Tree Table Book by Lois Lowry

"I'm going to tell you three words. I'm choosing them at random. Listen carefully. This will be important.

House.

Umbrella.

Apple.

Remember those. I'll explain later."

Sophia (known as Sophie) is aged eleven and her best friend is Sophie Gershowitz. Sophie is eighty-eight years old and she lives next door to Sophia. Sophia wants to tell us the story of Sophie. Sophia once received some advice about writing: "Begin on the day that is different."

Ralph is a kid in her neighborhood. Ralph's dad is a pediatrician and so he owns a copy of The Merck Manual which is a reference book for doctors. And there is Oliver who is seven and on the autism spectrum. So, Sophia has three friends - Sophie her Friend of the Heart; Ralphie her same age friend; and Oliver.

Sophia loves check the Merck. Sophia needs the Merck because she has overheard a conversation about her best friend Sophie's health. Sophia is also a medical hypochondriac and her medical dilemmas are sure to make you laugh.

"There is something about a book; the feel of it, the weight of it in your hands, the way the pages turn (pages in the Merck are very thin and extremely serious-seeming, the cover is leather, and there are built-in index tabs."

Aaron, Sophie's son, is coming from Akron. Sophia's parents tell her Sophie will take a test to check her memory or we would say cognition. This gives Sophia  a brilliant idea. She can help Sophie pass this test - all it will take is some training. Sophia is sure Sophie has good eyesight and good hearing but sometimes she seems to miss smells and often Sophie finds very stinky things in her fridge. She also sometimes forgets to turn off her kettle. 

If you have an elderly parent or grandparent you might be familiar with the tests for dementia - one of the questions involves remembering three objects - hence the title of this book - the short-term memory test. Over several days, as Sophia asks the test questions, we gain an insight into Sophie and her life in Poland, her husband, and the holocaust. Sophia uses the three-word test as a way for Sophie to recall her childhood and Sophie tells three stories - the tree with the berries picked too soon by the children; the table at the baker shop that Sophie was not allowed to visit; and the book of fairy tales that her mother returned to the rich owner - the house where Sophie was hidden over the war years.

Lowry is famous for dealing with difficult subjects in her work, which has occasionally been banned, and as young Sophie encourages older Sophie to delve into her long-term memories, it becomes clear that this is also a novel about surviving the Holocaust. Three brilliantly told stories from Sophie’s Polish childhood form the climax of the novel, contrasting very effectively with young Sophie’s charming, insouciant 21st-century kid voice (captured to perfection by the 87-year-old Lowry). The Historical novel society

When the test prep unlocks memories of Sophie G.’s childhood in Poland during World War II, Lowry conveys with sensitivity and realism Sophie W.’s sorrow upon realizing that things she’s only learned about in school have had a painful, lifelong impact on her beloved friend. Book Page

Read more plot details here.

Readers aged 10+ who enjoy personal stories and stories about kindness are sure to enjoy Tree Table Book. Sophia has such a determined attitude and voice. You should also look for these in your local or school library:

Girl 38 Finding a Friend

I'll keep you close

Kindred Souls Patricia MacLachlan

"Billy is eight-eight years old, and I don't worry about him dying. He will live forever. I know that."

This first sentence is near the beginning of Kindred Souls. An astute reader is sure to realise Patricia MacLachlan is giving you a hint about the possible ending to this family story. 

Billy lives with his extended family on a farm near where he was born. His grandchildren are Lida, Jesse and Jake. Jake is named after a plow horse that Billy used to use on his farm and Jake is our narrator.

"I look at Billy's large gnarled hands and his wrinkled face and his bush of white hair. I believe him when he says he talked to the first bird of time. He lives in a sunny room that looks up to the slough that is empty in the summer and filled with water and ducks in the fall. It is a small piece of his old life, like the big prairie that spreads out around is a big piece of his old life."

The word slough is mentioned a few times in this story - it is an important word and one that was new to me. I read Kindred Souls on a Kindle and so I was able to use the online dictionary:

Slough: A swamp, a muddy side channel or inlet.

It is the summer holidays. Jake and Billy take a daily walk around the farm. Billy speaks gently to the cows and he feeds carrots to the horses. 

"And then we go where we always end our walk. We go to the place where Billy was born on this farm. Up the rise and higher up the hill to the edge of the slough ... (and) When Billy pushes the branches of one bush aside, there it is. A small wall of prairie grass and mud three feet high."

This is all that remains of the old sod house. Billy misses it so much.

"I'll tell you everything. ... And then you can build me a sod house ... 

Because we're kindred souls, you and I."

And this, my blog reading friend, is another hint about what is to come. Have you guessed?

After their walk on this day a dog arrives at the house. A small black and white dog. Billy seems to know this dog. He even knows her name is Lucy. It seems Lucy has come to stay, and she is here for Billy.

Back to the sod house. Billy is sure Jake can build this, and the family still have a very old book of instructions. Warning - this book will make you cry. When a new calf is born Billy insists he will also be called Billy - "That means there will be a Billy around here for a long time." Then Billy is unwell and the doctor (who Billy likes to flirt with) says Billy needs to go to hospital. Now Jake just HAS to build that sod house. But will Billy be able to come home and will the house be finished in time and most important of all will Billy like the little sod house.

Here are a few text quotes - they show how beautifully Patricia MacLachlan composes her sentences:

"He tells me the hummingbirds outside speak to him in short, brisk sentences when they fly quickly up and down and around the hanging feeders of sugar water."

"We are quiet. I love the feel of his hand. Outside the hummingbirds flash silently in the sunlight."

"My mama sang lullabies to me in the sod house ... She sat in that old rocking chair in my room and sang lullabies."  [Hello again blog reader - this this sound familiar - an echo of a scene in Sarah, Plain and Tall perhaps].

Publisher blurb: Jake’s grandfather, Billy, hears the talk of birds, is eighty-eight years old, and is going to live forever. Even when Billy gets sick, Jake knows that everything will go on as always. But there’s one thing Billy wants: to rebuild the sod house where he grew up. Can Jake give him this one special thing.

Whenever I finish one of her books, I sit and wonder what it is she does so well... try to define it. It won't take you more than 35 minutes to read through this book but it will stay with you for a long, long time. It's one of those. She reaches to your soul... A Book and a Hug

It's rare to find a children's book that deals so well with death as part of life, offering kids an effective approach to coping with sadness that incorporates humor, love and joy. Kirkus Star review

This small book looks at the role of grandparents in the lives of children in a quiet yet powerful way.  Billy is the center of the book, since he is the center of Jake’s world.  The book, told in the first person by Jake, also explores connections between generations that are strong and true.  The sense of kindred spirits is strong but never overplayed.  This entire book exudes a quiet strength that makes for a compelling read. Waking Brain Cells

If you click on the label I've given this post you can find all of the Patricia MacLachlan books I have talked about here on this blog. 

If you are interested in the idea of the sod house or life on the prairie, try to find this gentle story:

Black-eyed Susan

And this verse novel:

May B: A Novel

Mr George Baker by Amy Hest illustrated by Jon J Muth

"See this man? This one here, sitting on the porch?

That's Mr George Baker, and he's a hundred years old, no kidding."

Harry sits with Mr George Baker - it is clear this is a daily routine.

"See his pants, all baggy, baggy, baggy? What holds them up - suspenders!"

Mr George Baker is good a tying shoelaces but strangely he also has a book bag (a school bag) just like the one young Harry is carrying. There is a book inside his bag, but Mr George Baker cannot read. He is indeed a hundred years old, but he never learned how to read. Now we know where these friends are going. 

Finally, the yellow school bus arrives. There are twenty-two kids on the bus, but George always sits with Harry. Learning to read is hard but there is a gentle assurance at the end of this book that both of them will conquer this important skill with patience and perseverance. You might also like to listen to some gentle jazz tracks after reading this book - Mr George was once a fine jazz drummer and there is a lovely scene in this book where we see him dancing with his wife. 

Publisher blurb: George Baker and Harry don’t seem the likeliest of friends. Yet, sitting side by side on George’s porch, waiting for the school bus to come, the two have plenty in common, this hundred-year-old musician with the crookedy fingers going tappidy on his knees and the young schoolboy whose shoelaces always need tying. They’re both learning to read, which is hard — but what’s easy is the warm friendship they share. In an inspired pairing, a best-selling author and illustrator pay tribute to the power of language and intergenerational bonds.

I have been SO privileged to visit one of the best school libraries in an independent school here in Sydney over the last 8 years (minus those covid years) and every week I have been able to borrow new books, Australian books, picture books, translated picture books, books from Canada, books from USA, books from UK, books I will always cherish. Along the way this reading journey has led me to discover hundreds of new authors and even better hundreds of fantastic illustrators from all corners of the world. Sadly, my days of visiting this treasure trove may now be ending. Finding Mr George Baker is a great example of the books I have found in this library, and it is also a reminder that there were SO many more books I didn't discover. And it shows the joy that comes from discovering a wonderful book. Oh and yes this confirms why libraries are SO important as places that hold all kinds of books - old and new - because I am sure you have guessed Mr George Baker is long out of print. It was published in 2004 with a paperback edition in 2007. Here is the Kirkus review.

The Teacher-Librarian was curating a 'bulk loan' for the four Grade One classes in this school. A 'bulk loan' is the loan of piles of books on a theme or class topic. In this case their focus was/is a topic I call 'Life in the Olden days' with particular reference to changes to our homes, way of life, toys and clothing. As a library volunteer, I used the library catalogue (which is another excellent resource in this library) to hunt out and fill boxes with books on this topic. Along the way the Teacher-Librarian and I were talking about these two books which I had seen previously and then she mentioned Mr George Baker. 

I often cry over books and television advertisements and when little children sing at a school assembly but it is rare for me to cry over a picture book - Mr George Baker made me cry. It is a book to love and to read slowly and a book with the most beautiful illustrations. Amy Hest also made me cry over these middle grade books:

The Summer we found the baby

Remembering Mrs Rossi