The Good Master

This book is a very worthy Newbery Honor winner, set in pre-World War I Europe on a Hungarian ranch. As the novel begins, Jancsi is excited to go pick up his cousin Kate, whom he has never met. She is coming from Budapest to recover from measles in the country. But Kate is not quite what Jancsi was expecting. The book paints a vibrant, detailed portrait of life in the Hungarian countryside as Jancsi learns to appreciate his hardworking rural life, and Kate, a young, motherless girl, learns the meaning of love and family. As an interesting side note, Kate Seredy originally wrote this book in English, but English is not her first language—an amazing fact considering the rich writing full of imagery and exceptional sensory language. This book would make a great read-aloud.