Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer :: Book Lady Linda’s Review :: Spoiler Free

Meet Lucinda, a New York City child of the 1890’s exploring her neighborhood on skates. This book won the Newbery Medal in 1937.

Her mother’s health is failing so Lucinda’s parents decide to spend a year in Italy where the climate is much better than in New York City. They decide to leave Lucinda behind with Miss Peters and Miss Nettie who allow her a great deal of freedom to roam her inner-city neighborhood. This happens in the 1890’s. Lucinda, who wears roller skates, manages to make friends with a varied community of people including the policeman, a cab driver, an eccentric old woman, and even other children.

My experience of reading Roller Skates

I read this book many years ago at the suggestion of my Children’s Literature teacher. I took the class in the 1970’s at Shasta College in Redding, California. I have never lived in New York City, so reading of a child’s experience there was not something I immediately felt an affinity with and I was not very enthusiastic about reading the book. However Lucinda is a sweet and charming explorer and I loved that she was on roller skates. Before long she won me over and I loved the novel, her friendships and personality.

Would a child like it?

Yes, I think a child, especially a young girl, would love reading about Lucinda. If you’re buying for a boy you might want to check out It’s Like This, Cat instead. That’s about a boy living in New York City. Boys tend to prefer reading about boys but girls will usually be happy reading about either boys or girls.

Be aware that this book, Roller Skates, includes the suicide of a woman and the death of a child. Yes, not all is perfect in Lucinda’s neighborhood but she’s a great example of how to adjust to some terrible circumstances.

Is it worth buying?

Yes, definitely – Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer is a treasure. I loved this book. After I got over my initial reluctance I was excited about Lucinda’s life and the book was a page-turner for me.