Newbery Medal (John Newbery Medal)
The Summer of the Swans
Summer of the Swans is a children's novel by Betsy Byars about fourteen-year-old Sara Godfrey's search for her missing, mentally challenged brother Charlie. It won the Newbery Medal in 1971.
Work Information
Summer of the Swans is a children's novel by Betsy Byars about fourteen-year-old Sara Godfrey's search for her missing, mentally challenged brother Charlie.
Summer of the Swans is a children's novel by Betsy Byars about fourteen-year-old Sara Godfrey's search for her missing, mentally challenged brother Charlie. It won the Newbery Medal in 1971.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Puffin Books
- Published
- 1981-07-30
- Pages
- 144 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 19.76 x 12.9 x 0.99 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780140314205
- ISBN-10
- 0140314202
- Price
- 2077 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Children's Books/Literature & Fiction/Literary Criticism & Collections
A Newbery Medal Winner All summer Sara Godfrey has fretted over herself, her impossible body, her terrible new haircut. One moment she's elated, the next, she's in tears. And she can't figure out why. Maybe her wildly changing moods are tied to the sudden and unaccountable appearance of the swans, which hold the rapt attention of Charlie, Sara's mentally handicapped brother, who she loves far more than herself these days. In fact, it will be the sudden disappearance of Charlie that will compel Sara to abandon her own small, annoying miseries, and lose herself in searching for him. In her anguish, Sara turns to Joe Melby, whom she has long despised, and together they search through the dense woods and rough fields to find him. Sara knows that she will never be the same again. "A compelling story."— Publishers Weekly
Betsy Byars began her writing career rather late in life. "In all of my school years, . . . not one single teacher ever said to me, 'Perhaps you should consider becoming a writer,'" Byars recalls. "Anyway, I didn't want to be a writer. Writing seemed boring. You sat in a room all day by yourself and typed. If I was going to be a writer at all, I was going to be a foreign correspondent like Claudette Colbert in Arise My Love . I would wear smashing hats, wisecrack with the guys, and have a byline known round the world. My father wanted me to be a mathematician." So Byars set out to become mathematician, but when she couldn't grasp calculus in college, she turned to English. Even then, writing was not on her immediate horizon. First, she married and started a family. The writing career didn't emerge until she was 28, a mother of two children, and living in a small place she called the barracks apartment, in Urbana, Illinois. She and her husband, Ed, had moved there in 1956 so he could attend graduate school at the University of Illinois. She was bored, had no friends, and so turned to writing to fill her time. Byars started writing articles for The Saturday Evening Post , Look ,and other magazines. As her family grew and her children started to read, she began to write books for young people and, fortunately for her readers, discovered that there was more to being a writer than sitting in front of a typewriter. "Making up stories and characters is so interesting that I'm never bored. Each book has been a different writing experience. It takes me about a year to write a book, but I spend another year thinking about it, polishing it, and making improvements. I always put something of myself intomy books -- something that happened to me. Once a wanderer came by my house and showed me how to brush my teeth with a cherry twig; that went in The House of Wingscopyright © 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.
Reviews
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This Newbery-Medal winner is a wonderful book about 14-year-old Sara, her older sister Wanda, their Aunt Willie who takes care of them, and their 10-year-old brother Charlie, who was mentally impaired by life-threatening illnesses at the age of three. Sara, in particular, is very protective of Charlie, especially against school kids who make fun of him. She turned a water hose on a girl who called Charlie a "retard," and won't speak to her schoolmate Joe, who she thinks stole Charlie's beloved watch. The whole story is told in a very short time frame, maybe two full days. After Sara takes Charlie to see swans which are living on a nearby pond, Charlie wakes up in the middle of the night and wanders off. Nobody can find him. Sara, with the help of her best friend Mary, the help of Joe, and the help of the townspeople, finds Charlie. In the process of doing so, Sara learns to not make hasty judgements or accusations: a big step in the process of growing up. A short, realistic, well-told story.
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This book was really good because some of the parts were funny and some of the parts were sad so there was a balance in happiness and sadness so I recommend reading this book because if you like a balanced book you should read this book. Also go check out some of her other book they are very balanced as well. Would rate this book 5 stare because it has all the 5 things that a book need to be a good book. If are wondering how i know this it is because I have read a lot of Betsy Byars books and I can guarantee you will enjoy them a lot. Thank you for reading my review. I am so grateful and if you read the books I recommend you will she what I mean. Thanks again and I hope you read you read this book!!!!😁😁😁😁😁😁
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It was assigned at school, then ordered to allow for a second (or more) reading. It is interesting and read by adults, too.
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This is a very good book. I like it because it's an easy read, the characters are developed well, and the story line is fantastic. I like how it was fictional but it had realistic circumstances, like things that could actually happen. Sara was a very realistic character, she was like your average teen, self conscious even though she is pretty, cares for others, normal stuff. I would recommend this book to other kids my age, it's perfect for my age section. I like the little bit at the end where Joe Melby asked Sara to the party, it added the little bit of love interest that the book needed. I enjoyed reading this.
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Disappointed that it doesn't have the original cover as depicted in the product image.