. Boyer,Birdie's dad fences up his land as he doesn't want the Slater's hogs to come into his compound and eat the strawberries. But once,the hogs did come in. Mr. Boyer was so angry that he cut off one of the hog's ears as a warning.Many other squabbles happen to the Boyers and the Slater. Birdie gets to know Shoestring a lot. They try to make their families peaceable but to no avail. One of the incidents was grass fire. Sam Slater purposely set fire to the grass in order to burn the house down. Birdie asked for their help but Sam Slater,Gus and Joe did not budge. Gus and Joe are Sam's children. Mrs. Slater announced that she will help but the husband ordered her to stay in the house. Luckily Birdie's house was not burned but the schoolhouse was razed down to the ground.Will Shoestring and Birdie manage to make their families be at peace ?

If you have not read this book, you should order it. It includes animals, fights, friends and lots of action! Hattie Boyles.

This wonderful story of a families move to Florida is filled with funny moments and touching realities. Our family loves Mrs. Lenski's books and this one will not disappoint. This is a great book for your personal library. One you will want to read over and over again