The Year of Miss Agnes

by Janna S on 2011-06-09
I don't know why Sonlight, a Christian company, puts this book on their reading list. It really bothered me that the little girl mentions twice that she doesn't want to rely on a man, but she wants to make her own money. There were a couple of other negative comments about family-rearing. Why introduce this negativity to 1st graders? I doubt I'll be reading this book to my other children.

by Natalie A on 2011-06-01
Wonderful book!! Kids and I looked forward to reading it every day. Great way to see what life was like in Alaska in early/mid-1900's. Also loved all the places the kids in the story (and we!) learned about through Miss Agnes' teaching. Great message of love and acceptance of those different than you and that you can do anything no matter where you are from or what your obstacles. Just super! And, funny, to boot!

by Elizabeth H on 2011-02-08
I hate to be in disagreement with everyone else, but my children and I disliked this book. Obviously the language is supposed to be part of the 'voice' of the narrator but I found the bad grammar really grating. I agree with the other reviewer that the mention of someone's husband getting a girlfriend was extremely inappropriate. You can't skip over it if your children are reading it for themselves. Almost all the stuff about England is very inaccurate as well. (You wouldn't have bought tea in a pub in those days -- and a woman wouldn't have gone to one; the 'church' is called King's College Chapel; we don't say 'subway'; the train to Cambridge doesn't go from Paddington.) This may sound like nit-picking, but to me it just shows that the author didn't do her research. I found the storyline rather cliched and obvious, too. It's a shame, because we've really enjoyed all the other read-alouds.

by Kari C on 2011-01-28
Really enjoyed this book, wish there was a sequel.

by Rebekah M on 2011-01-27
We really enjoyed this book mostly because it was set in Alaska. Very interesting perspective and fun to read too.

by Mindy B on 2010-12-27
A true picture of how teachers are supposed to nuture and encourage children to learn. Miss Agnes made learning fun. A good lesson for us as teachers to make school more enjoyable and not arduous.

by KATHERINE B on 2010-05-07
We all loved this book! I loved that Miss Agnes encouraged me to love teaching even more! My daughters loved the way it ended (trying not to spoil anything). Such a fun and easy read!

by TONYA S on 2010-03-05
I really liked The Year of Miss Agnes. I liked the way Frederika talked and I liked the part where it said there was an alley cat in Miss Agnes's house. I also think she loved the kids and that she was a very fun teacher. Madalyn (age 6-1/2)

by DESIREE S on 2010-02-14
This is my favorite Sonlight book ever!

by BRANDY S on 2010-01-08
We loved this book! My boys are 7, 5, 3, and 1, but I read it to them all at bed time. Miss Agnes is great and I love the conversational tone. As for the notes by Jennifer S, those things were definitely there, but I used it as an opportunity to talk to them about them and work through those issues in their young minds. They thought it was a really interesting conversation.