The Silver Pencil

Janet #1

by Alice Dalgliesh

From her girlhood in Trinidad, to school in England, to teacher training in New York, Janet cherishes the silver pencil her father gave her, and finally uses it to become a writer

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Middle Grade, Historical, Realistic Fiction

235 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1944

About the author

Family: Born in Trinidad, British West Indies; naturalized U.S. citizen; died in Woodbury, CT; daughter of John and Alice (Haynes) Dalgliesh.

Educator, editor, book reviewer, and author, Dalgliesh was an elementary school teacher for nearly seventeen years, and later taught a course in children's literature at Columbia University. From 1934 to 1960 she served as children's book editor for Charles Scribner's Sons. In addition to her book reviews for such magazines as Saturday Review of Literature and Parents' Magazine, Dalgliesh wrote more than forty books for children (most illustrated by Katherine Milhous) and about children's literature.

She received a BA from Columbia University and taught at elementary schools for a while before writing her first book, A Happy School Year, in 1924. Among her books are Newbery Honor books The Silver Pencil (1944), The Bears on Hemlock Mountain (1952), and The Courage of Sarah Noble (1954). The writer Robert Heinlein and Dalgliesh, Heinlein's editor at Scribner's, had conflict in the 1950s. This was revealed in letters published in "Grumbles from the Grave" by Virginia Heinlein.

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book, used, when I was on my Little Women rereading kick last year, as I'd heard the latter was its inspiration.

Janet, a young British girl living an idyllic life in Trinidad, gets her first idea of America through the lives of the March sisters. After Janet's father dies and she attends a school in England, she ends up in America and discovers the country for herself. In many ways, one could say Janet is a direct descendant of Jo March: Janet desires to be a writer; is independent though insecure; and makes her own living.

If this book doesn't possess the charm of Little Women, it is a well-written tale, inspired by the writer's own life. If I'd read it when I was young, I'm sure I would've enjoyed it, especially as a historic depiction of a way of life that no longer exists. As an adult remembering my reading of childhood books, my favorite line was: "...If I wrote I'd rather write for children than for grown-ups. Grown-ups read a book once--perhaps twice--children read it until it falls to bits!"

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm perhaps 2.5 stars. I’ll have to sit on this one before writing a review. I found the ending incredibly lame.

Cleanliness: mentions ghosts and ghost stories. Someone says “Lord.” There are several romances with several kisses (kisses are not detailed). A bachelor has inappropriate pictures of women hanging up in the house and when his mother disapproves, the sister suggests hanging them in the barn. They do this and brother and sister share a good laugh. A boy says he murdered his sister - you find out it was an accident with a gun he thought wasn’t loaded. The word “Negro” is used often. The word “Boches” is used.

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[Cindy aka "The Book Fairy" · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an enchanting story really! Told of her travels while living in Trinidad, England, the USA,and sometimes even in Canada! It included Nova Scotia even which the next province over from mine. It was supposed to be semi autobiographical apparently so I now need to see if there is a continuation. There were plenty of spiritual/Christianity references throughout as it was a glimpse of life in the early 1900s I think as not always specified as such. Sweet story!

[Clara Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable book about a girl's growing into a young lady with dreams and real purpose in life. The setting moves from the Caribbean to England to North America. I enjoyed traveling along with Janet as she grows, learns, and sees her life expand.

[Josiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charles Dickens had David Copperfield, and multiple Newbery Honoree Alice Dalgliesh had Janet Laidlaw, whose exploits closely mirror Ms. Dalgliesh's own youth. The Author's Note at the end of The Silver Pencil acknowledges that aspects of Janet's life resemble Alice Dalgliesh's, but I suspect the connection between the two is even deeper than the author lets on. Minor characters with fascinating backstories flit in and out of the narrative, characters who likely would be left on the cutting-room floor of most novels because they serve no larger purpose, but Ms. Dalgliesh keeps them in her book, probably because they had an impact on her own life and thus feel key to her story. Observing Janet from age nine, growing up in the British dependency of Trinidad, to her post-college days as she starts figuring out the direction she wants to take in the lifetime stretching before her filled with such promise, we follow the trail of a budding creative mind reluctantly reaching full bloom, stepping into the role she was meant for as inspiration to children worldwide and down through the generations via her captivating, transformative stories. As a kindergarten teacher Alice Dalgliesh positively influenced thousands of kids, but as a writer she affected even more, and continues speaking into their lives to this day, planting seeds of hope, sincerity, and resourcefulness that grow into great sturdy trees and lovely gardens for the benefit of all. Alice Dalgliesh presents readers a priceless portion of herself in The Silver Pencil, and that's what moves us to love the book. Traveling down the road of life without confident direction or awareness of what we want is apt to yield a journey as anxious as Janet's, but if her outcome is any indication, there's success and contentment to be attained if we never stop looking and hoping for the place we're meant to be.

"Hearts don't break...They only crack into a thousand little pieces. If they broke it would be better—because then they wouldn't exist."

—Janet, The Silver Pencil, P. 132

Young Janet adores her parents, growing up in Trinidad with a rainbow of cultures surrounding her. But she shares a special closeness with her father, who understands her creative impulses and does his best to nurture them, giving her a special silver pencil for Christmas the year Janet turns nine. When her father passes away abruptly and she and her mother move to England, Janet doesn't see how she'll settle into this strange place an ocean away from Trinidad, even if it is the mother country of the land in which she was born and raised. England grows on her as much as Trinidad, though, and Janet never forgets the silver pencil her father gave so she'd have a reliable instrument to write her stories. Over time, merry old England proves as fertile a creative soil as Trinidad for her literary whimsy. Janet gets into writing and then steps back, gets back into it and then takes an extended break, the cycle repeating into her late teens until her mother breaks the news that they can no longer afford to live in Great Britain. They must return to Trinidad immediately. Janet loves the land of her birth, but going back there after so many years feels strange, and she's afraid the future she envisions for herself will never come to fruition when her mother informs her there isn't enough money to send her to the college she desires. Janet despairs of ever realizing her potential, until the opportunity comes of immigrating to America. She could find the right college there, an inexpensive university for girls like herself who want to be teachers.

"(A)nd while imagination flourishes alone and in secret, it also craves fellowship."

—The Silver Pencil, P. 30

And so Janet sets sail for the United States, leaving her family in Trinidad. Learning to instruct kindergartners in the conventional American technique is frustrating for Janet, who rarely fails to entertain her five-year-olds with lush, descriptive stories, but has a hard time disciplining the rowdy ones. Janet bounces from city to city and school to school, making new acquaintances and parting ways with old friends, some of whom she'll meet again but most of which she knows only for a short while before bidding a permanent adieu. Janet's timeline is so like real life that typical plot structure can't be assumed, so characters who seem a cinch to be reintroduced later may be gone for good, and this is a core strength of The Silver Pencil. Romances kindle and burn out, briefly serious or just innocuous fun with local boys, but through it all Janet improves as a kindergarten teacher capable of controlling her class while retaining the natural compassion she brought to the job, an asset as indispensable as the raconteur's wit she falls back on to mesmerize her kids when their patience for formal education wears thin. Great athletes learn young to trust their bodies at crunch time; their natural ability helps them deliver the goods in the clutch, and Janet is learning the same regarding her storytelling talents. She'll not bore a single soul when she gets the ball rolling on a narrative, spoken or written.

While still getting her sea legs as a teacher, Janet gathers the boldness to bring her first completed manuscript to a publisher, hoping for the miracle acceptance that could define the rest of her life. To be a published author like Louisa May Alcott or Sir Walter Scott...How grand! It turns out Janet's self-directed writing efforts are good, better than she guessed, and her career trajectory elevates as she puts in the hours to hone her work and meet the great big literary world as its newest star children's author, touching hearts on the printed page as she continues doing on a more personal level with her dear kindergarten pupils. With an exciting vision of her future rapidly emerging from the foggy unknown, Janet evaluates the simple life she's leading in America and begins pursuing the goals she'd delayed until her situation allowed the luxury of time to address them. Perhaps she wants to marry, and find a longterm home to settle into. If she's planning to stay in America, applying for U.S. citizenship may be a good way to make this land feel like home. There's a lot left to figure out for Janet, who gives her all for her children and loves them so, but there's no rush in making the big decisions. Hers has been the adventure of a lifetime, and there's still so much more of the adventure to enjoy. And like Alice Dalgliesh, it lives on forevermore in the pages of The Silver Pencil.

"But teaching was like a rubber band. It could expand and take in all kinds of experience, or it could remain, wound tight and unyielding, around the small package that was your life. Perhaps it had something to do with the kind of person you were. Perhaps it only depended on circumstances."

—The Silver Pencil, PP. 206-207

This book has its share of timeless wisdom, and that was the deciding factor in rounding my two-and-a-half star rating up to three, a close call that could have gone either way. Of particular note are the bits of writing advice and insight as to why writing for kids is a hallowed concept, more so than making books for adults. The first important writing tip Janet receives is from her father: "Keep on with your reading—collect words but don't copy other people's combinations of them. Make your own!" That's an excellent way to instill the value of fresh expression in a young mind, a reminder to avoid the staleness of hackneyed sayings we use without thinking. Then there's this thought from a college professor, after Janet tells him, "I wrote stories, but just stories for children." "'Not just stories for children,' Professor Kern said. "'Some of the best writing has been done for them. And to write a book for children that will live even a few years, one must put into it all that goes into the writing of an adult book.'" Newbery Honoree George Selden (The Cricket in Times Square, 1961) echoed these sentiments over the course of his career, asserting that a children's classic is no less a master work because its intended audience is juvenile. In later years and in their own words, Gary Paulsen, Avi, Neal Shusterman, and countless others agreed with Mr. Selden. Further along in The Silver Pencil, a potential romantic interest of Janet's has an equally insightful reaction to her humble admission that she writes children's books he surely wouldn't be interested in reading: "Why not? If I wrote I'd rather write for children than for grown-ups. Grown-ups read a book once—perhaps twice—children read it until it falls to bits!" How much that sounds like the words of venerated picture-book author-illustrator Richard Scarry: “I'm not interested in creating a book that is read once and then placed on the shelf and forgotten. I am very happy when people have worn out my books, or that they're held together by Scotch tape.” There are compelling reasons why many authors choose to write to the hearts of children rather than adults, and Alice Dalgliesh expounds on them beautifully in The Silver Pencil.

Ultimately, this novel is a chronicle of Janet's journey from childhood into her early adult years, though she never relinquishes her grasp on the poignancy and humor of youth. People wonder why parents look back on photos of their young kids with bittersweet nostalgia, part of them wishing their children were still that age. The kids are still around, just older, so why should they be missed? But there's a scene in The Silver Pencil at Janet's college graduation which suggests that crossing over into adulthood is a death of sorts for the child their parents knew and loved from birth. The man or woman they morph into is not the playful, unabashedly affectionate, utterly dependent kid they used to be, so it's natural for their parents to mourn the child they loved who's no longer here, a child who didn't perish all at once, but slowly, day by day and bit by bit. In a very real way, growing up is the inevitable funeral of a loved one held as near a parent's heart as a human can be. A child lost to death or adulthood may live on in the memories of those who cared for him or her, but the loss is profound, difficult to persevere through in faith that there's wonder to be gleaned in life even after our halcyon days have passed. A great book both reveals our pain to us in ways we never understood it and soothes the hurt, and The Silver Pencil does that. There's a reason Alice Dalgliesh went on to be one of the most lauded writers and editors of her generation.

"Strange, she thought, how friends come when you need them most! Some of them come and stay a long time...others come in and go out, but always leave something of themselves."

—The Silver Pencil, P. 201

Of Alice Dalgliesh's three Newbery Honor books—The Silver Pencil (1945), The Bears on Hemlock Mountain (1953), and The Courage of Sarah Noble (1955)—I'd pick The Courage of Sarah Noble as her best, but The Silver Pencil isn't far behind. The author's spirit resides in these pages still, I can feel it, and being part of her experiences even in fictionalized form has deepened my outlook on life and appreciation for the happiness and troubles I've endured, each in their own time. Thank you for so openly sharing your life story, Ms. Dalgliesh. You are an inspiration and a friend, an invaluable contributor to this world you helped improve by your teaching and writing so many years ago. Thank you.

[The Dusty Jacket · Rating 3 out of 5]

The silver pencil was a miracle. It was handsome to look at, delightful to use because it never needed sharpening. One had only to change the lead. Janet was sure that she could write almost anything with it. Confidently she sat down at her small table, with clean sheets of paper in front of her and the shining pencil in her hand. To her surprise, exactly nothing happened.

Nine-year-old Janet Laidlaw was a British citizen living on the tropical island of Trinidad. She loved her life in the House on the Hill, but things quickly changed following the sudden death of her beloved father. At thirteen—when most Colonials went off to school—Janet traveled to her mother’s birthplace of England where her world suddenly got a lot bigger. With the promise of new friends and adventures, perhaps her silver pencil wouldn’t be silent for much longer.

Newbery books have always been my “go to” reads. Whether I’m looking for an excellent story for myself or I need a solid recommendation for a young reader, that silver- or gold-foiled sticker always let me know that I had picked out a winner. Unfortunately for me, The Silver Pencil fell short of this assumption. Awarded the Newbery Honor Book distinction in 1945, Alice Dalgliesh’s coming-of-age (and semi-autobiographical) book is about a young girl who travels from Trinidad to England and then to New York while pursuing a career in teaching before ultimately stumbling upon success as a children’s author. This book is meant to mirror Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, which was Janet’s first introduction to America. Unfortunately, Dalgliesh’s tale didn’t quite rise to the level of its literary inspiration and probably won’t have the same appeal with a young adult audience.

Published in 1944, the beginning of The Silver Pencil is full of racially insensitive and inappropriate cultural references. These obviously didn't cause a ripple back then, but would clearly result in a tsunami today. Also, Janet’s favorite book is The Story of Little Black Sambo, which she shares repeatedly with youngsters that are in need of fast and effective entertainment. Although the story’s text and illustrations have undergone numerous revisions over the decades, its very title still conjures up negative feelings and emotions. With that being said, the remainder of the book is pretty safe although I felt no attachment to the story and had zero connection to its characters. Despite it being a beautifully written book, the words just hung there and felt lifeless—lacking any sense of warmth or feeling. Even when Janet was dealing with the death of her father, I didn’t feel her pain and loss although she was obviously experiencing it. Her experiences felt more like a list to be checked rather than a life that was lived.

Despite the low rating, I loved how Dalgliesh used stories and storytelling to bridge the gap between cultures and class, to calm the rowdy and connect the displaced, and to bring people together to make the world seem a little bit smaller. They say that the pen is mightier than the sword, but Janet Laidlaw and Alice Dalgliesh showed us that a silver pencil could be just as mighty…if not more.

[Wayne Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the early 1900s, nine-year-old Janet Laidlaw lives in “the House on the Hill” on the West Indian island of Trinidad with her father, who owns a dry goods store, her mother, who is often ill, and their servants. Her brother Lawrence, who is ten years older, was away at school in Scotland when she was born and then went to sea, so she has never seen him, but he comes home to help in the family business. Janet learns stories of Scotland from her father, stories of England from her mother, and stories of America from reading Little Women. Seeing America is her ultimate dream. And she loves to write. That Christmas, Janet’s father gives her a silver pencil for her stories, and she writes about her life in Trinidad. However, shortly after that, Father unexpectedly dies.

The rest of the book follows Janet as she and her mother move to England for Janet’s schooling, through a visit with relatives in Scotland, then a return to Trinidad for mother’s health, to Janet’s decision to go to America for teacher training. All during these experiences, she continues to write with the silver pencil. But what will happen when she comes down with a serious illness? Will she ever achieve her goal of being a teacher? The book, which won a Newbery Honor Award in 1945, is somewhat semi-autobiographical. Alice Dalgliesh, who authored The Courage of Sarah Noble and The Bears on Hemlock Mountain, both of which also won Newbery Honor Awards, wrote, “This book is fiction and the characters are fictitious, with the exception of certain public figures and Professor Patty Smith Hill, whose name is used by permission. Many of the experiences of Janet Laidlaw are similar to my own; all the episodes in which children appear are true to life.” I generally liked The Silver Pencil, though it is not what I expected. It is an interesting story of one individual’s doing everything possible to accomplish a passionate aim, but the slow-moving plot with its lack of exciting action and adventure may not appeal to everyone.

There are a few common euphemisms (darned, gosh, gee), even one “Lord, no,” and once a parrot is said to have had “a red-hot collection of swear words,” though none are actually used. As she grows up, Janet experiences various romantic problems in her relationships with men, so some parents may not think the book appropriate for preteen girls, although there is nothing objectionable and teenage girls will undoubtedly like it. However, there are references to important historical events such as the eruptions of Soufrière and Mount Pelée, the coronation of George V of England, and the war on Germany (World War I).

[Elizabeth Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit...I am filling in my new GoodReads profiles and remembered this being my favorite book in 6th grade! So I can't say I remember much of it. But, as a young girl wanting to write, it was magical and inspiring to my aspiring writer self. Have NO idea what I might think now…nor do I recall the plot. Probably a bit off to rate it given I read it over half a century ago, but GoodReads is where I keep track of the books I do recall, so here we are!

[Keleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember why I liked this book as a kid. It's about a girl who grows up in a British colony on Trinidad and begins writing stories from an early age, then goes away to boarding school in England, then to college in New York to become a teacher. She develops arthritis and retreats to Nova Scotia for restorative seaside summers. Between this book and my L.M. Montgomery collection, I can certainly see how I conjured fantasies of charming, old-fashioned Canadian villages brimming with romantic flower species like trillium and plump neighbors who call you Dearie. Reading this again renewed my desire to go North and be the eccentric lady in hats who picks flowers and writes children's books.

[J. Sebastian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story took my daughter and me six months to finish. Was it that we were too busy for reading stories, or that there were often more compelling things to draw our attention than this story? The reason could never be the first. Though there were some great moments in this book, I am happy now to have finished it. The story sometimes takes very sad and difficult turns, but this is one of its strengths; it does not attempt to hide that life can be difficult and tough. In that, it is an honest story.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I sought out this one mostly out of interest in its sequel—Along Janet's Road, which includes a semi-autobiographical account of working in children's book publishing in the 1930s and 40s—and I figured that this would be worth a read if it was a Newbery Honor book. The Silver Pencil is a novel based on Dalgliesh's own life, from her childhood in British colonial Trinidad, through her moves to the UK and the US, and following her journey to becoming a teacher, an author, and (eventually, in the second book) an editor.

Dalgliesh ran the children's department at Scribner's for decades and wrote several children's books about US history, including the novel The Courage of Sarah Noble and a few picture books that appear to offer now-outdated takes on Christopher Columbus, Pilgrims and Thanksgiving, etc. The Silver Pencil is one of three books of hers (including Sarah Noble) to be given a Newbery nod.

I haven't read the other two, but... well, Silver Pencil isn't one for the ages. It provides mildly interesting historical glimpses into late British colonial life (with a smattering of servants speaking in dialect), and later, as the protagonist pursues a teaching career, into early child development theories (apparently Froebel had some goofy ideas about kindergarten). But the narrative meanders directionless through the years as "Janet" goes from school to school, country to country, opportunity to opportunity, spending an awful lot of time in her college and young adulthood (and this is supposed to be a children's book? I guess those distinctions mattered less in those days, especially if the author was one of key players in kidlit). I found the sequel Along Janet's Road to be a lot more coherent (and professionally interesting).

If you're especially interested in Dalgliesh herself, this might be worth a read; if you're doing one of those read-all-the-Newberys projects I think you can get by with reading the first fifty pages of this and skimming the rest.

[LaRae☕️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, which follows Janet Laidlaw from her childhood home in Trinidad, to England, and eventually America is a story I know many of my homeschooling friends would enjoy.

Eventually, around the time of WWI, Janet earns her B.S. in Education from Columbia University, studying to be a kindergarten teacher. She studies under Professor Patty Hill, a historic figure.

“I begin to understand things better, already,” Janet said as the class was dismissed. ”She makes teaching so very human. And she makes you feel that children are *people*.”

Janet’s story follows the author’s own. Although it wasn’t amazing writing, I found the historical context very interesting, and particularly loved how independent Janet was in pursuing her dreams, despite insecurities.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute, I loved the ending. Probably best for a middle school age group. Several boring parts that took me a while to get through, but overall enjoyable. Looking forward to reading the sequel!

[Mariangel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful book which would appeal to readers who liked Anne of Avonlea. It's about Janet, a British girl born in Trinidad, her high school years in England, college in the United States, and vacations in New Scotia, as she figures out if being a teacher and a writer is her call. It all happens in one volume and for me it was a quick read. It is also clearly autobiographical, if one compares with Dalgliesh life. Even details not appearing in her bio ring so true that must have really happened: For example, at her first date with Stephen, they saw the play Passing of the Third Floor Back, or her summer teaching job at Valley City, ND.

[Lmichelleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter recommended this one to me after she herself read it twice. And I'm glad she did!

This is a well told story of the developing of a teacher and writer (ultimately a veiled autobiography of the author). All the growing pains and longings of the young Janet were easy to sympathize with, and I had fun following her from home to home in Trinidad, England, America, and Canada. Kinda makes me want to live in another country again for a while!

[Bobbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Very well written and interesting sneak peak into how Alice Dalgliesh became an author.

[Michelle Fournier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fabulous surprise! I had no idea what to expect but I loved this fictional autobiographical novel! Highly recommend.
Interesting that this won a newbery honor because even though the MC begins the story as a child the vast majority takes place during her teen/young adult years and would probably be classified as YA today. (Not for anything inappropriate just because of the age of the main character).
I love books that tell about the books that shaped an authors life and the educational practices that helped make a person who they are. And all wrapped up in a story. Definitely has a Little Women feel or Emily of New Moon in that respect.
And by the end I just wanted to find and read all the stories Alice Dalgliesh wrote!

This review is coming a month or so after reading and I forgot to mention: the first few chapters that take place in Trinidad and describe local residents using language we would not today: n**** were a little off putting and I was unsure where the author was going. But after reading the whole book, I really think the author had the greatest respect and wonderful memories of her time in Trinidad.

[QNPoohBear · Rating 2 out of 5]

This Newbery Honor winner from 1945 is based on the life of the author.
Janet Laidlaw lives in a house on a hill in beautiful Trinidad in the early 1900s. Her mother often has "spells" where she's unwell so Janet is alone a lot. She has a powerful imagination and her beloved father gives her a silver pencil for Christmas to write down her stories. Soon after, her father dies unexpectedly and Janet is too grieved to write. When it comes time for her to go to high school, her mother takes her "home" to England where she distinguishes herself in school and is on track to earn a scholarship to college. However, finances don't allow for college so Janet and her mother return to Trinidad, where Janet is terribly bored. After observing Janet with young children, a friend suggests Janet go to Canada or America to become a kindergarten teacher. Janet chooses to move all the way to Brooklyn to attend teacher's college. She isn't sure she's cut out to be a teacher. Story time is the best part of her day. Does she have what it takes to be a teacher? Will she ever find time to write?

This story is similar in premise to Emily of New Moon but without the charm and color of Lucy Maud Montgomery's famous trilogy. Janet is a flat and boring character. The action of the story is told rather than shown and there really isn't much plot. It's very very slow. The descriptions of Trinidad are beautiful and a little more lively than the plot. The depiction of England is also charming but once summer is over and Janet becomes busy with school, all description ends. Later in the book, Janet arrives in a small village in New York which is also treated to a charming description which made me sure the author had been there and was writing from life.

This book contains a lot of pre-WWI British Empire sentiment that really annoyed me. Though I understand that's what people believed at the time, it's rather distasteful to modern readers. America is described as backwards and uncultured; somewhere Janet would never want to live, in the beginning of the story. Later though, once Janet is older and has traveled more, the author stops editorializing on how wonderful the British Empire is and just describes what's happening and the scenery.

I would have liked to have read Janet's book. Part of what makes Lucy Maud Montgomery's stories so fascinating are the local color stories she imported into the plot. It sounds like Janet had the same idea as Anne but we never get to experience it.

I don't think modern readers will appreciate or enjoy this novel. Kids today are used to lots of action and adventure and this book doesn't have either.

[Denise Spicer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Semi-autobiographic kids’ novel about a girl who receives a special Christmas present – a silver pencil. She uses it to record her observations of life around her –childhood in Trinidad, school in England, then America, and finally her life as teacher and writer.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has many levels to it. On one level, it is written as a children's novel. It follows the life of a young girl growing into a woman. On a second level, it highlights life in the early 1900's and allows the reader to become familiar with events that have fallen out of most discussions. The way the author briefly mentions events, keeps the story flowing, but allows older readers to stop and really experiance the depth of what she is describing, if they so choose. I enjoyed that, as I found myself stopping every few pages to investigate what she was referencing. On the surface, it's just a story about a girl, but underneath it is an opening into a whole different society. As a reader I was acquainted with one of the worst natural disasters in human memory, the destruction caused by Mount pelee. I was taken to England to see the death and birth of kings. To FEEL the people there as they sang patriotically "Brittania, rule the waves" as a new king was crowned. To feel the loss with the Scots as they sang and sat quietly by the fire after singing "no way home".

The book was full of little details that show what a full life someone can live, but was written in such a way that it's easier to see the author how we see most people in reality, only the surface.

I also enjoyed that the novel was written in a time when people had more wholesome morals and values. It is a true reflection of the societies our older generations grew up in. Such as the lesson about the nun "making crosses" for children, that turned out to not be crosses at all but airplanes. And we were reminded that assumptions are like little smoldering fires that can grow and burn up whole forests if we don't hurry to put them out before they spread. The advice the character receives and gives in the story, are lessons that I will come back to again and again in my own personal growth as a woman.

[Meepspeeps · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out well as the author described the difficulty moving from a colony to England for boarding school during the early 20th century. For being written 70 years ago, the scenes about bullying and mistreatment of blacks feel current. But pretty soon it was boyfriend this, boyfriend that, questioning her abilities in her chosen profession, and other examples of angst that I tire of when reading. I would not recommend it except perhaps to tween girls who aspire to be authors or playwrights.

[Wendy McClure · Rating 2 out of 5]

I sought out this one mostly out of interest in its sequel—Along Janet's Road, which includes a semi-autobiographical account of working in children's book publishing in the 1930s and 40s—and I figured that this would be worth a read if it was a Newbery Honor book. The Silver Pencil is a novel based on Dalgliesh's own life, from her childhood in British colonial Trinidad, through her moves to the UK and the US, and following her journey to becoming a teacher, an author, and (eventually, in the second book) an editor.

Dalgliesh ran the children's department at Scribner's for decades and wrote several children's books about US history, including the novel The Courage of Sarah Noble and a few picture books that appear to offer now-outdated takes on Christopher Columbus, Pilgrims and Thanksgiving, etc. The Silver Pencil is one of three books of hers (including Sarah Noble) to be given a Newbery nod.

I haven't read the other two, but... well, Silver Pencil isn't one for the ages. It provides mildly interesting historical glimpses into late British colonial life (with a smattering of servants speaking in dialect), and later, as the protagonist pursues a teaching career, into early child development theories (apparently Froebel had some goofy ideas about kindergarten). But the narrative meanders directionless through the years as "Janet" goes from school to school, country to country, opportunity to opportunity, spending an awful lot of time in her college and young adulthood (and this is supposed to be a children's book? I guess those distinctions mattered less in those days, especially if the author was one of key players in kidlit). I found the sequel Along Janet's Road to be a lot more coherent (and professionally interesting).

If you're especially interested in Dalgliesh herself, this might be worth a read; if you're doing one of those read-all-the-Newberys projects I think you can get by with reading the first fifty pages of this and skimming the rest.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

From her girlhood in Trinidad, to school in England, to teacher training in New York, and summers in Canada, Janet cherishes the silver pencil her father gave her one Christmas because of the imagination that she used in storytelling, and finally uses it to become a writer. Written in 1944 this Historical Fiction is Part Memoir: The author was born in Trinidad, British West Indies. Became a naturalized U.S. citizen; Educator, editor, book reviewer, and author,

Dalgliesh was an elementary school teacher for nearly seventeen years, writing her first book, A Happy School Year, in 1924. and later taught a course in children's literature at Columbia University. From 1934 to 1960 she served as children's book editor for Charles Scribner's Sons. In addition to her book reviews for such magazines as Saturday Review of Literature and Parents' Magazine, Dalgliesh wrote more than forty books for children (most illustrated by Katherine Milhous) and about children's literature.

Among her books are Newbery Honor books The Silver Pencil (1944), The Bears on Hemlock Mountain (1952), and The Courage of Sarah Noble (1954). In this classic, young Sarah learns how to be brave even when the world is strange and new. Perhaps this was the main plot in Dalgliesh’s novels.

The Silver Pencil, I don’t think, was written just for children because as Janet grows up and attends school in England she remembers her delight when reading Little Women and her curiosity of America. Dalgliesh goes on to follow her as an adult making her way in a new world where she is learning to make friends, try new things, fend for herself and build confidence to teach and write. A beautifully written, simple story, everyone can relate to.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. This was a well-written book and the main character, Janet, was interesting, but as a whole it just didn't do anything for me. In publishing today, it would be a hard book to place. The first parts in Trinidad and England place it solidly middle grades/YR (and I found this the most interesting) , but most of the book is YA or adult. Janet is very much a colonialist daughter in the early 20th c. She has almost no contact with the non-British children in Trinidad somehow managing not to come off as racist), but there are precious few other children mentioned, just 3 or 4 who also live on the Hill. She's the kid with the imagination, the book-lover and story writer. She travels to England for "education" like most colonials, and then back to Trinidad. Then off to the US for teacher's training and various schools. So many years are compressed in the book, it's almost as though the author didn't know how to describe school life at any length. After not writing for years as she studied, she picks up her pencil again while in hospital and then continues to write eventually writing/publishing a children's book. It's been noted elsewhere that Janet's life parallels the author's in several particulars. I read this for my 2019 Reading Challenge and my Newbery Challenge (Honor Book 1945).

[Maxine D'India Aeschleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet story about a girl that grows up in England. She receives a pencil writing kit when she is young and it inspires her to write stories. She gets busy and immigrates to America when she is 16.

She starts a life as a teacher and goes to school to get more training. Along the way she lives in many different places and from time to time pulls out her writing set and writes. Along her journey she struggles with confidence in herself and is forced to stay in a hospital for a time while dealing with Arthritis. When she spends a summer healing up along a Novia Scotia coast she writes a children’s book.

She moves back to New York where she had been studying at Columbia and decides to try to publish her book. This is where she must start believing in herself and having confidence that she can teach and that she can succeed.

Will she be able to make time to continue to write?

[Amber Scaife · Rating 2 out of 5]

Janet, an English girl growing up in Trinidad, loves to write stories and receives the eponymous writing instrument from her father as a Christmas present. Then he dies unexpectedly, and Janet and her mother set off for England for her schooling, then for America; eventually she ends up in Canada, all the while writing her life into stories along the way.
Meh. Even as I write up this summary I think it sounds like a book I would love. But, reader, I didn't. Nothing in it caught my interest and I was restless-reading through the whole thing. *shrug*

[Scott Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beggining in turn-of-the-century Caribbean, then England, and New England, it tells the story in episodes. It's not a typical novel plot. A British girl whose spent some childhood on a tropical island, after a brief stay in England, moved to America where she became a teacher.

"Thid Culture Kid" had not been coined yet. So without using the word, it has "TCK" moments throughout with a sort of "homecoming" climax.

Readers like my daughters may find themselves relating to the sense movable identity.

[Luci · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't find this book compelling. There was some vague racism, and generally speaking the characters weren't that interesting or compelling. My understanding is that this book is semi-biographical. For me, I didn't find that my feelings were engaged. I was shocked that this was a Newberry honor book, as usually Newberry books are better than this.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy the book but I probably wouldn't recommend it. Nothing particularly interesting happens, not that it's boring either. Just kind of average. There's some casual racism even though the protagonist was actually much more progressive than average for her time, so kind of out of date.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a young person's book, but well-written and I enjoyed it.