Letters from Hillside Farm

Gr 5–7—When 12-year-old George Struckmeyer's father loses his factory job in 1938 Ohio, he decides to move his family to a rented farm in Wisconsin. Upon arrival, George and his mother discover that the house does not have electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing. George's dad grew up on a farm, so he takes to the situation easily and enlists his son's help. Soon the two are milking cows and plowing the fields. Meanwhile, George attends the nearby one-room schoolhouse as the only seventh grader. He makes a friend, Rachel, but he also makes an enemy, Amos, who plagues him throughout the book. No matter what George tries to do, Amos finds a reason to bully him. George is recovering from a broken leg, so Amos calls him "Limply Late" and tells him, "We don't like city kids in our school." Rachel stands up for him and selects him for her softball team. But Amos's taunting doesn't stop until George rescues the bully's grandmother from a house fire. The story is told through letters between George and his grandmother back in Ohio. Their correspondences are detailed and provide an authentic sense of what it was like to live during the Depression. However, readers will find the pace of the story a bit slow and may lose interest.—Wendy M. Scalfaro, G. Ray Bodley High School, Fulton, NY