The Lottery Rose

A boy learns what it means to give and receive love in this beautifully refreshed edition of Lottery Rose from Newbery Award–winning author Irene Hunt.

Georgie Burgess doesn’t talk about the abuse that he receives from his mother and her boyfriend. Even though he’s constantly getting into trouble at school, he continues to hide his hurt, refusing to tell anyone what life is like at home. Instead, he finds escape between the pages of books depicting beautiful gardens and flowers.

When Georgie wins a small rosebush in a supermarket lottery, he gives it all the love and caring he’s never had. Soon after, his life begins to change when child services remove him from his mother’s care and look for a new, safe home for him. But all the while, Georgie still needs to find a home for his rosebush, and through the people he meets, he slowly learns what it means to be loved and accepted.

Irene Hunt was the author of many distinguished books for young readers. Her first novel, Across Five Aprils, was a Newbery Award Honor book and received a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. Her second novel, Up a Road Slowly, was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1966. Ms. Hunt was born in southern Illinois and received degrees from the University of Illinois and the University of Colorado. For many years she taught in the public schools of northern Illinois, and later taught psychology at the University of South Dakota. She died in 2001.