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Booktalk
#1
"If truth was a crayon and
it was up to me to put a wrapper around it and name its color, I know just
what I would call it--dinosaur skin. I used to think, without really thinking
about it, that I knew what color that was. But that was a long time ago,
before I knew what I know now about both dinosaur skin and the truth."
(pp. 3)
The truth about her mother's background and past is as totally unknown
to thirteen year old Heidi as is the true color of dinosaur skin. That
is due to the fact that her mother is capable of expressing only twenty-three
words, sounds, or short phrases. While most of those twenty-three words
are common ones, Heidi's mom has one unique word--soof. And, that is the
one that Heidi most wants to understand.
When vital clues to the mystery of her mother's past appear, Heidi embarks
upon a lone cross-country trip to search for the elusive truth. Like other
great award-winning stories in which young characters embark on a journey
to discover who they are, Heidi's solitary quest is one force that drives
this story. The other is clearly unconditional love. (sharon schneeberger,
schneebergers@missouri.edu,
University of MO. Columbia, MO)
Booktalk #2
My name is Heidi So B. It.
My Mama speaks 23 words for everything and sometimes says, “soof”. Nobody
knows what it means, not even the librarian, but it is in Mama’s head.
Our friend Bernie told me, “All the basic parts are there, and she looks
like she should work just fine, but inside there are lots of mysterious
little pieces busted or bent or missing altogether, and without them her
machine doesn’t work quite right”. And I knew, it never would, but I still
wanted to know where we came from. One day I found a camera and had the
pictures developed – there were 23 and this began my quest. My quest to
know who I really was, and where we came from. Maybe my grandmother was
in one of the pictures, but I would never know unless I took my journey
from where we were to where my Mama began. (Prepared by: Kelly Brown ,
SCASL
Junior Book Awards)
Booktalk #3
Do you ever think your mom
is retarded? Well, in So B. It, the mother really is. 12-year-old Heidi
lives with her mother in an apartment that joins Bernadette’s -- their
neighbor. Bernie has been taking care of her practically since she was
born, since her mom is mentally disabled & can hardly even take care
of herself. As a matter of fact, her mom only knows 23 words, including
her name, which she says is So B. It. The mystery is: how is it that Heidi
& her mom came to live in the apartment in the 1st place, & why
doesn’t anyone ever bother them for rent? One day when Heidi is cleaning
out a closet, she finds an old camera with film still in it. She has the
film developed, & there are pictures of her mother w/someone who is
probably her grandmother. They’re standing outside a building that says
“Hilltop Home, Liberty, New York.” Bernie & Heidi keep calling Hilltop
Home, but aren’t able to get any information. By now, Heidi is obsessed
with finding out who her mother really is. She decides to take a bus from
her home in Reno, Nevada to New York. When she gets there, she finds that
Hilltop Home is for the mentally disabled. Turns out that her mother used
to live there, & got pregnant by the owner’s son, who is also mentally
disabled & still lives there. So immediately she found her father &
grandfather. Her grandfather tells her that when her mom got pregnant,
he gave her grandmother (who was the person in the pictures) a monthly
allowance (which is how their apartment has been paid for all these years)
on condition that she go away. So he’s curious what happened to her grandmother,
& searches Reno records to find out that she was killed by a bus almost
13 years before – the same day that Heidi & her mother showed up on
Bernie’s doorstep. Heidi is so excited & happy to finally find out
about her past. Until she talks to Bernie & finds out that her mother
has died while she was gone. It was so sad that I almost cried. But life
became a whole lot easier for Heidi after she found her family.
(By Cathy Genato, http://booktalkingcolorado.ppld.org,
Colorado
Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award Nominees 2009)
Booktalk #4
Heidi, the 13 year old main
character, knows that her mother is severely disabled and dependent on
their neighbor and caretaker Bernadette. Mama knows only 23 words, and
slearns new skills only through simple directions and repeated guided practice
over long periods of time. Heidi’s curiosity about her own history is sparked
by a word that Mama says but cannot explain: soof. Heidi discovers a few
clues in the twenty mysterious photographs from a long forgotten camera
that she finds in the back of a drawer. These clues lead Heidi on a cross-country
trip to Hilltop Farm where she learns the hidden secrets of another life
and another family. All the pieces of the puzzle come together in this
story of human kindness, acceptance, and eventual justice.
(Marge Erickkson Freeburn,
Colorado
Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award Nominees 2009)
Booktalk #5
One day Bernadette heard a
cry in the hallway outside her apartment door. Cautiously opening the door
a crack she discovered a young woman dressed in a raincoat, her legs spattered
with mud, holding a crying baby. The infant was Heidi, and they had come
from the apartment next door for help. Heidi's Mama couldn’t tend her week-old
child because she had a disability so Bernadette stepped in and cared for
them both lovingly. Mama said her name was "So Be It," but with her twenty-three-word
vocabulary, this was all the information she could give Bernadette. Twelve
years later this strange but loving household was still together. But Heidi
wondered who she was and where she and Mama had come from. While she searched
through some old photos in a cupboard, she discovered where to go to find
out. This led her on a long cross-country bus journey. Gradually the pieces
of the puzzle began to fall into place. Readers will be intrigued as they
travel along with Heidi. (Pennsylvania
Young Reader’s Choice Awards nominee, 2008-2009) |
