There's a boy with cerebellar mutism, a girl whose mother goes on a lot of business trips, a boy trying to learn magic, and a girl dealing with soon having a new sibling. Although the title is "one day and one amazing morning," nothing that happens in the book is something that so extraordinarily that it could really only happen in a book. Snoops, an elderly woman, and even one told from the perspective of the orange tree itself. Each short chapter is about one (or two) of the characters, mostly the kids, but some about Ms. It's the kind of street that you see on TV and in movies but that doesn't seem to exist in the Los Angeles that I know, in which all the kids are around the same age, and play together outside in the shade of the orange tree. Not that there isn't a place for all that, but there are quite a few kids and parent who are looking for something like One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street, which is as refreshing as the Valencia oranges on the subject of the book.Īs the title indicates, One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street takes place in the course of roughly 30 hours, on one block in Los Angeles, which has five houses and an empty lot that has an orange tree. This incident is not the heart of the story, but just an illustration of the many ways the author has created a tapestry of caring relationships.These days it seems like it's rare to find a contemporary realistic fiction middle grade title where no one dies, has abusive parents, or has to go through some other horrible struggle. It is all presented easily, matter-of-factly, and yet we can still sense the love between siblings and parents as they cope. I particularly like the way the author brings in difficult situations, such as a young baby that had brain surgery, without bombarding us with trauma and maudlin drama. Children can read this children’s book and take it at face value, just reading the moments as they occur, or they can feel their way into the book, and sense the deeper changes that each of the characters go through. Yet this is all done with a very light touch. It is also a story about reconciliation and healing one’s past. However, the heart of the children’s book is the emotional bonds between people in a neighborhood, between children and older people, between past and present. There is a bit of a plot, involving saving a beloved orange tree. Perhaps because it is interspersed with memories of the past, it feels poignant and yet contemporary. This children’s book almost feels like it is from another time, even though it was written in 2011. Snoops’s memory had little holes in it, here and there…” Snoops’s memory, whispered the angel, was like the lacy antimacassars on the organ and green striped sofa’s arms.
0 kommentar(er)
