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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
This was a creative way to provide a window into what a child might experience and feel when faced with family homelessness. A simplistic masterpiece - the perfect marriage of fantasy and reality to help people understand childhood homelessness. It really pulled at my heartstrings.
challenging
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Jackson's imaginary friend, a large cat named Crenshaw, shows up when his family falls on hard times. With his parents struggling to make ends meet, Jackson is secretly worried about ending up homeless as the family had been in the past.
Jackson tries very hard to roll with the punches, but the stress is really eating him alive. With the help of his imaginary pal's wisdom, Jackson finally lets his parents see the toll all the uncertainty in their lives is taking on him personally. By story's end the family is communicating a little more, but there are no firm promises that this family won't continue to struggle.
This is a very important book that tells a story that could happen to anyone. The hard times Jackson and his family battle weren't caused by poor decision making, but rather by changes in employment and physical health issues. This family is one that readers will really be rooting for, which makes this story very heart-breaking at times.
I liked the sage-like wisdom that was Crenshaw's dialogue and the conclusion was realistic blended with optimism.
Recommended for grades 4-6.
Jackson tries very hard to roll with the punches, but the stress is really eating him alive. With the help of his imaginary pal's wisdom, Jackson finally lets his parents see the toll all the uncertainty in their lives is taking on him personally. By story's end the family is communicating a little more, but there are no firm promises that this family won't continue to struggle.
This is a very important book that tells a story that could happen to anyone. The hard times Jackson and his family battle weren't caused by poor decision making, but rather by changes in employment and physical health issues. This family is one that readers will really be rooting for, which makes this story very heart-breaking at times.
I liked the sage-like wisdom that was Crenshaw's dialogue and the conclusion was realistic blended with optimism.
Recommended for grades 4-6.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was not great. The timeline was really confusing and it was pretty depressing.
I'm not exactly the demographic for this book, but I picked it up because I had a free book reward from Thriftbooks and because I saw that KA Applegate was in full support of trans rights. It reminded me of what a huge Animorphs fan I had been as a kid, and wonder what her more recent books are like. I'm glad to see that the younger generations are also getting great animal facts and hopefully inspired to be biologists, veterinarians, ecologists and the like just like we were with Animorphs.
This is such a sweet and unfortunately realistic book of a young boy being comforted by his imaginary friend as his family experiences economic instability for the second time in his short life. He loves animals and gives all the animal facts, which gave me such nostalgic memories of reading Animorphs around the age that the narrator is. Things work out in the end but it is not a magical fix and there is a sense that things could go bad again - I feel like KA Applegate understands children very well and writes to them at their level, but with the kind of honesty and sincerity that adults typically reserve for each other.
I'm glad I bought this book, because it means I can gift it to the Free Little Library in front of the local Boys and Girls Club. For the next generation ❤️
This is such a sweet and unfortunately realistic book of a young boy being comforted by his imaginary friend as his family experiences economic instability for the second time in his short life. He loves animals and gives all the animal facts, which gave me such nostalgic memories of reading Animorphs around the age that the narrator is. Things work out in the end but it is not a magical fix and there is a sense that things could go bad again - I feel like KA Applegate understands children very well and writes to them at their level, but with the kind of honesty and sincerity that adults typically reserve for each other.
I'm glad I bought this book, because it means I can gift it to the Free Little Library in front of the local Boys and Girls Club. For the next generation ❤️
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness
Minor: Bullying
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No