Letters from Hillside Farm

Letters from Hillside Farm is another of the books I picked up at the conference this past summer. The book, written by Jerry Apps, is the story of the fictional Struckmeyer family who moves from Cleveland to a Wisconsin farm during the heart of the Great Depression. Their story is told through the letters 12-year-old George writes to his grandmother back in Cleveland - and her responses to him. To be sure, this is no Worst Hard Time. In fact, and I admit this rather sheepishly, I got about 20 pages into the book (which is only 150 pages) before I realized that this is primarily a children's book - probably aimed at the 12-year-old set.

Nevertheless, I continued for two reasons: 1) Apps does a nice job of bringing farm living, and small town Americana in general, during the 1930s to life. It was fun to read about traveling circuses and one-room schoolhouses regardless of the fact that I've done so many times in the past. 2) This book reminded me why I first loved to read, and why that love has continued through the years. In that sense, it was escapist reading more than even something like Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer - another book best enjoyed by the middle school set.

Would I read Letters from Hillside Farm again? No. But, I don't regret finishing it the first time.