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Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that there is nothing of concern here, and much to admire -- especially the way the people of this little town, children and adults, work together and support one another.

Families who read this book could discuss Walt Whitman. What do the various quotes mean, especially the "symphony true"? How do they relate to the story? How does Whitman's writing affect House and guide his path? Why does it have such an impact on him?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Matt Berman

There's a very rare and wonderful writer's trick that only a very few authors have ever been able to pull off, in which a silly and essentially meaningless (outside the book) phrase is, by the power of the writing and story, turned into something not only meaningful, but powerfully emotional. Harper Lee did it with "Hey, Boo." Patricia MacLachlan did it with "Rock, paper, scissors." And now Deborah Wiles does it with "I got a toad to swallow." Southern writers have an intimate and loving relationship with the English language that eludes those from pretty much anywhere else, and author Wiles is a modern inheritor of that proud tradition.

This kind of writing is a palimpsest, in which the story is just the top layer, the carrier wave, of something far richer and deeper -- in this case the haunting, aching beauty of a child struggling to grow. The story is one that most kids will love. It's funny, at times silly, with warmly delineated characters (many of whom have appeared in the author's two other novels), and some great sports action. But, in that rich, gorgeous, wisely empathetic style that it seems only Southern writers can do, this very accessible story will draw young readers in, and then carry them to a greater understanding of others, of themselves -- and of Walt Whitman.

From The Book

House Jackson, age twelve, crackerjack baseball pitcher, obedient son, and keeper of his own counsel, had arrived just before the simmering time. He eased himself gingerly into a ladder back chair next to the carved bed with the feather mattress. He held his breath as he watched Mr. Norwood Boyd breathe and stare at the ceiling in a faraway silence. Instinctively – for it had been his habit – he reached for the book on the bedside table. Treasure Island. He opened it to the page that had been saved with a ribboned bookmark, and read out loud in a mechanical voice:

Still, Silver was unconquered. I could hear his teeth rattle in his head; but he had not yet surrendered.

At that moment, Mr. Norwood Boyd surrendered. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth. A rattling sound came from his throat. The smell of Mr. Norwood's rattled breath made House blink and sit back in his chair. That breath – the sound of it and the smell of it – traveled the entire room, spangling the air like a salute, as if that breath was a last farewell to the big old bed, a last farewell to the lighted lamp, a last farewell to the rose-patterned carpet, to the bureau where the clothes were kept, to the bedside table where water shimmered in the glass, and to House, who had been faithful.

Plot Summary:

In his small Mississippi town, House's tiny baseball team only gets to play one game a year against another team. Last year House had to miss it because of a broken elbow. This year it looks like it may be cancelled because of a pageant on the same day, directed by the girl who broke his arm. But with the help of three dead people -- his mother, his elderly neighbor, and Walt Whitman -- House just may be able to make a "symphony true" out of the whole mess.

Related Books:

Other Books by Deborah Wiles:
Each Little Bird That Sings
Love, Ruby Lavender

The Healing Power of Literature
The Long Way Home by Barbara Cohen
The Library Card by Jerry Spinelli
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge
Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher
King Dork by Frank Portman
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

Related Web sites:
Author's Site
Author's Blog

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