Featured Book # 3

Most people don't read the classics, but as an English major I did - and even before that I did, just because I loved to read. Strangely enough, I don't believe most members of my family have read this week's featured book:


A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is one of my favorite novels. The summer I was fourteen I bought it and proceeded to read the whole thing practically in one sitting (and it's LONG!). I loved all the characters and I loved the descriptions of old Brooklyn!

I've always loved the opening passage:

"Serene was word you could put to Brooklyn, New York. Especially in the summer of 1912. Somber, as a word, was better. But it did not apply to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Prairie was lovely and Shenandoah was beautiful, but you couldn't fit those words into Brooklyn. Serene was the only word for it; especially on a Saturday afternoon in summer." - Betty Smith, page 1

I passed this book along to my students last year, with mixed results. Some of them really seemed to enjoy the story of Francie Nolan and her family, while others were confused because nothing ever really seems to happen in the story! It really is just a coming-of-age story!