Product Description

Lucy Wells's unusual summer of 1910 begins with her mother turning the front parlor into a hat-making emporium and includes unexpected, exciting visitors, a train trip to Boston, and a visit to Woolworth's wondrous toy counter. By the author of Ox-Cart Man.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2513828 in Books
• Published on: 1995-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: School & Library Binding

From Publishers Weekly
Hall and McCurdy's second book about the author's mother's New Hampshire childhood (following Lucy's Christmas) presents itself like a turn-of-the century magic-lantern show, filled with lovingly chronicled moments. Their nostalgic evocations focus on Lucy during the summer of 1910, when "her mother turned the front parlor into a millinery shop"; when she and her sister help preserve food for the winter (the peas alone fill "ten quarts and twenty pints!"); when Lucy rides the Peanut express to Boston. Hall recreates Lucy's sense of awe with his elegant yet homey imagery: the branches of a willow tree "sweep to the ground like a lady's skirt"; peas "clatter into the bottom of the kettle like hail pounding on the roof." Perfectly suited to the poetic text, McCurdy's captivating, finely etched scratchboard illustrations include such period touches as horse-drawn wagons and porcelain dolls' faces. There is little plot here, but the fond recollections of each vignette resonate with certain charm. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 5^-8. In this companion to Lucy's Christmas (1994), seven-year-old Lucy spends the summer of 1910 with her family on its New Hampshire farm. Mother has opened a millinery shop in the front parlor and creates hats to sell to the neighbors. Canning vegetables, making fruit preserves, and attending the Danbury Fourth of July celebration become vivid memories for Lucy, but the highlight of her summer is an early September trip by train to Boston with her mother. The two purchase millinery supplies, enjoy lunch at a sidewalk cafe{‚}, and shop for penny souvenirs at Woolworth's. McCurdy's distinctively colored scratchboard illustrations are suited to the nostalgic flavor of the text and feature many period details. Hall's strength--elevating everyday occurrences to memorable levels--overcomes any lack of action, making this a satisfying tale of turn-of-the-century rural life. Kay Weisman

About the Author
DONALD HALL, poet laureate of the United States from 2006 to 2007, has received the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in poetry, the Lenore Marshall Award, the 1990 Frost Medal from the Poetry Society of America, and the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.


Michael McCurdy lives in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.