This middle grade book has SO MUCH GOODNESS!! Sophie and her dear elderly neighbor, also named Sophie, are beloved characters I will cherish and hold in my heart. Tree.Table.Book is a contemporary story but introduces the reader to children with neurodiversities, elders with dementia, and historical truths of Jewish people in Europe during WWII. I hope school libraries and public libraries stock their shelves with many copies of this wonderful story!

Tree. Table. Book is out on April 23rd! Preorder and ask your library to get copies!! Thank you Netgalley and Clarion Books for my e-arc!

Another absolute winner from Lois Lowry! My students are so excited about this one! This is the sweet story of an unlikely friendship. I love how Lowry is able to weave the beauty of relationships through her words.

In Tree, Table, Book by Lois Lowry, we are introduced to two friends, who are both named Sophie. One of the Sophies is in grade school and the other one is elderly. When the older Sophie begins to show signs of dementia, her son wants to put her in an assisted living facility close to him which is in another state. The younger Sophie does not want her friend to move so she with the help of two neighborhood friends try to help the older Sophie with her memory. However, while helping her, they learn about Sophie’s childhood which was during World War II.

I think that Tree, Table, Book is the best book that I have read by Lois Lowry. When the older Sophie begins to share a part of her childhood that she has never told anyone before, the reader is spellbound. Readers will also sympathize with the younger Sophe as she tries to help her friend. In addition, Tree, Table, Book would be a great book to use for bibliotherapy when a child has a grandparent who has dementia.

A very heartwarming story. I felt for the younger Sophie and her hope of helping the elder Sophie. Hearing the older Sophie's stories gave a different perspective on how someone's life can be so different than you might expect to hear or read about.

Author Lois Lowry is great at giving you a glimpse into something to the point where you get so lost in historical fiction that you'd like to read more and more about that time and place and learn from it. And then you are back in the present wondering more about what Sophie Gershowitz endeared in her lifetime. How her stories of experience could have been lost forever but she passed them on to Sophie and she'll take care of them and keep them safe until she feels it's time to share them with others and that will keep a piece of Sophie Gershowitz alive in everyone (at least that's MY hope).

I liked that the story did not drag on and on. It was just enough with an ending I can "live" with. Of course, I still want more but this will have to do.

A must-have for all libraries.

Tree. Table. Book by Lois Lowry is about an eleven year old girl and her neighbors and her relationship with them, especially her elderly neighbor who is showing signs of dementia. While I had high hopes for this book I was really disappointed for a couple of reasons. The first one being that for no other reason than the current LGBT agenda is there one line in the whole book about a same sex couple. It had no bearing on the story. It’s like a bot just threw it in. The second reason is that the story felt like it should be written for an older person. My elven year old would not be interested in this book. She would have given up on it before it got to the good part where the elder Sophie shared her secret. This book could have been so much better than it turned out to be.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion.

A delightful and heartwarming story about friendship regardless of age. Lois Lowry is a treasure. Thank you Netgalley and publisher.

Having recently finished “Tree. Table. Book.” by Lois Lowry, I am happy to have had the chance for the Advanced Reader’s Edition e-copy; thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins Children's Books, Clarion Books!

Sophia Henry Winslow and Sophie Gershowitz, a friendship of the heart.
Does age matter where true friendship is concerned? Not with these two. What matters are the moments shared and the stories told. The story of… A Tree… A Table… and... a Book.
This is a very important story for any age; and definitely one meant to share with friends.

Lois Lowry is a national treasure. The author of The Giver returns with a story of two best friends and next-door neighbors, both named Sophie, who are eighty years apart. Young Sophie, anxious and slightly controlling, hears rumblings that Elder Sophie is exhibiting signs of dementia. Desperate to fix her best friend's cognition so she doesn't move away, Young Sophie references cognitive tests in her trusty Merck manual and, through interviews, learns the story of Elder Sophie's, née Shlomit, miraculous concealment and rescue in WWII Poland.

Dementia, unfortunately, touches all of our lives. I love middle-grade novels for the way they help us process hard, universal things with hope and friendship.

Lois Lowry's "Tree, Table, Book" beautifully explores the unlikely friendship between Sophie, an 11-year-old girl, and her 88-year-old neighbor. The novel delves into themes of aging and the poignant process of letting go. As the story unfolds, readers witness the emotional journey of Sophie and her neighbor navigating the challenges of growing old and the inevitable changes that come with it. Lowry delicately explores the nuances of friendship, capturing the essence of intergenerational relationships with sensitivity and insight.

Thank you Clarion books and Netgalley for this ARC.

Lois Lowry has written many novels for young readers and they’re all good. Some have even won important awards. This one is a sensitive story about a sixth grade girl and her elderly neighbor whom she considers her best friend. Unfortunately her elderly neighbor is losing her short term memory. The young narrator is so well written she feels like a real person.

Eleven-year-old Sophie Winslow’s very dearest friend lives next door: 88-year-old Sophie Gershowitz. They spend a lot of time together and enjoy many of the same things, including making up word games, drinking tea and eating cookies. But when old Sophie’s son, an accountant who lives in Akron, believes his mom is losing her cognitive ability, the precocious Sophie Winslow makes it her priority to prove that her best friend is as cogent as ever. And in that quest, we learn more about Sophie Gershowitz and the Old Country than we could have imagined.

Newbery winner Lois Lowry has written a book that will please adults as much as children — more probably. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, Harper Collins Children’s Books and Clarion Books in exchange for honest review.

Just finished the ARC of this book. I read it in less than 24 hours while doing other school work becauese I was so obsessed with the relationship between the main character and her elderly neighbor. Lowry does a fantastic job of writing this coming of age story about coming to terms with how terrible dementia is for everyone involved. She also weaves in a World War II Jewish story in Lowry's sensitive manner that she has perfected over the years. This book would be a fantastic read for young readers who are being introduced to the Holocaust as well as struggling with the loss or illness of an elderly loved one.

The two Sophia’s are the best of friends. One of them is in middle school and the other happens to be older… significantly older. When the elderly Sophia begins having a hard time remembering things her best friend starts doing everything she can to cover up what’s going on and keep her friend safe. While spending time together the older Sophia shares stories she’s never told anyone about her life during the Holocaust. Can Sophia hide what’s going on and keep her best friend safe? What’s the best choice when you really love someone?

11-year old Sophie’s best friend is another Sophie — her 88-year old neighbor Sophie Gershowitz. Older Sophie is the one with whom young Sophie has a “true and lasting friendship, a friendship of the heart.” But neighbor Sophie is not doing well — her memory is failing and there are rumors of her being removed to a facility in a distant town. To help, young Sophie tries to prepare her for the memory tests she will be faced with. She tries to get her to remember three simple words — Tree, Table, Book — by cementing them in stories that are important to the older woman. But the stories that come out are heartbreaking, secret, and revealing to the point of translucency. Pieces of history that explain who Sophie G is, and how she became that person.

Lowry is (and always has been) an incredible writer. I’ve probably read everything she has written, and she has never failed to catch me in surprise with her revelations. The 86-year old author is able to put herself into the characters of both Sophies beautifully. Young Sophie’s mind meanders like an intelligent, curious, 11-year old. Older Sophie’s mind loses details but holds on tenaciously to the important truths of life. Lowry — as usual — manages to get essence into every single sentence. I was brought to tears multiple times. The tears were not dragged out of me, though, but were natural products of the feelings at the heart of the book. I felt more reading this 200 page book aimed at 8-12 year olds than the most dramatic adult books. And I love the (almost) last line which is included in one of the quotes below.

Quotes:
“I had told Sophie Gershowitz that I always got the dates right, on history tests, always got As. That was true., But I had never really got it, never understood history, how things fit together, because I needed someone to tell me the stories not of politics and dictators, but of berries and bunnies and books. Of how things are lost, and what that means and how it hurts.”

“I prefer curved and winding roads. They make me think about Stuart Little setting off in his tiny car to look for love.”

“In order to understand how it feels to say goodbye to your dearest friend, you need to know about a flowered apron, a Jello-O mousse, an old refrigerator with ice trays, and a whistling teakettle. You need a size-small T-shirt that says Live Long and Prosper. You need a yardstick. Maybe you above all need a yardstick, because you have to measure everything so that it fits together, because you have to aim for an understandable ending.”

“It is exhausting to think about it. There is so very very much to fix. And I know, of course, that a lot of it isn’t fixable. I understand that.
But I can try. I’ll start small.”

I’ve never read book by Lois Lowry that I didn’t love and Tree, Table, book was no different. It would be a great resource to any household library.

An unusual friendship between an eleven-year-old girl and her elderly neighbor who is starting to show signs of dementia.

This was so cute, and heartbreaking, and wholesome. I want more, but it is also so well done that the shortness works. Another Lowry classic for sure.

I absolutely adored this book. A young girl best friends with an old woman who is slowly getting dementia. It is raw and real, and a story of love and friendship. This book gave me so many feelings, and the ending made me cry. It was well written and is a great story to have in any classroom! Some of my third graders may really enjoy this, but it’s also good for middle-grades as some of the topics are a bit heavy— without being brutal!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Please read- it’s quick and beautiful.

Despite being in elementary school, Sophie's best friend is her elderly neighbor, Sophie. It seems as though elderly Sophie is having memory problems so younger Sophie administers a memory test for her, asking older Sophie to remember 3 words - tree, table, book. Older Sophie tells younger Sophie a story about each word, revealing long hidden memories from her past.

This was a very sweet book, and all of the things that I love about Lois Lowry's writing. She doesn't shy away from tough topics - memory loss and the Holocaust in this case - but illustrates them in a way that elementary schoolers can deal with. I loved how I could tell that young Sophie and older Sophie really have a strong friendship and trust. The two genuinely care about one another. Reading older Sophie's memories broke my heart. Highly recommend, although not for the most sensitive readers.

Tree. Table. Book.

Sophie, an 11 years old girl and only child, lives with her busy parents, so she spends time with her friend from school and neighbor Ralphie.
She also becomes friends with her 88-year-old neighbor who shares the same name.

The girl is unpopular at school and very different from the kids of her age. She is curious and very clever, and she loves spending time with her elder neighbor who lives alone and is starting to forget things, so she might be taken away by her son. Sophie, the girl, wants to find a way to help her, and before Sophie, the elder, starts forgetting about her early years, she shares where she comes from, a secret and very sad past.

This children’s novel is funny, moving, and captivating. The characters are endearing and very diverse.
In one story, the author compacts many important topics such as elderliness, loneliness, disabilities, and WWII.
This is the third book I read by the author, and I love the way she addresses serious topics where middle schoolers can learn about empathy and history.

I highly recommend to middle schoolers, parents, teachers, and any reader who likes children's books.

Thank you Harper Collins Children's Books and Netgalley for this ARC.

Pub date: April 23rd, 2024