This review can also be found in The Canon City Daily Record.
When was the last time you grabbed a comfy blanket, a cup of
milk and some cookies, and a good book?
When was the last time you hibernated in a homemade fort of couch
cushions and carpet runners, reading with a flashlight until the battery
dimmed?
It's time to return to those days - even just for one more
book: "Crenshaw", by Katherine Applegate.
A prolific children’s author, Ms. Applegate has written many
of the books in the Animorphs series.
Recently moving in a different direction, “The One and Only Ivan”, the
true tale of a silver-back gorilla housed in a shopping mall, won the 2013
Newberry Medal. It reached the hearts of
children and adults alike.
This year Katherine Applegate has done it again. “Crenshaw” is already topping the bestseller
lists for readers in fourth to sixth grade.
It is summer, and Jackson is in limbo between fourth and
fifth grade – he’s also scared and confused about his parents’ financial
situation. Money is tight. Dad has a medical disability and Mom is
working multiple jobs. Both are trying
to keep an upbeat attitude and maintain stability while experiencing the
marital tension that goes along with such stresses. And this isn’t the first time things have
been rough. Once, Jackson and his
parents, his little sister and dog, had to live in the family van for a while.
Jackson is a pretty smart kid – and he likes facts. He wants to know and understand what is
happening beyond what his parents feel he is ready for. He tells us, “Sometimes I just wanted to be
treated like a grown-up. I wanted to
hear the truth, even if it wasn’t a happy truth. I understood things. I knew way more than they thought I did.”
And that’s when Crenshaw makes his appearances – when life
feels a bit heavier than Jackson can seem to bear. Who’s Crenshaw? Well, he’s a large cat with an affinity for
bubbles, t-shirts, and purple jellybeans.
He’s imaginary, of course - “Harvey” for a new generation.
This tale is candid, conversational and humorous, affording
younger readers the opportunity to feel for - and with - Jackson, and providing
adults with a view straight into a child’s heart. It is true to the experiences of childhood
and an insightful recollection of what it was like – is like – to be a
kid. The strengths and vulnerabilities
of youth are explored and granted safety.
This is a book to read aloud with a child. But it is also a
book to read alone and appreciate 244 short pages of pure delight.
Sometimes we all need examine the world from
the height of four feet nothing.
Photo credit: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ffwVD0FeL._SX339_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
