From: Karen L. Simonetti <karensue>
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 13:36:53 -0600

Thanks Kathleen for letting me "squeeze" my last few comments in...however, I must warn you all that I was mysteriously deleted from the CCBC listserv last week, so if any of this is redundant, I apologize in advance.

I must admit that -Wringer- had me twisting and turning. At times, I was so uncomfortable reading the book (empathizing with Palmer's dilemma) that I had to put the book down. I think that Spinelli captured that awful situation that middle graders often face: trying to fit it and being one of the "cool" kids while not necessarily emotionally agreeing with it all. As KT wrote (in her post of February 10th), this book captures the child's point of view in trying to make sense of the adult?fined world.

And in that world, I do believe that the boundaries of fantasy, magical realism and reality all get blurred. In fact, it was the blurring of these boundaries that made Palmer's dilemma/the whole story line work. Unlike Susan Dove Lempke, I did not think that the story was "set so solidly in a time and place, with elements that are wholly implausible." Again, back to being 10 years old: does everything make sense? Or even have to make sense? Sometimes certain details can blur and bounce over and make a better story: this title is one that I think does it.

The only part that did not ring true for me was having Polly (is that her name?) as his confidant. I didn't quite buy it that Palmer's best friend and confidant was a girl.

To date, I have only gotten two child readers feedback on this title and both have rather strong reactions. The first is from Peter, a 12 year old boy (with a severe LD problem and further if there is a walking definition of a reluctant reader...he is it): He picked up the book, because he heard me talking about the "killing of the pigeons" event to another adult. Peter loved this book! He thought that everything about the story was
"real, and actually how stuff happens with kids." At first, he would not buy the concept that Palmer was heroic. But, the more we talked about what he liked about Palmer, the more he agreed that Palmer was "brave, sneaky, and took risks" and maybe he would rethink his definition of what a hero is. I don't know how sneaky gets to be a heroic quality, but Peter was emphatic that that's part of being a hero...maybe he means resourceful...should have asked him that at the time!

The other reader is Alexandra, a very strong and avid 3rd grade reader (who reads at a 6th grade level easy and has read a lot of books for that age group). Alexandra read the book as a favor to me ("only after I finish reading -"Bridge to Terabithia-"). According to Alexandra: "Palmer is really stupid for wanting to be part of that gang." But, Palmer's wanting to have/save a pet, she found to be "just like a lot of other kids."
(Thank goodness, I don't think she would have finished the book otherwise.)
 A recent child of divorce, Alexandra has been given a new kitten; and I think this sense of comfort and being needed by a pet is something that both this reader and Palmer share. Both children are, to a certain extent, disconnected from their fathers and the dynamics of having a special pet is clearly a coping technique.

Once again, I think my dime is up...Karen, who still gets the chills thinking about -Wringer
           


Karen L. Simonetti email: karensue at mcs.net phone: 312.337.7114
        
"Walk gently, breathe peacefully, laugh hysterically."
        Nelson Mandela, 1994 Inaugural Speech
Received on Mon 16 Feb 1998 01:36:53 PM CST