Summer of the Swans
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| Summer of the Swans | |
 Early edition cover |
|
| Author | Betsy Byars |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Ted CoCorvs |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Publication date | 1970 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-14-031420-2 |
Summer of the Swans is a novel by Betsy Byars that won the Newbery Medal in 1971.
Summer of the Swans was filmed as Sara's Summer of the Swans for an ABC after school special.
[edit] Plot introduction
Sara Godfrey lives in an unnamed part of West Virginia with her Aunt Willie, her older sister Wanda, a nurse at the local hospital and their autistic younger brother Charlie. (Charlie is autistic due to several sicknesses he had when he was three years old, which left him brain damaged.) Their father, who is Aunt Willie's brother, lives and works in middle Ohio, and is often remote. Aunt Willie takes care of them ever since the death of their mother some six years prior to the summer in which the book takes place.
One day, Charlie and Sara see swans at the lakeside, a beautiful and very elegant sight. Charlie wants to see them again but gets lost in the forest while searching for the lake. Sara and her friends have to rescue him. The story is a coming-of-age story for the fourteen year-old Sara; especially with a boy named Joe Melby. Joe was wrongly accused by Sara of losing Charlie's watch, but when his own watch is broken, Joe, who also helps Sara in the search, lends Charlie his own watch, which leads her to forgive Joe and they become friends.
| Preceded by Sounder |
Newbery Medal recipient 1971 |
Succeeded by Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH |
