Afternoon of the Elves - Softcover

Lisle, Janet Taylor

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0545398517 ISBN 13: 9780545398510

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks, 2012

Synopsis

Newbery Honor book AFTERNOON OF THE ELVES is now back in paperback with bonus After Words content!

Sara-Kate is known as the meanest girl in school. Her clothes don't match and her hair's a mess, and she's always stomping around in ugly, giant work boots. But Hillary isn't so sure she believes the rumors about her neighbor. If Sara-Kate is as awful as everyone says, how could she take such good care of the elf village in her backyard? Hillary and Sara-Kate spend entire afternoons fixing the tiny stick houses and miniature Ferris wheel for the elves. But the more time Hillary spends with Sara-Kate, the more mysteries there seem to be. How come they never go inside Sara-Kate's house? And why hasn't Hillary ever seen Sara-Kate's mom?

Janet Taylor Lisle's captivating Newbery Honor book explores the magic and mystery of friendship between even the most unlikely of friends.

About this title

About the Author:

Janet Taylor Lisle is the author of many novels for children, including the Newbery Honor book, AFTERNOON OF THE ELVES; THE ART OF KEEPING COOL; HIGHWAY CATS; SIRENS AND SPIES; FOREST; and A MESSAGE FROM THE MATCH GIRL (from the Investigators of the Unknown series). She lives with her family on the coast of Rhode Island.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-6-- A fascinating portrayal of a manipulative yet touching friendship. Nine-year-old Hillary lives in comfortable suburbia with her parents. In the house behind lives tough, independent Sara-Kate. Her father's gone, her sick mother hides, she dresses like an urchin, and is despised and mocked at school. However, Hillary stumbles on Sara-Kate's secret; she tends a tiny village in her weed-filled back yard, a village where she says elves live. Hillary is fascinated, and in helping her neighbor maintain the village, gradually becomes closer to Sara-Kate despite her school friends' disdain and parental disapproval. She starts not only to believe in elves, but also to wonder if Sara-Kate is not one herself. The ambiguous clues as to whether Sara-Kate is really an elf or just a disturbed child are so well wrought that readers will be as uncertain as Hillary. The children's emotions and behavior are believable and authentic, depicted clearly without over-explaining, especially Hillary's inner conflict. Lisle captures the subtlety of childhood feelings and perceptions, while maintaining a language and style accessible to average readers. Hillary grows from a bland follower to someone who knows that it is she, ultimately, who must make up her mind, despite the opinions of those around her, and perhaps become a little like all that was good in Sara-Kate herself. --Annette Curtis Klause, Montgomery County Department of Public Libraries, MD
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0545398517
• ISBN 13: 9780545398510
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144