The Horn Book Guide

INTERMEDIATE FICTION

Griffin, Adele

The Becket List: A Blackberry Farm Story

185 pp. | Algonquin | March, 2019 | Trade ISBN 978-1-61620-790-8 $16.95

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by LeUyen Pham. When Rebecca (a.k.a. "Becket") moves from the city to the family farm, she enthusiastically creates a list of steps to become a "country kid." She learns her way around the farm animals, and to adjust when twin Nicholas becomes more outgoing. Pham's interspersed drawings capture the siblings' squabbles and accomplishments, and Griffin presents the enjoyable novel's low-stakes conflicts with the full import they carry for a nine-year-old.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019