Overview / 简介: |
Sam has alarming questions about his past, but needs a friend to help him piece it all together. "An exquisitely rendered story."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
The shock of ice water as a boat crashes onto rocks feels real; so does the castle high above him that is almost hidden in the mist. And what about the number eleven woven into all those dreams? The papers Sam finds in the locked box in the attic may hold the answer--if only he could read them. Bot to Sam, words are like spiders flexing their thin legs as they move across the page. Words are impossible. It's wood that Sam understands, wood that he loves to shape and to build with.
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Foreign Customer Review / 国外客户评价: |
| Sam doesn't know why he fears the number eleven, but as his 11th birthday approaches, he feels a need to explore his past. When he discovers a locked box and a newspaper clipping in the attic, he learns he might once have been a missing child. Now he's worried about his relationship with beloved grandfather, Mack, and friends Onji and Anima.
Since Sam has difficulty reading, he befriends a new girl at school who reads constantly. Soon Sam and Caroline are working on a class project together and searching for clues to Sam's past.
Characters make this story very special. Mack teaches Sam the pleasures of repairing and working with wood. Sam uses his gifts to build a clever wooden castle for the school project. The lessons he applies to his woodworking help him develop the patience to face his reading problems and discover the truth about his past.
Onji and Anima, friends and neighbors, act as extended family for Mack and Sam. Anima reads to Sam every evening, and Onji is constantly offering food and support.
But it is Sam's friendship with Caroline that really centers this book. Sam isn't sure he wants to be friends with a girl, but he needs Caroline's ability to read. Caroline's artistic but nomadic parents make Sam appreciate his own solid family life.
This story moves along quickly, driven by Sam's constant search for information about his mysterious past. All the clues finally fall into place and the dreams and memories that have bothered Sam are explained in a satisfying ending.
Reluctant boy readers will especially enjoy this story - Sam is an active, imaginative, and believable eleven-year-old. During the course of the story, he works with wood, goes boating, and ultimately decides to build his own boat. He works out problems for himself, seeking help from friends, family, and teachers when he needs it. But girls will find the story equally enjoyable, as Caroline provides an alternate viewpoint to the action.
This would make a good read-aloud book for a classroom. The action-filled chapters will hook readers, and there's room for discussion of issues related to reading and learning difficulties, friendship, family secrets, and the joys of developing one's own talents and gifts.
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About the Author / 作者介绍: |
| Patricia Reilly Giff is the author of many beloved books for children, including the Newbery Honor books, Lily's Crossing and Pictures of Hollis Woods. She lives in Trumbull, Connecticut.
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