Marly and her family share many adventures when they move from the city to a farmhouse on Maple Hill.
Miracles on Maple Hill (Harcourt Young Classics)
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Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5–Virginia Sorensen's 1957 Newbery Award winner (Harcourt, 1956) is skillfully dramatized by a cast of experienced narrators. This is a loving family saga about Marley, brother Joe, their parents, and their friends. When Marley's father returns home from World War II a broken man physically and spiritually, her mother decides that the family needs to leave the city for an extended visit to Grandma's house in the country. Listeners are drawn into the tale of a year in the life of this family as the father slowly regains his strength and confidence. The year is filled with small miracles from the first spring blossoms to the healing of their beloved neighbor, Mr. Chris. Narrated by Cynthia Bishop and dramatized by the Full Cast Family, each character is brought to life and given a unique personality and voice. Their expert narration brings this inspiring American classic to life. So many children today have parents who are part of the war effort overseas that this somewhat old-fashioned, half-century old story is still relevant for youngsters today.–Wendy Woodfill, Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, MN
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Warm and real . . . packed with incident, country magic, family lore, and people to remember."--The New York Times Book Review
"Vivid descriptions . . . and excellent characterization mark each page of the book."--Chicago Tribune
"Vivid descriptions . . . and excellent characterization mark each page of the book."--Chicago Tribune
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
ISBN 0590431455 - This Newbery Award Winner managed to pull off one of the most difficult things in kids' books - possibly in any genre. It is almost completely timeless. Ignoring the copyright date, there is almost nothing in it that sets it in a particular timeframe. Because the setting is nature and a back-to-the-land ideal, the story could be set after almost any war - and because we're in a war right now, it could easily be set in the present. Sorensen mentions "the war" without ever mentioning Hitler, Germany or WWII. The only "give away" is when Joe refers to 4 dollars as a lot of money - but even that, since Joe's a kid, doesn't do any harm to the timelessness of Miracles.
Marly's father is back from the war. A former POW, Dale is suffering from mood swings and depression and seems to be tired all the time. Lee, Marly's mother, worries a lot. She also talks a lot about Maple Hill, where she spent her summers as a child. They still own a house there and, as the story begins, the family is on the way there. Lee has been in touch with the neighbors, the Chris family, who have opened the house and done what they could to make it welcoming. The plan is for Dale to remain behind while Lee shuttles the kids, Marly and her brother Joe, back and forth, visiting Maple Hill on weekends. They will spend the whole summer there, as well. Hopefully this will help Dale, who isn't very social, to recover from the horrors of the war.
The house is run down and overrun with mice when they arrive and the family sets about restoring order. Mr. Chris and his wife, Chrissie, are good neighbors and good friends - as much to the kids as to the parents. They've arrived during sugaring season and right away get to see how maple sap becomes syrup, with Mr. Chris teaching them. Mr. Chris teaches Joe and Marly much about the beauty of the country around them. Marly has, from the start, hoped for miracles here, mostly of the sort that will heal her family, and Mr. Chris reinforces that hope by promising her a miracle a week. He shows her the beauty of each season, in the little things. The kids also meet Harry, something of a recluse, who smells like the goats he keeps, and they learn a lot from him as well.
Eventually, the family decides to stay at Maple Hill together, with the book ending a year later, during sugaring season. This time, however, rather than being the somewhat lost newcomers, relying on others to teach them about everything new to them here, they find themselves in a position to repay some of what they've been given by their new friends. Harry is injured and alone, with no place to stay and, worst of all, Mr. Chris is in the hospital with heart problems just as the greatest sugaring year in the history of Pennsylvania begins. His entire crop is at risk just when he and his family are faced with medical bills. Marly, Joe, Lee and Dale have to help him! It's a lot of work - has the family healed enough to work together and get the job done? Can they really do this, for the neighbors who have been so kind to them?
A wonderful story of healing, caring and helping each other and so much beautifully described detail about the plants and animals they encounter! Dale's speech near the end, about men in the POW camp who were either willing to help each other or who were only worried about themselves, neatly tied together his experience in the war with their year on Maple Hill and showed how far he had come. I recommend this book for just about everyone - adults can appreciate it as much as, it not more than, kids.
- AnnaLovesBooks
Marly's father is back from the war. A former POW, Dale is suffering from mood swings and depression and seems to be tired all the time. Lee, Marly's mother, worries a lot. She also talks a lot about Maple Hill, where she spent her summers as a child. They still own a house there and, as the story begins, the family is on the way there. Lee has been in touch with the neighbors, the Chris family, who have opened the house and done what they could to make it welcoming. The plan is for Dale to remain behind while Lee shuttles the kids, Marly and her brother Joe, back and forth, visiting Maple Hill on weekends. They will spend the whole summer there, as well. Hopefully this will help Dale, who isn't very social, to recover from the horrors of the war.
The house is run down and overrun with mice when they arrive and the family sets about restoring order. Mr. Chris and his wife, Chrissie, are good neighbors and good friends - as much to the kids as to the parents. They've arrived during sugaring season and right away get to see how maple sap becomes syrup, with Mr. Chris teaching them. Mr. Chris teaches Joe and Marly much about the beauty of the country around them. Marly has, from the start, hoped for miracles here, mostly of the sort that will heal her family, and Mr. Chris reinforces that hope by promising her a miracle a week. He shows her the beauty of each season, in the little things. The kids also meet Harry, something of a recluse, who smells like the goats he keeps, and they learn a lot from him as well.
Eventually, the family decides to stay at Maple Hill together, with the book ending a year later, during sugaring season. This time, however, rather than being the somewhat lost newcomers, relying on others to teach them about everything new to them here, they find themselves in a position to repay some of what they've been given by their new friends. Harry is injured and alone, with no place to stay and, worst of all, Mr. Chris is in the hospital with heart problems just as the greatest sugaring year in the history of Pennsylvania begins. His entire crop is at risk just when he and his family are faced with medical bills. Marly, Joe, Lee and Dale have to help him! It's a lot of work - has the family healed enough to work together and get the job done? Can they really do this, for the neighbors who have been so kind to them?
A wonderful story of healing, caring and helping each other and so much beautifully described detail about the plants and animals they encounter! Dale's speech near the end, about men in the POW camp who were either willing to help each other or who were only worried about themselves, neatly tied together his experience in the war with their year on Maple Hill and showed how far he had come. I recommend this book for just about everyone - adults can appreciate it as much as, it not more than, kids.
- AnnaLovesBooks
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
A Kid's Review
Format:Paperback
Miracles on Maple Hill is great for kids because it's about kids. Marly is a girl who is experiencing the Miracles on Maple Hill. Every season there's a different miracle, weather it's gathering sap from the maple trees,or watching the flowers bloom. Meeting many different friends, Marly and her brother Joe go on many adventures on Maple Hill. I think that it is a great book for kids to read because it is somthing to look forward to.
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Turtleback
Found this book on a flew - market in New york and lapped it up on my flight back to Germany. I simply couldn't stop. Each child, boy or girl,( and I, 53 years old and still remembering my own wonderful childhood very good) who still have got a feeling for nature and living outdoors, will find her own feelings and similar adventures in the story of Marly and her brother. A very good gift for my niece learning English since three years.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
seriously bored
um, how do I say this? Everyone is like "Omg this book is so good!" and I'm just like "Snore fest!". Maybe it's just the ADHD talking, but this book is seriously dead. Read more
Published 1 month ago by cookie_monster
5.0 out of 5 stars
About nature, people and miracles
Miracles on Maple Hill is a story of an ordinary girl, Marly, whose dad just came from war. Like many of the other men who had been through war he did not come back as the cheery... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Sofia Marie
5.0 out of 5 stars
delightful story deserving of Newbery Medal
Ten-year-old Marley lives in Pittsburgh, PA, with her father Dale, mother Lee, and twelve-year-old brother Joe. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Wayne S. Walker
4.0 out of 5 stars
Made me nostalgic for a time I didn't even live in
In my ongoing attempt to read all the newberry medal books I found Miracles on Maple Hill to be a very good book. Read more
Published 14 months ago by James Sparks
3.0 out of 5 stars
Kid's Review
I didn't really like the book because Joe and Mr Criss were sometimes cruel to animals and that put me off. Read more
Published 14 months ago
5.0 out of 5 stars
beautiful
I read this book to my 8-year-old daughter at bedtime each night. We loved it.
We both enjoy books that reflect nature and relationships, are tender and... Read more
We both enjoy books that reflect nature and relationships, are tender and... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Lisa L. Thompson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Only a wee bit (sorry) sappy
This is the kind of book I was afraid I was in for when I decided to read the Newbery books. Well, it was and it wasn't. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Debnance at Readerbuzz
2.0 out of 5 stars
Miracles On Maple Hill
When Marly and her family move to her grandma's old house on Maple Hill up the road form a sugar camp, she and her brother have many adventures including pancakes, mice, flowers,... Read more
Published 19 months ago
2.0 out of 5 stars
Sexism seriously detracts from good story line in this book
While Miracles on Maple Hill has a very interesting story line, with family tensions portrayed in a sensitive, but honest way, the sexism made it difficult for me to stay with the... Read more
Published on November 21, 2010 by Anne H. Anderson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Miracles on Maple Hill
This is a fantastic book! It totally grasps things like growing up, and having a family member get sick. Read more
Published on October 13, 2009 by Hope Girl
