Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages
247
Description
In the 1960s, Harold Knishke, a Chicago teenager with a special place in his heart for Bushman, the famed departed gorilla of the Lincoln Park Zoo, embarks on a hometown adventure, in a quest to become a great artist and figure out how he became the object of a famous folk song.
Collection
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2012-10-09
Physical description
247 p.; 8.5 inches
ISBN
9780547385396
Similar in this library
Lexile
910L
User reviews
LibraryThing member ChristianR
I thought this was pretty funny until the ending, which I didn't like. It was a crazy story about a teen in Chicago in the 60s who met all sorts of nutty people and had almost surreal adventures. I thought it should be a Young Adult book, more suited for middle school, but we're leaving it in
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juvenile. Show Less
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
I don't know why I thought this was a middle grade novel. There's nothing risque in it or anything but it definitely doesn't have a middle grade feel. The ending was also a little kooky and abrupt feeling.
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
I don't know why I thought this was a middle grade novel. There's nothing risque in it or anything but it definitely doesn't have a middle grade feel. The ending was also a little kooky and abrupt feeling.
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
I don't know why I thought this was a middle grade novel. There's nothing risque in it or anything but it definitely doesn't have a middle grade feel. The ending was also a little kooky and abrupt feeling.
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
I don't know why I thought this was a middle grade novel. There's nothing risque in it or anything but it definitely doesn't have a middle grade feel. The ending was also a little kooky and abrupt feeling.
LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
Why do I keep reading Pinkwater? I do love the Larry picture-books.
And I feel the brilliance of the chapter books and novels. But I don't actually *enjoy* them. I just can't dial into the quirkiness. And yet I wish I could.
In this one I really appreciated all the little lessons about art history,
I do have trouble with statements like How do you feel about the idea that the whole purpose of sending you to school has been to break your spirit and make you docile?" Way to break the hearts of a lot of dedicated teachers, doing their damnedest to share the joy of learning with the kids under their wings.
And the cynicism of the MC, as he considers a career in visual art, is awfully troublesome "[I]f human beings are hopeless idiots, which appears likely... maybe art does the least harm."
Well, I suppose there are teens who would feel empathy and delight to find their concerns reflected by in a book - but I don't know anyone, teen or adult, to whom I wish to recommend this. Sorry."
And I feel the brilliance of the chapter books and novels. But I don't actually *enjoy* them. I just can't dial into the quirkiness. And yet I wish I could.
In this one I really appreciated all the little lessons about art history,
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art appreciation, what it means to learn technique, what it means to have the soul of an artist, and what it means to be in the art business. I do have trouble with statements like How do you feel about the idea that the whole purpose of sending you to school has been to break your spirit and make you docile?" Way to break the hearts of a lot of dedicated teachers, doing their damnedest to share the joy of learning with the kids under their wings.
And the cynicism of the MC, as he considers a career in visual art, is awfully troublesome "[I]f human beings are hopeless idiots, which appears likely... maybe art does the least harm."
Well, I suppose there are teens who would feel empathy and delight to find their concerns reflected by in a book - but I don't know anyone, teen or adult, to whom I wish to recommend this. Sorry."
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Awards
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Teens (Fiction — 2012)
Call number
J4A.Pin