Harcourt
2011
152p.
Mattie, a shy fifth-grader, wants to hide out at her new school by acting as apprentice to her Uncle Potluck, the custodian, but her plan falls apart when she summons the courage to speak about what matters most and finds a true friend.
Similar to Junonia but more happens, I think. This is an odd yet wonderful book. Mattie Mae is shy and quiet and learning to trust herself, but the number of moves she and her mom have made in the past few years hasn't helped her self confidence one bit. The book spends the 1st 2/3-3/4 with the reader inside Mattie's head, wondering where the story is going--I started to lose patience a bit, but am glad I stuck with it. I was relieved that Mattie wasn't going to suffer another bully or another move--relieved that Urban was making a statement about people of substance without spelling it out (ex. of the neighbor, Crystal--although perhaps she was a little too much of a stereotype--I don't know--I think there are a lot of women like her, who value makeup, etc. more than learning, humor, etc.) The language in this book was also fun--finally hearing the story about how Uncle Potluck got his name, getting little glimmers of story & truth about Mattie's mom...Everything came together in a believable, organic way, and I think I'll be pondering this one for a while.
ReplyDeleteThis a wonderful "shy kid" and/or "new kid in town" book. For lack of better way to phrase, this is a "soft" book, no hard edgy dialogue or situations, just the thoughts and struggles of a fifth grade girl. I am not shy person, so I loved the insight into what it's like to be shy. The only downside would be that the pacing was slow, but I felt this seems to fit with the tone of story. This is a lovely little book, but probably not a Newbery contender.
ReplyDeleteShort and sweet. Snapshot of a few key days in the life of a shy 11-year-old who has moved to a new town (again) and has no idea how to make friends. Captures the challenges of that child/teen balancing age well. The end left me smiling, but also a little disappointed, because the personalities and relationships are so vivid that you want to know what happens to them next.
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