Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski
"Strawberry Girl" by Lois Lenski is a children's novel set in the rural backwoods of southern Florida during the early 1900s. It tells the story of two contrasting families: the Slaters and the Boyers, whose lives are marked by conflict and contrasting values. The Slaters, led by the lazy and abusive Pa Slater, struggle with poverty and dysfunction, while the Boyers, a hardworking and loving family, enjoy a more stable and nurturing environment. The narrative highlights themes of survival, family dynamics, and the impact of community relationships against the backdrop of agricultural challenges, such as crop damage from weather and livestock.
The protagonist, Birdie Boyer, earns the nickname "Strawberry Girl" as she navigates these challenges, selling strawberries despite setbacks. Lenski's portrayal of the characters, especially the women, provides insight into their social roles and personal struggles within their respective families. The novel culminates in a dramatic resolution that ultimately leads to a hopeful ending for both families. Celebrated for its vivid dialogue and realistic portrayals, "Strawberry Girl" received the Newbery Medal, reflecting its significance in children’s literature and its exploration of universal themes through regional storytelling.
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Subject Terms
Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski
First published: 1945; illustrated
Type of work: Domestic realism
Themes: Poverty, family
Time of work: Early 1900’s
Recommended Ages: 10-13
Locale: Southern Florida
Principal Characters:
Birdie Boyer , an industrious, intelligent, about twelve-year-old girl who earns the nickname “strawberry girl” from growing and selling cropsPa and Ma Boyer , her Christian parents, who overcome hardships with work and dedicationPa and Ma Slater , non-Christian parents, who are slovenly and lazy but who later changeShoestring Slater , a teenage boy, who changes from illiterate and uncaring to a concerned young man trying to better himself
The Story
Set in the rural backwoods of southern Florida in the early 1900’s, this brief novel opens with foreshadowing of immediate conflicts between the principal family characters, the Slaters and the Boyers. Pa Slater is warned by daughter Essie that one of their cows is about to go down to the orange grove that belongs to their new neighbors, the Boyers. She tells him that the destruction of the orange trees by their cow will cause trouble, and his reply is that she is “mighty right.” Slater refuses to stop the cow and refuses to allow his daughter to do so either. This opening scene sets the novel’s tone of sharp and vivid contrasts between the two families.
The Boyer family—Pa, Ma, Birdie, and several other children—have migrated from northern Florida. They buy a home, paint it, plant flowers, and enjoy such luxuries as a comb, a looking glass, and a tablecloth. They grow many diverse crops and raise cattle. Pa Boyer is a loving, gentle giant of a Christian man, who provides for his family; he is quickly established, however, as someone who will stand up for his rights and be pushed only so far. Slater, on the other hand, is depicted as a lazy, abusive drunk who shames his family. The two men have opposite philosophies about work, education, religion, and family life.
Birdie and her family plant strawberries, which they later harvest. Birdie sells them, earning the nickname “Strawberry Girl,” after the crops are almost destroyed by severe cold, storms, and feasting robins. The women are vivid and realistic, as strongly portrayed as the men. Each is the mother of many children and subservient to her husband. Ma Boyer’s obeisance, however, is loving, whereas Ma Slater is quelled through fear of her husband’s drunken brutality. Ma Slater is influenced favorably, albeit reluctantly, by Ma Boyer. When Ma Slater’s husband shoots all of her chickens in a drunken rage and then leaves, she invites the Boyers over for chicken pileau. Prior to the Boyers’ coming, she would have been far too intimidated to commit such a daring act.
When the barbed-wire fence that Boyer erects to protect his crops from Slater’s pigs and cows becomes a symbol to Slater that his squatter’s rights have been violated, Slater cuts the fence. Boyer kills three of Slater’s hogs and leaves them on his porch. With the battle lines drawn, the feud accelerates until a mysterious fire in the woods threatens the Boyers’ home. The Slaters refuse to help fight the fire, but other neighbors rally. Boyer saves two of his children and two of Slater’s. Slater later disappears in a drunken rage, his answer to all life’s problems.
Shoestring Slater is Birdie’s counterpart. While the Boyer children walk several miles to their one-room schoolhouse, Shoestring’s elder brothers beat the teacher so badly that the school closes. The story, however, finishes with a nicely rounded happy ending for all.
Context
This extremely prolific author has written more than two dozen books, fourteen of which have a regional flavor and deal with juveniles. Cotton in My Sack (1949) is set in Arkansas and was written after Lenski had made a brief spring visit, and an extended fall visit, to the state. She actually dragged a nine-pound cotton sack and picked cotton with the children. Houseboat Girl (1957) developed from a six-week stay with shanty boaters in Luxora, Mississippi. Texas Tomboy (1950) and San Francisco Bay (1955) were also based on personal, on-scene research.
It was Strawberry Girl, however, that was awarded the Newbery Medal. The dialogue, mannerisms, and customs of the characters are based on the author’s personal experiences with real Florida crackers. The dialogue is realistic and captures that period of time as well as the characters’ intellectual development. Today’s ten-year-old might have some trouble with the dialogue, but the theme of the story is well worth the effort to understand it.
Though Lenski’s books are regional studies, they deal with problems that are universal in nature. A struggle for survival is a struggle whether it exists in an Arkansas cotton patch, a Mississippi houseboat, or a Florida farm. Her characters have human foibles as well as virtues. A climactic scene in Strawberry Girl, when Pa Slater returns home after a drunken spree and finds Ma Boyer there, shows human nature at its worst. He orders her out of the house.