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The Becket List

A Blackberry Farm Story

Contributors

By Adele Griffin

Illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Formats and Prices

Price

$16.95

Price

$24.95 CAD

Format

“Charming and beautifully humorous . . . A sparkling story of weathering change.” —Booklist, starred review

Everything is changing for Becket Branch.

From subways to sidewalks to safety rules, she is a city kid born and raised. Now the Branch family is trading urban bustle for big green fields and moving to help their gran on Blackberry Farm, where Becket has to make sense of new routines, from feeding animals to baling hay.

But Becket is ready! She even makes her own “Becket List” for How to Be a Country Kid. Things don’t always work out the way she planned, but whether it’s selling mouth-puckering lemonade, feeding hostile hens, or trying to make a new best friend, Becket is determined to use her city smarts to get a grip on country living.

Get ready to yell “Beautiful Alert!” along with Becket as she mucks through the messy, exuberant experience of change she didn’t ask for, in a story that sparkles with quirky characters, cheerful humor, and unexpected adventures.

  • “This is not just a terrific book about sharing friends with siblings, rolling with changes, and the difficulty of making new friends after a move. It is also (spoiler alert) a terrific, gentle, earnest book for coping with pet loss . . .  [Griffin's] humor, pathos, quick character development, and enjoyable dialogue are just as good as ever, and Pham’s illustrations . . . are charming and beautifully humorous in how they capture emotional expression. A sparkling story of weathering change.”
    I>Booklist, starred review

    “Becket is an outgoing, refreshingly self-confident protagonist . . . Readers will appreciate her ability to bounce back from whatever life hands her. Pham’s sketch drawings scattered throughout enhance the energy and humor of the story. Give this to kids who enjoy stories with plucky female protagonists.”
    I>School Library Journal

    “Becket is a regular laundry list of confidently delivered safety sayings, and it's just one of her many original and sparkling traits . . . the storyline is warm and amusing as Becket and her two siblings navigate their new life on a farm.”
    I>Kirkus Reviews

    “An enjoyable novel for young readers beginning to explore the world on their own terms.”
    B>Horn Book Magazine
     
    “Becket’s narration vibrates with energy and cheer…Pham’s black and white illustrations…have just the right amount of comic flair to match the vibrant humor of Becket’s story.”
    B>The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

    “Perfect . . . This fun and colorful novel will surely make you happy and brighten up your day.”
    Newsday

On Sale
Apr 2, 2019
Page Count
208 pages
ISBN-13
9781616207908

Adele Griffin

Adele Griffin

About the Author

Adele Griffin is the acclaimed author of Tell Me No Lies and Be True to Me, as well as Sons of Liberty and Where I Want to Be, both finalists for the National Book Award. She lives with her husband and children in Brooklyn, New York. You can find her online at adelegriffin.com or on Twitter: @adelegriffin.

Learn more about this author

LeUyen Pham

About the Illustrator

New York Times bestselling illustrator LeUyen Pham has created over ninety books for children, including The Princess in Black series with Shannon and Dean Hale, Freckleface Strawberry with Julianne Moore, and her own The Bear Who Wasn’t There.

Learn more about this illustrator