A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (Perennial Classics) Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
The American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century.This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
Series: Perennial Classics
Paperback: 528 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics (January 18, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060736267
ISBN-13: 978-0060736262
Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.8 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2,059 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #19,100 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #79 in Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Classics #657 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Family Saga #705 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics
Francie Nolan is a character who will long be remembered by anyone who reads "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." Bright but lonely, poor but resourceful, Francie Nolan is captured from ages 11 to 16 with poignancy and love. Francie is her daddy's "prima donna" and she treasures his love while fighting to win her mother's. Although she never achieves the place in her mother's heart that her brother holds, her strength and sheer perserverance guide her through difficult times. Like the sturdy tree that grows outside her window and survives all catastrophes, Francie Nolan survives poverty, lack of formal education, sexual assault, extreme loneliness, and lost love.The reader first meets Francie at age 11 when, as an inquisitive young girl, her favorite time of the day is on Saturday when she can go to the library then rush home with her treasure and read the afternoon away on the fire escape of her Brooklyn tenement. As a young girl, she feels "rich" when she receives bits of chalk and stubby pencils her mother and father bring home from their janitoring job at a local school. She finds simple pleasures in her life, like being allowed to sleep in the front room on Saturday night and watch the busy street below. You will ache to go back in time and be Francie's best friend as she battles loneliness and rejection by her peers but learns to live a solitary life. But, like the tree, she is ready to burst into bloom and when she does it is beautiful to read about.This book is a wonderful description of life in turn-of-the-century Brooklyn and a strong statement on the hope offered to the immigrants who came to the United States. The story emphasizes quite clearly the value of reading and a good education, but most importantly the strength of family and the dreams that sustain people. As Francie learns, "there had to be the dark and muddy waters so that the sun could have something to background it flashing glory." Young teens and mature women alike will relish Francie's story and hold its message in their hearts forever.
In the first page of this book, Betty Smith writes very gently and calmly of Francie Nolan, a pre-teenager just beginning to step out on the edge of adulthood. And Smith ties the book up neatly at the end as if she's giving a present to the reader ... which she is. This is one of the sweetest, most eloquently written books I have ever had the pleasure of reading.Francie Nolan lives in Brooklyn with her brother Neely, mom Katie and dad Johnny. It is in the early 1900s where the book is set. The family is poor ~~ living almost on the edge of starvation. Francie has taken to reading like a duck takes to water ... once she discovered the joy of reading, she becomes a big bookworm. She is also a keen observer of life around her ~~ her thoughts are often witty and funny as she observes the strange behavior of her mother's sisters and their lives, the neighbors, her brother Neely, her mother and father's relationships with one another. Till Francie grows up to be this amazing woman set on the path of her destiny.Betty Smith takes you along for a wonderful story-filled walk in Brooklyn in the early 20th century. She introduces the smells of old Brooklyn, the noise, the joys and sorrows of being in a poverty-stricken family ~~ the hopes and dreams of the immigrants that left the old country because there was nothing there for them. The hopes and dreams of the parents for their children to have better lives than they did ... falling in love with one another ... the disappointments of being disappointed by life, the wonder of finding joy in anything new or rediscovering something old. Betty Smith has captured the nuances of life and shares a bit of her soul for us readers to find.What I like most about this book is how much I can relate to Francie and her reading habits and her growing up years. She is full of insecurities and questions, loves to read and takes such joy in reading ... especially when she promised herself that she was going to read every book in the local library, starting from a to z. And Smith captures that longing perfectly, as if she has had the same dreams and desires when she was 11.I can rave about this book forever, but it isn't as much fun as reading this book. This book deserves to be read by everyone who has such joy in reading. This book deserves to be given to young girls on the verge of adulthood and encouraged to be read ... discussed. The love of reading is what all of us here have in common, and reading about it just encourages you to read more!I urge you to buy this book and read it. It's worth every minute and hour of your time. It's one of those rare treasures that won't leave you without leaving a small imprint on your heart. I can guarantee you will fall in love with Francie and her family ... they're just like every other family you know. Just different ... Francie is one character you love to love. Just like I love to read. Don't delay ... buy!
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Perennial Classics) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Low Price CD Explore My World A Tree Grows Up The Bodhi Tree Grows in L.A.: Tales of a Buddhist Monk in America Magic Tricks from the Tree House: A Fun Companion to Magic Tree House #50: Hurry Up, Houdini! (Magic Tree House (R)) Old Yeller (Perennial Classics) Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilisation (Perennial Classics) Tao Te Ching: A New English Version (Perennial Classics) Dynamics of Faith (Perennial Classics) One Hundred Years of Solitude (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) My Life and Hard Times (Perennial Classics) Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter (Perennial Classics) The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) The Prophets (Perennial Classics) Mandala Wisdom: An Adult Coloring Book: 50 Stress Relief Mandala Designs Inspired by Nature, 50 quotes of perennial knowledge from humanity's ... Gift For Friends and Family,For All Holidays Will Bonsall's Essential Guide to Radical, Self-Reliant Gardening: Innovative Techniques for Growing Vegetables, Grains, and Perennial Food Crops with Minimal Fossil Fuel and Animal Inputs Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad-Gita The Carbon Farming Solution: A Global Toolkit of Perennial Crops and Regenerative Agriculture Practices for Climate Change Mitigation and Food Security
