The School at Crooked Creek [Hardcover]

Laurie Lawlor (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up

Beansie loves his free and simple life with Ma, Pap, and his sister, Louisa, on their Indiana homestead. But now his parents want him to go to the new log cabin school, where he'll be cooped up inside all day. How will he and Louisa find their way to school and back? How will beansie cope with rough boys such as Oliver Sweeny, who can outrun, outlick, and outholler anybody? In this heartwarming and homespun chapter book set on the central Indiana frontier in the 1820s, a young boy finds his courage and his way.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5-This short, solid chapter book is set in 1820s rural Indiana. Narrated by six-year-old Beansie, it tells of his first, reluctant experience with school. It is mid year, but he and his sister, Louisa, were needed at home to do chores. The anticipation of the first snowfall, the teacher with no patience for little boys, and the friends and bullies at recess are all described in vivid detail. Beansie and Louisa make the long trek, get through their first day, and on the way home become lost during a snowstorm. Beansie is the brave one, and the siblings make it safely to a neighbor who gets them warmed up and on their way. The book is rich with colloquial language, superstitions, and information about the lifestyle of this pioneer family. Nicely done shaded, pencil drawings help set the tone. This novel will work well for curriculum ties, and may spark interest in the period when read aloud.
Sharon R. Pearce, Chippewa Elementary School, Bensenville, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-5. Living in a one-room cabin at the edge of a wood with Ma, Pa, and his older sister is just fine with six-year-old Beansie. But three months of attending school for the first time sounds as "pleasant as being a catfish choked to death on a sandbar." Set in central Indiana in the 1820s, this short chapter book depicts frontier life from a young boy's point of view, peppering the story with expressions such as "aggrafreted," "bumfuzzled," and "obflusticated." A bullying neighbor, nine-year-old Louisa's embarrassing freckles, and Beansie's pluckiness despite his small size (he needs to stand in the same place twice to make a shadow) realistically drive the plot. A black-and-white drawing accents the action in each of the 10 chapters, and an author's note clarifies the expressions commonly used by Indiana settlers. It's a folksy, funny portrayal of the time and place. Julie Cummins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 72 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House; 1 edition (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082341812X
• ISBN-13: 978-0823418121
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,787,024 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars The school at crooked creek by will, June 7, 2008

By 

Michael Kish "will" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The School at Crooked Creek (Hardcover)

This is a great book. I enjoyed this book because of the characters. The boy is named Beansie and his sister, Louisa have to go to school. Louisa has already been to school but Beansie hasn't. Beansie doesn't want to go to school because of Oliver Sweeny, the guy who picks on Beansie sister about her freckles because she has a lot of them.The setting takes place Indiana in the 1820s. The resolution is that Beansie came to like school and Beansie and Louisa became friends with Oliver Sweeny. I recommend this book for 8-9 year olds. This is a great book!

By will

4.0 out of 5 stars The school at crooked creek by will, June 7, 2008

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The School at Crooked Creek (Hardcover)

This is a great book. I enjoyed this book because this boy, sister, mom and dad. The boy named Beansie and his sister named Louisa have to go to school. Louisa has already been to school but Beansie hasn't. Beansie doesn't want to go to school because of Oliver Sweeny, the guy who picks on Beansie sister about her freckles because she has a lot of them. I recommend this book for 8-9 year olds. This is a great book!

4.0 out of 5 stars A PINT-SIZE PIONEER, June 3, 2004

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The School at Crooked Creek (Hardcover)

Bartholomew is a pretty long name for a short six-year-old boy, and so he's called Beansie. He may be "no bigger than a cake of soap after a week's wash," but Beansie has to do man-size work because he lives on an Indiana homestead in the 1820s.

He's happy at home with Pap, Ma, and his nine-year-old sister, Louisa. Well, not always happy with Louisa who has red hair and a temper to match. She loves to tease her brother and seems to take special joy in clunking on the downstairs ceiling with a broom to awaken him in the morning.

One of Beansie's chores is to fetch Bess, the family cow, so they'll have milk for breakfast. Beansie wasn't too fond of doing that as he had to go into the woods to find Bess, as he had no idea what else might be hiding there - maybe even Indians!

But even more fearful to Beansie than the mysteries of the woods was Pap's announcement that he and Louisa would soon be starting to school. He didn't want to be stuck inside some log cabin all day. Further, how in the world could he and his sister ever find their way home from a school that was a mile away? As if all of that weren't enough to make Beansie's knees knock there was also the thought of being in close proximity to Oliver Sweeny, known as the strongest boy for miles around.

Young readers will surely relate to Beansie's reservations about the first day of school, and cheer him on as he meets the challenge head on (in more ways than one).

- Gail Cooke