13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Philip Hall Likes Me. I Reckon Maybe, February 8, 2001
PLOT SUMMARY:
This novel, which is set in Pocahontas, Arkansas, is told from the point of view of a young girl, Elizabeth Lambert. Elizabeth, who has a crush on a classmate, Philip Hall, who doesn't yet seem interested in girls, strives to make him like her. Willing to do almost anything for Philip, Elizabeth purposely lets Philip be the best student in class. She is disappointed when Philip doesn't invite her to his birthday party, which is only for boys. Eventually, Elizabeth decides that she must concentrate on her friends and forms the Pretty Pennies club, which is in constant competition with the Tiger Hunters, the boys' club headed by Philip Hall. At the end of the novel, Elizabeth finally beats Philip in the 4-H calf-raising contest but is still not happy until she, at last, realizes that she and Philip can still be winners and be friends.
ELIZABETH: Elizabeth struggles with what she thinks is her inability to be the best student in the class. She is frightened that Philip will not like her if she beats him in the calf-raising contest. After her mother suggests that maybe she is allowing herself to be "second best" so that Philip will like her, she denies it, but as the novel progresses, Elizabeth begins to strive to do her best, even if that means beating Philip and losing his friendship, and she eventually beats him in the 4-H calf-raising contest.
PHILIP HALL: Philip Hall is an eleven year old boy who is so concerned with what his friends think that he shuns his best friend, Elizabeth, when the boys are around. At the beginning of the novel, Philip takes advantage of Elizabeth's affection by letting her do his stable chores for him and then fails to invite her to his birthday party. A typical young adolescent boy, he teases Elizabeth when her attempts to run a produce stand fail and constantly aggravates her by ignoring her and claiming that a girl could never beat a boy.
ELIZABETH'S MOTHER: Mrs. Lambert knows her daughter's capablities both in and out of school. She pushes Beth to do her best and tries to get her to see that Philip is taking advantage of her. Mrs. Lambert is a very nurturing mother, comforting Elizabeth when she is allergic to each of the three puppies her father gets for her. Very optimistic, she often tells Elizabeth, "In this life you got to be happy about the good things and brave about the bad ones."
INFORMATION TO ENGLISH TEACHERS: This novel, a Newberry Honor Book, is an excellent novel for lower-level readers. The vocabulary is simple enough for them to understand, and the book is short and interesting enough to keep their attention.
PERSONAL THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS: This novel reminds me of the age-old chase between young girls and boys. It always seems that girls become interested in boys long before the boys do the girls. Philip Hall, one of the main characters in this book, is a typical adolescent boy in that he ignores Elizabeth in front of his guy friends and believes that girls are inferior to boys.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Intersting Book, May 23, 2001
A Kid's Review
This book is about a boy and a girl (main characters). Their names are Beth Lambert and Philip Hall. Beth likes Philip and she wants to find out if Philip really likes her but he won't say anything . Philip beats her in classwork , conniving and just about anything . The story also talks about Beth wanting to go to Philip's birthday but she found out that she can't because he is inviting a lot of boys and he doesn't want to get embarrassed or anything. I liked this book because... I like the relationships between Philp and Beth. I think that you might even like this book because it talks about interesting things like relationships and liking people.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beth Lambert is fabulous!, March 2, 1998
My daugher is six, and although she can read, I found this to be an excellent book to read to her. Beth Lambert is the perfect heroine -- heroic because she finds herself in curious situations and then thinks her way out of them. Love the attention to "chores" and the deft interpersonal gender issues. Just a wonderfully written book. My daughter looks forward to it; we're sorry that the last chapter is coming up tonight....
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