The Moon Over High Street

by Natalie Babbitt

Overview

The new novel by Natalie Babbitt, author of Tuck Everlasting

Joe Casimir needed help with the choice he had to make. But how do you choose the person who will help you choose? Mr. Boulderwall, the millionaire, knew exactly what he wanted Joe to choose. And millionaires are experts at making choices. Well, aren't they? But Vinnie, the number-two man down at Sope Electric, didn't much approve of millionaires. He said to Joe, "Listen, kid, all of 'em act like they're the only ones with a ticket to the show!" But he didn't have any real advice to offer. Joe's Gran didn't either, as it turned out, and neither did Aunt Myra.The good advice was there, though. Right across the street. Just waiting right across the street. There are a lot of good things just waiting. You'll see.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545393027
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/26/2014
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
Lexile:	740L (what's this?)
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Natalie Babbitt is the author and illustrator of sixteen books, among them Tuck Everlasting, The Search for Delicious, and Kneeknock Rise, a Newbery Honor Book. Five of her books have been named ALA Notable Children's Books.

Read an Excerpt

From The Moon Over High Street

When the world you're used to, that same old world you thought you knew so well, turns itself suddenly upside down, what can you do? Everything comes tumbling off the shelves of your expectations; nothing fits anymore.

“This is Beatrice, Joe,” said Aunt Myra. “She's just your age.”
“Hi,” said Beatrice.
As for Joe, all he could do was mumble. For Beatrice Sope was beautiful, with a round, clear face, and hair as dark and shiny as fine furniture.

“I'm talking about the best of everything for that boy! For the rest of his life, he'll have all the money anyone could want! Why, to be rich–it's the American dream!”

Myra switched on the engine of the car. “Time to head home,” she said. “The sky will have to do without us for the rest of tonight.” But the stars–and the moon–would still be there, Joe said to himself with satisfaction. They were always there, whether anyone looked at them or not.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4–7—Joe Casimir's parents died when he was only a few months old, and he has been raised by his paternal grandmother. The summer he is 12, Gran breaks her hip days before they are scheduled to visit their cousin in Ohio, so Joe is sent off alone. Once in Midville, he blooms under the comfortable companionship of Myra, her old friend Vinnie, and Beatrice, the quintessential girl next door. Then the richest man in town, Ansom Boulderwald, takes an interest in him as a possible heir to his business. Playing off Joe's fascination with meteors, Babbitt elegantly weaves the metaphor of a meteor about to come crashing into the boy's world to describe Boulderwald's proposal to adopt him and control his future. While set in the '60s, the story has a timeless quality to it, and segments of the writing soar with vivid figurative language. Boulderwald is not portrayed as totally evil, but his power and wealth, plus his wife's ruthless upwardly mobile striving, are viewed as empty goals, while Gran's and Myra's more humble views on the importance of family, friends, and following your heart win out. Joe is a hesitant, reserved kid who only allows himself to open up when he is comfortable with certain people. As a result, readers may have to work to understand his motivations. Nonetheless, there is an endearing quality in shy, reticent Joe and his small, but fiercely loving family, and much to ponder thematically here. Ultimately it will take that special discerning child to appreciate this thoughtful yet quirky novel.—Caroline Ward, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT

School Library Journal

When 12-year-old Joe Casimir’s grandmother breaks her hip, his summer starts with a bus trip to a distant relative. Joe doesn’t even know Aunt Myra, but he goes in order to please his grandmother, who raised him after his parents died. Once Joe arrives in Midville, Ohio, his outlook improves. Aunt Myra confides that she always hoped he might come to live with her, and Beatrice, a friendly (and pretty) girl Joe’s age, lives across the street. Most significantly, he has a chance encounter with Midville’s richest citizen—Anson Boulderwall, a Polish immigrant turned manufacturing millionaire. Boulderwall, 71, has no one to take over his lucrative factory, and he rashly settles on Joe as his heir apparent (based on little more than Joe’s Polish surname), writing Joe’s grandmother to announce his intentions to begin adoption proceedings. Joe’s feelings about this offer are conflicted, but he’s allowed to make his own choice. There are some lovely moments (especially Joe’s relationship with Aunt Myra), but the implausible plot line, a too neat resolution, and characters that are largely well-worn types don’t give readers enough to be invested in. Ages 10–14. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Tuck Everlasting is one of the best books ever written-for any age."
Anne Tyler, The New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher

Babbitt's gentle tale presents 12-year-old Joe, who is faced with a decision that could completely change the course of his life. Orphaned shortly after his birth, Joe, who loves the moon, has been raised by his Gran, but after she breaks a hip, he's sent to spend some of the summer with his father's cousin, Aunt Myra, an unmarried teacher who's always dreamed of raising the boy. In nearly idyllic Midville, he meets the lovely Beatrice, who is not only just his age but also a soul mate. But he inadvertently comes to the attention of the very wealthy factory owner Mr. Boulderwall—aptly, humorously named—who decides that he will adopt Joe and raise him to take over his company, a decision offering the potential of enormous wealth for the boy, but little else. Characters share an otherworldly simplicity of focus and concern that changes this effort from a realistic tale to a cautionary fable about the true impact of choices. The plot quietly meanders toward a conclusion that's never in doubt, but readers will still celebrate Gran's showdown with the clueless businessman. While set in the mid-1960s, there's little to strongly place it in that period. A congenial, cheerful tale with an important message; Babbitt may reach a new generation of readers with this satisfying work. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews