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= Afternoon of the Elves = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Afternoon Of The Elves is a 1989 adolescent novel by author Janet Taylor Lisle. Afternoon of the Elves was a Newbery Medal Honor Book in 1990.

Plot[edit source | edit]
Afternoon of the Elves is the story about two girls, Hillary Lenox and Sara-Kate Connolly, who takes care of an ‘Elf’ village and it’s constantly evading invisible inhabitants. Sara-Kate invites Hillary to her dilapidated backyard to gaze upon a small creation that look like houses with maple leaves that are used as roofs and bricks as the walls of the houses. Captivated by this, the image of possibly existing elves resonates with Hillary. She mentions Sara-Kate, who dresses very poorly and is two years older than Hillary, to her parents and her best friends Jane Webster and Alison Mancini. While her parents urged her to stay far away from Sara-Kate, Hillary’s friends immediately expresses disbelief in the elf village and instead talks nastily about her. However, Hillary didn’t believe all the nasty rumors about the strange girl.

Half-heatedly siding with her friends, Hillary temporarily dismisses the elf village entirely until Sara-Kate catches her attention by describing how the elves act and live. This further drove Hillary to wonder about their existence and believes that Sara-Kate may be one of them.

As Hillary returns to the village daily, she finds more clues of the elves existence, such as wooden “rafts”, newly made ferris wheel, fresh seeds and half eaten berries near a puddle’s edge. Hillary’s personal questions to Sara-Kate are quickly dismissed as Sara-Kate didn’t discuss personal matters at all. Also, after witnessing Sara-Kate’s extremely sick looking mother, Mrs. Connolly, through a window, Hillary begins to think that Sara-Kate is hiding a very significant secrets.

After Sara-Kate suddenly disappears for three days, overcome with curiosity and frustration, Hillary decides to search inside the Connolly’s residence. Noticing that the house is in complete disarray and stripped of bare essentials, she finds Sara-Kate holding her mother on a rocking chair. Sara-Kate immediately chases Hillary out the house threatening to harm her if she ever comes back or talks about what she saw. Sara-Kate is withdrawn her from school soon afterwards.

Talking to her father, Mr. Lenox, he mentions how he saw the poorly dressed girl running across the road as he was driving home. Hillary thought her friend must be back, so she walks over to Sara-Kate’s old house and finds her in the back yard. Sara-Kate calmly explains that she left town for a while. They then fix the broke ferris wheel where Sara-Kate waves her hands over it and it begins to spin by itself further adding to the mystery of the village and Sara-Kate.

Hillary returns to Sara-Kate’s dilapidated yard with questions about Ms. Connolly’s health and offers to help by finding some money to help Sara-Kate buy some groceries. And so, Hillary steals money from her parents and buys groceries. Hillary returns to Sara-Kate’s residence and is unexpectedly invited in. In there, Sara-Kate begins discussing her personal life in detail like never before where Hillary discovers that Sara-Kate is talking care of the house and her mentally ill mother without her father. Hillary hears her mother shouting for her and dashes towards the door only to find her mother waiting there. Mrs. Lenox, forces herself in and questions Sara-Kate as Hillary protests. Her mother proceeds to speak to Mrs. Connolly upstairs after which she comes downstairs, calms the girls down and takes Hillary home. It is the last time Hilary sees Sara-Kate.

In the next couple of days, household repairmen flocks to the Connolly’s house to repair it. Sara-Kate leaves to go with relatives and her mother is admitted to an intensive care institution. Talking to her best friends about Sara-Kate, Hilary is distracted by the fact that she no longer feels like she has nothing in common with anyone at the school but more in common with Sarah Kate. Witnessing that the Connolly’s rehabilitated house is about to be sold and being confused and filled with sadness, Hillary tasks herself with maintaining Sara-Kate’s legacy. Saving and maintain the Elf Village for the Elves.

Characters[edit source | edit]
Hillary Lenox – Age 9. Fourth Grader at the local school and the main character. She’s introduced to the elf village by her young neighbor, Sara-Kate.

Sara-Kate Connolly – Age 11. Mysterious repeating fifth Grader at the local school and a main character. Sara-Kate tends to the elf village in her backyard and mainly keeps to herself as she is the least popular children in the town.

Jane Webster – Friend of the main character Hillary Connolly, she is part of the trio of friends including herself, Alison and Hillary. She tries to keep Hillary far from Sara-Kate.

Alison Mancini – Friend of the main character Hillary Connolly, she is also part of the trio of friends between herself, Jane and Hillary. She warns Hillary to be wary of Sara-Kate.

Mr. Lenox – Father of Hillary Lenox. He constantly worked on his garden remained slightly impartial to Sara-Kate’s behavior. He’s more concerned with the conditions of the Connolly’s yard.

Mrs. Lenox – Mother of Hillary Lenox. She seeks to protect her daughter by keeping her daughter away from Sara-Kate.

Mrs. Connolly – The sick mother of Sara-Kate Connolly. She would remain sick in her bed as her daughter tries to take care of her.

References[edit source | edit]
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0698118065?ie=UTF8&isInIframe=1&n=283155&redirect=true&ref_=dp_proddesc_0&s=books&showDetailProductDesc=1#iframe-wrapper

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/janet-taylor-lisle-3/afternoon-of-the-elves/

http://v2.publishersweekly.com/978-0-531-05837-4

Category:1989 novelsCategory:Newbery Honor-winning worksCategory:American young adult novels

Critical Reception
Book critics thought the Afternoon of the Elves to be a decent read, scoring a 3.6/5 on GoodReads.com. Annette Curtis Klause of the Montgomery County Department of Public Libraries stated that “A fascinating portrayal of a manipulative yet touching friendship.” [1] Then she goes on to state “The children's emotions and behavior are believable and authentic, depicted clearly without over-explaining, especially Hillary's inner conflict. Lisle captures the subtlety of childhood feelings and perceptions, while maintaining a language and style accessible to average readers.”[1] Kirkus Reviews also shared praise by stating that “A remarkable, perceptive book to share aloud or savor alone.”[2] Publishers weekly also chimed in “This enchanting story about friendship reveals the beauty, wonder and mystery that lies within the imagination. With rare talent, Lisle…conveys a girl's vision of magic and truth through a montage of surreal images…Ultimately, the book suggests that friendship is as eternal as magic.”[3]

Awards
An Ana Notable Book A school Library Journal Best Book of the Year

A Booklist Editors’ Choice

A Horn Book Fanfare Title

Winner of the Parents’ Choice Award