Blue Willow

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In 1940, only a year out of the official Great Depression, this book, Blue Willow, was a Newberry Honor book. If you don't know what a Newberry is, its an award for outstanding children's fiction and if you want to read any of them, to your children or grandchildren, well, here is the list... Now, this book was read to my class in, I believe, 2nd grade. That was a long time ago and it remained with me. So, recently, the roomie and I went to Amazon and got me a penny copy. I have tracked down and reread many of the books that were read to me. The Secret Garden, Charlotte's Web and others, but I hadn't found in the libraries any copies of this book. Quite possibly its because other books would distract me, I am a reader, after all. So, I've been reading it again. Now, its been over 50 years since I heard the book and all I really remembered was there was a little girl, during the Depression and her family had a Blue Willow plate. And that I liked it. Mind you, in 1960 we weren't that long out of the Depression. Every parent had lived through it, some easier than others. I didn't realize how hard it had been for my father. I didn't realize that the main reason he ate was because his parents had run cafes during the Depression in Atlantic City. And, while it was still a destination for New Yorkers to get away from the city, it wasn't the same as it had been during Prohibition. Still, I think it is an important book for children to read. They might need to be a bit older than I might've been when I was at the level to actually read it, 2nd grade it is not, but kids today... Well, it was a different time with different hardships. So, if you know a 9-12 year old, probably better for a girl since the protagonist is a girl, you might consider steering her toward this book. Or, if you are lucky enough to be able to read to your children, even if they are a bit beyond picture book stage, this might be one you will want to track down. So, did you ever read this book? Have it read to you? What did you think of it?