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Year of Miss Agnes
A year they'll never forget
Ten-year-old Frederika (Fred for short) doesn't have much faith that the new teacher in town will last very long. After all, they never do. Most teachers who come to their one-room schoolhouse in remote, Alaska leave at the first smell of fish, claiming that life there is just too hard.
But Miss Agnes is different -- she doesn't get frustrated with her students, and she throws away old textbooks and reads Robin Hood instead! For the first time, Fred and her classmates begin to enjoy their lessons and learn to read and write -- but will Miss Agnes be like all the rest and leave as quickly as she came?
Ten-year-old Frederika (Fred for short) doesn't have much faith that the new teacher in town will last very long. After all, they never do. Most teachers who come to their one-room schoolhouse in remote, Alaska leave at the first smell of fish, claiming that life there is just too hard.
But Miss Agnes is different -- she doesn't get frustrated with her students, and she throws away old textbooks and reads Robin Hood instead! For the first time, Fred and her classmates begin to enjoy their lessons and learn to read and write -- but will Miss Agnes be like all the rest and leave as quickly as she came?
Paperback
First published September 1, 2000
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About the author
Kirkpatrick Hill
12 books55 followersKirkpatrick Hill lives in Fairbanks, Alaska. She was an elementary school teacher for more than thirty years, most of that time in the Alaskan "bush." Hill is the mother of six children and the grandmother of eight. Her three earlier books, Toughboy and Sister, Winter Camp, and The Year of Miss Agnes, have all been immensely popular. Her fourth book with McElderry Books, Dancing at the Odinochka, was a Junior Library Guild Selection. Hill's visits to a family member in jail inspired her to write Do Not Pass Go.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 679 reviews
December 4, 2018
When I read Kirkpatrick Hill's The Year of Miss Agnes early this morning (I could not sleep and the novel was indeed a very fast and delightfully easy read), I felt both uplifted and also inexplicably much frustrated if not actually majorly annoyed (and managed to realise pretty quickly that MOST of my emerging issues and worries with regard to this generally well-written and engaging Middle Grade novel about a special and supportive teacher have to do with the double edged blade of cross-cultural education). Set in 1948 rural Alaska, and told as a first person narrative by ten year old Fred, an Athabaskan schoolgirl who does not much like being called by her given name of Frederika (which kind of tickles my fancy as Frederike is my middle name), The Year of Miss Agnes basically presents how Miss Agnes, an eccentric but lovingly dedicated British teacher, comes to the Alaskan frontier and opens the door to education and the joy of learning not only for Fred and her classmates, but also for many of the local adults (some of whom have always tended to consider school and book leaning as impractical, as useless for those who live off the land, who hunt, fish and forage in the woods).
Now Miss Agnes introduces Fred and the other students to the Greek myths, to geography, to European literature, music and science (and I do so much love how Miss Agnes teaches Fred's deaf sister Bokko sign language and how everyone in class learns to sign along with Bokko). However, while on the surface, exposing the students to and familiarising them with Western culture, with standard education and showing them the joys of learning is most definitely and of course to be seen as positive and laudable, and although Miss Agnes herself is indeed and in fact strongly described as an almost perfect type of teacher, as someone both progressive, supportive, and with an inherently positive, cheering attitude and disposition (who also teaches, who imparts knowledge through engagement, through encouragement and never through punishment), there are (at least for and to me) some rather potentially worrisome issues with paternalism and a seeming acceptance by the author, by Kirkpatrick Hill (and by extension, also by her literary creation of Miss Agnes, the perfect teacher) lurking below the surface that European culture is somehow inherently and by nature superior to Native Alaskan culture.
For while Miss Agnes' teaching her students about classic mythology, about British heroes such as Robin Hood, exposing them to the joys of listening to classical music, to the pleasure and importance of using microscopes for scientific research are always and intensely (and yes even with ample justification) narratively feted and cheered in The Year of Miss Agnes, Native Alaskan culture, lore and spirituality, the traditional, hunting and fishing based Athabaskan ways and means of life are, while not ever actively condemned or painted as in any manner evil or vile, nevertheless still mostly rather deliberately ignored, and there certainly does seem to be an unspoken but definitely strongly and with personal conviction presented authorial attitude that Native culture is really not inherently positive or praiseworthy, that Fred's home and native Athabaskan culture is at best peasant-like and vegetating, simply existing, whilst European culture is global, creative, philosophical, and as such to be imitated and emulated (and even if this is inadvertent, I did and do notice it in The Year of Miss Agnes and it bothers and troubles me).
Still I probably would be ranking The Year of Miss Agnes with three stars instead of the high two and a half star ranking I am considering (as even with my personal annoyances and issues regarding possible paternalism and implied European cultural superiority, I did for the most part rather enjoy the story and have found both Fred and Miss Agnes engaging and lovable characters, very much after my own heart), had Kirkpatrick Hill not have made such a point of trying to show that Fred's and her classmates' Native American Athabaskan language is somehow not the right, not the educated and appropriate way to communicate in an urban setting or at school. Sorry, but considering how historically (and in reality), how in almost all of the so-called American and Canadian residential schools, Native American and Native Canadian children were often severely and physically punished (caned and strapped, in other words viciously abused) for speaking their native tongues, their native languages (which were often even labeled by the teachers, by the residential school wardens and gatekeepers as being the Devil's speech), this type of attitude makes me both uncomfortable and massively disgusted, livid (and while I do admit that in The Year of Miss Agnes, Miss Agnes does in fact not ever seem to consider Athabaskan as a somehow evil and vile type of language that should not be used, period, the fact remains that Miss Agnes and in my opinion therefore also author Kirkpatrick Hill still only consider Athabaskan as an acceptable and appropriate language with family and friends on a limited and local level, and sorry, but this type of mindset is definitely and indeed still rather majorly problematic and disrespectful, as it continues to portray Athabaskan as a for all intents and purposes type of lower class and uneducated vernacular).
Now Miss Agnes introduces Fred and the other students to the Greek myths, to geography, to European literature, music and science (and I do so much love how Miss Agnes teaches Fred's deaf sister Bokko sign language and how everyone in class learns to sign along with Bokko). However, while on the surface, exposing the students to and familiarising them with Western culture, with standard education and showing them the joys of learning is most definitely and of course to be seen as positive and laudable, and although Miss Agnes herself is indeed and in fact strongly described as an almost perfect type of teacher, as someone both progressive, supportive, and with an inherently positive, cheering attitude and disposition (who also teaches, who imparts knowledge through engagement, through encouragement and never through punishment), there are (at least for and to me) some rather potentially worrisome issues with paternalism and a seeming acceptance by the author, by Kirkpatrick Hill (and by extension, also by her literary creation of Miss Agnes, the perfect teacher) lurking below the surface that European culture is somehow inherently and by nature superior to Native Alaskan culture.
For while Miss Agnes' teaching her students about classic mythology, about British heroes such as Robin Hood, exposing them to the joys of listening to classical music, to the pleasure and importance of using microscopes for scientific research are always and intensely (and yes even with ample justification) narratively feted and cheered in The Year of Miss Agnes, Native Alaskan culture, lore and spirituality, the traditional, hunting and fishing based Athabaskan ways and means of life are, while not ever actively condemned or painted as in any manner evil or vile, nevertheless still mostly rather deliberately ignored, and there certainly does seem to be an unspoken but definitely strongly and with personal conviction presented authorial attitude that Native culture is really not inherently positive or praiseworthy, that Fred's home and native Athabaskan culture is at best peasant-like and vegetating, simply existing, whilst European culture is global, creative, philosophical, and as such to be imitated and emulated (and even if this is inadvertent, I did and do notice it in The Year of Miss Agnes and it bothers and troubles me).
Still I probably would be ranking The Year of Miss Agnes with three stars instead of the high two and a half star ranking I am considering (as even with my personal annoyances and issues regarding possible paternalism and implied European cultural superiority, I did for the most part rather enjoy the story and have found both Fred and Miss Agnes engaging and lovable characters, very much after my own heart), had Kirkpatrick Hill not have made such a point of trying to show that Fred's and her classmates' Native American Athabaskan language is somehow not the right, not the educated and appropriate way to communicate in an urban setting or at school. Sorry, but considering how historically (and in reality), how in almost all of the so-called American and Canadian residential schools, Native American and Native Canadian children were often severely and physically punished (caned and strapped, in other words viciously abused) for speaking their native tongues, their native languages (which were often even labeled by the teachers, by the residential school wardens and gatekeepers as being the Devil's speech), this type of attitude makes me both uncomfortable and massively disgusted, livid (and while I do admit that in The Year of Miss Agnes, Miss Agnes does in fact not ever seem to consider Athabaskan as a somehow evil and vile type of language that should not be used, period, the fact remains that Miss Agnes and in my opinion therefore also author Kirkpatrick Hill still only consider Athabaskan as an acceptable and appropriate language with family and friends on a limited and local level, and sorry, but this type of mindset is definitely and indeed still rather majorly problematic and disrespectful, as it continues to portray Athabaskan as a for all intents and purposes type of lower class and uneducated vernacular).
October 22, 2023
Set in remote Alaska in 1948, this award-winning classic deals with the arrival of a magical teacher to a tiny Indian village. English-born Miss Agnes had been on her way back to England after years of teaching in Allakaket, Alaska, when she’s persuaded to fill in for the rest of the year for a teacher who fled 10-year-old Fred’s (that’s for Frederika) one-room school in October.
Miss Agnes literally gets rid of the out-of-date, second-hand textbooks, and teaches the students to read, write and figure — as well as about the wider world, art, literature, music, science and even sign language! Children who had loathed school, a place that made them feel stupid and smelly and weird, now love learning. But will Miss Agnes leave at the end of the school year like all the others?
As a teacher, I found Miss Agnes humbling. As with the books Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56, My Posse Don't Do Homework and The Freedom Writers Diary or the movies Stand and Deliver or The Miracle Worker, I can only dream of being half as capable as these education heroes. Yes, this is a children’s book, but one that anyone would adore. I will be reading more from Alaskan-born author Kirkpatrick Hill, who spent three decades teaching in remote Alaska, like Miss Agnes.
Miss Agnes literally gets rid of the out-of-date, second-hand textbooks, and teaches the students to read, write and figure — as well as about the wider world, art, literature, music, science and even sign language! Children who had loathed school, a place that made them feel stupid and smelly and weird, now love learning. But will Miss Agnes leave at the end of the school year like all the others?
As a teacher, I found Miss Agnes humbling. As with the books Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56, My Posse Don't Do Homework and The Freedom Writers Diary or the movies Stand and Deliver or The Miracle Worker, I can only dream of being half as capable as these education heroes. Yes, this is a children’s book, but one that anyone would adore. I will be reading more from Alaskan-born author Kirkpatrick Hill, who spent three decades teaching in remote Alaska, like Miss Agnes.
January 10, 2009
I decided to read this after my incredible colleague, third grade teacher read it aloud to her class, to see what all the buzz was about. British Miss Agnes lands in rural Alaska after WWII. An inspirational teacher who illuminates the lives of all she touches in her one-room schoolhouse. The author, clearly a seasoned schoolteacher, conveys the real excitement for school learning and how it applies to the "real world." A teacher's book!
November 11, 2010
I read this to my seven year old and I think he enjoyed it. It is about a British teacher who comes to a rural Alaskan school in 1948. The parts about Alaskan life are really quite interesting. The author was raised in Alaska, so I presume she knows her stuff.
On the other hand, this was yet another one of those "Teacher Comes and Inspires Poor Students Where All Teachers Have Failed Before." It's a story that has been done a million times. And to be honest--speaking as a teacher myself--it is not a very realistic scenario! Anyway Miss Agnes wins everyone over, including the narrator's stern and bossy mother. Cliched, yes, but you can't help falling for it....
editted to add: Probably the best "teacher" stories are "To Sir, With Love" because it is a black teacher winning over white underprivileged students rather than the all too typical white teacher. Another good story is "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" the story of a never married teacher who quietly devotes his life to his students. Probably the Mr. Chips story shows the typical experience of many actual teachers.
On the other hand, this was yet another one of those "Teacher Comes and Inspires Poor Students Where All Teachers Have Failed Before." It's a story that has been done a million times. And to be honest--speaking as a teacher myself--it is not a very realistic scenario! Anyway Miss Agnes wins everyone over, including the narrator's stern and bossy mother. Cliched, yes, but you can't help falling for it....
editted to add: Probably the best "teacher" stories are "To Sir, With Love" because it is a black teacher winning over white underprivileged students rather than the all too typical white teacher. Another good story is "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" the story of a never married teacher who quietly devotes his life to his students. Probably the Mr. Chips story shows the typical experience of many actual teachers.
August 22, 2023
Short little beautiful book- maybe middle grade or younger but still a heart warming story for adults.
What an important lesson for us all to remember. Every child is important and learning is power!!
Loved learning about the Alaskan history woven throughout the story too.
“‘You have to keep learning all your life,’ she said. That was a good thing to think about, always learn something new.”
What an important lesson for us all to remember. Every child is important and learning is power!!
Loved learning about the Alaskan history woven throughout the story too.
“‘You have to keep learning all your life,’ she said. That was a good thing to think about, always learn something new.”
March 2, 2013
Juvenile Historic Fiction: Set in a small interior Alaskan village (Koyukuk) in 1948
This short book is out of the mold of stories with " teacher who becomes beloved."
The community with its one room school-house has trouble finding and keeping a teacher for the children. Miss Agnes, who is intercepted as she is returning to England after many years of devoted teaching in another remote Alaskan village (Allakaket), answers the call to teach for a year in Koyukuk and delays her return home to England.
The story is told from the point of view of ten year old Fred(erika). She adores the new teacher with her caring teaching that opens the schoolchildren's hearts and minds to the excitement of learning.
The teacher creates meaningful language experience stories for each child and accepts as normal the coming and goings of children who do not live year round in the village. Fred is sad when the school year ends and the teacher flies back to England.
Miss Agnes makes a particular difference for Fred's sister Bokko who is deaf and has not received schooling. When Miss Agnes learns of the situation, she advocates for Bokko and includes her in the school, introducing sign language to everyone. (The kids catch on faster than the teacher!)
Value of the book: provides culturally authentic environment and appealing characters for Alaska children to relate to while offering outsiders a glimpse of an unfamiliar world with a familiar-enough story for school kids everywhere.
Well worth reading with two caveats:
1. the story type is somewhat predictable
2. since the book lacks a strong conflict, it may fail to capture the interest of readers who prefer action/adventure rather than character-focused fiction.
This short book is out of the mold of stories with " teacher who becomes beloved."
The community with its one room school-house has trouble finding and keeping a teacher for the children. Miss Agnes, who is intercepted as she is returning to England after many years of devoted teaching in another remote Alaskan village (Allakaket), answers the call to teach for a year in Koyukuk and delays her return home to England.
The story is told from the point of view of ten year old Fred(erika). She adores the new teacher with her caring teaching that opens the schoolchildren's hearts and minds to the excitement of learning.
The teacher creates meaningful language experience stories for each child and accepts as normal the coming and goings of children who do not live year round in the village. Fred is sad when the school year ends and the teacher flies back to England.
Miss Agnes makes a particular difference for Fred's sister Bokko who is deaf and has not received schooling. When Miss Agnes learns of the situation, she advocates for Bokko and includes her in the school, introducing sign language to everyone. (The kids catch on faster than the teacher!)
Value of the book: provides culturally authentic environment and appealing characters for Alaska children to relate to while offering outsiders a glimpse of an unfamiliar world with a familiar-enough story for school kids everywhere.
Well worth reading with two caveats:
1. the story type is somewhat predictable
2. since the book lacks a strong conflict, it may fail to capture the interest of readers who prefer action/adventure rather than character-focused fiction.
February 23, 2018
Living in the cold and remote Alaska, Frederika misses the good opportunities of school. Even though she's always reminded that school education is not necessary for living in a place where physical labour is mandatory, she still finds herself constantly longing for a good teacher. When no new teacher lasts in this school for more than a few months, Fred's heart starts to sink down. At that moment, arrives Miss Agnes, a teacher who will change everyone's lives.
The novella basically emphasizes on the importance of a good teacher. It's always important for a teacher to realise the effect he/she has on her young students. The young children are like molten gold, they will become in the shape of whatever molds you put them into. This concept is prioritised throughout the novella. Under the surface of simple diction, fun adventures and stories, there lies a strong life lesson for everyone.
Overall, I think it's a good novella for both the young and the olders.
The novella basically emphasizes on the importance of a good teacher. It's always important for a teacher to realise the effect he/she has on her young students. The young children are like molten gold, they will become in the shape of whatever molds you put them into. This concept is prioritised throughout the novella. Under the surface of simple diction, fun adventures and stories, there lies a strong life lesson for everyone.
Overall, I think it's a good novella for both the young and the olders.
July 30, 2019
Fred and her sister, Bokko have seen a long line of teachers come and go in their Alaskan village of Athabascan. They stay a very short time since the smell of fish, the harsh winters and the difficult living conditions drive them back to a milder climate and easier way of life. But, Miss Agnes is different. She respects the children, teaches them about geography, music, art and the English language as they were never taught before. The children of the village slowly, surely see themselves as worthwhile and capable of making something of their lives. They begin to relish their days at school, and when their chores take them away from school, they miss the lively and beckoning ways of Miss Agnes. She, too, however, agreed to be their teacher for only a year. And, when that year is up...the children are sad, yet take away a new found belief in themselves and their lives.
October 17, 2008
This is a quick read. I think I read it in three hours today to our three children.
Each said they loved it. My oldest said, "the teacher was inspiring and requiring but the kids loved the way she required them to do things without really seeing it as work it sounds like homeschooling".
Koyukuk, Alaska is a real place with about 90ish people living there today. I checked the temp and it's nine degrees right now!
I think this book is a nice reminder for the whole family about the joy in learning and discovering answers in simple ways.
You will receive a glimpse into the life of the Athabascan Indians. Their routines for survival which take the children (set in 1948) away from the small school to hunt and prepare food for the families.
Each said they loved it. My oldest said, "the teacher was inspiring and requiring but the kids loved the way she required them to do things without really seeing it as work it sounds like homeschooling".
Koyukuk, Alaska is a real place with about 90ish people living there today. I checked the temp and it's nine degrees right now!
I think this book is a nice reminder for the whole family about the joy in learning and discovering answers in simple ways.
You will receive a glimpse into the life of the Athabascan Indians. Their routines for survival which take the children (set in 1948) away from the small school to hunt and prepare food for the families.
May 31, 2021
3.5 stars
While written for younger children, this story was fun to read. I don’t read many stories set in small villages in Alaska and this one brought characters to life even if they weren’t in the story much. It was written in first person from the perspective of a 10-year-old. I liked how Miss Agnes taught and encouraged each of her students pointing out what they were good at and helping them want to learn.
While written for younger children, this story was fun to read. I don’t read many stories set in small villages in Alaska and this one brought characters to life even if they weren’t in the story much. It was written in first person from the perspective of a 10-year-old. I liked how Miss Agnes taught and encouraged each of her students pointing out what they were good at and helping them want to learn.
April 18, 2021
How I love old stories, they have the right feel to it, the right language, the right characters, the right setting, the genuine article! And how I love, as a teacher, stories about good, wholesome teachers and such an inspiring one at that. It took me by surprise when at the end of the book I started crying and laughing at the same time. Unexpected ending!
A must read for any teacher 🥰
A must read for any teacher 🥰
March 10, 2021
This was such a sweet story set in Alaska about a small school and a teacher who comes from England and changes their lives. I loved it!
August 28, 2024
The year they will always remember.
This story is set in a tiny Indian village in remote Alaska in 1948. Miss Agnes is on her way back to England after teaching many years in Allakaket, Alaska, when she is persuaded to take the teaching position in a one room school not far away. She is a remarkable teacher that obviously loves her job. She is loving, caring, encouraging, and an inspiration for all her students who quickly fall in love with her and learning. Something that had been lacking at this small school.
Fantastic book with a very positive message. Will need to share this one with my granddaughters. Goes to show what a positive impact teachers can have on their students.
I am a wife of a teacher starting his 48th. year today in the classroom. I am proud to say two of my daughters have followed in his footsteps as well. All three of them teach the same grade. I highly recommend this book to all teachers, students, the young and the old.
This story is set in a tiny Indian village in remote Alaska in 1948. Miss Agnes is on her way back to England after teaching many years in Allakaket, Alaska, when she is persuaded to take the teaching position in a one room school not far away. She is a remarkable teacher that obviously loves her job. She is loving, caring, encouraging, and an inspiration for all her students who quickly fall in love with her and learning. Something that had been lacking at this small school.
Fantastic book with a very positive message. Will need to share this one with my granddaughters. Goes to show what a positive impact teachers can have on their students.
I am a wife of a teacher starting his 48th. year today in the classroom. I am proud to say two of my daughters have followed in his footsteps as well. All three of them teach the same grade. I highly recommend this book to all teachers, students, the young and the old.
March 9, 2024
What a great reminder of how the love, creative teaching ideas, and dedication of a teacher can stay with a child for life. Just finished this with the 3rd group of kids in our family and they enjoyed just like the others did.
A bit harder to read out-loud because of accents and sentence structures, but worth pushing through.
We have friends who moved to Alaska recently so it was wonderful to learn more about that culture.
A bit harder to read out-loud because of accents and sentence structures, but worth pushing through.
We have friends who moved to Alaska recently so it was wonderful to learn more about that culture.
September 4, 2025
Wow!
I love reading about one room school houses. This teacher ignites a love for learning in a small Alaskan village. It was so interesting to imagine living 75 years ago and in a remote village.
This is one of my favorite read alouds yet, and reading aloud to Matthew feels like one of our best wins lately (well, and always has been).
I love reading about one room school houses. This teacher ignites a love for learning in a small Alaskan village. It was so interesting to imagine living 75 years ago and in a remote village.
This is one of my favorite read alouds yet, and reading aloud to Matthew feels like one of our best wins lately (well, and always has been).
March 21, 2025
I read the second book first, but this still was good! An Athabascan tribe gets a new teacher, in Alaska. She shows them how enjoyable and meaningful school can be! Recommended for all ages!
January 22, 2021
I liked the description of Alaskan life but didn't much care for the idolization of Miss Agnes although it was to be expected. Maybe I wanted Miss Agnes to adopt and incorporate more of the student’s lifestyle and culture. I was disappointed that the book didn't have much of a story line. I tended to skim through the chapters hoping there would be more of a plot but it was really just a series of memories about a woman with an effective and admired teaching style.
September 27, 2019
This was an interesting look at Alaskan culture in the 40s, and also a nice tribute to the many ways that a caring, dedicated teacher can help to empower a community in just one year.
Update: My kids (7 and 4) really seemed to enjoy it as well. On the second read-through I was more aware of the narrator's "voice" -- with the occasional double negative or slang terms thrown in for authenticity.
Update: My kids (7 and 4) really seemed to enjoy it as well. On the second read-through I was more aware of the narrator's "voice" -- with the occasional double negative or slang terms thrown in for authenticity.
May 26, 2008
SLJ Best Books 2000 - Lexile 790. Teaching is a subversive activity. It opens the mind and allows new and bigger dreams than maybe countenanced by the society. Not that this book shows the animosity of the community - rather it shows the benefit to the entire community when someone exposes the community to the whole world. I Loved Miss Agnes as a teacher - I wish they all were like that!
July 14, 2018
I read this with my 10 year old son since it was on the Reading Olympics list. It was a sweet little book about a great teacher and some students in a rural area. Some of it focused on a girl who could not hear finally attending school and learning sign language. We enjoyed it, but it wasn't one of our favorites. Maybe because it was a bit short.
February 4, 2018
I knew next to nothing about the Indian population of Alaska, let alone in the middle of the 20th century, so this was very interesting.
I loved how that wonderful teacher really appreciated each and every one of the children, and I love the little scene towards the end where the special talents of each of them are named.
A lovely and uplifting little story.
I loved how that wonderful teacher really appreciated each and every one of the children, and I love the little scene towards the end where the special talents of each of them are named.
A lovely and uplifting little story.
November 6, 2015
An ok book. Read with my daughter, almost 7 years old. Great message about how a teacher in Alaska truly changed children's lives. The book itself was not as engaging and felt juvenile. I did like many of the topics they covered- it stimulated discussion of timelines, maps, etc.
January 27, 2016
I'd probably have given this 4 stars if I read it just for myself. But my 5yo and I read it together, taking turns, and I enjoyed the experience! It's the first time she's ever let me read aloud to her since she learned to read, and the first time she ever read a book with no pictures!
October 21, 2018
I wish I knew someone who was about to become a teacher. I'd buy them this sweet story that shows the power of a good, caring teacher.
April 14, 2021
I want to be Miss Agnes. (Side note: When I told the kids she'd be my spirit animal if I believed in that sort of thing, Lily dubbed her my "fiction person." There you have it. Miss Agnes is my fiction person. Who's yours?)
I am seriously considering if this is my new most favorite book ever.
It has been such a profound experience that I am planning to offer the library whatever amount they demand for me to be able to keep forever the actual physical copy from this first reading experience because I don't want to ever be far from it.
Note: If you aren't an education geek, specifically a Charlotte Masony, For the Children's Sake type, you probably don't need to fear having a similar overreaction. 😂 But if you are, this is basically true education in novel form. You could seriously just copy what she does in this book and your children would thrive.
Now excuse me while I go learn sign language and write little books for my children.
I am seriously considering if this is my new most favorite book ever.
It has been such a profound experience that I am planning to offer the library whatever amount they demand for me to be able to keep forever the actual physical copy from this first reading experience because I don't want to ever be far from it.
Note: If you aren't an education geek, specifically a Charlotte Masony, For the Children's Sake type, you probably don't need to fear having a similar overreaction. 😂 But if you are, this is basically true education in novel form. You could seriously just copy what she does in this book and your children would thrive.
Now excuse me while I go learn sign language and write little books for my children.
March 25, 2025
This is one of the most delightful chapter books I’ve ever read. It is a wonderful tale of a good and kind teacher’s impact on the children in this classroom in Alaska. It will make children excited to learn and allow them to see how education applies to everyday life. It was also encouraging for me to read as an educator and gave me some ideas for the future.
September 26, 2022
What a delightful little read! I know it's a children's book, but I think a few more years in my belt prepared me to love it more. Miss Agnes, y'all. What a jewel of a teacher. Where is the how-to volume to become more like her??
I ugly cried toward the end, and left my kids in their room for too long after nap time to get myself together. Absolutely enjoyed this one.
I ugly cried toward the end, and left my kids in their room for too long after nap time to get myself together. Absolutely enjoyed this one.
September 9, 2025
I read this a few times in elementary school and then read it again in sixth grade at the same time as The Island by Gary Paulsen, so those two books give me the same feeling.
A world so different from my own, but still in the same country.
A world so different from my own, but still in the same country.
April 16, 2021
Excellent family read-aloud for all ages. Simple but beautiful writing. The ending was perfect.
February 26, 2023
This is a really unique and special book. Fred’s voice is so authentic—childlike and wise and profound and simple all at the same time. Very inspiring and beautiful, so happy to have read it!
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