Philip Hall Likes Me, I Reckon Maybe

''Philip Hall Likes Me, I Reckon Maybe'' is a

children's novel Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

written by

Bette Greene Bette Jean Greene (née Evensky; June 28, 1934 – October 2, 2020) was the author of several books for children and young adults, including '' Summer of My German Soldier'', ''The Drowning of Stephan Jones'', and the Newbery Honor book ''Philip ...

that was awarded a

Newbery Honor Newbery is a surname. People *Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver *David Newbery (born 1943), British economist *Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot *Francis Newbery (disambiguation), seve ...

in 1975. The book was published in 1974 by

Puffin Books Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs t ...

. It is the first of three novels to feature

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

Beth Lambert and her friend Philip Hall. The sequels are titled ''Get On Out of Here, Philip Hall'', and ''I've Already Forgotten Your Name, Philip Hall''. The book is set in rural

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

in the late 20th century. Eleven-year-old Beth Lambert is second-best at almost everything in school, from math to sports. She doesn't mind, though, because she's second only to Philip Hall. Over the course of the novel, she begins to grapple with the idea that perhaps she's letting Philip beat her so he'll remain her friend. 1974 American novels African-American novels American children's novels Newbery Honor-winning works Novels set in Arkansas Novels set in elementary and primary schools 1974 children's books Children's books set in Arkansas Children's books set in the 20th century Children's books set in schools {{1970s-child-novel-stub