Lesley M. M. Blume’s third novel for children, Tennyson, became available today as a paperback.

Released by Knopf in January 2008, Tennyson is a haunting, Depression-era tale of a young girl who discovers her family’s ignoble history in Louisiana’s plantation country.  The book received instant critical acclaim from reviewers across the country:

“Brilliant, unusual writing.”  - The Chicago Tribune

“Beautiful, poetic writing about how the past resonates through the generations.” - Booklist

Tennyson was also a coveted Book Sense Pick, a Winning Selection for Kirkus Reviews’ Top Picks for Reading Groups 2008, a CBS’s Early Show “Best Young Adult Fiction” pick, and the subject of an unprecedented fifteen minute interview with Good Morning America‘s Robin Roberts.

Many teachers and parents have found that Tennyson’s settings and themes make the book an unusually timely educational tool.  The novel’s meticulously-researched flashbacks to the antebellum South provide an excellent platform for discussing American’s ever-evolving racial relations, a topic that has surged in the national discourse since the historic 2008 presidential election. 

In addition, Tennyson’s Depression-era setting can help young students understand and contextualize the recession distressing the country today. 

This affordable new edition of the book makes it accessible to a wider audience interested in these topics.  Scholastic Bookfairs - a longtime champion of Ms. Blume’s books - will be vending great quantities of Tennyson in paperback as well.

For a full list of reviews and insider secrets about the writing of the book, please visit the Tennyson section of this website!