#21 in Picture books
Blueberries for Sal
- 54
- Pages
- about 1 h
- Reading time
- Caldecott Honor
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Our view
Robert McCloskey’s “Blueberries for Sal” is a simple, enduring picture book about a girl and a bear cub out picking berries with their mothers. Set in Maine and first published in 1948, it works well read aloud, and some readers find it just as enjoyable when they return to it years later. It suits young children and the adults who read to them.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Blueberries for Sal is a classic children's picture book written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey in 1948. The story is set in Maine, following the adventures of a young girl named Sal and a bear cub named Little Bear as they both go blueberry picking with their respective mothers before winter.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.3 across 71 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 33% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Picture books average of 8.3. That is how 8.1 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.5 | 16 | 23% |
| Hardcover | 8.3 | 55 | 78% |
Frequently asked
What age is Blueberries for Sal for?
Blueberries for Sal sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 54 pages — shorter than 89% of the ranked books in Picture books.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Picture books — with scores between 7.8 and 8.2, closest to this book.
