Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Putnam Juvenile (1999), Edition: First Edition, First Printing, 224 pages
Description
Although thirteen-year-old Willa Jo and her Aunt Patty seem to be constantly at odds, staying with her and Uncle Hob helps Willa Jo and her younger sister come to terms with the death of their family's baby.
User reviews
LibraryThing member lunacat
Willa Jo is sitting on the roof. She is joined by her mute 'Little Sister' and together, they sit and watch the world.
This isn't a story of plot. There are no dramatic revelations, no twists, no turns, no stark revelations that shake you to the bone. What it is, is a novel of the quietness, the
There is the silence, the weight of grief pressing down until you fear to break the quiet. The welling up of sorrow coming from deep in your stomach until it strangles you. The feeling of isolation, of watching the world go by and wondering what the point is any more. Of feeling that you will never belong again, because of this wall around you, where noise doesn't come in, and nothing gets out. Where the whole world but you seem to be speaking another language.
This is one of those books that is so quiet, you don't hear it coming until it punches you in the stomach. You don't know its got inside until you know what is going to happen and you are begging for it not to. I sat on the roof with them, and I knew exactly how it felt.
A YA book with the emptiness of grief, and the overwhelming strength of love.
This isn't a story of plot. There are no dramatic revelations, no twists, no turns, no stark revelations that shake you to the bone. What it is, is a novel of the quietness, the
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acceptance, the confusion and the weariness that grief brings.There is the silence, the weight of grief pressing down until you fear to break the quiet. The welling up of sorrow coming from deep in your stomach until it strangles you. The feeling of isolation, of watching the world go by and wondering what the point is any more. Of feeling that you will never belong again, because of this wall around you, where noise doesn't come in, and nothing gets out. Where the whole world but you seem to be speaking another language.
This is one of those books that is so quiet, you don't hear it coming until it punches you in the stomach. You don't know its got inside until you know what is going to happen and you are begging for it not to. I sat on the roof with them, and I knew exactly how it felt.
A YA book with the emptiness of grief, and the overwhelming strength of love.
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LibraryThing member Whisper1
Thanks to Lunacat (Jenny) for recommending this gem!
Come watch the sunrise on Aunt Patty and Uncle Hob's roof with thirteen year old Willa Jo and her seven-year old grief stricken, mute "Little Sister."
It is hot and steep and dangerous, but the view allows a vista different from what is happening
Once you are up there, why leave? In fact, why not stay throughout the day as neighbors gawk and Aunt Patty vigorously plys her guilt in an attempt to bring you down. In fact, it is Aunt Patty's take charge attitude, lack of understanding and extreme rules that drove you up there in the first place.
This poignant and profoundly sensitive 1990 Newbery Honor book is a gentle look at a family broken apart and uprooted by a series of unexpected events which yield heartbreaking sadness.
The original family of five becomes four when the unemployed father leaves; then they become three when sadly the baby of the family dies. Little Sister retreats inward and refuses to speak while Willa Jo is left to temporarily fend for the family.
While the loving, artistic mother mourns her losses, she valiantly attempts to hold on, but the enormity of her sadness leaves little room for the nurturing of the remaining children, who now become a family of two as they are taken away to live with their mother's sister and her husband.
Well intentioned, childless Aunt Patty is trying her best, but she misses the mark when coping with the two sad little girls who desperately miss their mother and struggle to understand loss and the change it brings.
Walk gently and quietly sit on the roof as dusk approaches and watch as loving, understanding Uncle Hobs is there beside the girls.
Earlier he not only climbed out, but he is now dancing while lending a helping hand and open heart as we slowly understand that Aunt Patty isn't evil, that mother truly does love her children, and if we look high enough, we will indeed find baby.
Highly recommended.
Come watch the sunrise on Aunt Patty and Uncle Hob's roof with thirteen year old Willa Jo and her seven-year old grief stricken, mute "Little Sister."
It is hot and steep and dangerous, but the view allows a vista different from what is happening
Show More
inside the grieving souls of two lonely, heart-broken little girls who recently lost their baby sister.Once you are up there, why leave? In fact, why not stay throughout the day as neighbors gawk and Aunt Patty vigorously plys her guilt in an attempt to bring you down. In fact, it is Aunt Patty's take charge attitude, lack of understanding and extreme rules that drove you up there in the first place.
This poignant and profoundly sensitive 1990 Newbery Honor book is a gentle look at a family broken apart and uprooted by a series of unexpected events which yield heartbreaking sadness.
The original family of five becomes four when the unemployed father leaves; then they become three when sadly the baby of the family dies. Little Sister retreats inward and refuses to speak while Willa Jo is left to temporarily fend for the family.
While the loving, artistic mother mourns her losses, she valiantly attempts to hold on, but the enormity of her sadness leaves little room for the nurturing of the remaining children, who now become a family of two as they are taken away to live with their mother's sister and her husband.
Well intentioned, childless Aunt Patty is trying her best, but she misses the mark when coping with the two sad little girls who desperately miss their mother and struggle to understand loss and the change it brings.
Walk gently and quietly sit on the roof as dusk approaches and watch as loving, understanding Uncle Hobs is there beside the girls.
Earlier he not only climbed out, but he is now dancing while lending a helping hand and open heart as we slowly understand that Aunt Patty isn't evil, that mother truly does love her children, and if we look high enough, we will indeed find baby.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member grizzly25
Getting near to baby captures your heart with its tragic and meaningful plot. A family, who is without a father while he searches for a job, has their baby's life taken by tainted water at a day trip to the nearby carnival, causing them to let themselves go and only do what has to be done. The two
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children, Willa Jo and wordless Little Sister, are "rescued" by their Aunt Patty to come live with her for a period of time. Once there, they end up climbing up onto the rooftop to watch the sunset, and end up staying, attracting all of the curious neighbors. Getting near to baby will deeply move you with its passion and meaning, as it did for me. Show Less
LibraryThing member kmacneill
This a sad story. Two young girls move in with their aunt because their mother is having a hard time dealing with grief of losing a child. The girls must deal with their grief at their aunts house who often is difficult in their eyes. This book was depressing and I actually had a hard time to
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finishing it because it felt like it was stagnant towards the middle. I don't think I would use this in a lesson but I would have it in the classroom because a student who have a loss, would be able to find a friend in this book and relate to it. Show Less
LibraryThing member kiah_7
This book was a good book but it was kind of sad. I liked it but its so hard to read books that have a sad part in it but it tells how the two sisters coped with life even after their baby sister died. This is a good book !!
LibraryThing member cougargirl1967
A wonderful touching book about how everyone experiences grief differently.
LibraryThing member TirzahB
Summary:
Willa Joe and her sister are taken away from their mother because she is not able to care for the girls. after the death of her baby. one day Aunt patty comes for a visit and finds the house in disorder. Aunt patty takes the girls to live with her and her husband Hob until the girls mother
Personal reaction:
I didn't like this book it was dual and to long to me I started to get interested when Willa Jo started to make friends and when she explain what happened to baby. I didn't enjoy reading this book .
Classroom extension:
1. some children experience loss this would be a good book to help other children who haven't gone threw anything like this to read with the class to help them to under stand loss.
2. I can talk to the students about the way Aunt patty talked bad about the children across the road, before she even knew any thing about them and I can help the children to understand the importance of not judging a book by its caver. we can talk about things that look differently then they are.
Willa Joe and her sister are taken away from their mother because she is not able to care for the girls. after the death of her baby. one day Aunt patty comes for a visit and finds the house in disorder. Aunt patty takes the girls to live with her and her husband Hob until the girls mother
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heals from her broken heart,and is fit to care for the girls again. The girls don't like aunt patty very much because she is very strict. and does not have a mothering bone in her body. aunt patty disapproves just about every thing the girls do. the girls find some friends near by that aunt patty warns them not to play with. but these children help the girls in ways they don't even realize. in the end aunt patty softens up and the form a little special bond on the roof when mamma comes to take them back.Personal reaction:
I didn't like this book it was dual and to long to me I started to get interested when Willa Jo started to make friends and when she explain what happened to baby. I didn't enjoy reading this book .
Classroom extension:
1. some children experience loss this would be a good book to help other children who haven't gone threw anything like this to read with the class to help them to under stand loss.
2. I can talk to the students about the way Aunt patty talked bad about the children across the road, before she even knew any thing about them and I can help the children to understand the importance of not judging a book by its caver. we can talk about things that look differently then they are.
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LibraryThing member fingerpost
Willa Jo and Little Sister go to live with their keeping-up-appearances Aunt Polly for a while after Baby (their little sister) dies, and their mother has trouble coping. The girls have trouble with Aunt Polly, who is always concerned about what people will think, and Polly has trouble with the
In the last third of the book, the girls begin to come to terms with the death of Baby, and Aunt Polly begins to soften a little.
Beautifully written
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girls, who are used to doing their own thing. In the last third of the book, the girls begin to come to terms with the death of Baby, and Aunt Polly begins to soften a little.
Beautifully written
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LibraryThing member electrascaife
After their baby sister dies, Willa Jo and Little Sister are staying with their fussy aunt and bemused uncle for the summer while their mother tries to put her life back together. There is much friction in the arrangement, as Willa Jo resists her aunt's demands that everyone follow her strict
Not all middle grade books that take on the subject of death in childhood succeed, but this one does a pretty good job. It's a serious and sad topic, but it's handled fairly gently here and the young characters are given believable reactions to it. In fact, all of the characters are nicely drawn; the aunt is just the right amount of annoying without being irredeemable, the neighbor kiddos are a delight, and the uncle is the perfect laid-back foil to his uptight wife. I also like the choice to frame the entire narrative with the detail of the girls hosting an inadvertent sit-in on the roof. The only part that irks me is a small section in which the mother talks to Willa Jo about how the baby is now in heaven with the angels and will possibly get wings herself. Blech. The saving grace there is that it seems clear it's the character spouting these notions and not the author.
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regime, including never straying from the plastic runners on the carpet and never playing with the not-respectable children (read: they dare to play outside in such a way that gets their clothes dirty) across the street. And for her part, Aunt Patty can't understand why her nieces aren't grateful for all the help she's offering them and their mother. It's a mess that culminates in the sisters climbing up onto the roof early one morning to watch the sunset and then refusing to come down.Not all middle grade books that take on the subject of death in childhood succeed, but this one does a pretty good job. It's a serious and sad topic, but it's handled fairly gently here and the young characters are given believable reactions to it. In fact, all of the characters are nicely drawn; the aunt is just the right amount of annoying without being irredeemable, the neighbor kiddos are a delight, and the uncle is the perfect laid-back foil to his uptight wife. I also like the choice to frame the entire narrative with the detail of the girls hosting an inadvertent sit-in on the roof. The only part that irks me is a small section in which the mother talks to Willa Jo about how the baby is now in heaven with the angels and will possibly get wings herself. Blech. The saving grace there is that it seems clear it's the character spouting these notions and not the author.
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Awards
Kentucky Bluegrass Award (Nominee — Grades 6-8 — 2001)
Newbery Medal (Honor Book — 2000)
Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (Nominee)
Sunshine State Young Reader's Award (Nominee — 2002)
NCTE Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K—Grade 6 (13th Edition: 1999-2001)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1999
ISBN
039923389X / 9780399233890