The ELM at the Edge of the Earth

by Robert Beverly Hale and Robert D. Hale

Book Overview

In the idyllically rural American Midwest, between the wars, young David is farmed out to relatives when his mother is hospitalized with a life-threatening illness. A shy and painfully sensitive only child, David slowly blossoms among the lonely, loving adults of the county home, where his Aunt Maude is head cook.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393309770
• ISBN13: 9780393309775
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 351 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.8" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

The Elm at the Edge of the Earth

I started reading this book and instantly fell in love with the little boy, David. I felt like I was back in time and as each character emerged in David's world, I felt like I knew each and every one of them. I even started feeling like I knew this place....this County Home. I felt like I had been there and knew the area, the grounds, and the people. Upon further research and a confirmation from the author, I was right! I did indeed know the setting for this story! Now I am going to read it again just to savor the thought that I know this place! Through little David's eyes and humanity the reader can get a true glimpse of what life was like in our area before Welfare and Social Service Organizations. People cared for each other; we truly were our brothers' keepers!

A Wonderful book

This book is a wonderful book. I have read it a couple of times. It really gives you an idea of what it was like to live in a county poor house. David meets many new people while he is staying at the home with his Aunt Maude who is the head cook. He stays with her because his mother is very ill and cannot take care of him. Knowing where this story actually took place makes reading this book all the more intriguing.

A gently moving story

I read this book for English. Instaed of dreary depressing story, it is a strangely uplifting as the story movingly follows a young boy on his journey to understanding. Living in a county home, part mental hospital, part home for the disabled, the boy encounters a strange vcast of characters from the woamn who killed her husband to the gentle giant, the boy is lovingly brought up by all those aroud him.

Excellent book for teens

A great book about a boy's life. It has everything from excitement to drama. The best part is that not everyone dies in the end of the book like all of the others you have to read in school. The book makes you want to read it again and again. The story is so well set up that I couldn't think of one way to make the story better.

excellent book - especially if you are raising boys.

I loved the simple story of this boy and his relationships with grownups. I saw pieces of my own young children in the main charactor and was engrossed from start to finish.