Categories

Rare & Collectible Books at AbeBooks.com
ADVERTISEMENT
smiling women posing together

Unlocking Joy and Success: The Philosophy Behind ‘Fun at Work’

07/08/2025
brown t rex statue

The Enduring Legacy of ‘Jurassic Park’: A Deep Dive into Michael Crichton’s Masterpiece

07/05/2025
    Please install/update and activate JNews Instagram plugin.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Advertise
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
Thursday, July 10, 2025
  • Login
A Book Geek
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Home
    • About
  • Book Club
  • Holidays
  • Quotes & Sayings
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • About
  • Book Club
  • Holidays
  • Quotes & Sayings
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
A Book Geek
No Result
View All Result
ADVERTISEMENT

‘A Tree Grows’ – Reading for Survival

Esther Lombardi by Esther Lombardi
10/20/2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
377 24
A A
0
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Reading

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Reading

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith, fell into my hands at a time when I needed it most (though I sometimes wish that I’d started reading it even sooner). It had the unique quality of making a bookish girl feel as though she’d found a new best friend (fictional though Francie Nolan obviously is).

And, I’m not the only one who has been affected by reading this book, it seems. It’s a bestseller, with 300k copies sold in just the first six weeks after being published. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn really is one of those “Books of the Century,” re-affirmed by its New York Public Library listing.

RelatedPosts

Unlocking Joy and Success: The Philosophy Behind ‘Fun at Work’

The Enduring Legacy of ‘Jurassic Park’: A Deep Dive into Michael Crichton’s Masterpiece

What is July? Meaning, Controversies, History, and Impact on Modern Society

But, the story is so much more than a pop-tale of a young girl growing up in Brooklyn. Here’s how the novel struck me when I was first reading it (and upon re-reading as well):

  • Everyman (girl): Francie could be any of us, growing up in books and trying to make her way in the world. Smith said that the characters were “the kind of people I know and the kind of people I like.” By bringing such familiarity to life, she infuse the characters with life-like qualities. We could almost imagine that they will step out from the page of the book, and life out loud…
  • Social Activism: Smith said that she didn’t write the book for any socially significant reason, but like The Jungle and other rabble-rousing books, she touched a chord. Upon a landscape of hardship, hunger and addiction, she creates a tapestry of hope.
  • Saving Power of Storytelling: Francie’s grandmother had encouraged Katie (Francie’s mother): “you must tell the children the legends I told you–as my mother told them to me. You must tell the fairy tales of the old country. You must tell of those not of the earth who live forever in the hearts of people–fairies, elves, dwarfs, and such…” She may not have known the true saving power of Shakespeare and the Bible when she gave that advice. Many readers have found hope, and reason to survive–in the pages of our favorite tomes.

Reading opens the world to me. It makes me believe that anything is possible… Is reading a very real part of your survival too?

Related articles across the web

  • VICE, Magnum, and Offset Meet at Photoville for Slideluck ‘Secrets’
  • Riot Round-Up: The Best Books We Read In September
  • MPIBA 2014’s Children’s Breakfast: Memories Inspire Authors
  • What do You Want to Learn?

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Share144Tweet90
Esther Lombardi

Esther Lombardi

Esther A. Lombardi is a freelance writer and journalist with more than two decades of experience writing for an array of publications, online and offline. She also has a master's degree in English Literature with a background in Web Technology and Journalism. 

Related Posts

smiling women posing together
Business

Unlocking Joy and Success: The Philosophy Behind ‘Fun at Work’

07/08/2025
4k
brown t rex statue
Jurassic Park

The Enduring Legacy of ‘Jurassic Park’: A Deep Dive into Michael Crichton’s Masterpiece

07/05/2025
4k
What is July? Meaning, Controversies, History, and Impact on Modern Society
July

What is July? Meaning, Controversies, History, and Impact on Modern Society

07/04/2025
4k
gray station wagon parked beside the tree during nighttime
July

Celebrate Independence Day with Travel Adventures!

07/03/2025
4k
selective focus photography of sitting woman holding open book
Freedom

Inner Freedom: Building a Free Way of Thinking

07/04/2025
4k
a woman holding a placard
Freedom

The Role of Poetry in Expressing the Desire for Freedom

07/03/2025
4k
Load More

Book News

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
greek mythology

The Impact of Greek Mythology on Modern Culture

11/16/2024
Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson: Examining the Influences and Impact of Her Revolutionary Poetry

05/16/2024
Memorial Day

Never Forgotten: 7 Memorial Day Quotes

05/26/2024
Night

Elie Wiesel’s ‘Night’ – Lines of Remembrance

02/24/2024
Practicing Gratitude Quotes

Practicing Gratitude Quotes

39
The Secret Garden of Writing

‘The Secret Garden’ of Writing

29
Little House - Laura Ingalls Wilder

‘Little House’ – Writing the Story of Our Lives

23
Fall Musings

Fall Findings & Autumn Musings #LifeLessons #Quotes

18
smiling women posing together

Unlocking Joy and Success: The Philosophy Behind ‘Fun at Work’

07/08/2025
brown t rex statue

The Enduring Legacy of ‘Jurassic Park’: A Deep Dive into Michael Crichton’s Masterpiece

07/05/2025
What is July? Meaning, Controversies, History, and Impact on Modern Society

What is July? Meaning, Controversies, History, and Impact on Modern Society

07/04/2025
gray station wagon parked beside the tree during nighttime

Celebrate Independence Day with Travel Adventures!

07/03/2025
ADVERTISEMENT
AbeBooks.com. Thousands of booksellers - millions of books.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
A Book Geek

What’s Happening?

July 2025
S M T W T F S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Jun    


Recent News

smiling women posing together

Unlocking Joy and Success: The Philosophy Behind ‘Fun at Work’

07/08/2025
brown t rex statue

The Enduring Legacy of ‘Jurassic Park’: A Deep Dive into Michael Crichton’s Masterpiece

07/05/2025
What is July? Meaning, Controversies, History, and Impact on Modern Society

What is July? Meaning, Controversies, History, and Impact on Modern Society

07/04/2025


Books A Million Logo

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

AbeBooks. Thousands of booksellers - millions of books.


© 2024 A Book Geek. All rights reserved. The content on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, or used without explicit written permission from A Book Geek. By using this site, you agree with our terms of use. Powered by the passion for literature.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

You cannot copy content of this page

Categories

Rare & Collectible Books at AbeBooks.com
ADVERTISEMENT
smiling women posing together

Unlocking Joy and Success: The Philosophy Behind ‘Fun at Work’

07/08/2025
brown t rex statue

The Enduring Legacy of ‘Jurassic Park’: A Deep Dive into Michael Crichton’s Masterpiece

07/05/2025
    Please install/update and activate JNews Instagram plugin.
No Result
View All Result
  • A Book Geek
  • About
    • Education
    • Summary
    • Experience – Esther Lombardi
  • Advertise with Us
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Book Club
  • Christmas
  • Contact Us
  • Featured
  • Home
  • Media Kit for ABookGeek
  • New Year
  • Privacy Policy
  • Quotes & Sayings
  • Terms of Service

© 2024 A Book Geek. All rights reserved. The content on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, or used without explicit written permission from A Book Geek. By using this site, you agree with our terms of use. Powered by the passion for literature.

Discover more from A Book Geek

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

%d
    Verified by MonsterInsights