Lois Lowry has done it again! *Thank you NetGalley and Clarion Books for sending this book for review. All opinions are my own.* This book explored the relationship between two Sophies, one young and one old, as well as the complexity of relationships that are changed due to dementia and/or memory loss. Young Sophie grapples with the stories of love and loss from her elder friend Sophie, while coming to terms with the changing dynamic in their own relationship. I wanted more from the ending of this book, but I think that is simply because I wasn’t ready for it to be over. I will be recommending this book to students and their families, as well as purchasing several copies for my classroom library.

Sophia (called Sophie) is an unusual eleven-year old girl. She is very smart, not very popular, and her best friend is her 88 year-old neighbor, Sofie Gershowitz. She has a couple of other friends who live on their block, a boy in her class named Ralphie, and a seven-year old boy named Oliver. Ralphie and Oliver are also each unusual and unique in their own ways as well. Sophie and Sofie became friends when Sophie's parents accidentally left her home alone when she was nine, and they have been close friends since then. But Sofie's memory is starting to fade, and her son Aaron, who lives in another city, is concerned about his 88 year-old mother living alone. Sophie - whose interests include the Merck manual of medical diagnoses - reads about dementia tests, and tries to prepare Sofie for the tests the doctor will give her, hoping to keep her in the house across the street, and not in a retirement community in another state.

This is a quietly touching story of love between kindred spirits, of a young girl trying to find her way in the world with the help of her experienced elder companion - her grandmother, in all but name. Along the way, Sofie shares her history with Sophie, a history even her son doesn't know, one that includes experiences during the Holocaust, when Sofie was left with a Catholic family after her father and older brothers were taken away, her home ransacked, and her mother desperate to find help for herself, and, especially, her two young daughters.

This would be a wonderful read-aloud, an incredible story to share with children and teens (and even adults) with a relative suffering from the onset of dementia, and a magnificent story to share with anyone who needs to learn to accept others as who they are, and not who the world wants them to be. Recommended for readers of all ages.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is such a simple story, yet the message is very deep. On the surface, it is a story of friendship between an eleven year old girl named Sophie and her next door neighbor and best friend, eighty-eight year old Sophie. The older woman is beginning to get dementia and young Sophie is trying to determine if that is, in fact, true. In the process of young Sophie testing her, the elder Sophie shares some very personal stories of her childhood as a young Jewish girl in Poland during the Holocaust.

There are not a lot of details to the stories - just enough to paint a picture and share a few facts - maybe enough to spark an interest in the reader for learning more. This would be a good read-aloud for a teacher to pair with a history unit or just a nice novel to have available in a fifth grade classroom library.

I enjoyed this novel and am thankful for an eARC of #TreeTableBook by #LoisLowry in exchange for honest feedback.

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.