About this item
Birdie Boyer was a Florida Cracker. She belonged to a large "strawberry family," who lived on a flatwoods farm in the lake section of the state. They raised strawberries for a living.Through all the hazards of the uncertain crop -- battling against dry weather and grass fires, the roving hogs and cattle of their neighbors -- Birdie dreamed of an education that would include playing the organ. In the end she won not only the title of "strawberry girl," but book learning as well.This is a story full of enterprise and fun and tire excitement of real life in this interesting part of America.Lois Lenski has used again her gift for catching the flavor and drama of life in a remote corner of America. It is the second of a series of regional stories through which she promises to introduce other fascinating and little-known backgrounds to boys and girls. This story will take a place beside her popular Louisiana story Bayou Suzette in the affection of readers.The eighty-four illustrations are distinguished for their action and fascinating detail. They add greatly to this true picture of Florida life at a time when old Florida ways were changing to new. Winner, 1946 Newbery MedalNotable Children's Books of 1945 (ALA)
About the Author
Many of Lenski's books can be collated into 'series' - but since they don't have to be read in order, you may be better off just looking for more information here: Probably her most famous set is the following:American Regional SeriesBeginning with Bayou Suzette in 1943, Lois Lenski began writing a series of books which would become known as her "regional series. " In the early 1940s Lenski, who suffered from periodic bouts of ill-health, was told by her doctor that she needed to spend the winter months in a warmer climate than her Connecticut home. As a result, Lenski and her husband Arthur Covey traveled south each fall. Lenski wrote in her autobiography, "On my trips south I saw the real America for the first time. I saw and learned what the word region meant as I witnessed firsthand different ways of life unlike my own. What interested me most was the way children were living" (183) .In Journey Into Childhood, Lenski wrote that she was struck by the fact that there were "plenty of books that tell how children live in Alaska, Holland, China, and Mexico, but no books at all telling about the many ways children live here in the United States" Bayou Suzette. Strawberry Girl. Blue Ridge Billy. Judy's Journey. Boom Town Boy. Cotton in My Sack. Texas Tomboy. Prairie School. Corn-Farm Boy. San Francisco Boy. Flood Friday. Houseboat Girl. Coal Camp Girl. Shoo-Fly Girl.To Be a Logger. Deer Valley Girl.
