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

I absolutely loved this touching middle grade read about two Sophies who live next door to each other. One is 11 and one is 88. When the younger Sophie catches wind of the older Sophie potentially having to move to a home due to memory issues, she decides to give her some cognitive testing and through this she hears stories from Sophie's childhood in Poland during WWII. The friendship between these two was just so wonderful and I would highly recommend this book to readers of all ages.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I am a long time Lois Lowry fan. I grew up reading her stories, especially the Giver. I was so excited to be chosen to review this ARC. In this wonderful story and young girl befriends and older lady in their building. They are best friends. When the older Sophie starts struggling with life and doing simple things her son mentions her leaving to have to be taken care of. Young Sophie is determined to help save her friend, improve her memory and take care of her. With the help of her friends they set out to help older Sophie. What they didn’t expect was to learn along the way. They listen to the stories she has to tell and learn about so many things, such as love, war and life.
This is an amazingly heartwarming story. Your emotions will grab you with this one. I felt so involved in knowing all about older Sophie and how to save her. I didn’t expect to learn from the story too. It shares the important message of holding onto memories and sharing those memories as well. I have had the same situation as I grasped onto all I could from family before their memories and they were gone.
A very meaningful and inspiring book that I will share with any child, or adult, that I can. Truly another masterpiece. You are going to want to cuddle up and read this enduring story.

I was excited to read the latest from Lois Lowry. This handled a young girl’s special friendship with her elderly neighbor who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. The story handles a tricky topic well, and helps portray a child’s perspective on the prospect of losing a friend. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, Lois Lowry did not disappoint.

This book is a heartwarming and relatable story about a girl and her best friend, an elderly neighbor at the beginning stages of dementia. While Sophia tries to help her friends and fix their problems, she learns about herself and realizes what it means to be a true friend. No surprise that Lois Lowry delivers a wonderfully sincere story that is both simple and profound.

A Lowry tour de force;' clever, intriguing, and causes reflection. It will be very popular. A clever use of characters that enables young people to empathize and gain an understanding of differences.

Lois Lowry, the author of many books including The Giver and Number the Stars has a new book coming out for preteens. Tree. Table. Book. is a book about friendship, trust and sharing. A cleverly written plot brings together a young girl Sophie and her elderly neighbor, Sophie.

They build a friendship on sharing tea and stories. Young Sophie is very scientifically minded and does not have many friends and her neighbor Sophie is living alone, aging and showing signs of dementia. Sophia’s son is planning to move her away to assisted living. Young Sophie wants to test Sophie’s cognitive abilities with the Merck Manual.

Giving Sophie three words to remember and repeat back, sets Sophie off on memories from her childhood growing up in Europe at the outbreak of World War II. This is a wonderful story written very realistically with a young narrator’s voice. The Holocaust is written about in an understated way that is easy to read. It is a small part of the story. The main thrust of the plot is how to treat friends with caring and acceptance.

I loved this story of the relationship between an elderly woman named Sophie and a preteen girl also named Sophie. When the elder Sophie starts showing signs of dementia, her son decides to move her near him. Young Sophie doesn't want her to leave so she decides to prove him wrong! It's has sad moments and laughable moments! I loved it!

This story is about a young girl named Sophie and an older neighbor lady named Sophie they have become excellent friends. Unfortunately, the older Sophie is having some trouble as of late and her young friend is determined to keep her as her neighbor. This book covers a gauntlet of issues, dementia, the holocaust, autism, and friendship. I enjoyed the book and found the writing interesting. I'm not sure why it started off as a how-to-write a narrative, to just a story I don't think that part was really tied up at the end of the book. Otherwise, it was an enjoyable book.

A short book packed full of emotion. Lois Lowry knows how to write amazing novels, and this one is no exception. You learn so much about the characters in such a short amount of reading, and that's how you know you're dealing with a master author. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a story about a preteen girl who has a very close friend who is an octogenarian. Both are named Sophie.
Older Sophie is slowly loosing her memory and her son wants her to move in with him out of state. Younger Sophie has obtained a copy of a cognitive test that tests for dementia. She is determined to help older Sophie to pass the test so she does not have to leave.
The name of the book comes from one of the subtests where older Sophie has to remember three unrelated words over a period of time. She continually fails this subtest. To help Sophie remember the unrelated words, younger Sophie has Sophie tell a story related to each of the words. Sophie's long term memory is not affected and she tells story from her past related to each word. Tree, Table. and Book.
The stories are reminiscent of Lois Lowry's Giver series and the importance of passing stories down..
This was an excellent book.

This book has my heart. Lowry has woven a tale of friendship, memories, and honest history, told through the eyes of a precocious and instantly lovable protagonist. A young girl’s friendship with an aging neighbor unlocks stories from her past that help the young girl understand her friend, her world, and herself. This is another instant Lowry classic.

Sophie Winslow, 11 years old, is best friends with 88 year old Sophie Gershowitz. The friendship is unconventional but it works. Both Sophies enjoy having tea time together and talking about life and laughing together. One day Sophie Winslow overheard her parents mention the word dementia referring to her best friend. Sophie W. researches, she loves to research, she finds out how to test for this dreaded disease and proceeds to perform a number of cognitive test in the form of questions to help prove her friend does not have dementia. She is aided by her other best friend/neighbor Ralphie and her quirky seven year old neighbor Oliver. As the questions advance Sophie shares a number of stories regarding her life that she has never told anyone. Even though her memory is fading her past is vivid and captivating. Sophie W. learns a number of valuable lessons about friendship and the surprises that come to life when all seems hopeless. This book is thought provoking and special at highlighting the relationship between multigenerational people. Friendship always stands the rest of time.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC! 3.5 stars While this book did come together and share some lovely and heartbreaking memories from older Sophie to younger Sophie, I felt like it took a bit too long to come together. The beginning seemed kind of scattered, and I couldn’t figure out where the book was heading for a bit. Once I could see where the elder Sophie was heading in terms of her aging and memories, it felt like a good read. Before that, I just felt like it was a little all over the place with the younger Sophie sharing things that didn’t seem to mesh together. Overall, I did end up enjoying the book to an extent, but it’s definitely not one of my favorites from this author or for young people lately.

I loved reading Lowry's books when I was younger. I remember several being very profound and sticking with me. This one is no different. It was a heartwarming story that I have no issues recommending to all readers. Three words, simple, but so profound. Lowry did such a good job of making me feel like there was an eleven year old next to me telling me this story. I laughed often, cried, and just loved the story.

This would be a great if you have a kid who is struggling with an elderly friend or loved one who is suffering from memory loss.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for this DRC.
Eleven-year-old Sophie is best friends with 88-year-old Sophie, her neighbor. Young Sophie overhears that Sophie has been struggling with memory issues. She borrows a Merck in order to help her pass a dementia test. Instead, she opens Sophie’s memories of being a young Jewish girl in Poland during WWII.

It’s about forgetting and remembering and loving, friendship and holding on and letting go. It was beautiful and soft and tender but also hard and sharp.
#TreeTableBook #NetGalley

Tree. Table. Book. was even more touching and quietly profound than I expected, which is saying something as I have long held a special place in my heart for Lois Lowry’s novels.

This story is more approachable than The Giver or Number the Stars, so it will work for younger MG readers or readers who are working on their comprehension and decoding (while still being meaningful!).

In short, this is the story of two Sophies separated by an age gap of over seventy years but bound by a fierce friendship. When the elder Sophie begins having memory problems, the younger Sophie decides to take things into her own hands. You’ll have to read to discover what beautiful stories come out of this special friendship.

What a sweet and poignant story! I love the friendship between Sophie Sophia. This is a good story to give kids a gentle introduction to the horrors of WWII. It would pique their curiosity and allow them to dig deeper on their own.