The Pastor's Kids

by Connie Kronlokken

A town of nine square blocks, surrounded by wheat fields along a railroad line in eastern North Dakota, makes an intense and magical world for Caroline (Line), Margaret (Marty) and Paul, the three middle children of the Lutheran pastor and his wife, the Mikkelsons. The Cold War feels very far away and post-World War II optimism reigns. Nevertheless, Mother and Dad are alarmed by the inroads of popular culture upon their high-minded Scandinavian immigrant world, and Paul’s young life is threatened with a bout of polio which calls up all their extended family’s resources.

The story is told in the successive points of view of Line, who sticks up for other kids in trouble; Marty, who wishes she were pretty instead of smart; and Paul, who revels in the natural world around him. This tale, of morality, the everyday, the recurrent, is as ancient as it is modern.

270 pages, Paperback

First published February 13, 2015

About the author

Connie Kronlokken grew up in a large Norwegian/Danish Lutheran family. She spent her childhood in small towns across Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa. In 1969 she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband Don Starnes. Connie studied filmmaking in Denmark and has been a student of yang style tai chi for 25 years. She loves being with her family, the march of the seasons, cooking and gardening. She's been parsing romance from reality for most of her life.

Reviews

[Connie Kronlokken]

I re-read this book for the first time in several years in order to edit it once more. I loved reading it, the characters so lively, growing in the shade of their unique parents in optimistic post-war America.

[Debra Jeakins · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE PASTORS KIDS BY CONNIE KRONLOKKEN is set in a small town in the 1960's focusing on the lives of three children Line, Marty & Paul,each growing up and living their lives very different but together. Line who is the fighter of the weak, Marty who is pretty but wants to be something else & Paul who fights polio and sees the world as God sees it,full of nature and wonder.

I grew up in the 60's just like them , times of backyard fun,neighborhood friends & family. Like them my family was struggling and I was wearing hand me downs & like them I had family & I really identified with each of the children. I really looked at this book as kind of my fictional family. The author made them so real you have to remind yourself this is fiction.

I received this book from librarythings in exchange for a review

[Naomi]

Silloo and I finally finished reading this together. It was wonderful revisiting my childhood in this way and sharing it with her. My recollections are with the eyes and understanding of one who was a bit younger than Connie, so I enjoyed how her perspective informed my memories. I am so glad that this unique experience and set of values from that time have been recorded, along with the specific setting in history. I was surprised at how Christian it was, but then our lives were pretty much permeated with that. Because we were reading aloud, when a hymn came up in the book, I sang it! The melodies are all still there for me.

[Kimberly Bega · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book brought to life a time and places very different from my own. It was fun to see how events in the larger world, such as the launch of Sputnik or the 1960 presidential campaign, connected with the Mikkelsons in their small Midwestern towns. The polio section was especially moving; it is one thing to learn in school that FDR was in a wheelchair due to polio and another to watch it unfold in this story as it affects a child and family. I am curious to see what happens to the Mikkelsons next.

[Danielle Mootz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very heartfelt sorry. I didn't connect as much as I hoped.