The Summer of the Swans

by Betsy Byars

Book Overview

A Newbery Medal Winner

All summer Sara Godfrey has fretted over herself, her impossible body, her terrible new haircut. One moment she's elated, the next, she's in tears. And she can't figure out why. Maybe her wildly changing moods are tied to the sudden and unaccountable appearance of the swans, which hold the rapt attention of Charlie, Sara's mentally handicapped brother, who she loves far more than herself these days. In fact, it...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670681903
• ISBN13: 9780670681907
• Release Date: March 1970
• Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Gold Medal Material!!

Sara Godfrey is a fourteen year-old girl whose mother is dead; she also has an absentee father and a mentally slow little brother. She thinks she has big feet and that she is unattractive. In a nutshell, her life is unlivable. Sara, her brother Charlie and her sister Wanda live with their Aunt Willie who worries incessantly about everything and drives Sara crazy and she is slightly jealous of her sister, even though she would never admit it. However, she is sweet on her little brother. Even though Charlie never talks to Sara, she knows without a doubt that he always listens to her. He is the only one who ever does. Anyone who gives him a hard time has to answer to her. One afternoon Sara takes Charlie to see the swans that have flown in and settled on the pond out side of their neighborhood. He is so enamored with them that he does not want to leave when it starts to get dark. Sara drags him, kicking the entire way home. The next morning everyone in the house wakes to a missing Charlie. Sara's world comes crashing down around her. During her crusade to find her brother, Sara grows up. She learns to take life around her more seriously and to stop wallowing in self-pity. She realizes that life is not always easy to figure out and that we are all along on a different ride to the same destination. She even makes an unlikely friend along the way. This book is a good one to give to any teenager going through the "oh, whoa is me" phase. It teaches us to open our eyes to the lives of others and realize that everyone has problems, some of which are worse than others, and that things usually work out. Nevertheless, even when they do not work out, we have to pick ourselves up and move on because we only get one go around in this ride we call life.

Summer of the Swans

The Summer of the Swans, by Betsy Byars, is a heartwarming story about the longest day in the life of a fourteen year old . A wonderfull theme emerges from the story that every child should hear. The story is about a day in Sara's fourteenth summer. She had spend the whole summer feeling sorry for herself. She only saw that she had enormous feet, and impulsive body, and ridiculous hair. She had deep envy for her older sister and really had very low self esteem. She spent her time crying and feeling sorry for herself. Children will likely relate to the exact thing Sara is going through, especially those who are coming of age. Everything changes for Sara when her mentally handicapped brother, Charlie, comes up missing. During her frantic search for her brother, she forgets her own problems and focuses her energy on something else. The theme emerges from her discovery. During the worst day of her life, she learns what it means to care more about someone else then yourself. This theme could really change readers way of thinking. It is something that she didn't understand completely until that day. Maybe children will learn the lesson without having to go through such a trauma as Sara's. Summer of the Swans is a wonderful, heartwarming story that is well deserving of the Newbery award. The characters are identifiable and there is a theme that every child needs to hear and take practice in.

Great Story About Sibling Bonds

"The Summer of the Swans" is about the day when Sara Godfrey's mentally handicapped brother Charlie disappears after visiting the swans at the lake. Nobody is sure what happened to him, but everyone expects the worst because it's not typical for Charlie to have run off alone.Sara feels responsible for losing her brother since she's the closest to him. Aunt Willie also blames herself because she had promised Sara and Charlie's dead mother she would protect him--and now he's gone.Soon a search party gathers and everyone begins to look for the missing ten-year-old.Even though "The Summer of the Swans" is primarily about the search for Charlie, Sara's family life begins to open up and we discover the different relationships she has with her simple younger brother Charlie, her overbearing aunt Willie, her older sister Wanda, and her remote father.The recommended age group for this book is 8 - 12, but I would recommend it to anyone who has a mentally handicapped family member or can somehow relate with the story. It's easy reading and moves along rather quickly--the chapters are short and there are a few illustrations by Ted CoConis."The Summer of the Swans" won the Newbery Award in 1971. The book was later made into a TV movie in 1974 (aka "Sara's Summer of the Swans"), which I never saw because it was made before I was born.I also recommend reading "The Falcon's Wing" by Dawna Lisa Buchanan (mentally handicapped family member).

This Book Is Great Book

Everyone sould read this book. There is this boy named Charlie who was ill. He could not talk. I felt by for him. You might think the beginning is boring but once you get into it is not so boring.In the middle of the book Charlie got lost. I wonted to keep on reading but it was bedtime. In the end of the story they found Charlie. I loved this book.

I Loved this book!

This book was about a girl named Sara, who's brother Charlie is mentally retarted. Sara, Charlie, and their sister Wanda, all live with their Aunt Willie. Charlie loves to go to the lake and watch the swans. So, Sara takes him one day, but it starts to get dark,and he doesn't want to go home. That night as Charlie lies in bed, he hears the swans. He follows them. It is dark outside, and he gets lost. The next morning Sara, Wanda, and Aunt Willie realize Charlie is missing, so the town starts out to look for him. Will they find him? I couldn't put this book down. I just wanted to find out what was going to happen next.