The Great Gilly
Author: Katherine Paterson
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Date of Publication: 1978
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 148 Pages
Cost: $3.95
ISBN: 0-590-61389-8
Reading Level: Ages 9 to 12
Awards and Honors:
Plot Summary: At 11 years old, Gilly Hopkins has known no family outside of the foster system. Shuttled from one home to another, Gilly is determined not to form attachments anywhere, and behaves as badly as any troubled and unloved child would. She dreams of the day her mother will swoop back into her life to reclaim her lost daughter. After being placed in a new home that Gilly despises, she finally decides that the system has gone too far and writes an exaggerated letter to her mother pleading for her help to escape. However, the letter has unexpected and unintended consequences just as Gilly is finally learning to accept the love that’s offered to her in her new home.
Evaluation: This book is a really moving story about a girl trying to figure out where she belongs in the world. Gilly is obviously a troubled child, with a dirty mouth and bad attitude to prove it. But she’s also a child who yearns for nothing more than love, which is evident in her glamorized view of the woman who gave birth to her, then gave her away and never looked back. This is an outstanding reading selection for children who are ready to face the truth that endings are sometimes more bittersweet than happy.
Annotation: Gilly’s newest foster family is just plain bizarre, but has she finally found a place that she can call home?
Links:
The Great Gilly
Video Interview with Katherine Paterson
Related Reads:
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
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