91 // The Journey / Sarah Stewart, Ill. David Small

The Journey / Sarah Stewart, Ill. David Small

• Farrar Strauss & Giroux

• 2001

• Beginning in the dark hours of morning, an Amish girl, along with two adult companions, sets off for the big city for the first time. The reader receives nightly reports through young Hannah's diary, in which, with tireless awe, she relates the significant events of the day. Each experience is decidedly new to Hannah -- a trip to the top of a skyscraper, a visit to the aquarium -- yet in each she finds some universal element that reminds her of home. Though she loves the city, a trip to the art museum on the final day of her visit clinches Hannah's longing for family and familiarity; fortunately, the bus is ready to take her back to the place she loves most.- From Amazon

• Diaries - Trips - Amish - Experiencing new things

• I love the Stewart/Small combo - but I had never read this particular book before! I loved the diary format - and could see using that for teaching and encouraging personal journalling. I loved the back and forth between the city and the farm, the city bearing the action of the journal entries, while the farm reflected what the little girl loved and missed about home.