Tree. Table. Book.

 

My Thoughts:

This is a elementary to middle grade book by the trustworthily fabulous author, Lois Lowry. She is the author of the OG of dystopian middle grade novels, The Giver as well as  Number the Stars about the Danish Resistance smuggling Jews to Sweden. Both of these books are Newberry Award winners.

This book is about 11-year-old Sophie Henry Winslow and her very best friend and neighbor, 88-year old Sophie Gershowitz.  The narrator, young Sophie, overhears adult conversation that Sophie Gershowitzʻ son Aaron will come and move the elder Sophie to a care facility. Young Sophie is determined to show her parents and Mr. Aaron that Sophie Gershowitz is just fine, even if the adults say she is in the early stages of dementia. The title of the book comes from one of the mental status exams she finds in the Merck Manual. 

The stories around these three words are just heartbreaking and lovely. They should be read aloud for chapter Fridays in middle school, even if it is heartbreaking.

I had a teacher ask me for book advice and I was trying to figure out what specifically she wanted. At the end of the conversation she said, I just want my students to be kind.

This book is about kindness. It is about wanting the best for someone else even if it is not the best for you.

I think that kind of awareness from an 11 year old is the manifestation of kindness. So to my friend in Nebraska, try this for your 6th graders. 

From the Publisher:

When precocious eleven-year-old Sophie sets out to save her elderly neighbor (who is also her dearest friend), her journey will take her through their familiar suburban landscape and then, steadily yet unexpectedly, deeper into a landscape of history and shared stories.

Everyone knows the two Sophies are best friends. One is in elementary school, and one is . . . well . . . in a little trouble of late. She’s elderly, sure, but she’s always been on her game, the best friend any girl struggling to fit in could ever have. The Sophies drink tea, have strong opinions about pretty much everything, and love each other dearly. Now it seems the elder Sophie is having memory problems, burning teakettles, and forgetting just about everything. It looks like her son is going to come and get her and steal her away forever. Young Sophie isn’t having that. Not one bit. So she sets out to help elder Sophie’s memory, with the aid of her neighborhood friends Ralphie and Oliver. But when she opens the floodgates of elder Sophie’s memories, she winds up listening to stories that will illustrate just how much there is to know about her dear friend, stories of war, hunger, cruelty, and ultimately love.

Publication Information:

Author: Lois Lowry

Publisher: Clarion Books First Edition (April 23, 2024)

ISBN 13: 978-0063299504

Hardcover: 208 pages

Grade level: 3--7