You Come to Yokum [Hardcover]

Carol Otis Hurst (Author), Kay Life (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2005 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

In the winter of 1920, everything changed. Frank and his family got a Model T and drove to the Berkshires to try to make a success of a vacation/hunting lodge at Yokum Pond. There are fun adventures and incidents with invited guests and uninvited animal visitors, including the mysterious “horrible huge.” The rural setting and less-than-receptive neighbors fail to deter Frank’s mother from pursuing her fight for suffrage, much to the consternation of her husband and a number of the lodge’s guests, but in the end, she sees Tennessee ratify the amendment and earns a place of reverence in the movement.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6–The fight for women's suffrage is brought to life through the eyes of 12-year-old Frank Carlyle, who lives on a farm in 1920s Massachusetts. His mother actively campaigns for a woman's right to vote. He and his brother, Jim, are used to being teased about her politicking. When the family buys their first Model T, it is Mrs. Carlyle who learns to drive. She takes the car to Washington, DC, and is arrested after chaining herself to the White House fence. Upon her return home, Father signs up the family to run a vacation lodge in a remote part of the state, far from the suffrage movement. Frank and Jim work hard and have many adventures as they slowly learn to appreciate their surroundings. The fight to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment is not forgotten when their mother attempts to bring the word to her neighbors. With mostly short chapters and charming black-and-white illustrations, this is a satisfying read. For another teen's view of the suffrage movement, try Kathryn Lasky's A Time for Courage (Scholastic, 2002).–Kristen Oravec, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Strongsville, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5. In a rash, unexpected move, especially for a farm family in the 1920s, Frank's dad packs up the family and leaves Massachusetts to run a lodge called Yokum in the Berkshires. Just as daring is Frank's mother's involvement in the woman suffrage movement, undertaken despite Dad's disapproval. The short chapters provide an amusing glimpse into rustic lodge life: a moose cornering Aunt Winnie in the outhouse; a stovepipe falling down when the back door slams, spattering soot everywhere; an annoying guest being tricked on a coon hunt. The lighthearted tone falters suddenly, however, when Mother is fatally stung by bees. Stock characters and the abrupt ending compromise the flow of the story, but the writing is lively and the fight for the vote becomes more than just a dry history lesson. Black-and-white illustrations are scattered through the story.^B Julie Cummins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (October 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618551220
• ISBN-13: 978-0618551224
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,526,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.