Berries Goodman

by Emily Cheney Neville

After his family moves to the suburbs, nine-year-old Berries Goodman finds another loner like himself, but then loses his best friend through prejudice.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens

180 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 1965

About the author

Emily Cheney Neville, an American author of children's books, was born in Manchester, Connecticut in 1919 and graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1940.
In 1963, she wrote her first book, "It's Like This, Cat", which was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1964.

Reviews

[Josephine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Berries (short for Bertrand) Goodman's family lives in a small apartment in Manhattan--small even for Manhattan--and with three children and two parents, there simply is no room. Berries and his older brother Hal share the one bedroom, their parents sleep on a convertible sofa in the living room and two year old Jennifer sleeps in a crib in the front hall. It isn't until Jennifer learns to climb out of her crib at five o'clock one Sunday morning that the Goodmans decide they need a larger place to live.

Unfortunately, all the larger apartments near the family's original home are too expensive as they're in newer buildings, so the family decides to cast their net wider and look into buying a home in the suburbs. Even then, all the houses are too expensive, so they talk the owner of the smallest and least repaired house into renting them the house with an option to buy at the end of two years, and settle in. Even more unfortunately from Berries' perspective, the only kid nearby is not only eleven (two years older than he) but a girl, and a showoffy one at that.

The summer in a strange community is a dull one for Berries, even though he eventually does begin to spend time with Sandra; absent all the familiar things in Manhattan, such as a delicatessen, streets crowded with sights and people and even the family car (which the father takes to the train station as the first part of his commute), all the family finds things duller than they'd expected. Fall brings school for Berries and a new job for his mother as a real estate agent. Unfortunately, school and job bring the family up against an uncomfortable truth: the community is a divided one. Not against African-Americans but against Jews; although there are not so many as in New York City, where the Jewish holidays merit school closures along with the Christian ones, the town in which they now live has two neighborhoods to which Jews are steered when househunting. Not only is redlining an accepted part of real estate practice in the area, gentiles casually mouth all the standard prejudices--Jews have all the money, and more.

Berries befriends Sidney, the lone Jewish kid in his school, as both boys are loners; he sees nothing strange about this as many of his friends in New York were Jewish, but Sandra and her family are distrustful. In the book's denouement, Sandra taunts Sidney until he takes her dare to jump the deep culvert...and falls into it, seriously injuring himself. Sidney's parents cut off all contact with Berries, Sandra and their families, and leave the community shortly after Sidney leaves the hospital. The Goodman family returns to New York after their lease runs out, and are somewhat shamefacedly glad to be going back to the familiarity of Manhattan.

The story is actually a flashback: the book begins after the Goodmans' return to New York, with Berries and Sidney meeting in Manhattan after Sidney's decided to "run away" from his parents to his brother's house in New Jersey.

I'll give the book four stars for taking on prejudice in a relatively subtle way for children's literature, although writing styles have changed enough in the intervening forty-five years that I'm not sure how well kids today will like this book.

[Fran Hutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book I remember reading as a child that addressed prejudices, to which I simply could not relate. But this book opened my eyes that such irrational behavior existed. It was shattering, in a way, to lose that innocence. This book and North to Freedom were two formative books in my childhood.

[Michael C.]

December Book Review

Michael Cummings

Have you ever wondered how hard it is to move and start over in a new town? How about having to move from a big city to the suburbs? Bertrand, or Berries, Goodman had to do just that. He is the main character in the book Berries Goodman by Emily Cheney Neville.

Berries Goodman is an eleven year old boy living in New York City when he finds out his family wants to move out to the suburbs...to New Jersey. He likes city life and isn't too excited to move out into the country. Berries’ family finds a nice home and rents the place for two years. The only problem is, Berries knows no one. The only other kid around is a girl next door named Sandra. Sandra is a bit bossy and a showoff. Berries has a tree house that he hasn't ever really been in, and she takes it over. They start a club and become friends. When school begins that fall he meets a boy named Sidney. He and Sidney begin to bond and become very good friends. The first winter they were in New Jersey Berries’ older brother Hal said he would take Berries and Sidney ice skating. Sandra wasn't invited but begged Hal to take her. Sandra showed off the whole time. Once she went into the no skate zone and almost fell into a dam. Hal got mad and told her to never do that again. The next year they went skating again, and Sandra was doing her normal showing off. She then decided to go jump over the ledge into the no skate zone and dares Sidney to do the same. He does and falls off into a dam. They go to find him and he is unconscious. What happens next is a real test of Berries and Sidney’s friendship. Berries struggles to stay in touch with Sidney as he recovers, but things stand in the way of their friendship. Read on to find out if their friendship survives.

I think anyone in middle school would like this book. Life changes a lot for middle schoolers, and this story didn’t just tell about Berries’ transition of moving from the city to the country, but about all the changes in his life. Berries is a city boy living in the suburbs just trying to fit in. Middle schoolers can relate to this. The author did a great job making you feel like you were one of Berries’ friends. When the book ends, you’re sad that your friend has gone away.

[Jill Dancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time as a kid in the 1970s. It was my first book with no pictures. It is as timely now as it was then; a thoughtful look at childhood impressions, prejudice, and what things really are. I wish every kid could read it.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too adult a theme. It's great, but I'm afraid that current junior fiction readers won't get it, and maybe the audience of the time didn't, either.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Authentic feel in terms of behavior and dialogue.

Not crazy about the name - it serves no real purpose.

[Brian Rosser · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book surprised me in its wonderfully direct approach in addressing antisemitism and housing segreation as told through the various friendships of the lead character Berries Goodman.

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

C. fiction, children's fiction, upper elementary, friendship, prejudice, Young America Book Club, from stash, discard.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really approachable, unpreachy examination of prejudice and the beauty of friendship and childhood.

[Joanna Warrens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good vintage ya. I was suprised that the plot deals with anti-semitism in an effective way.

[Dawn Oswald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Berries Goodman was a good read about 2/3 of the way through it. I enjoyed how the author wove the idea of prejudice into the story of Berries and his good friend Sidney from the Jewish part of town. I also found Berries innocence of prejudice refreshing. Although a little dated, I think that this novel gives us a little glimpse of how prejudice can come in many forms and was especially prevalent in the mid-1960s. I'm glad I read it once, but would probably not re-read this one.

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in junior high and could recite whole passages of it from memory, but it never occurred to me it was about anti-Semitism. Once I re-read it I saw that clearly; fascinating it passed me by completely in the late 1960's, when the racism I knew had a darker hue.