A Gathering of Days; A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32 (1979) is a historical novel by Joan Blos that won the 1980 National Book Award for Children's Books (hardcover) [ 1 ] [ a ] and the 1980 Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature . The book is written in the form of a journal kept by Catherine Hall, a young girl living in a rural village in New England with her widower father and younger sister. The journal details her daily life between the years of 1830 and 1832. Among the events of these two years are several that would have a profound impact on the rest of her life. These include her assistance to an escaped slave, her father's remarriage, and the sudden death of her best friend. [ 2 ] Catherine, called Cath by her friends, is thirteen at the start of the book, and has a birthday in May, so for most of the journal she is thirteen. Her best friend is Cassie, who dies during the course of the journal. Catherine has a younger sister, Matty. Her mother died four years before the journal takes place. Her father remarried in May 1831, and his wife, a widow, brought her own son to live with them, Daniel. They all figured out how to be a family and Catherine learns to love her new stepmom. Cassie is Catherine's best friend. She is a year older than Catherine, fourteen, but the girls are the same height. She has three brothers: David Horatio (two years older), Asa Hale (Catherine's age), and William Mason, the baby. In the summer of 1831, Cassie is suddenly struck with a high fever. Her condition worsens over the next nine days, and she dies in her sleep on August 20, 1831. In her 1899 letter to her great-granddaughter, Catherine says of her dear childhood friend, "of all of us, the only one never to grow old." At the time of the book's publication, Kirkus Reviews said, "The tone is suitably restrained, and the language, which means to mimic accurately the speech and writing patterns of the period, is so awkwardly formal at times that to follow it the reader must be sharply attentive. The reward is a warm and interesting glimpse into a past way of life dependent on the close society of neighbors, friends, and family. Carefully researched and convincingly delivered." [ 2 ] In a retrospective essay about the Newbery Medal-winning books from 1976 to 1985, literary critic Zena Sutherland wrote, "Catherine's journal shows her reflection of diverse viewpoints about runaway slaves, and it makes reference to recorded history; but the details that indicate historical research on the author's part are never obtrusive, and they do not dominate the story by clogging the narrative flow. In sum, this is a book set in a historical period, but it is not a book about nineteenth-century New Hampshire : It is a book about a human being." [ 3 ] ↑ From 1980 to 1983 in National Book Award history there were dual awards for hardcover and paperback books in many categories. Almost all of the paperback award-winners were reprints, including the 1980 children's paperback. ↑ "National Book Awards – 1980" . National Book Foundation . Retrieved 2012-02-21. 1 2 "A GATHERING OF DAYS: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32 by Joan W. Bios [ sic ] " . Kirkus Reviews . Retrieved January 18, 2020 . ↑ Sutherland, Zena (1986). "Newbery Medal Books 1976-1985". In Kingman, Lee (ed.). Newbery and Caldecott Medal Books 1976-1985 . Boston : The Horn Book, Incorporated . p. 159. ISBN 0-87675-004-8 . Children's literature portal The Story of Mankind (1922) The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1923) The Dark Frigate (1924) Tales from Silver Lands (1925) Shen of the Sea (1926) Smoky the Cowhorse (1927) Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon (1928) The Trumpeter of Krakow (1929) Hitty, Her First Hundred Years (1930) The Cat Who Went to Heaven (1931) Waterless Mountain (1932) Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze (1933) Invincible Louisa (1934) Caddie Woodlawn (1936) Roller Skates (1937) The White Stag (1938) Thimble Summer (1939) Daniel Boone (1940) Call It Courage (1941) The Matchlock Gun (1942) Adam of the Road (1943) Johnny Tremain (1944) Rabbit Hill (1945) Strawberry Girl (1946) Miss Hickory (1947) The Twenty-One Balloons (1948) King of the Wind (1949) The Door in the Wall (1950) Amos Fortune, Free Man (1951) Ginger Pye (1952) Secret of the Andes (1953) ...And Now Miguel (1954) The Wheel on the School (1955) Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (1956) Miracles on Maple Hill (1957) Rifles for Watie (1958) The Witch of Blackbird Pond (1959) Onion John (1960) Island of the Blue Dolphins (1961) The Bronze Bow (1962) A Wrinkle in Time (1963) It's Like This, Cat (1964) Shadow of a Bull (1965) I, Juan de Pareja (1966) Up a Road Slowly (1967) From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1968) The High King (1969) Summer of the Swans (1971) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (1972) Julie of the Wolves (1973) The Slave Dancer (1974) M. C. Higgins, the Great (1975) The Grey King (1976) Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1977) Bridge to Terabithia (1978) The Westing Game (1979) A Gathering of Days (1980) Jacob Have I Loved (1981) A Visit to William Blake's Inn (1982) Dicey's Song (1983) Dear Mr. Henshaw (1984)

The Hero and the Crown (1985) Sarah, Plain and Tall (1986) The Whipping Boy (1987) Joyful Noise (1989) Number the Stars (1990) Maniac Magee (1991) Missing May (1993) The Giver (1994) Walk Two Moons (1995) The Midwife's Apprentice (1996) The View from Saturday (1997) Out of the Dust (1998) Bud, Not Buddy (2000) A Year Down Yonder (2001) A Single Shard (2002) The Tale of Despereaux (2004) Kira-Kira (2005) Criss Cross (2006) The Higher Power of Lucky (2007) Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! (2008) The Graveyard Book (2009) When You Reach Me (2010) Moon Over Manifest (2011) Dead End in Norvelt (2012) The One and Only Ivan (2013) Flora & Ulysses (2014) The Crossover (2015) Last Stop on Market Street (2016) The Girl Who Drank the Moon (2017) Hello, Universe (2018) Merci Suárez Changes Gears (2019) When You Trap a Tiger (2021) The Last Cuentista (2022) Freewater (2023) The Eyes and the Impossible (2024) The First State of Being (2025) All the Blues in the Sky (2026) Journey from Peppermint Street (1969) A Day of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing up in Warsaw (1970) The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian (1971) The Slightly Irregular Fire Engine or The Hithering Thithering Djinn (1972) The Farthest Shore (1973) The Court of the Stone Children (1974) M. C. Higgins the Great (1975) Bert Breen's Barn (1976) The Master Puppeteer (1977) The View From the Oak: The Private Worlds of Other Creatures (1978) The Great Gilly Hopkins (1979) A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830–82 A Swiftly Tilting Planet The Night Swimmers Ramona and Her Mother Oh, Boy! Babies Outside Over There Homesick: My Own Story A House is a House for Me 1979 American novels 1979 English-language novels Fictional diaries Children's historical novels American children's novels Newbery Medal–winning works National Book Award for Young People's Literature–winning works Novels set in New Hampshire Novels set in the 1830s 1979 children's books Children's books set in New Hampshire Children's books set in the 1830s Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Articles needing additional references from November 2015 All articles needing additional references Use mdy dates from March 2025