"Do you remember the taste of strawberries?" asks Sam Gamgee in the film version of The Return of the King,
hoping to rouse his exhausted companion from the depths of despair. As
someone who has found great delight in picking strawberries and who
invariably opts for a strawberry sundae when we go out for ice cream, I
understand the connection those bright red berries have with thoughts of
serenity and joy.
It's the same connection 10-year-old Allie feels in Strawberry Hill
when her parents tell her that they will be living in a house on
Strawberry Hill when they move from New Haven to Stamford. It's the
Depression. Jobs are scarce, and her father has been living there for
some time; now they are able to join him. Unfortunately, that means
leaving behind friends and familiar surroundings. Forlorn Allie clings
fiercely to the shining vision of a field full of strawberries. Reality
doesn't quite measure up to her dreams, but that is an important first
step in a long lesson about not relying too heavily upon first
impressions.
Strawberry Hill was written by Mary Ann
Hoberman, who has been penning children's poetry for decades, to much
acclaim. In fact, she was named the second children's poet laureate last
year. She has published many picture books, but this middle-grade book
is her first novel and was inspired by her own growing-up years. The
Depression-era setting makes it a novel of historical interest for
youngsters, while it is especially timely because of the current
Recession, reminding me of the Kit Kittredge movie that American Girl released last year.
While that film focuses on the time during which the young
protagonist's father is away, searching for work out of town, Allie,
having already experienced such a separation, now has a fairly normal,
stable home life. However, one of her friends has a dad who visits only
occasionally, while another friend hasn't seen her father in months.
Another starts up a paper route in order to help his mother pay the
bills. Hints of the difficult times are everywhere, with the most
blatant example being the hobo who knocks on Allie's door, looking for a
meal.
Aside from the backdrop of the Depression, there are
other indications of the times. Allie uses coal from a neighbor's oven
to draw a hopscotch board on her driveway. She plays with paper dolls,
and she wears dresses. Hoberman doesn't specify the year in which this
takes place, but with references to Shirley Temple and Mary Poppins, it
must be sometime in the mid- to late 1930s. It's interesting to note the
differences and similarities between Allie and modern children; I was
struck by how often I forgot that this was not set in contemporary
times. So many of the same things are present, from cars to pop, and
Allie behaves pretty much the way I would expect a current-day child to
behave in her situation. The fact that the country is in the midst of
economic troubles again makes the story even more relatable. The main
difference is that the children find ways of amusing themselves without
the help of technology.
Allie is a kind, imaginative girl who
has an especially close bond with her sweet little brother Danny. She
sometimes comes across as rather whiny, and although she is the victim
of prejudice, she has a few prejudices of her own. She reminds me a bit
of Anne from Anne of Green Gables in that she is very hung up on
the notion of a bosom friend and has very clear ideas about what
qualities this mystical person should have. Her new home presents her
with many opportunities for friendships, but none are without
complications.
Her neighbor Martha, who is Catholic and
attends private school, is pretty and fairly well-off. She has a warm,
welcoming mother, and she's the first person Allie meets upon her
arrival. But Martha also has a mean streak, and her best friend can be
flat-out nasty, at one point directing a religiously motivated epithet
at the Jewish Allie. Mimi, another neighbor, is Jewish and attends the
same school as Allie does. Her mother is lazy and sarcastic, and Mimi is
overweight and clingy. But she's unfailingly considerate and
appreciative of the time Allie spends with her, and Danny adores her. At
school, Allie meets Allie M., who is quiet and kind, and Dan, who
develops a crush on her. But neither lives nearby, so after-school
association with them is limited. I do think that Allie is too focused
on the idea of having one friend to whom she is closer than all others;
her obsession with exclusivity certainly causes problems. But her
revelations about the nature of true friendship are worthwhile and
applicable to modern children.
Strawberry Hill contains
44 short, unnamed chapters and features lovely pencil drawings by Wendy
Anderson Halperin. I would recommend it to children, particularly
around the ages of 9 to 12, who are interested in history or who have
recently moved, or will soon move. It's an engaging tale, and its
lessons about friendship and making the best of a disappointing
situation are relevant and helpful. If Hoberman decides to write another
novel, you can count me in.
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