| Booktalk
#1
Hi! I’m Dave Caros. Its 1926
and October 26th was the worst day of my life. It all started when Papa
died from falling off the roof of a house that he was helping to build.
If I wasn’t numb enough from that, my stepmother, Ida just informed me
that she's giving me up. She just can’t afford to feed and clothe me. Worse
yet, no one else in the family wants me. My brother Gideon is going to
live with Uncle Jack in Chicago. I begged to go with Uncle Jack, but I
guess that I’m just too much of a troublemaker. So, I have no choice. Its
off to the HHB, Hebrew Home for Boys, otherwise known as the Hell Hole
for Brats. Things aren’t all bad. Come meet Solly, my adopted fortune-telling
grandfather, his parrot, Mrs. Parker, a vocalist from Harlem, her daughter,
Irma Lee, and of course my "buds", the other 11 year olds from the HHB.
(New Hampshire
Great Stone Face Committee)
Booktalk
#2
It is 1926. When his father
dies, Dave Caros finds himself unwanted by his stepmother and all other
family members. So Dave is sent to the Hebrew Home for Boys, an orphanage,
where he confronts evil in the forms of the hateful headmaster and bullies
who steal food. He also finds goodness in the most unlikely forms: "buddies"
who stick together as friends; an old man who tells fortunes; and wealthy
social figures in the Harlem Renaissance. (He "hops the wall" at night
to wander the streets of Harlem.) In the midst of sadness and hardship,
Dave learns the true meaning of friendship. This story is based on the
author's own father's true childhood, and is written with great heart,
a poignant tale about a very energetic, self-sufficient boy. (Jeannie
Bellavance bellavance@erols.com
for Pennsylvania
Young Reader's Choice Awards) |
