Afternoon of the Elves (1989) by Janet Taylor Lisle

 

Sara-Kate is the tough-talking older girl who lives in the run down house behind Hillary's. Hillary is shocked when Sara-Kate extends an invitation to play in her trash-strewn backyard. She is even more surprised when Sara-Kate shows her the tiny elf village that exists in one part of the yard. Hillary's parents don't approve of their daughter playing with a girl from such a shabby background and her other friends are sure that Sara-Kate, who has a reputation for bad behavior, is creating the village herself. But as more features are added to the elf colony (a swimming pool, a Ferris wheel), Hillary feels compelled to keep visiting.

 

The girls slowly begin to develop a friendship, though it is based entirely on the supposed existence of the elves. Sara-Kate doesn't mention anything about herself or her family and never invites Hillary into her house. Hillary notices little things about Sara-Kate's life that don't add up, however, like how she doesn't seem to own a jacket on the coldest days and the fact that she is forced to run errands for her mother that are usually reserved for grown ups. Hillary catches a glimpse of Sara-Kate's mother in a window once, and the image of the pale, thin woman's face frightens her.

 

Hillary's mother hints that she'd like Hillary to spend less time in Sara-Kate's yard. Hillary complies with this, and it's not long after that Sara-Kate seems to disappear. She's absent from school and isn't in her usual spot by the elf village when Hillary comes over. The elves' homes and playground fall apart in the absence of the girls' constant attention.

 

Sara-Kate's house seems unoccupied and Hillary works up the courage to go inside. She is astounded by how bare and trashy the inside of the house is. She continues her perusal of the house by going upstairs because in her childish mind, the elves abandoned their outdoor colony and came to live in Sara-Kate's house. The house appears to be shut down with the electricity and heat turned off, and Hillary can't imagine a person living in this condition. But in an upstairs room, expecting to catch an elf, Hillary instead walks in on Sara-Kate sitting in a rocking chair holding her mother. Sara-Kate threatens Hillary's life, commanding that she tell no one what she has seen.

 

Out of a misguided sense of loyalty, Hillary honors this request. Two weeks pass by and Sara-Kate is seen only once, by Hillary's father as he's driving home late one night. The night Hillary's father tells her about this incident, she sneaks out and sees Sara-Kate tinkering with the elf village. The girl claims she was away and has temporarily come home.

 

Hillary begins imagining that Sara-Kate is one of the elves herself. One day Sara-Kate asks Hillary to find some money without telling anyone and to buy some food for her ill mother because they are out of everything. Hillary steals money from her mother and sneaks off to the grocery store. When she comes back, she and Sara-Kate dine on baloney sandwiches and Sara-Kate confesses what the reader has probably already guessed - that she basically runs the household because her mother is sick and often not in her right mind.

 

Suddenly, Hillary's mother arrives at Sara-Kate's door looking for her daughter. She sees the horrible condition of the living room and demands to meet Sara-Kate's mother. Like any responsible adult, she turns the matter over to the authorities. As the weeks go by, gossip about Sara-Kate and her mother swirls through the neighborhood, only fueled by the not-always-accurate local news reports of the story. Hillary's mother questions whether Sara-Kate really cared about Hillary or if it was a friendship of convenience for her. This issue is never really resolved and we don't find out the full story about what happened to Sara-Kate.

 

This is not only a story about a girl who is being neglected, but is also about a child's loss of innocence. As the book reaches its conclusion, Hillary must let go of her childish fantasies and realize that what she had seen as magic was in reality a very ugly situation.

Thirteen Ways To Sink a Sub (1982) by Jamie Gilson

 

A fourth grade class places a boys-against-girls bet to see which group can be the first to make their substitute teacher cry. The story is told in the point of view of Hobie, one of the kids in the class. As Hobie, his best friend Nick, and two girls in the class, Molly and Lisa, are giving a creative report on China, Mr. Star, their regular teacher falls ill with the flu. The principal stays with them for the rest of the day, but the class is overjoyed to learn that the next day they will have a substitute teacher. Mr. Star hasn't been absent all year, and with a sub the class can act up and do what they want all day.

 

 

The next morning at their lockers, Hobie and his classmates come up with a plan. Molly, the quintessential mean girl of the group, comes up with the idea of it being a boys against girls competition. The kids have trouble coming up with a prize for the winners until Nick says that the losing group should have to fetch the "pit balls" from a disgusting stairwell (the "spit pit") that everyone spits and throws trash in. Pit balls are balls during a game of kick ball that land in the spit pit.

 

 

The sub turns out to be Miss Svetlana Ivanovitch, a young, naïve woman who makes the mistake of confessing to the children that this is her first substitute teaching job. The girls start off right away with the old switching names routine. This causes the whole class to laugh, but Miss Ivanovitch isn't close to tears yet.

 

 

Hobie and some other boys lie to get out of class so they can plan their next strategy. When they come back, they find the entire class searching for Jenny's phantom contact lens. Not to be outdone, the boys tell Miss Ivanovitch that Marshall, an African American student wearing a San Francisco souvenir shirt, is Japanese. The story is that he only knows a few words of English and spends all his time folding origami (which Marshall is genuinely talented at) and dreaming of Japan. Molly keeps score of the game on the blackboard and while she is at it, changes the sub's name to something less flattering. Hobie worries to himself that they are all going to be in a lot of trouble when this is over.

 

 

Recess time. Both groups use this time to discuss their next moves, while Miss Ivanovitch decides to try to start fresh. The girls gather under the slide to talk while the boys struggle to come up with ideas across the playground. When it's time to go inside, the girls (all except one) throw a snowball at Miss Ivanovitch when her back is turned. The teacher retaliates, however, by gathering up some snow and pitching it perfectly against the slide. Once inside, Miss Ivanovitch changes her tone. She had been speaking to the kids as though they were kindergarteners, but now she has realized that fourth graders are a bit more clever and conniving than she gave them credit for. She acknowledges the morning's shenanigans and asks that a truce be declared. The kids all stare at her blankly, except for Aretha, who smiles back. Nick announces that it's time for music class. Miss Ivanovitch wisely checks the schedule first. While the class is at music, she watches wistfully how they behave under the supervision of the firm but fun music teacher.

 

 







 The kids keep up their game. Miss Ivanovitch even gets into it and adds "Sub-two points" to Molly's scoreboard. During gym one of the boys accidentally injures Miss Ivanovitch while square dancing, but even this doesn't break her. RX left the classroom sink running all during gym class so that when the class returns, the room is flooded. It is during the cleaning up of this flood that Miss Ivanovitch laughs so hard that she cries. It is vaguely stated that the boys won the game since it was one of their antics that pushed her over the edge, but everyone (except maybe Molly) is sick of the game by that point. Eyeing the flood damage, the principal reluctantly asks Miss Ivanovitch to return the next day as Mr. Star is still sick. It seems that Molly will also be home with the flu, so Miss Ivanovitch anticipates a better day.

 

There are several sequels to this book dealing with the same group of kids. This author really knows how kids think and talk. Sometimes it feels like you are sitting in on a classroom when reading these books.









Lizzie Lies a Lot (1976) by Elizabeth Levy

 

Nine year old Lizzie is what her grandmother calls a born liar. She lies to get out of trouble, to make herself seem more important, to entertain people, and just for the hell of it.

 

 

 

As the story begins, Lizzie is taking verbal slings and arrows from her grandmother, Nana, an unpleasant old woman who lives with Lizzie and her parents. Nana never has a kind word to say to Lizzie and is constantly harping on her appearance ("she's not the prettiest girl in the world") and the things she does to get into trouble. To compensate for this, Lizzie tells a lie to her mother that she has been chosen as the star role in a dance assembly at school.

 

 

Lizzie and her friend Sara find a stray cat while playing at an abandoned construction site. Lizzie and Sara take the cat to Lizzie's house to plead her case about possibly staying. Nana has a fit and banishes the cat outside. To convince Sara that her mother will take the cat in, Lizzie tells her an elaborate story about how when her mother was a child, she had a kitten whom a crazy relative murdered in front of her. By the way, Lizzie's mother volunteers several afternoons a week at a hospital, and it seems maybe the author is saying that this is one of Lizzie's problems that have lead her to become a pathological liar. 

 

 

Lizzie's mother arrives home (from work - poor Lizzie), declares that she hates cats and has no idea what Sara is talking about when she mentions the traumatic childhood incident. Lizzie successfully interjects herself into the conversation and sways the subject away from her lie. Lizzie's father gets home and gently agrees with his wife and mother-in-law. No cat for Lizzie. The next day, she makes up a lie about her parents loving the cat but wicked Nana ruining the scenario by refusing to offer the creature a home. Lizzie has told so many lies that she must avoid Sara to keep her from finding her out.

 

 

However, one day Sara's mother has something to do (those darn modern mothers!) and drops Sara at Lizzie's house for the day. The girls play an imaginative game of cowgirls, but find they need some rope to tie up a pretend captive. Lizzie gets some clothesline, lying to Nana that her mother specifically said she could play with it. Sara ties Lizzie up too tightly and can't get the rope undone. Lizzie tells her she must go to another room to get the sharp scissors, and just for kicks, makes up a lie that Nana was the kitten killer from years past. Sara returns with the scissors and before she can get Lizzie untangled, Nana walks in. Nana overreacts as usual, acting as though something kinky had been going on.

 

 

Fed up with the lies, Sara shuns Lizzie the next day at school. Lizzie is so upset that she comes home and confesses that the dance assembly she'd been practicing for for weeks was all a big lie. Her clueless (working) parents are stunned. Nana is quietly accepting of the situation. She acts contrite for calling Lizzie a born liar. Lizzie is so out of sorts that her "Adam's apple bumps up and down her throat". This is a story about a girl, right? Lizzie's parents promise to help her try to stop lying. The book ends with Sara and Lizzie going back to the construction site to look for the cat. They never find her, but they become friends again.









What's For Lunch, Charley? (1961) by Margaret Hodges

 

Charley is an earnest little boy living with his parents in New York City.

 

the pencil line illustrations in this book make it hard to get a good picture

 

Every day Charley passes the elegant King Charles Hotel and the fancy shops that surround it. When Charley complains about the lunch his busy working mother packs for his school day, his father jokes that Charley should have lunch at the hotel.



 

 

When Charley gets to school he sees that a new student, Rosabelle Ruggles, has joined the class. Dazzled by Rosabelle's curly hair and pink nail polish, he forgets about the girl he used to like, friendly but plain Jane Lane, and immediately develops a crush on Rosabelle. There is no cafeteria in Charley's school, so the students either go home for lunch or eat at their desks. Rosabelle has an unusually delicious lunch - fried chicken, tomato soup, fruit salad and chocolate cake. Charley watches with wonder as she unwraps each item.

 



 

On his way home from school Charley stops to talk to the King Charles's affable doorman, Mr. Murphy. Inspired by Mr. Murphy's kindness, Charley decides to stop in at the King Charles candy shop to buy a valentine...for someone. The candy shop clerk allows Charley to buy one piece of candy for a quarter.

 



 

Because the candy shop lady was so nice, Charley has the confidence to go inside the men's shop next door and ask about the hatchet he saw in the window. The hatchet turns out to be the young employee's old Boy Scout hatchet. Charley and the young man bond over the fact that Charley is a Cub Scout. Feeling really bold now, Charley decides to visit the lady's shop next door...

 

"Excuse me," he said, very politely and very clearly. "I would like to look at your beaver."

 

Wait...WHAT? We were reading this sweet little story and now we're talking about looking at beavers? Sorry, couldn't resist. He's talking about a stuffed beaver in the window of the shop. The beaver is so old and worn out that it can't be used for show anymore and the shopkeepers agree to give him to Charley as soon as they change the window display for spring.

 

 

The next day starts off badly for Charley. He plays in the sink and makes himself late for school.

 

 

To add to his troubles, Charley has forgotten his lunch box. He sits in agony as his classmates take out their food and begin to eat. He notices that Rosabelle has the same large lunch she had the day before. Charley watches wistfully as Rosabelle eats, but Rosabelle doesn't look at him or offer him anything. Jane volunteers part of her lunch, but Charley refuses, having decided to eat at the King Charles Hotel.

 

 

Charley meets Mr. Murphy outside the hotel and tells him he will pay for his lunch with a silver dollar his father gave him. Mr. Murphy tells Mrs. Ruggles, the dining room hostess, to let him take care of the bill. Once again, the King Charles Hotel staff exhibits extraordinary hospitality as Mrs. Ruggles kindly takes Charley's order of chicken, tomato soup, fruit salad and chocolate cake. Charley isn't able to finish his lunch and is stunned when the waitress brings him the bill and he finds out the meal cost more than three dollars. Luckily, his father walks in just then on a business lunch and agrees to pay the bill. Before he leaves, Charley finds out that Mrs. Ruggles is Rosabelle's mother.

 

 

Charley catches up with his friend Wally, who saw him eating lunch at the hotel. They talk about Rosabelle and conclude that maybe she'll start talking to them when she's not so new. In the meantime, Charley is going to give his valentine to the more accessible Jane Lane because of all the nice things people did for him in this book, her offering to share her lunch was the nicest.













Class Pictures (1980) by Marilyn Sachs

 

In this short novel, Pat looks back on her friendship with a girl named Lolly by going through their class pictures.

 

these are just some unrelated pics I got from Google to spice up the post

When they meet in kindergarten, Lolly arrives new to school and the class popular girl Pat bites her cheek. When Pat later takes up for Lolly after she wets her pants, their friendship begins.

 

 

In first grade Pat saves Lolly's birthday party when the other kids refuse to come by telling them that anyone not at Lolly's party won't be invited to hers. At the time, Lolly was overweight and a big crier, so she wasn't the most popular student in the class. Pat lives with her single waitress mother, two little brothers and cranky grandmother, who weren't planning on throwing Pat a party in the first place. They do scrape together a party, and although it isn't as grand as Lolly's had been, the kids have a good time.

 

 

In second grade, Pat's and Lolly's class differences come to surface. Lolly's fussy, overprotective mother tries to encourage Lolly to play with girls from their own neighborhood, although these kids dislike Lolly. What's more, Lolly's mother inadvertently opens a can of worms when she tells Pat, during a conversation about genetics, that her father had to have brown hair and eyes like she does. It turns out that the blonde-haired man Pat thought was her father (who died in a car accident) was really her stepfather - her mother confesses she had been married before.

 

 

The third grade chapter is mostly filler, with Pat and Lolly looking at Grandma's old pictures and making paper dolls.

 

 

Fourth grade finds Pat in the gifted class, separated from Lolly. Being placed in the special class brings a newfound respect from Lolly's mother, but Pat is miserable and complains so much she's assigned to a regular class the next year.

 

 

In the fifth grade, Pat and Lolly endure chicken pox together and exchange valentines. Pat is still one of the most popular kids in the class, receiving 26 valentines to Lolly's five.

 

 

In sixth grade, the class has a picnic to commemorate the end of elementary school, Grandma starts dating a widower friend, and Pat says goodbye to a favorite teacher (who affectionately calls her "ugly duckling"). Pat's mother seems tired all the time now, but she makes it to Pat's graduation at the last minute.

 

 

In seventh grade, Grandma gets married (although she still calls her husband "Mr. Nagel") and Pat feels left out and finds it difficult to adjust to her absence. Her favorite teacher from elementary school, Mr. Evans, lets her conduct science experiments in his basement which definitely sounds a little iffy to twenty first century ears. Pat feels there is something different about Lolly this year and it isn't until she looks at their class picture that she realizes it is that she has become beautiful.

 

 





The world shifts in eighth grade, with Lolly becoming the popular one. She is the hit of every party and even convinces the shop teacher to allow Pat to take his class using her feminine charms. Pat can't help but feel a little jealous, especially when the boy she likes shows an interest in Lolly.

 

the president's class picture. can you find him?

When Pat is in ninth grade, her mother goes nuts and says some hateful things to her. Pat finds out that her mother lied about being married to her birth father and that she actually has no idea who he is. Lolly's family invites Pat on their ski trip, also renting ski equipment for her since her mother couldn't afford it. Pat and Lolly get into a deep discussion and both admit they have been jealous of each other at times.

 

 

In tenth grade, Pat continues to suffer the pains of being the less attractive friend. On a double date Lolly sets up for the two of them, both boys hang all over Lolly and ignore Pat.

 

 

Junior year, Pat wins an award for one of her experiments and Lolly leads an environmental club. Pat has guilt-ridden daydreams about Mr. Evan's wife dropping dead so she can have him to herself, all the while beginning her first romance with a boy her own age.

 

 

Senior year, Pat gets in trouble at an Anti-Nuke protest Lolly has orchestrated but is not allowed to attend. Pat and her boyfriend break up before prom, which upsets her mother. Pat finally confesses her love to Mr. Evans (whom she still calls Mr. Evans).

 

Mr. Evans later sends Pat a postcard signed "love, Jason" which probably isn't a good idea, and Pat tells Lolly about her feelings for him. Pat is going away to college and Lolly is moving out on her own with a roommate. Pat frets that the new girl will replace her as Lolly's best friend. The girls decide that things may change, but sometimes change has to happen for things to get better.







Kitty in the Middle (1979) by Judy Delton

 

Best known for the Pee Wee Scouts book series, Judy Delton first wrote Kitty in the Middle. I'm not sure whether the stories are based on Ms. Delton's childhood, but the novel feels autobiographical in tone. Set in the early 40's, the book covers the fourth grade year of Kitty's time in Catholic school with her two best friends, one shy and cautious, the other loud and mischievous. Except for the WWII mentions, the book could probably have taken place during any recent time period. Each chapter acts as a vignette, detailing a different adventure.

 

In chapter 1, the girls are assigned the meanest nun in the school as a teacher.

 

In chapter 2, Kitty gives away her favorite rosary for a paper doll.

 



 

In chapter 3, Sister Ursuline asks the class to name their bad habits. Unable to come up with one, Kitty lies and says she bites her nails. Feeling guilty about the fib, she really begins biting her nails. Her parents buy her a ring as a reward for breaking this habit.

 



 

In chapter 4, Kitty and friends crash a stranger's wedding   

 

 

Chapter 5 tells about Kitty's first crush, on a new boy in class. The school puts a ban on Valentine's Day, but Kitty manages to receive a Valentine from her crush anyway. At the end of the day, though, she's heartbroken to learn that he gave every girl in class the same Valentine.

 

In chapter 6 Kitty has problems in music class.

 

Chapter 7 is pretty standard for a book like this. The girls dare each other to visit a supposedly haunted house, but find out it is inhabited by an eccentric old lady.

 

In chapter 8, the old lady gives Margaret Mary a dress to wear to the school's May Day ceremony and the girls wax nostalgic about their friendship as the school year comes to a close.

 





The Mystery of Sara Beth (1981) by Polly Putnam

 

A new girl, Sara Beth, arrives at school. She is unresponsive when the other children try to befriend her.

 

 

Becky decides there must be something more to the situation than Sara Beth simply being shy. She begins to look for clues.

 

 

Becky checks out Sara Beth's shabby clothes, her schoolwork, her tendency to take home items she's not supposed to. But the biggest clue comes when Becky observes that Sara Beth loves taking care of the class guinea pigs one day and is deathly scared of them the next.

 

 

There could be only one explanation: Sara Beth is actually twins named Sara and Beth who take turns coming to school. Why, you ask? The parents could only afford one winter coat and thought this was the best solution.

 

 

The girls tell the teacher, and learn that there is a whole stash of winter clothing stored away for just such a purpose. The end.