A sweet tale of imagination and intergenerational friendship on the cusp of the Depression. Eleven-year-old David, recovering from a severe bout of pneumonia, rejoices in the doctor’s advice that he not return to school—until, that is, “Aunt” Annie, a true battleaxe, volunteers to tutor him. But David, a dreamy boy who loves to make up stories of derring-do (punctuating the text throughout and featuring himself), soon learns that The Gawgon’s (“Gorgon”) methodologies are perfect for him, as she feeds him an unconventional education hinging on stories that become further fuel for his imagination (she supplies the smile for a frustrated Leonardo’s greatest work, among other feats). This is a departure for master fantasist Alexander (How the Cat Swallowed Thunder, 2000, etc.), who here eschews a grand canvas in favor of close and affectionate portraits of the many quirky characters in David’s life: his father, who plots to sell bottled water from the River Jordan (generously diluted with tap water) when his business fails; Uncle Eustace, the tombstone salesman; the doomsaying Aunt Rosie, one of whose frequent malapropisms gives rise to The Gawgon’s nickname. At the center of this web of loving relationships is the one that grows between David and The Gawgon, the memory of which supports David after her death. While his family certainly feels the effects of the stock-market crash, David himself is largely insulated from it both by the strength of his relationships and by his ability to find a story in just about anything. Laced with gentle humor and sustained by David’s voice (“I would have begged to be flogged, disemboweled, and forced to drink molten lead rather than returned to classes. I had some reluctance about being educated”)—a quietly zany tribute to the power of stories. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-525-46677-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Anticipating the visit of a favorite person is half the fun. Planning all the things he likes to do, the narrator of this celebration of childhood, includes telling knock-knock jokes, visiting a construction site, picking up lucky pennies, drinking hot chocolate, cooking, eating and cleaning up together, and just having a good time. What the narrator doesn’t like is putting on scratchy dress-up clothes, eating “funny-looking food,” or watching movies that are too “kissy.” Shields (Martian Rock, 1999, etc.) tells the story from the narrator’s point of view and then delivers a punchy surprise ending for this absolutely charming tale of grandfather and grandson. Nakata’s gentle watercolors for her first picture-book illustrations are alive with color, movement, and humor. They support and extend the text with funny little bits that provoke a grin and a chuckle. The love this grandfather and grandchild have for each other fills every page. A good read-aloud selection for the younger crowd and a nice addition to grandparents’ collections of books to share. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-525-46450-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Carrying her battered Garfield backpack—which carries a small bag of her mother’s ashes—14-year-old Hope accompanies Sarah, her current in a long line of foster mothers, to Nebraska. Anna, Sarah’s mother, runs her own farm there, and when she begins to tell Hope the stories of the remarkable women who have preserved the farmland and its accompanying meadow, Hope’s distance toward her foster family gives way to curiosity. Although the women have much in common, first-time author Gray lets each one tell her own story using a blend of writing formats. Hope first explores letters written by Abigail, whose father staked the original claim; pores over Rebecca’s diary, which records the girl adjusting to life as a servant for a German immigrant family; and listens to Anna recount an oral history of the Depression era. Finally, Hope comes to understand Sarah better after reading about Sarah and Anna’s fight to keep a missile silo from being placed in the meadow. In between learning about these past efforts, Hope forges her own identity and confronts her grief. After first believing that memories “. . . couldn’t be shared,” Hope finds that the strength and history of women is a memory to be owned and shared by all women. While the experienced adult reader may find that the plot comes together too easily, young adolescents will overlook this minor flaw as descriptions of a soft, wet newborn calf and other memories of the farm entice the senses. An excellent candidate for mother/daughter book groups, Holding Up the Earth will become a collective memory for young teenage girls. (Fiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-618-00703-2
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
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