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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Suomeksi Leijuva poika. Kirja suvaitsevaisuudesta ja erilaisuudesta ihanasti kerrottuna, ei liikaa saarnannut tai osoitellut. Maailmaan mahtuu monenlaisia ihmisiä ja tarinoita eikä aina ulkomuoto kerro millainen ihminen on sisimmässään. Päähenkilöllä sattuu olemaan sellainen erikoisuus että hän on syntymästään asti leijunut, eli ei pysy millään maassa. Hänen vanhempansa taas eivät halua mitään muuta kuin tavallisuutta ja katseltuaan leijumista kahdeksan vuotta, he tekevät ratkaisunsa, ja mitäs sitten tapahtui..? Lue kirja niin tiedät :)
I've now read two books from this authour, this one and the boy in the striped pijama. I have to say the second one was better in my opinion. However, The terrible thing that happened to barnaby brocket is a fresh story, entertaining and dinamic. It is an original idea and it has got a clear message: be proud of who or how you are and that you shouldn't be anyone else, "be yourself, all the others are already picked".Normality is boring.
La verdad es que me esperaba más, me ha decepcionado. Me parece un libro muy simple, que pasa sin pena ni gloria, en el que el mayor aliciente (la gente especial con la que se encuentra Barnaby) pasan tan rápido que ni siquiera te acuerdas de ello tres páginas después. Estoy segura de que en dos semanas apenas me acordaré del libro. La idea no estaba mal, pero no engancha nada de nada.
Poor Barnaby Brocket was born into a family that just wanted to be normal, with normal parents and normal kids. They didn't like anything that brought attention to them. Unfortunately, their third child Barnaby was different from most kids. He was born without the ability to keep his feet on the ground. He literally floated into the air unless he was weighted or tethered somehow. In his parents eyes, this difference was shameful and should be hidden as much as possible.
His horrible parents tell him at every turn how embarrassed they are of him and his insistence on being different. Finally when Barnaby is eight years old, his parents do the unthinkable, they let him go. His awful mother takes him to Sydney, cuts holes in his weighted rucksack and lets him float away.
This leads to many exciting, if not outrageous, adventures for Barnaby. He bumps into a hot air balloon occupied by two elderly women who take him to their coffee farm in Brazil. The farm is home to a host of people who don't fit in with conventional norms. From there he travels to New York, where he befriends a window washer and ends up helping the man become a recognized artist. His travels continue to Canada, Ireland and finally to a space shuttle that eventually lands back in Sydney where he is reunited with his family. His siblings are thrilled, but his neglectful parents are not so welcoming.
I won't spoil the end, but suffice it to say, Barnaby has some decisions to make.
This book has a definite Roald Dahl-like feel with the terrible parents and the child with a special ability. The illustrations even seem to be similar to Quentin Blake's illustrations. It also has many strange and outlandish experiences like Roald Dahl's books, but a few too many actually. While the message of the book is a common and valid one, be yourself and accept others, the outrageousness of it actually gets in the way of completely delivering this message. Barnaby does not stay anywhere long enough for the reader to really get to know any of the characters. In fact Barnaby himself is not a very well developed or believable character. He is supposed to touch the lives of so many in his travels, but the experiences are superficial.
Children who enjoy books with world travels and quirky characters may enjoy this book.
His horrible parents tell him at every turn how embarrassed they are of him and his insistence on being different. Finally when Barnaby is eight years old, his parents do the unthinkable, they let him go. His awful mother takes him to Sydney, cuts holes in his weighted rucksack and lets him float away.
This leads to many exciting, if not outrageous, adventures for Barnaby. He bumps into a hot air balloon occupied by two elderly women who take him to their coffee farm in Brazil. The farm is home to a host of people who don't fit in with conventional norms. From there he travels to New York, where he befriends a window washer and ends up helping the man become a recognized artist. His travels continue to Canada, Ireland and finally to a space shuttle that eventually lands back in Sydney where he is reunited with his family. His siblings are thrilled, but his neglectful parents are not so welcoming.
I won't spoil the end, but suffice it to say, Barnaby has some decisions to make.
This book has a definite Roald Dahl-like feel with the terrible parents and the child with a special ability. The illustrations even seem to be similar to Quentin Blake's illustrations. It also has many strange and outlandish experiences like Roald Dahl's books, but a few too many actually. While the message of the book is a common and valid one, be yourself and accept others, the outrageousness of it actually gets in the way of completely delivering this message. Barnaby does not stay anywhere long enough for the reader to really get to know any of the characters. In fact Barnaby himself is not a very well developed or believable character. He is supposed to touch the lives of so many in his travels, but the experiences are superficial.
Children who enjoy books with world travels and quirky characters may enjoy this book.
“A boy who was ready to meet new people. A boy who wanted to have new adventures. And above all else, a boy who was proud to be different.”
Sweet yet full of substance and a little suspense. Loved reading this one aloud to my 6 year old daughter.
Sweet yet full of substance and a little suspense. Loved reading this one aloud to my 6 year old daughter.
Loved this book, it was a wonderful journey with colourful characters and a warm heart.
Un buen libro, de historia corta pero por alguna razón no logré cautivarme mucho dentro del libro, se me dificultó poderle dar seguimiento continuo a la lectura, la narrativa se sentía un poco pesada para digerir y con muchos detalles que lograban distraerme del objetivo principal del protagonista. Fuera de eso es un buen libro.
This was a very cute yet powerful story told in a Roald Dahl type fashion. This little boy has been defying gravity since birth and all his parents want is a normal child. One day his mom let's him loose into the sky because she doesn't want to deal with him and from then on he has adventures. He meets a lesbian couple, a starving artist, a man with a severely burned face and a grandfather with months to live. All of these characters have/had people in their life who want them to be normal...but what does that mean? This is a great story to share with kids about the importance of individualism. I will be adding this book to my read aloud pile.
This book is about Barnaby Brocket, a young boy who floats. His parents hate him for being different and they do something absolutely terrible to him, leaving him alone to travel the world. He meets a variety of people who have a variety of connections to their parents. Many of them long to re-connect with them, and they do. Barnaby witnesses this and wants to reunite with his own parents, even though they hate his differences, because a) it seems to work for other people and b) what else is he supposed to do in a world that tethers parents and children together with a seemingly unbreakable bond. In the end,
John Boyne shows us why the parents are awful, but he doesn't let those reasons excuse their awfulness. They are awful awful people who hate their own child simply for his being born different. "All I ever wanted was to live a normal life, with a normal family, and normal children. And then you came along and ruined everything," his dad tells him when he's eight. (I feel like I heard the exact same thing from my family, even younger, another reason I actively rooted against these terrible people.) There is a small moment before his mother does the terrible thing where she suggests Barnaby will have a happy life. Maybe she wants that for him, but it's almost incidental. Her own happiness comes first.
Good quotes: "Just because your version of normal isn't the same as someone else's version doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with you."
"Most people are a lot of hard work."
Spoiler
Barnaby realizes that he isn't tethered to anything -- not even gravity -- and he would like to stay that way. "If I let them take me away," he fears, "they'll turn me into them." So he leaves his parents behind, seemingly forever. Good riddance.John Boyne shows us why the parents are awful, but he doesn't let those reasons excuse their awfulness. They are awful awful people who hate their own child simply for his being born different. "All I ever wanted was to live a normal life, with a normal family, and normal children. And then you came along and ruined everything," his dad tells him when he's eight. (I feel like I heard the exact same thing from my family, even younger, another reason I actively rooted against these terrible people.) There is a small moment before his mother does the terrible thing where she suggests Barnaby will have a happy life. Maybe she wants that for him, but it's almost incidental. Her own happiness comes first.
Good quotes: "Just because your version of normal isn't the same as someone else's version doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with you."
"Most people are a lot of hard work."
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes