Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

1958 Newbery Honor

Ratings Explanation

Adult Themes: Children lie to parents about where they are spending their time each day.

Synopsis

Portia and her brother Foster are excited to spend the summer visiting their cousin, Julian,  in the country. They are looking forward to a fun and relaxing summer exploring the woods near Julian’s house, but their summer plans take a different turn when Portia and Julian discover an abandoned resort town on the shore of a dried up lake. Portia and Julian keep their ghost town, and its two living inhabitants, a secret and spend their summer exploring the abandoned houses and learning from Mrs. Peyton and Mr. Cheever what Lake Terrago was like in its heyday of parties, picnics, concerts and eccentric citizens.

My how times (and children’s literature) have changed! This is a very sweet, slow paced story that reminded me of the books I used to read as a child. I enjoyed the walk back in time, but even though the book is over 50 years old, it didn’t seem outdated, other than the train ride to visit Julian. Much less intense than a lot of literature today, this book is appropriate for any age and would make a great read-aloud for a family with children of varying ages. Some pertinent topics to discuss would be honesty, including others, and respecting the elderly.