Lessons

by Bonnie Geisert

Summer was drawing to a close, and Rachel would soon return to school to begin fifth grade. Like many of her classmates, she was anxious about her friends, the strict Mrs. Kelly, and the timed... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 061847899X
• ISBN13: 9780618478996
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 187 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.8"
• Age Range: 10 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 7

Customer Reviews

Hopeful and family-centered

In Bonnie Geisert's previous novel, PRAIRIE SUMMER, Rachel, the third of four daughters living on a South Dakota farm in 1954, saved the day when her mother was in labor with Rachel's new baby brother. In LESSONS, it's now fall; Rachel prepares to start fifth grade at the regional school, and baby Matthew is firmly part of the family. But Rachel's father seems deeply sad every time he looks at the baby, and he often can't stand even to hold him. When Rachel finally asks her mother the cause of her father's sadness, Rachel's mother reveals a family secret. Many years before, Rachel's parents had a baby boy, Roger Gene, who died before he could be baptized. According to their Lutheran minister, Roger Gene could not have gone to heaven and could not have a proper Christian burial. Although Rachel's mother, raised Methodist, believes that Roger is in heaven, Rachel's father, a confirmed Lutheran, is tortured by thoughts that his deceased child is not in heaven; now this new baby boy brings those thoughts to mind constantly. Is there some way that Rachel's father can come to terms with his faith and find a way to love his baby son? Bonnie Geisert is best known for her detailed nonfiction picture books, illustrated by her husband Art Geisert, documenting everyday life in different types of small towns. This fact-based approach is also evident in LESSONS, particularly since, as Geisert mentions in her afterword, the novel is based heavily on Geisert's own family history. Although Geisert is not a particularly graceful writer, her novel is filled with details about mid-twentieth-century farm, family, and rural school life that may be of interest to readers who enjoy learning about history. There are also many Lutheran theological fine points that may go over most readers' heads. Rachel, though, is a sympathetic character, genuinely concerned about her father's happiness, and the novel's ending is hopeful and family-centered. --- Reviewed by Norah Piehl