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Shard & Waffle
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From: Steven Engelfried <sengelfried>
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 10:35:03 -0800
As an adult reader, the title of "A Single Shard" did give something away. I knew there was going to be a pot that broke and one piece would remain. It didn't ruin the story for me, though, because there's so much more to it. And I think few kids will have that reaction. An eleven year old girl who just started it and says the title "suggests the book has something to do with pottery," but says it's not giving anything away to her. I think using a word in the title that not all kids know is an excellent way to bring them into the story. As the plot evolves they come to understand it, and maybe even see how it applies to more than pots. Sort of like
"Father's Arcane Daughter" by Konigsburg, where coming to understand the meaning of the word "arcane" is part of the way you come to understand the book.
I agree with Monica Edinger's comments about varied reactions to "Everything on a Waffle." There are wonderful books that just won't resonate with every reader, and this is one of them. Horvath creates this unique little world, that's a lot like ours, but not quite. Populated by eccentric, but not magical characters, and resonating with serendipity, but not the clear inevitability of fate or prophecy. A few kids in the book discussion group at our library loved it, a few thought it was pretty trivial, and a few thought it was great up until the ending which was "too predictable" or "unrealistic." I thought the parents' return was a perfect fit, even if we do see it coming. Primrose's faith, and the way she challenges the adults she meets to consider their own faith, is the real point of the book (along with terrifically original humor). I think Horvath completely succeeded in creating that fictional world and those characters, even if not every reader will respond positively to it. Using Konigsburg again, reader responses to "Waffle" remind me of
"A View from Saturday," where either you accept the coincidences of the characters' lives intertwining and the aptness of each quiz question, or you don't...
Steven Engelfried, Children's Division Librarian Beaverton City Library 12375 SW 5th Street Beaverton, OR 97005 503R6%99 sengelfried at ci.beaverton.or.us
Received on Mon 11 Feb 2002 12:35:03 PM CST
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 10:35:03 -0800
As an adult reader, the title of "A Single Shard" did give something away. I knew there was going to be a pot that broke and one piece would remain. It didn't ruin the story for me, though, because there's so much more to it. And I think few kids will have that reaction. An eleven year old girl who just started it and says the title "suggests the book has something to do with pottery," but says it's not giving anything away to her. I think using a word in the title that not all kids know is an excellent way to bring them into the story. As the plot evolves they come to understand it, and maybe even see how it applies to more than pots. Sort of like
"Father's Arcane Daughter" by Konigsburg, where coming to understand the meaning of the word "arcane" is part of the way you come to understand the book.
I agree with Monica Edinger's comments about varied reactions to "Everything on a Waffle." There are wonderful books that just won't resonate with every reader, and this is one of them. Horvath creates this unique little world, that's a lot like ours, but not quite. Populated by eccentric, but not magical characters, and resonating with serendipity, but not the clear inevitability of fate or prophecy. A few kids in the book discussion group at our library loved it, a few thought it was pretty trivial, and a few thought it was great up until the ending which was "too predictable" or "unrealistic." I thought the parents' return was a perfect fit, even if we do see it coming. Primrose's faith, and the way she challenges the adults she meets to consider their own faith, is the real point of the book (along with terrifically original humor). I think Horvath completely succeeded in creating that fictional world and those characters, even if not every reader will respond positively to it. Using Konigsburg again, reader responses to "Waffle" remind me of
"A View from Saturday," where either you accept the coincidences of the characters' lives intertwining and the aptness of each quiz question, or you don't...
Steven Engelfried, Children's Division Librarian Beaverton City Library 12375 SW 5th Street Beaverton, OR 97005 503R6%99 sengelfried at ci.beaverton.or.us
Received on Mon 11 Feb 2002 12:35:03 PM CST
