A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32 (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I, Catherine Cabot Hall, aged 13 years, 6 months, 29 days, of Meredith in the State of New-Hampshire, do begin this book..." (more)
Key Phrases: Aunt Lucy, Teacher Holt, Uncle Jack (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This novel, written in diary form, tells of "a pivotal year for 19th-century New Englander Catherine Cabot Hill--one of change, loss, and leave taking . . . a low-key, intense and reflective book."--School Library Journal, starred review. 1980 Newbery Award book.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (October 31, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0153052236
• ISBN-13: 978-0689714191
• ASIN: 068971419X
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,308 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly Decorated and Very Good, January 9, 2002

By	Tammy (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-1832 (Hardcover)

This story centers around Catherine Hall, a thirteen-year-old young girl growing up in New Hampshire. The journal format of this novel makes it easy to read and wonderful to share with school age students. Catherine is a tender girl that has lost her mother and must gain instruction on housekeeping skills from her neighbor who is her best friend's mother. Because of the loss of their mother, Catherine keeps house for her father and younger sister, Matty. The main happenings of Catherine's exciting year are that her father remarries and brings a new stepmother and stepbrother to come and live with them, interesting events at school, the issue of slavery and runaway slaves, and a loss and new love interests close to home. One of the most interesting parts of the story is when Catherine encounters a "phantom" of sorts that she aids along his travels. The correspondence of Catherine to future generations is an interesting beginning and end to the book. This is a highly praised and decorated book from the Newberry Medal, School Library Journal's Best Books of the Year for 1979 to the appointment of an American Library Association Notable Children's book. I would highly recommend this book for any read aloud in an age appropriate setting or as a trade book integrated in a social studies curriculum on the time period.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It won the medal for a reason!, October 19, 2005

By	Britan S. Clay "ou812o" (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-1832 (Hardcover)

What a wonderful work of historical fiction! The time period (1830-32) was very well researched, thus, there will be some words, phrases, etc.. that are not so familiar to us. They lived and spoke quite differently in the 19th century and the author does an excellent job of giving it an authentic feel, while still allowing today's reader to follow along. The book begins with young Cassie Hall,in her early teens, describing daily life for herself, her father, and little sister after the untimely death of her mother. The whole of the book is comprised of Cassie's individual journal entries. From these entries the reader gets a glimpse of what New England life was like from the weather, the schoolhouse, politics, and death. I particularly enjoyed Cassie's description of the laborious process of making a quilt. I recommend this book for those families that value high moral standard and traditional values. It is an excellent supplement to a homeschool history curriculum of this time period.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars COMING OF AGE IN THE 1830'S, May 29, 1998

By A Customer

This modest book is written in the form of a journal by a fourteen-year-old girl named Catherine Hill. For some 18 months she records the daily events and personal feelings of life in New England. She shares her fears and disappointments, her sorrows and small triumphs of spirit with modern readers. The author bravely discusses serious moral and social issues--as seen through the eyes of a young girl: the Underground Railroad (slavery debate), school discipline (perhaps the origin of Zero tolerance and Corporal Punishment), the pain and humiliation of step-parenting (blended families were quite common even then), and women's domestic roles (we've come a long way, baby!)

Catherine's life is not as peaceful as we might think on that pioneer farm in New Hampshire. Who is this mysterious Phantom and how does he affect her life and behavior? How will she survive emotionally her father's remarriage? Or the loss of a dear friend? This is a thoughtful book which quietly discloses the budding woman she will become. Catherine's coming-of-age story is woven as gently and firmly as Yankee homespun--with the warp of historical integrity and the woof of Blos' ancestral compassion. A good introduction to early 19th century Americana, which may not fascinate high spirited youngsters of the 90's. But that is their loss, since the heroine's feelings are remarkably like our own.