by Mary Ann Hoberman
ages: 8-11
First sentence: “You would have thought it was the best news in the world.”
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It’s the Depression, and Allie’s father has lost his job in New Haven, Connecticut. He has, however, found another job in Stamford. However, that means the family — Allie, her brother Danny, and her parents — will be moving away from everything Allie has known.

However, when Allie finds out that they will be living on a street called Strawberry Hill, everything will be okay. Won’t it?

This is the story of how Allie came to accept the inevitable, learn to like her new home, and make friends. It’s a quiet story, somewhat predictable, that follows Allie’s ups and downs over the first year that she lives in Stamford. There’s new places to discover, there’s a new school class to get used to, there’s disappointments, there’s pretty mean girls (there’s ALWAYS pretty mean girls), there’s new best friends, there’s unexpected friends.

What really made this book stand out for me, though, was the undercurrent of Jewishness. Allie and her family are Jewish — something that, unlike in, say, All-of-a-Kind Family, isn’t readily noticeable or even prevalent, but nonetheless is still there. The only holiday we get is Hanukkah, and other than a few mentions of temple, that’s pretty much it. Except for an instance of Antisemitism. That, in particular, I found intriguing, especially when Allie’s mom lays into the kid. It was the most obvious sign of the times — aside from a few mentions of lost jobs and hobos, the book could have been contemporary — and one that I thought was done quite well.

Overall, though, the book could have been better. According to the author blurb, Hoberman is a poet of some renown, and I couldn’t help but thinking that the language of the book just fell flat for me. I expected more of a poet, I guess. Something more, well, poetical.

That said, it is an interesting look at the Depression-era, and a nice story of friendship.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I’ve been asked to make sure y’all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)