Skip to main content

Navigating Early

By


Navigating Early
by Clare Vanderpool
Delacorte, 2013.  306 pgs.  Fiction

     When Jack Baker leaves Kansas after his mother's death to join his father in Maine right after World War II, he throws up when he sees the ocean. What will his father, a naval officer, think?  A father who has been at war for four years, and who now has nothing to come home to except a motherless boy he hardly knows. Jack's dad parks him at the Morton Hill Academy near the shipyard where he is stationed, and Jack, a Great Plains boy has the expected difficulties fitting in. But then he meets Early Auden, a boy who sees colors and a story in the endlessly unfolding numbers of pi, and who helps Jack find his bearings while they both search for what is missing on a week long quest on the Appalachian Trail. Although Ms. Vanderpool's story is not without its excitements--the Northern Woods' version of pirates, encounters with snakes, raging rivers, and a great black bear--the heart of the story is the friendship of two very different boys who need to make new lives for themselves, or somehow find their old ones.  A beautiful second novel by the author of the 2011 Newbery winner, Navigating Early may be a story better-beloved by adults than young people, but let's hope for both.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

By
KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...
Post a Comment
Read more

Five Faves: Witchy Intermediates

By
Hee hee hee! Hello, my pretties! Here are five short, illustrated chapter books for the season of the witch - some sweet, some spooky, all magical.  The Knitting Witch Written by Norma Kassirer Illustrated by Mark Richardson. Oakland, California : The Collective Book Studio, 2024. Intermediate. 88 pages. Outrageously spoiled Ivy Lou meets her match when a witch appears and tries to trick her into becoming her child. Ivy Lou must unravel the witch's dark magic and save her parents. A modern classic in the register of Roald Dahl, with mischief, humor and spookiness. Witchycakes: Sweet Magic  Written by Kara LaReau Illustrated by Ariane Moreira. New York : Random House Children's Books, 2025. Intermediate. 76 pages. Witchycakes  owes a lot to  Kiki's Delivery Service : a cute newbie witch making and delivering baked goods to the residents of their dreamy seaside town. It's cozy and sweet with lots of glowy illustrations. New Girl: Diary of an Accidental Witch Written by...
Post a Comment
Read more

Five Faves: Favorite Picture Books Focusing on Food and Family

By
Next month is a month where my family will plan lots of time together—most of which will be spent eating food together. And I wouldn’t be the librarian I am without sharing this list of great titles where food and family are the focus of each story. So, pull up a snack and settle in to read these five picture books that just might make you pull your loved ones closer while also reaching for a snack!  Fish Fry Friday Written by Winsome Bingham  Illustrated by C. G. Esperanza  New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2025. Picture Book. The young kid who is out of school for a Friday gets to spend the day with Granny. On Fridays, Granny goes and catches fish to use for the family fish fry on Friday nights. The narrator loves spending time with Granny as she teaches about fishing, filleting, and frying up good times with food and family.  Grilled Cheese? Yes, Please! By Tim Kleyn  New York: Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2024. Picture Book.  ...
Post a Comment
Read more