Nick Karpinski finds he must cope at home with his father's sudden plunge into mental illness while pretending that nothing is wrong. Eighth-grader Nick lives with his father, Jacob, and mother, Wanda, in a modest Chicago apartment. One day Jacob quits his job at Life Trust Insurance. Nick and Wanda don't press the taciturn Jacob to tell them why, and are relieved when he gets a new job. But soon Jacob leaves it as signs of mental illness surface. Jacob is suffering paranoid delusions, suspecting everyone of being a Communist; he feels he will be assassinated because he "knows too much." Wanda is ashamed to seek outside help or even breathe a word about it. Nick gets a part-time job to support the family, and falls into a nightmarish existence of living the life of a normal student during the day, his father's keeper through sleepless nights. He finds no easy answers and no real help from his uncle or the family priest. After Jacob brings home a rifle, Nick convinces the police that his father should be hospitalized and, against his will, Jacob is committed. Now the burden will be shared and Nick can rebuild his life. This is a rewarding book, well-written and careful in delineation of character and mood. Naylor wisely doesn't attempt to pinpoint the exact cause of Jacob's illness nor promise a miracle cure. Instead she focuses on the unwelcome and painful choices a boy must make for a father who can no longer function.
Pub Date: March 1, 1986
ISBN: 0553268821
Page Count: 196
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1986
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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