Archive for Family

The Best Man

Written by Richard Peck

Who doesn’t love a humorous, modern look at family life? For that matter, who doesn’t love a Richard Peck novel? In the best tradition of Peck, James Thurber, and Mark Twain, the reader gets to know some of the most real characters ever to come along and genuinely care what happens to them.

Archer Magill, in true little kid fashion, understands everything in literal terms, but he’s learning. He tells of the first wedding he was in, when he was six and the ring bearer. This was where he met Lynette, soon to be his best friend and his only link with intuitive thought. Naturally, the wedding was a disaster, with Lynette helping him through the mud – mud that covered his bare behind when his white shorts ripped.

There was no seat in my pants now. Only me, muddy and open to the world.

As Archer and Lynette grow, they have many more adventures – among them, a fifth-grade teacher who is five months pregnant at the beginning of the school year and is determined to let the kids experience her third trimester with her. Lynette’s mother takes over the class though she’s never taught before. When their student teacher, Ed McLeod, arrives in his National Guard uniform, the school is alarmed by his sudden appearance. So, the SWAT team is called out and it becomes a media event. As it turns out, he’s a wonderful teacher and a wonderful guy. A bullying event prompts him to come out to the school.

Gay’s not a random word,” Mr. McLeod said. “It’s an identity.”

“Whatever,” Perry mumbled.

“It’s my identity,” Mr. McLeod said.

Silence fell. You could have heard breathing, but there wasn’t any.

Archer decides he wants to be like his dad, his grandpa, his Uncle Paul, and eventually Mr. McLeod. Archer starts to notice things, like Uncle Paul also being gay and the fact that that’s okay, if that’s what you are. He sees that Uncle Paul needs someone to love, but that it’s Uncle Paul’s decision. He accepts that his sister, Holly, is like their mother, just like he is like the men in his life.

Then Holly blew in. She was wearing her CONFORMITY KILLS T-shirt. She and Janie Clarkson always wear them on the same day.

Quirky, well-rounded characters and subtle humor appear throughout the story. Even though same sex marriage is a theme, Peck treats it with sensitivity and just a normal part of some people’s lives. In this day and age, The Best Man is well worth a read.

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  • the-best-manTitle: The Best Man
  • Illustrator: Richard Peck
  • Publisher: Dial Books/Random House, September 20, 2016
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 237 pages
  • Grade Level: 4 up
  • Genre: Coming of age, same sex marriage, LGBTQ, loss
  • ISBN: 978-0-8037-3839-3

Applesauce Weather

Written by Helen Frost
Illustrated by Amy June Bates

This sweet and nostalgic novel in verse recalls a history of an extended family as it relates to an apple tree. The author uses four voices to relate the story and show the connections between current and previous generations. When the first ripe apple of the season falls from the tree, young Faith awaits the arrival of her great uncle, by marriage. Uncle Arthur was married to Aunt Lucy, with whom he planted the tree many years ago. He is the best storyteller in the family. Aunt Lucy has passed away since the previous apple harvest, but the whole family still hears her voice in their thoughts. Faith’s brother, Peter, seems to be following in the footsteps of Uncle Arthur, at least partially. Through these four, the reader learns of Arthur and Lucy’s courtship and the growth of the apple tree. Faith and Peter insist on hearing more about Arthur and how he lost one of his fingers. Peter, meantime, is fascinated by their neighbor, Rose Timmons, and wants to learn to carve wood like Uncle Arthur.

The illustrations have the same nostalgic and rustic feel of the story. The reader can almost taste the gingerbread with lemon sauce.

Fourth graders can learn a lot about poetry and practice literacy skills with this short novel. They can also learn about grief and family relations.

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  • Applesauce WeatherTitle: Applesauce Weather
  • Author: Helen Frost
  • Illustrator: Amy June Bates
  • Publisher: Candlewick, 2016
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 112 pages
  • Grade Level: 3 to 7
  • Genre: Chapter Book, Poetry, Grief, Family
  • ISBN: 978-0-7636-7576-9

 

Hour of the Bees

Written by Lindsay Eagar

In this excellent debut novel, the author shows us a world that is familiar and, at the same time, unfamiliar to most of her readers. When the dementia of Carol’s grandfather reaches a critical point, she and her entire family spend the summer packing up his ranch and getting him ready to move to a protected facility. Carol – or Carolina (Caro-leeen-a) as Grandpa calls her – is slowly sucked into his fantasies. So much so that the reader is never sure what’s real, what’s a dream, and what’s just part of the story. Grandpa, or Sergio (Serge), tells the story of the desert ranch in installments centered around a magical tree and bees that took off with the water from a now-dry lake. Is Carol really seeing bees in the desert and does the tree really grow back overnight? Did Grandma Rosa really travel all over the world while Serge waited for her? Why don’t Serge and her dad speak? Through it all, Carol learns to deal with her teenage half-sister and with starting middle school as she goes through changes of her own.

Fourth graders will recognize some of their own confusion in coming to grips with the world and with people who don’t always act the way they expect. Coming of age is not always easy for anyone in the room.

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  • Hour of the BeesTitle: Hour of the Bees
  • Author: Lindsay Eagar
  • Published: Candlewick Press, 2016
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
  • Grade Level: 4 to 6
  • Genre: Family, Fantasy, Dementia
  • ISBN: 978-0-7636-7922-4

The Way to Stay in Destiny

Written by Augusta Scattergood

When Theo and Uncle Raymond arrive in Destiny, Florida, the sign says it is, The Town Time Forgot, and the weather is ridiculously hot. As they walk down the street looking for their rooming house, uncle has a big tool box and Theo has a lot of questions he keeps to himself. Only chapters later do we find out why they are together in this small town.

Theo was being raised by his grandparents after the death of his parents, but now the grandparents have died. An uncle Theo has never known is called home from his cabin in Alaska to raise the orphan.

Theo is a gifted pianist, but Uncle Raymond cannot tolerate the sound or thought of music. His attitude is a mystery for a long time, as are his nightmares. This is an interesting twist on the age-old story pattern of deceased parents.

The new friendships Theo makes both in school and the rooming house are really funny girls with very independent outlooks on life. They are great secondary characters.

The heroine of the story, though, is a surprise readers will enjoy. She brings humor, guidance and second chances for everyone. The story has a bit of a slow start, but the coming together of all the threads makes for a satisfying conclusion.

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  • Title: The Way to Stay in Destiny
  • Author:  Augusta Scattergood
  • Publisher: Scholastic, 2015
  • Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
  • Format: Hardcover, 197 pages
  • ISBN: 0545538246
  • Genre: Fiction
  • Grade level: 4 to 6

Saucy and Bubba

Written by Darcy Pattison

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Billed as a modern Hansel and Gretel tale, this new novel explores some of the scarier aspects presented in fairy tales. Saucy, age eleven, and brother Bubba, seven, have lost their mother and are being cared for by Krissy, their daddy’s new wife. Daddy is out on the road, driving a big rig and trying to keep the bills paid. Krissy has a drinking problem, which Daddy refuses to see. When Krissy is drunk, Saucy hides. Krissy gets so drunk one night, she threatens to hit Saucy, which is the last straw. Saucy and Bubba board a cross-country bus in order to seek help from their Aunt Vivian. Of course, Bubba insists they leave a trail of white stones for Daddy to follow to them. After a terrifying trip, they arrive at Aunt Vivian’s house, but there’s no Aunt Vivian. Eventually, things get better, but not perfect, as in the real world.

Although written at a third to fourth grade reading level, the subject matter may be for the more mature members of this age group. Saucy’s ability to recognize Krissy’s very adult problems puts her squarely at her stated age of eleven. Also, she has an uncanny ability to keep Bubba safe against all odds on a long bus trip, at home with Krissy, and with a stranger/predator. But Saucy’s struggles are a good model for children who need to trust an adult in order to solve a problem, whether it’s abuse or bullying or another issue. In the scary, modern world, abuse and bullying know no age limits.

  • SaucyTitle: Saucy and Bubba
  • Author: Darcy Pattison
  • Publisher: Mims House, 2013
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 156 pages
  • Genre: Contemporary fairy tale, running away, alcoholism
  • ISBN: 978-1-62944-008-8
  • Lexile: 590L

Steering Toward Normal

Written by Rebecca Petruck

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Competition is a part of life now for kids. And this is just as true in a rural setting as it is in the city. Where urban children learn to dance or do gymnastics or play soccer early, country kids might raise steers or sheep. This is the backdrop for this new novel for fourth graders and above. Another theme to which urban kids can also relate is that of family. Thirteen-year-old Diggy lives with his father, Pop, after his mother abandoned him as a baby. His mother never married Pop, but no one doubts Pop is his biological father. Diggy’s classmate, Wayne, loses his mother to cancer, and it’s revealed that Wayne’s dad may not be his biological father. Is Wayne Diggy’s half brother? Wayne ends up living with Pop and Diggy while Wayne’s dad works on his alcoholism. The two boys fight like brothers and raise steers together for the 4-H fair. Diggy is expected to win Grand Champion at the state fair. Wayne insists Diggy needs to find his own mother, though he really doesn’t want to.

Rural kids will identify with all the details about the steers, and urban kids will learn about animals and see how farm animals can be loved just like their own pets. There is plenty of information about 4-H and cattle at the end of the book. The pace is lively and light. Pop and Diggy love to play pranks, and April Fools’ Day is a major holiday at their house.

 

  • Steering toward normalTitle: Steering Toward Normal
  • Author: Rebecca Petruck
  • Publisher: Amulet/Abrams, 2014
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
  • Genre: Contemporary fiction, rural life, family
  • ISBN: 978-1-4197-0732-2
  • Publication date: May 13, 2014

Half a Chance

Written by Cynthia Lord

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Even the most good-hearted person can do the wrong thing for the right reasons. (Not to mention doing a few wrong things for the wrong reasons.) So it is with Lucy, the heroine in Lord’s third novel. Lucy can’t resist trying to win a contest to help a friend, even though she knows it’s a bad idea.

When Lucy and her parents move to a lake cottage in New Hampshire, she immediately befriends the summer family next door. The son, Nate, becomes a constant companion. The grandmother, Grandma Lilah, wins Lucy’s heart with her concern over the loons that live on the lake. Grandma Lilah is not well and frequently gets upset, much to Lucy’s confusion. Lucy’s dad is a famous photographer. When Lucy and Nate aren’t checking on the loons for Grandma Lilah, they’re working on a photography contest for which Dad is the judge. They want to win money to pay for a way to get Grandma Lilah close to her beloved loons one more time. Adding to the tension is another summer resident, Megan, who also wants to be friends with Nate. Lucy’s jealousy is well-founded and adds a dimension to Lucy’s personality, as does the fact that she has trouble coming to terms with her father’s frequent absences. She wants more attention from him.

Fourth graders and up will love the bond Lucy forms with the birds and enjoy the creative ways in which she interprets the categories for the contest. Their hearts will go out to the older woman in her struggles. Many reading activities are suggested by Lucy’s participation in tracking the loons, in her photographic pursuits, in her kayaking, and in her desire to help Grandma Lilah.

The author’s website, www.cynthialord.com, has many more reading activities.

  • Half a ChanceTitle: Half a Chance
  • Author: Cynthia Lord
  • Publisher: Scholastic, 2014
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 224 pages
  • Genre: Contemporary fiction, nature, dementia, friendship, family
  • ISBN: 978-0545035330

All That’s Missing

Written by Sarah Sullivan

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In this heartwarming look at a pre-teen’s life, Sullivan asks the questions “What is a home?” and “What is a family?” The answers are satisfying and, at times, surprising.

Eleven-year-old Arlo, an orphan, lives with and gets along well with his maternal grandfather, Poppo. Poppo’s memory is failing from an unnamed form of dementia, and Arlo is trying to hold his family together. He’s heard terrible things about foster care and Poppo refuses to tell him anything about his surviving paternal grandmother, Ida. When Poppo suffers a stroke, Arlo panics and sets off to find his grandmother. Amazingly, he’s able to travel 350 miles and locate a woman he has no memory of. Full of twists and surprises, this is a fun read.

The author does an amazing job of getting inside a young boy’s mind and showing why he takes the steps he does. Many of the other characters are well-developed and believable. Poppo and Ida are lovable. Arlo’s friends, Sam and Maywood, are crazy and loyal. Bernice and Tyrone, who help Arlo on his journey, are the right mix of gullible and incredulous. Mr. Garringer, who tries to take Ida’s house, is delightfully evil. Steamboat the dog is more entertaining and a bigger help than he has any right to be.

Fourth graders and older should be able to follow the story independently and should understand the feelings of wanting to belong while still determining their own destinies. In her Author’s Note, Sullivan lists several resources related to her inspiration for the book, for further reading activities. Both the author’s, http://www.sarahsullivanbooks.com, and the publisher’s website, www.candlewick.com, give further information.

  • All That's MissingTITLE: All That’s Missing
  • AUTHOR: Sarah Sullivan
  • PUBLISHER: Candlewick Press, 2013
  • REVIEWER: Sue Poduska
  • ISBN: 978-0-7636-6102-1
  • FORMAT: Hard cover, 358 pages
  • GENRE: Contemporary Fiction, Family, Home