SEPTEMBER 2013 - AudioFile
One morning John and Marta find a young boy asleep on their porch. Narrator Heather Henderson’s soothing voice carries the listener through the unraveling mystery and beauty in this story about love, family, and cherishing moments and people. Henderson’s warm tones and measured pacing portray the relationship that develops between Jacob and the couple. While their keen bond with one another is conveyed with sincerity, the portrayals of the townsfolk are more lighthearted and farcical at times. Henderson’s stirring performance also reflects the poetic qualities the narrative takes near the end of the story as the ups and downs of life are revealed. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
Newbery Medalist Creech’s slim, understated story about a young childless couple who find a small boy of indeterminate age asleep on their farmhouse porch one morning has a fablelike quality. Accompanied only by a note reading, “Plees taik kair of Jacob. He is a god good boy. Wil be bak wen we can,” the boy doesn’t speak, but he overflows with creative gifts and has an affinity for communicating with animals. The novel is set in a rural area, where town means a general store, a schoolhouse, and a sheriff’s office, and in an earlier era—telephones aren’t commonplace, but trucks, cars, and trailers are standard. Creech’s quiet tale movingly follows Marta and John’s evolution from puzzlement over Jacob’s mysterious appearance to a deepening love for him and a fear that somebody will return to claim him. While the target audience may not find the novel’s point of view, which is focused entirely on the adult couple, initially compelling, the suspense surrounding Jacob’s origins and his future makes it a page-turner for readers of any age. Ages 8–12. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
“This quiet novel sings. A graceful profound story for all ages that speaks well beyond its intended audience.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A page-turner for readers of any age.” — Publishers Weekly
“A rich and gracious story crafted in Creech’s masterful hands.” — Booklist
“A tender exploration of the power of a found family and the
depth and value of temporary connections.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Booklist
A rich and gracious story crafted in Creech’s masterful hands.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
A tender exploration of the power of a found family and the depth and value of temporary connections.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
A tender exploration of the power of a found family and the
depth and value of temporary connections.
Booklist
A rich and gracious story crafted in Creech’s masterful hands.
School Library Journal
Gr 4–6—Creech draws readers into a brilliantly simple, sentimental, and adult-centered moral scenario. On a rural American farm, an isolated couple finds a mute, mysterious, and artistic boy (who could be six, seven, or eight) abandoned on their porch. The longer he stays with them, the more his various talents become apparent and the more attached they become. They dread the day someone might come back to claim him. Readers will fall for the boy along with the taciturn couple and will become utterly absorbed in the what-would-you-do element of this cleanly written narrative. Others, however, may be distracted by the overly idyllic portrayal of farm and rural life, one-dimensional characters, and the aura of righteousness. It is, after all, an far-fetched premise, no matter how well written by such a renowned and skillful author. As an excellent vehicle for exploring moral quandaries, schools and libraries seeking books around which to discuss values will definitely want this title. However, Creech's fans should be aware that this is a departure from her previous fare, more like her The Unfinished Angel (HarperCollins, 2009) than her titles featuring strong female narrators.—Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC
SEPTEMBER 2013 - AudioFile
One morning John and Marta find a young boy asleep on their porch. Narrator Heather Henderson’s soothing voice carries the listener through the unraveling mystery and beauty in this story about love, family, and cherishing moments and people. Henderson’s warm tones and measured pacing portray the relationship that develops between Jacob and the couple. While their keen bond with one another is conveyed with sincerity, the portrayals of the townsfolk are more lighthearted and farcical at times. Henderson’s stirring performance also reflects the poetic qualities the narrative takes near the end of the story as the ups and downs of life are revealed. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
In a book world crowded with overwrought shock-fluff stories, this quiet novel sings. Needing none of the gratuitous drama and exaggeration of voice so common in books for children and teens these days, Newbery Medalist Creech's latest novel is allegorical in feel as it quietly gets to the heart of the matter--which is, of course, the heart. When John and Marta, a contentedly childless young couple, find a boy sleeping on their porch, they are mystified. The boy, introduced to them only by a crude, misspelled note as Jacob, doesn't speak. But he does tap and paint and play music, and as John and Marta indulge his creative passions, they grow to love him. When Jacob's father, a rough man, turns up, the young couple must let Jacob go, but they are heartbroken and even go so far as to look for him afterward. In the end, their searching reveals an outlet for the love that Jacob has awoken in them. A deeply felt story sparely written in lyrical prose, this book stands out as a quiet contemplation on the connection that is the wellspring of love. A graceful, profound story for all ages that speaks well beyond its intended audience. (Fiction. 8 & up)
