Mine for Keeps [Hardcover]

jean little (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1995

Sal has cerebral palsy and is finally leaving the Allendale School to come home, but she is frightened how she will cope with everyday life. Sal finds it hard not to expect special treatment all the time - until she meets Piet and learns to find sympathy and time for people other than herself.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After coming home from a school for the disabled, a girl with cerebral palsy struggles to make a place for herself in the mainstream. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

The reissue of this fantastic title in hardcover assures that library will keep a durable version on their shelves. Sally has lived at a rehabilitation school for most of her life and has dreamed of actually living at home with her family rather than just visiting them; but her dreams are nothing like the reality she faces when she does go home permanently, only to face the typical challenges of a new school and friends and the special problems of being handicapped in the world. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Viking Childrens Books; First Edition edition (April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316527939
• ISBN-13: 978-0316527934
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,739,277 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A REAL TREASURE! I WISH I COULD RATE IT MORE STARS!, August 25, 2000

By 

BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Mine for Keeps (Paperback)

This is truly the best book featuring a character with cerebral palsy. Sarah (Sally) is the central character in this story. At 9, she has attended a school for children with physical challenges for the past five years. The Canadian province she lives in has no such school, so her parents arrange to have her admitted to the school in America.

Finally, a rehab center opens in her town. Sally's parents move closer to the center so Sally can live at home. Her father flies her back and works like a soldier helping Sally to feel integrated into her rather large family.

Sally has an older, bossy sister named Mindy, a brother close in age named Kent and a sister in kindergarten named Meg. She gets to know Meg because Meg was the sibling she spent the least amount of time with due to her years in America.

Sally's father is truly a rare gem. He is clearly a very intelligent and articulate man and he provides intelligent explanations for things. For example, when Sally, understandably fearful of starting out in public school asks why she was sent out of the country in the first place, her mother flares up. That was needless. Sally needed sympathy and a good explanation, which her father provided. He told her that at Meg's age, Sally could neither speak clearly nor feed herself; she could not walk; she could not dress herself. He summed it up nicely by saying that he thought she would want to do these things for herself. He was truly a delightful character.

Once enrolled in public school, Sally makes friends with classmates Jon and Elsje Jansen and another girl who immediately takes her under her wing. Sally learns that Elsje's brother Pieter had a heart condition that precluded him from attending school for a year. Nursed at home, Pieter nurses a grudge against his illness and insists on only speaking Dutch, thus further isolating himself. It is Sally, his sister and his friends who get Pieter to leave his self-imposed shell to help them with their dog training project.

This is a wonderful book that I have loved since I was a little girl. I even have a well loved copy. It is a real treasure.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dream Come True, March 22, 2004

By 

Miryan Cortes (Baldwin Park, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mine for Keeps (Paperback)

"Mine for Keeps", by Jean Little, is a great story about friendship you can't miss. It's a story about a girl, Sarah Copeland (Sal), who suffers of cerebral palsy (faulty development or damage to motor areas in the brain). She had always dreamed of going home with her family, but when her dream came true, she wished she had never wished for that. Sal has to overcome many obstacles: make new friends, adapt to her new home, and to not look bad in front of others. It is a story about friendship you can't miss, where a girl who use to be scared of everything-dogs, people, school, even dressing herself, finds friendship in a dog. It is a story with an ending that will leave you pleased.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Jean Little book that I've read, December 9, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Mine for Keeps (Paperback)

This book can really capture your heart. Sal has just come home to live with her family, after living in a special boarding school, for people with Cerebal Palsey. She gets enrolled in a public school, and makes two best friends, Libby and Elsjie. Elsjie has a brother named Piet, who is also crippled, like Sal. If you like reading Jean Little's books, I reccomend her biography, "Little by Little" This book is a must read!