Customer Reviews

The Year of Miss Agnes (Aladdin Historical Fiction)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As the winner of the Once Upon a World book award, this book was of particular interest to me for its deaf minor character. A sweet story of the teacher who comes to an Inuit village and breaks the mold of teachers in its past, this gentle story would be a good one for an early chapter book reader. The children of the story relate in realistic ways, and bring a diffferent kind of world, one with similarities in people, but differences in environment and a bit of culture. Agnes' response to the deaf girl who had been routinely ignored by previous teachers is appreciated. Its focus on how enjoyable learning can be is a good notion to remind a young reader. Definitely not a dazzler, this one is gently warming and pleasant. I would recommend it.

In 1948, Fred (short for Frederika) and the other children of the Athabascan village on the Koyukuk River wait for the arrival of their new school teacher. They've had many teachers over the years, in their little one room schoolhouse, but none lasted very long. Life was just too hard. Right from the start Miss Agnes Sutterfield is different. She throws out all the old textbooks and puts up maps and timelines and pictures of the world. She plays opera records and reads Robin Hood and Greek mythology to her students. She teaches them creative writing and talks to them about growing up and becoming doctors or scientists. Miss Agnes even insists that Fred's deaf sister Bokko come to school for the first time and orders books about signing and soon the entire class has learned to signed. But her most important and lasting gift to the village, is the love of learning. Just as everything seems so good, the school year comes to an end and Miss Agnes tells the class that she's homesick and going back to England..... Kirkpatrick Hill has crafted a gentle story, full of great characters and vivid scenes, that will draw youngsters in and transport them back to a very different time and culture in the Alaskan "bush". Miss Agnes came to this closed off village and its "old ways" and opened up her students lives to the great wide world, full of many possibilities. This is a wonderful story that's perfect for kids 9-12, and told with great insight, wisdom and humor.

The Year of Miss Agnes is a heartwarming tale of children in an Alaskan Village named Koyukuk. Fred (short for Fredrika) tells of the trouble her village has in keeping teachers in their small school. Year after year, the teachers leave for one reason or another, which the children believe is some fault of their own. Until the year Miss Agnes arrives and teaches the children in a new and interesting way. Everyone, children and adults included learn valuable lessons from Miss Agnes. The question is, will she stay longer than the others?
This book is written by Kirkpatrick Hill, an author who is a school teacher in the Alaskan "bush". She chooses appropriate vocabulary related to the life they live. She highlights the differences in their culture through the eyes of a child. Most children will be amazed at the responsibilities the children in this book embrace. I think this book would be wonderful for parent and child or teacher and child to read together and discuss. The language is simple, and the Indian words are described in context. Overall, an excellent book to read, discuss and enjoy. I can't wait to read another of Kirkpatrick Hill's books.

The Best Year Ever
Kirkpatrick Hill 2000

Frederika thinks that this new teacher of hers is going to fail. But it happens that Miss Agnes proves them wrong. This story takes place in Alaska and it is a good book to read when it is cold outside like it is in Alaska. One interesting part I really liked was when Miss Agnes gave her class all new working supplies like pencils, pens, color pencils, markers, crayons, and colored paper and more. They thought she wouldn't last long either because there always was a bad smell of fish in Alaska but she said, "Well, I can't smell anything. I have sinus trouble." I would think people who just like sit down by the fire, have a cup of hot chocolate, and read to a younger one would like this book. I would give this book a 4 1/2 stars out of 5 if I had to choose, but it is right on the line for a 5 star book. I just want you to know this is the best book ever in my opinion!

Miss Agnes is a delightful combination of Lucy Maude Montgomery's Miss Stacy and real-life teacher Sylvia Ashton-Warner. She challenges her students to be the best they can be in whatever life they choose for themselves; and to consider looking beyond their own experiences when making life choices. While Hill directs this message towards young people in rural areas, it is a pertinent moral for children in any geographical region.

I did not have the sense that Hill condemed or slighted "normal" teaching, however that may be defined. Rather she wrote a description of a teacher who took the students as they came and met their individual needs. While Miss Agnes sets aside Dick and Jane, she does share a selection of "great" works with the children. Miss Agnes acknowledges that there are many "right" ways of communicating. The trick is to know when colloquialism is acceptable and when it might be more appropriate to use formal language.

Hill writes this book in the voice of a 10-year-old girl. In keeping with this voice, some aspects of the culture are explained while others are mentioned without explanation. This is an effective device. It permits the reader to understand the story at hand. While it might be argued that the book could contain more factual information, this would slow down the action of the story and dissuade some readers.

This boook is about a class that gets a new teacher about every year. Then a girl named Fredrika was helping Old man Anderson in his shop and she needed to go home. Right when Fredrika went home a new teacher came into the shop. She sees the new teacher and immediatly goes to tell her best friend that they were getting a new teacher. When school started Miss Agnes recognized Fredrika and Bertha (Her best friend). Miss Agnes dicovers that Fredrika's sister Bokko is deaf and needs to go to school to learn how to do sign language. Fredrika's mother threw a fit! Her mother thought that going to school was a waste of time. Their mother finally let Bokko go to school. Bokko learns to read, write, and do sign language. Miss Agnes was only going to teach for one year though so she could go back to England, but is that true? Will she stay or will she go back to England?

The Year of Miss Agnes
Kirkpatrick Hill
©2000, Margaret K. McElderry Books
ISBN 0-689-82933-7
$16.00

Kirkpatrick Hill was raised in Fairbanks, Alaska. She has been a elementary teacher for more than thirty years. She is also the author of Toughboy and Sister and Winter Camp. Hill has six children and three grandchildren. This is her first Bluebonnet Nominee.
The Year of Miss. Agnes is a standard size intermediate book with no pictures or maps. The wording that Hill uses helps the reader get a mental picture of what the story is about.
The story takes place in 1948 in a small Athabascan village on the Koyukuk River. The story is told by ten-year-old Fred (Frederika) who lives with her mother, her deaf sister, Bokko, and is close to her grandparents. Her father died when she was younger. All of the teachers that taught at that school left and never came back. Miss. Agnes taught in a one-room schoolhouse and enlightened children of all ages to read, write, spell, learn math and history, and be able to draw. She also taught Bokko how to talk and understand people.
By the end of the story the whole class, Fred and Bokko's mom were able to understand Bokko and respond to her.

I had to read this book for one of my early childhood classes. I absoulutly loved reading the story. I think so much information on teaching can be gained from some of the habits that Miss Agnes had. She shows her true love for the job and the children. It inspires me to be a better teacher!

Miss Agnes is the first teacher who doesn't repel at the smell of fish....okay, so she has sinus problems and can't smell very well. She also lasts longer than any of the other teachers to this remote Alaskan town in the 1950's. She wears pants and is not afraid of hard work---she even comes in early to start the fire! Miss Agnes reaches each child at his or her own level, including a deaf girl who had never before been allowed to go to school.

This is a touching story that gives great insight into the lifestyle of a culture few of us can relate to. I'm sure there's still some "Miss Agnes'" in the world who love to teach and who love their children.

A great book for a girl in 2nd or 3rd grade or a read-a-loud for a class.

An excellent book for children which won't take long to read. Large print and easy words. However the message is deep and is excellent material for group discussion. The story itself deals with a group of children who have a perception of their own worth as presented to them by adults unwilling to challenge the status quo. Another adult enters their world who challenges their thinking and directs them to dream big dreams and reach for the stars. A good lesson for children, an even better one for adults.