“Strawberry Hill”

“Strawberry Hill” by Mary Ann Hoberman is an historical fiction novel for 4th-8th graders.  Hoberman is a Poet Laureate and National Book Award winner. “Strawberry Hill” describes ten year-old Allie and her family who move to Strawberry Hill because her father has found work there. Although the parents are happy the father has a job (it is set during the Great Depression in Connecticut), Allie is not happy to leave her friends and childhood home.  As Allie struggles to feel like she belongs in her new home, she also finds new friends.  Allie faces prejudice (she is Jewish) and snobbery as she meets new girls in the neighborhood.  The everyday tensions of having a best friend are as applicable to the novel as they still are today.  A quick, recommended read about honesty, trust, and friendship.