Francie Nolan, avid reader, penny-candy connoisseur, and adroit
observer of human nature, has much to ponder in colorful,
turn-of-the-century Brooklyn. She grows up with a sweet, tragic
father, a severely realistic mother, and an aunt who gives her love
too freely--to men, and to a brother who will always be the favored
child. Francie learns early the meaning of hunger and the value of a
penny. She is her father's child--romantic and hungry for beauty. But
she is her mother's child, too--deeply practical and in constant need
of truth. Like the Tree of Heaven that grows out of cement or through
cellar gratings, resourceful Francie struggles against all odds to
survive and thrive. Betty Smith's poignant, honest novel created a
big stir when it was first published over 50 years ago. Her frank
writing about life's squalor was alarming to some of the more genteel
society, but the book's humor and pathos ensured its place in the
realm of classics--and in the hearts of readers, young and old. (Ages
10 and older) --Emilie Coulter
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