E L L I E M A T H E W S
:: AUTHOR • H O M E • A B O U T • C O N T A C T • A P P E A R A N C E S
• Awarded
the MILKWEED PRIZE for
CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
PRICE: HARDCOVER $16.95; PAPERBACK $6.95
PAGES: 195 • SIZE: 5.2 x 8" • ISBN 1-57131-674-4
Milkweed Editions, Publisher
1011 Washington Avenue South
Minneapolis • MN 55415
www.milkweed.org
Katy Sue Hanson is the youngest member of a farming family living in Iowa. Their
small spread, home to pigs, chickens and geese, is also a place for growing
lettuce, carrots, peas and strawberries. All the children — Ben and Ingrid as well
as Katy Sue — help with the chores. But life becomes much harder in the spring of
1948, when their mother suddenly contracts meningitis and dies.
Her grave, under the linden tree on a nearby hill, is a place Katy Sue and the
rest of the family come to visit at special moments in the following months. Each of
the children responds differently to the loss, while Mr. Hanson does his best to run
the farm and be a good parent, although nursing his own broken heart. Mrs.
Hanson's sister, Aunt Katherine, spends a while with the family, helping them to
get through.
As the seasons turn and farm work forces the Hansons to keep going, life takes
on a semblance of order. But the absence of their mother has left a huge hole.
New tensions arise as the shape of the family changes. How all the children —
especially Katy Sue — deal with the hard lessons life is teaching them is revealed
in this gentle but heartfelt story of a bygone era.
F R O M P A G E 1
"If you go out our kitchen door,
past the well, through the orchard,
and toward the south end of our
land, you can cross a grassy draw,
then go up a hill. There, you
come to a big linden tree. That tree
stands on its own bulge of ground.
If you go up to it, you feel like
its audience. Papa says it's older
than all of us put together.
Out there is where my mama
is buried. . . . "
". . . In Mathews's first novel for children, the heartfelt voice of Katy Sue reveals a family
rooted in love and a charming look back at the pastimes, foods, manners and morals of a
half-century ago. For fans of Sarah, Plain and Tall. Kirkus Reviews
". . . What occupies readers is the family's next year, seen by Katy Sue . . . "I was mad at
the chickens for being how they always were, as if everything was okay." . . . Katy Sue
receives most help from a teacher she'd previously considered mean. . . . The blending of
Aunt Katherine (and her own kitchen gadgets) with the household is carefully observed.
Ellie Mathews moves slowly and goes deep." Chicago Tribune
". . . Katy Sue . . . tells this poignant, bitter-sweet story . . . torn between the incredible
loss and the realization that life will never be as it was. . . . She is an objective narrator,
sharing with the readers what it feels like to move beyond a traumatic loss without losing
the memories of love. A gentle, life-affirming tale that deserves to be shared and discussed."
Kliatt
". . . Mathews tells a timeless, heartfelt story of family, loss, and love . . . Readers will
enjoy the clear details of farm living, the genuine characters, and the strong family ties. Katy
Sue and her family are immediately likeable, and the well-drawn characters add depth and
texture to the story. . . a bittersweet but ultimately joyful conclusion." Booklist
". . . Full of powerful imagery and truly lovely language, this is a book which will
continue to leave an impression on mind of the reader long after the book has been finished
and set on the shelf." Through the Looking Glass Review
". . . Woven into the gently moving story of the family's grief and recovery is a loving
portrait of the rhythms of farm life at mid-century . . . Anticipating a taste for Willa Cather,
readers who enjoy Patricia MacLachlan, Ruth White, and L. M. Montgomery will find
themselves happily at home here." Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books