Anna on the Farm Hardcover - 2001

Details

• Title Anna on the Farm
• Author Diane de Groat (Illustrator); Mary Downing Hahn
• Binding Hardcover
• Edition First Printing
• Pages 160
• Volumes 1
• Language ENG
• Publisher Clarion Books, New York
• Date 2001-03-19
• Illustrated Yes
• ISBN 9780618036059 / 0618036059
• Weight 0.78 lbs (0.35 kg)
• Dimensions 8.36 x 6.26 x 0.71 in (21.23 x 15.90 x 1.80 cm)
• Ages 10 to 12 years
• Grade levels 5 - 7
• Reading level 680
• Library of Congress subjects Friendship, Orphans
• Library of Congress Catalog Number 00043194
• Dewey Decimal Code FIC

"Anna is a character filled with life and energy whose further adventures would be most welcome." Kirkus Reviews

In this sequel to Anna All Year Round (1999), nine-year-old Anna travels to spend a week in the country with Aunt Aggie and Uncle George. She is ecstatic (since all her Baltimore friends have left on vacations) until she discovers that her aunt and uncle have taken ina young orphan named Theodore. The rivalry between the children results in a series of pranks, but eventually the children become good friends. Unlike the earlier, more episodic title, the action here is more focused and the characters more fleshed out. Particularly interesting is the contrast between Anna's mother (a rigid woman with definite Old World ideas about ladylike behavior) and Aunt Aggie, who allows Anna to wear overalls for play and encourages her to have fun. The details in the setting (early-twentieth-century Baltimore, Washington and rural Prince Georges County) add to the richness of the text, as do the illustrations by Diane De Groat. A good choice for easy-chapter-book readers, especially those who have met Anna before.
Booklist, ALA

The nine-year-old protagonist introduced in Anna All Year Round (Clarion, 1999) is facing a long, hot Baltimore summer with no vacation plans or funds. Then her parents spring a surprise on her: she may spend a week at her uncle's farm. Anna continues throughout the novel to deal with opposing emotions. She's initially thrilled to be escaping the boredom of the city, but then fears being so far from her parents. After arriving at the farm, she gloomily discovers another guest, her uncle's nephew Theodore. He torments her continuously, calling her a city slicker, locking her in the henhouse, etc. Not being a meek or mousy child, Anna one-ups him each and every time. When the week has ended, they've come to a respectful understanding. Anna then faces her mother's horror at finding her daughter freckled, dirty, and wearing overalls. The novel is rollicking fun and gives a great glimpse of life in pre-World War I America. Readers will love the battle of wills Anna and Theodore fight before becoming friends, and their humorous escapades during the week together. De Groat's full-page sketch for each of the 13 chapters is perfectly in tune with the mood of the story. The novel is a good next step for readers graduating from "American Girl" stories.
School Library Journal

Once again, Hahn defies nostalgia with both the immediacy and the honesty of her up-close, present tense telling.
Horn Book