Gratefully Yours

by Jane Buchanan

Overview

In 1933, Hattie is sent to Nebraska after her parents die in a New York tenement fire. Once there, she lives on a farm with Henry and Elizabeth Jansen who are dealing with the deaths of their two children. While Elizabeth has trouble getting out of bed, Hattie feels unwanted and isolated. Together, they try to build a new life and come to terms with their personal losses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780141303154
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	03/01/1999
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.74(h) x 0.36(d)
Lexile:	660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

Editorial Reviews

In 1923, Hattie travels on one of the "orphan trains" to Nebraska to live with a couple, Henry and Elizabeth, who are still grieving after the death of their son and their daughter's stillbirth. She is not warmly welcomed, but they are not unkind; she is expected to work, but there are classic books to read on Sunday, and she regularly attends school and church. Some of the others from the orphanage haven't been as fortunate, but Hattie still finds it difficult to be grateful for her cold new home. In her first book, with neither melodrama nor pathos, Buchanan makes Hattie's story gently compelling, as is the path of Henry and Elizabeth's coming to terms with their grief. From the hardscrabble, no-nonsense tone, readers will infer that these are tough people living difficult lives, and while the topic of orphan trains has been overused of late, Buchanan's lean treatment is all her own.

Kirkus Reviews