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Rosetown #2
Rosetown Summer
From Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant comes the sweet and resonant follow-up to the critically acclaimed Rosetown , continuing the story of nine-year-old Flora Smallwood’s life in quiet Rosetown, Indiana.
It is August in Rosetown, Indiana.
Ten-year-old Flora is having a calm and busy summer filled with old friends and new projects, dear pets, and, of course, many hours at her favorite Wings and a Chair Used Books. It is her constant and her comfort.
But change may be ahead for Wings and a Chair, and Flora is uneasy about what it will bring.
It is August in Rosetown, Indiana.
Ten-year-old Flora is having a calm and busy summer filled with old friends and new projects, dear pets, and, of course, many hours at her favorite Wings and a Chair Used Books. It is her constant and her comfort.
But change may be ahead for Wings and a Chair, and Flora is uneasy about what it will bring.
96 pages, Hardcover
Published July 20, 2021
About the author
Cynthia Rylant
389 books890 followersCynthia Rylant is an American author, poet, and librarian whose deeply felt books for children and young adults have made her one of the most beloved voices in contemporary literature. Writing across picture books, novels, short stories, nonfiction, and poetry, she has published more than one hundred works, many of them rooted in memory, family, solitude, and the emotional landscapes of ordinary life. Her fiction often draws from her upbringing in West Virginia and reflects the textures of Appalachian life with unusual tenderness and clarity.
Raised in modest circumstances, Rylant spent much of her childhood with her grandparents in a rural setting that later became central to her imagination as a writer. Those early years, marked by hardship as well as warmth, shaped the emotional honesty and quiet resilience that define her work. She later studied English and library science, and after working as a waitress, librarian, and teacher, she began publishing books inspired by the world she had known so intimately.
Among her most acclaimed works are Missing May, which received the Newbery Medal, and A Fine White Dust, a Newbery Honor Book. She also earned Caldecott Honors for When I Was Young in the Mountains and The Relatives Came. For younger readers, she became especially well known through the enduring Henry and Mudge series, as well as other popular books and series that combine gentleness, humor, and emotional depth.
Rylant's writing is distinguished by its compassion for lonely, searching, or overlooked characters, and by its reverence for animals, nature, and small human connections. Whether writing about grief, wonder, childhood, or belonging, she brings a lyrical simplicity that resonates across generations. Her books continue to offer comfort, recognition, and beauty to readers of all ages. She remains a singular literary presence in children's literature and beyond today.
Raised in modest circumstances, Rylant spent much of her childhood with her grandparents in a rural setting that later became central to her imagination as a writer. Those early years, marked by hardship as well as warmth, shaped the emotional honesty and quiet resilience that define her work. She later studied English and library science, and after working as a waitress, librarian, and teacher, she began publishing books inspired by the world she had known so intimately.
Among her most acclaimed works are Missing May, which received the Newbery Medal, and A Fine White Dust, a Newbery Honor Book. She also earned Caldecott Honors for When I Was Young in the Mountains and The Relatives Came. For younger readers, she became especially well known through the enduring Henry and Mudge series, as well as other popular books and series that combine gentleness, humor, and emotional depth.
Rylant's writing is distinguished by its compassion for lonely, searching, or overlooked characters, and by its reverence for animals, nature, and small human connections. Whether writing about grief, wonder, childhood, or belonging, she brings a lyrical simplicity that resonates across generations. Her books continue to offer comfort, recognition, and beauty to readers of all ages. She remains a singular literary presence in children's literature and beyond today.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
July 11, 2021
This is a wonderful slice of life book set in the heartland in the 1970's. Flora and her best friend Nessy are front and center and enjoying summer in Rosetown, Indiana. We also see a bit of Yury, Flora's new friend in the first book. The major conflict is knowing whether or not Miss Merriweather, the librarian, is really going to leave for Montana. For a young girl like Flora, the prospect of a big change like this is unsettling and through much of the book she is wondering about this very question. Fortunately she also shares her struggles with adults in her life. I was just reading about an upcoming book Dear Highlights: What Adults Can Learn from 75 Years of Letters and Conversations with Kids and how so many adults have forgotten what it is like to be a child. Cynthia Rylant has a gift for taking us into the hearts and minds of children like Rosa. For young readers, it must be so comforting to see that Flora has the same types of concerns and questions that they do.
Thank you to Beach Lane Books and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Beach Lane Books and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
April 20, 2021
I love the sweet nostalgia of this book, and Flora's thoughtful negotiation of challenging issues. In this one, a gentle approach to change -- not just the changes that might happen to her beloved bookstore, but also the changes that are happening around her as her friends find ways to follow their own interests. Flora finds way to support them, and is supported in turn. I am a huge sucker for letterpress and libraries, so of course I am enjoying this series.
Advanced Readers' Copy provided by Edelweiss.
Advanced Readers' Copy provided by Edelweiss.
August 2, 2021
A tender book and sometimes I wonder if Cynthia Rylant's audience includes nostalgic adults like me? The book is set in 1973 and it is exactly like childhood was for me in the 70s. Happy and educational and adventurous and surrounded by caring adults. I like how Cynthia's books offer a wholesome alternative lifestyle,,,a kind of quality of life that I know I, for one, am striving for,,,contentment in small kindnesses and respect and laughter.
August 7, 2021
First sentence: Rosetown Paper and Press sat on Main Street in Rosetown, Indiana, and it was one of Flora Smallwood’s favorite places to be. The shop belonged to Flora’s mother and father, and all of its beautiful cards and calendars and journals had been printed on an old-fashioned letterpress in the back room.
Premise/plot: Yesterday I reviewed Rosetown by Cynthia Rylant. Rosetown Summer is the sequel. It is set in the summer of 1972 in Rosetown, Indiana. Fourth grade is complete, and Flora and Yury have the whole summer ahead. But change is coming...the owner of Wings and a Chair Used Books may be moving away!
My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved the first book. I love, love, love this second book. Flora and I are just kindred spirits I tell you. Except FLORA is better with glue. Definitely better at glue! This was just a treat of a book.
Quotes:
Yury says I should write stories,” Flora said. “But I’d rather read them.”
Her father nodded. “I’d rather look at photographs than take them,” he said.
“Really?” asked Flora.
“But I guess if all photographers felt that way,” answered her father, “we wouldn’t have any photographs to look at.”
The bookshop had, in many ways, become their story, Flora and Yury’s. Every story needs a setting and a beginning, and Wings and a Chair had given them both.
“Is Miss Meriwether going to move away?” she asked her mother. Flora wasn’t sure she really wanted to know the answer. When a question is so big inside one’s mind, sometimes a person does not really want to know its answer.
Her mother sighed. She looked away a moment, then looked back at Flora.
“She seems torn,” Flora’s mother said. “Miss Meriwether is at one of life’s crossroads: to stay or to go. This is a problem many people face.”
Flora shook her head. “Not me,” she said. “I would always choose to stay.”
Her mother smiled. “But if you aren’t at a crossroads yet, dear,” she said, “how can you know? Sometimes a person really must choose between two good things.”
Two good things, thought Flora.
“I would choose the thing that involved a cat,” she said.
Her mother laughed.
“Could I help you with Toddler Story Time until school starts?” she asked, looking partly at his large friendly face and partly at the craft table in the far corner.
“I am good with glue,” she added.
Mr. Anderson hesitated for just a moment, and then he laughed.
“You’re hired!” he said. “I am terrible with glue!”
Mr. Anderson was pleased to see her.
“Good morning, Flora!” He beamed at her. “Are you ready to get started? We need lettuces and carrots and paper pails to put them in. Here, let me show you.”
And just like that, Flora stepped from the old to the new. Here she was, by herself, being Flora in a different way. She could hardly believe it. This thing she was doing alone.
“Do you remember the story of Peter Rabbit?” Flora asked Nessy.
“Sure,” said Nessy. “He squeezed under the gate.”
“He did,” said Flora. “Mr. Anderson read it to the toddlers today, and they listened to every word. Two little girls held hands while they listened.”
“That was us,” said Nessy with a giggle.
Flora regarded this necklace as something so meaningful that she had carefully put it away and planned to wear it only on special occasions.
So why she decided to start wearing it every day during these ordinary last days of summer, Flora wasn’t sure. One morning she opened a dresser drawer, removed the box, and put the necklace around her neck. And now she did this every morning.
There is a meaning to some things that a person cannot always define. When an object has some link to the heart, it is often because it came from someone dear or was loved by someone dear who has passed away. Or sometimes the object is a treasured reminder of an experience: a winning game, the first sight of the ocean, a project carried through with intense devotion.
“Did you know that people used to ride horses to the bank in Rosetown?” she asked him. She would have to think all of her many thoughts later.
“You have told me that a million times,” said Yury with a smile.
Flora smiled too. They had spent a lot of time together if a story had been shared a million times. A lot of time. Enough for a foundation.
Flora bent over and gave Friday a big hug.
Maybe someday she would take Yury to see the Tree of Life.
But for now it was almost time to start fifth grade.
What a beautiful day this was. In Rosetown, Indiana.
Premise/plot: Yesterday I reviewed Rosetown by Cynthia Rylant. Rosetown Summer is the sequel. It is set in the summer of 1972 in Rosetown, Indiana. Fourth grade is complete, and Flora and Yury have the whole summer ahead. But change is coming...the owner of Wings and a Chair Used Books may be moving away!
My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved the first book. I love, love, love this second book. Flora and I are just kindred spirits I tell you. Except FLORA is better with glue. Definitely better at glue! This was just a treat of a book.
Quotes:
Yury says I should write stories,” Flora said. “But I’d rather read them.”
Her father nodded. “I’d rather look at photographs than take them,” he said.
“Really?” asked Flora.
“But I guess if all photographers felt that way,” answered her father, “we wouldn’t have any photographs to look at.”
The bookshop had, in many ways, become their story, Flora and Yury’s. Every story needs a setting and a beginning, and Wings and a Chair had given them both.
“Is Miss Meriwether going to move away?” she asked her mother. Flora wasn’t sure she really wanted to know the answer. When a question is so big inside one’s mind, sometimes a person does not really want to know its answer.
Her mother sighed. She looked away a moment, then looked back at Flora.
“She seems torn,” Flora’s mother said. “Miss Meriwether is at one of life’s crossroads: to stay or to go. This is a problem many people face.”
Flora shook her head. “Not me,” she said. “I would always choose to stay.”
Her mother smiled. “But if you aren’t at a crossroads yet, dear,” she said, “how can you know? Sometimes a person really must choose between two good things.”
Two good things, thought Flora.
“I would choose the thing that involved a cat,” she said.
Her mother laughed.
“Could I help you with Toddler Story Time until school starts?” she asked, looking partly at his large friendly face and partly at the craft table in the far corner.
“I am good with glue,” she added.
Mr. Anderson hesitated for just a moment, and then he laughed.
“You’re hired!” he said. “I am terrible with glue!”
Mr. Anderson was pleased to see her.
“Good morning, Flora!” He beamed at her. “Are you ready to get started? We need lettuces and carrots and paper pails to put them in. Here, let me show you.”
And just like that, Flora stepped from the old to the new. Here she was, by herself, being Flora in a different way. She could hardly believe it. This thing she was doing alone.
“Do you remember the story of Peter Rabbit?” Flora asked Nessy.
“Sure,” said Nessy. “He squeezed under the gate.”
“He did,” said Flora. “Mr. Anderson read it to the toddlers today, and they listened to every word. Two little girls held hands while they listened.”
“That was us,” said Nessy with a giggle.
Flora regarded this necklace as something so meaningful that she had carefully put it away and planned to wear it only on special occasions.
So why she decided to start wearing it every day during these ordinary last days of summer, Flora wasn’t sure. One morning she opened a dresser drawer, removed the box, and put the necklace around her neck. And now she did this every morning.
There is a meaning to some things that a person cannot always define. When an object has some link to the heart, it is often because it came from someone dear or was loved by someone dear who has passed away. Or sometimes the object is a treasured reminder of an experience: a winning game, the first sight of the ocean, a project carried through with intense devotion.
“Did you know that people used to ride horses to the bank in Rosetown?” she asked him. She would have to think all of her many thoughts later.
“You have told me that a million times,” said Yury with a smile.
Flora smiled too. They had spent a lot of time together if a story had been shared a million times. A lot of time. Enough for a foundation.
Flora bent over and gave Friday a big hug.
Maybe someday she would take Yury to see the Tree of Life.
But for now it was almost time to start fifth grade.
What a beautiful day this was. In Rosetown, Indiana.
December 19, 2021
I didn't think anything could be more delightful and charming than Rosetown, but the sequel was absolutely perfect. Here, Flora and the other residents of Rosetown enjoy summer with many different adventures. Hope to see more of these very sweet characters. I just love this author's stories! I read Rosetown to my son for school, I read this one for myself♡
August 5, 2023
2023: Rosetown Summer is full of the same quiet insight as the first book, Rosetown. It covers just one month in the life of 10-year-old Flora as she navigates growth and change in August of 1973. I enjoyed this little sequel, and I look forward to the next book.
May 19, 2024
There is something about Cynthia Rylant's writing that is so peaceful.
February 8, 2026
What a beautiful follow-up to the first book! I loved as Flora learned to adjust to life's changes while growing herself as a person. Everything was so sweet and homey. 💚
I can't wait for the final book.
I can't wait for the final book.
June 12, 2021
This story was far too fanciful for me. Not much ever happens. It’s a slow, sweet story about a girl dealing with small changes occurring all around her. I’m not sure who this story was targeted toward, but I don’t see many children reaching for this story on the shelves. Nothing about it is super relatable or interesting. Flora was dull and, while concerned about changes such as Miss Meriwether leaving, never did anything about it. #netgalley
June 27, 2021
In Rosetown (2018), Flora Smallwood struggled to accept her parents' separation. Now, in Rosetown Summer, her parents have reconciled, but her beloved favorite bookstore, Wings and a Chair, which has been so central to her relationship with her best friend Yury is likely to close, and she can't imagine saying goodbye. As summer wears on, Flora slowly learns to come to terms with change, whether she likes it or not.
In so many of her books, Cynthia Rylant beautifully captures the small moments of everyday life. Rosetown Summer is a quiet, gentle read, but it so deeply expresses the emotions of kids as they navigate the first major disappointments in their lives. There isn't much physical action in this book, but the coziness of the setting and the very real-sounding dialogue made it a page-turner for me nonetheless. I was reminded very much of Rylant's Cobble Street Cousins series, which was a huge favorite with my kids a couple of summers ago, and which also celebrates the joys of small-town living and which also explores the normal lives of regular kids in beautifully written language.
Rosetown wasn't super popular and I'm not seeing a lot of buzz for Rosetown Summer, but for the sensitive and thoughtful young reader, these two books really hit a sweet spot. I would have read and re-read this book as a kid and it would not have mattered to me at all that nothing ever happens. Just escaping into this cozy world for a little while would have been - and still is - enough for me.
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
In so many of her books, Cynthia Rylant beautifully captures the small moments of everyday life. Rosetown Summer is a quiet, gentle read, but it so deeply expresses the emotions of kids as they navigate the first major disappointments in their lives. There isn't much physical action in this book, but the coziness of the setting and the very real-sounding dialogue made it a page-turner for me nonetheless. I was reminded very much of Rylant's Cobble Street Cousins series, which was a huge favorite with my kids a couple of summers ago, and which also celebrates the joys of small-town living and which also explores the normal lives of regular kids in beautifully written language.
Rosetown wasn't super popular and I'm not seeing a lot of buzz for Rosetown Summer, but for the sensitive and thoughtful young reader, these two books really hit a sweet spot. I would have read and re-read this book as a kid and it would not have mattered to me at all that nothing ever happens. Just escaping into this cozy world for a little while would have been - and still is - enough for me.
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
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July 17, 2022I liked the "introvert" rep and the old-times feel of the characters. Although the story is set in 1973, there wasn't really much to show that except for the lack of electronics. Yury's home country is continually referred to as "the Ukraine," which is perhaps accurate for the time (?) but seems like an unnecessary accuracy if so, like using other outdated terms not appreciated by non-dominant groups. A quibble, but I don't think a library in a small town in Indiana would have had glue sticks in 1973; more likely would have been a big paste jar.
I haven't read the first book - perhaps it has a better explanation of the parents' split and subsequent reunion? While this happens to some separated couples, it seems like it could be tough for kids whose parents have split (for good) and who might harbor a hope for them to get back together. This book seems to make it look like a common possibility.
Otherwise, a fine book for advanced young readers.
I haven't read the first book - perhaps it has a better explanation of the parents' split and subsequent reunion? While this happens to some separated couples, it seems like it could be tough for kids whose parents have split (for good) and who might harbor a hope for them to get back together. This book seems to make it look like a common possibility.
Otherwise, a fine book for advanced young readers.
January 27, 2022
My 12-year-old son loved Rosetown - counts it as one of his all-time favorites - so we read this with high hopes. It just didn't have the magic of the first book. And there was a lot of recapping, which might be helpful in a follow-up to an action-filled, plot-driven first book... but not so necessary in a sequel to a slow-paced, character-driven one. A sweet little book, but (as my son said) unnecessary.
June 20, 2023
So much shorter than the first book, and so much in this is recapping that, but I would have loved this as a child just as much, and also read it to tatters.
I love, for example, Rylant's knack for making even the most concise story come to life with details.
"Nessy had been so uncertain of her abilities on a bicycle that, had she not lived in a gated community [so private and quiet], the white streamers and the bell and the basket for Happy Girl [doll] would probably never have found the way into her life."
" the toddlers all seemed so small to Flora. She was not often around three-year-olds, and here they were, so little and shy. She was charmed."
I love, for example, Rylant's knack for making even the most concise story come to life with details.
"Nessy had been so uncertain of her abilities on a bicycle that, had she not lived in a gated community [so private and quiet], the white streamers and the bell and the basket for Happy Girl [doll] would probably never have found the way into her life."
" the toddlers all seemed so small to Flora. She was not often around three-year-olds, and here they were, so little and shy. She was charmed."
November 25, 2021
A gentle sequel to a gentle realistic book about a little girl who likes old things and does not like change. Life pains her because it does change all the time and she finds ways to deal with it. Cynthia Rylant displays all her mastery, making the ordinary important without over inflating details or inserting unnecessary drama.
October 25, 2021
Sequel to Rosetown. Both of these titles had somehow eluded me. Cyndi tells a story like no one else; it's very personal with her. I wasn't as taken with this follow-up as I was with Rosetown but that could be because I was so charmed by Rosetown and so it couldn't be surpassed.
July 5, 2022
This is a gentle, sweet story that tackles real life issues carefully. I can't put into words why I love it so much, but I do. Friendship, losing a beloved bookstore (as well as the owner who moves), and parents who separate but get back together move the story along to a satisfying ending.
March 19, 2023
Gentle and sweet story of one girl's summer in a midwestern town. Good for 4th grade girls. Parents: contains oblique reference to a period of time when the girl's parents were separated. Then the parents got back together, but the girl still feels a little unsettled.
April 15, 2024
Quick & sweet read, something simple. Flora , Yury & Nessy are very cute & I think I enjoyed the moment shared at the greenery in Indiana with the bookkeeper (Ms.Merriweather), it topped it with the 1973 Honda Civic 🫶✨
May 30, 2021
A sweet, lighthearted summer read for fans of her Cobble Street Cousins series.
June 18, 2021
3.5⬆️
July 4, 2021
ALC Review to come.
July 21, 2021
I'm unsure as to the target audience of this book. The plot, or lack there of, is very 3rd grade-ish, yet some of the 'flowery' type writing is too adult for kids to connect with.
July 30, 2021
That was... short.
August 6, 2021
In 1973, Flora loves living in the quiet town of Rosetown, Indiana, where change is not constant, but life takes a decided turn during the summer between fourth and fifth grades.
September 10, 2021
An absolutely charming, comforting, sweet follow-up to Rosetown. Perfect for those of us who are introverts and need constancy in our lives.
September 26, 2021
I want to live inside Cynthia Rylant's stories, this is no exception. Charmed, as always.
October 5, 2021
What a peaceful and calming story. Perfect for reflective kids who observe the world around them.
December 21, 2021
Such a cute story
May 31, 2022
Calm, peaceful, lovely
July 16, 2022
An adorable book two that can be read as a standalone. The joys of the familiar mix with the fear of the unknown and change, but as our main character travels along the road from fourth to fifth grades, she learns that sometimes change is for the best, even if it is scary.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews