Littlejim - Softcover

Houston, Gloria

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0688121128 ISBN 13: 9780688121129

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1993

Synopsis

Littlejim wants his father's love and respect --
more than anything.

Littlejim Houston is the best student in his rural North Carolina school and a tremendous help to his mother and sisters around the family's farm. But that's not good enough for Bigjim, Littlejim's father. He wants his son to cut timber, work in the fields, and hunt, just like he does. When Littlejim enters an essay contest on "What it means to be an American," he hopes to win. Maybe then Bigjim will approve. Set in Appalachia during World War I, this realistic story about family and small-town life introduces a boy young readers will remember for a long, long time.

About this title

About the Author:

Gloria Houston is the author of numerous books for children, including My Great-Aunt Arizona, illustrated by Susan Condie Lamb, which was a Smithsonian Treasure, a Family Channel's Best Book, an IRA Teachers' and Children's Choices book, and an NCTE Best Book, among other honors. She also wrote The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree, illustrated by Barbara Cooney, which was an annual Publishers Weekly Bestseller and was named a Best Book of the Decade by the American Library Association. She currently lives in North Carolina.

Thomas B. Allen is the author of numerous history books, including George Washington, Spymaster and Remember Valley Forge. A frequent contributor to Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic, Military History Quarterly, Military History, Naval History, the U.S. Naval Institute's Proceedings, and other publications, he lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

Review:

Based on the author's family history, this novel set in rural North Carolina during the early 1900s traces a 12-year-old boy's struggle to prove his worth. As a top scholar and excellent writer, Littlejim Houston is admired in his small community by everyone except his rugged, practical-minded father. Littlejim hopes to gain Bigjim's respect by winning a local writing contest. But the assigned topic, "What it means to be an American," remains problematic until Littlejim receives inspiration from an Irish-born friend who works at Uncle Bob's sawmill. Although the protagonist's final triumphs are fairly predictable and themes of patriotism are perhaps overdrawn, the unfolding of the story's events is suspenseful and engaging. Through clear, unembellished prose, Houston ( The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree ) describes day-to-day life on a farm, reveals Littlejim's growth toward manhood and conveys the love that lies beneath his father's gruff exterior. This book succeeds in capturing the spirit of immigrant Americans who overcame obstacles to accomplish their dreams. Ages 8-12. --Publishers Weekly

Grade 4-8-- Littlejim Houston, 12, lives with his father, Bigjim; his German-born mother; and two younger sisters in rural North Carolina during World War I. Bigjim, a dour Freewill Baptist, is the best lumberman and athlete in the area. Littlejim excels at schoolwork, writing, and carving, activities that his father doesn't understand or appreciate. While Littlejim works hard at the sawmill and on their farm, he cannot please his father. When an essay contest on "What it means to be an American" is announced, with the winning entry to be published in the Kansas City Star, Littlejim enters in hopes of at last impressing his father. Houston enriches her story with vivid descriptions of rural life, manners, and values, while Allen's pencil drawings elaborate upon these themes. The people who surround and support Littlejim are lovingly depicted, even as readers understand that Bigjim's respect and love is somehow more important to Littlejim than they are. Like Lowry's Rabble Starkey (Houghton, 1987), this novel concerns itself with growth and the role writing can play in it. Like Hamilton's M. C. Higgins, the Great (Macmillan, 1974) and the Cleavers' Where the Lilies Bloom (Lippincott, 1969), it also increases readers' understanding of the Appalachian region and its people. --Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming-Laramie, School Library Journal

Grade 4-8-- Littlejim Houston, 12, lives with his father, Bigjim; his German-born mother; and two younger sisters in rural North Carolina during World War I. Bigjim, a dour Freewill Baptist, is the best lumberman and athlete in the area. Littlejim excels at schoolwork, writing, and carving, activities that his father doesn't understand or appreciate. While Littlejim works hard at the sawmill and on their farm, he cannot please his father. When an essay contest on "What it means to be an American" is announced, with the winning entry to be published in the Kansas City Star, Littlejim enters in hopes of at last impressing his father. Houston enriches her story with vivid descriptions of rural life, manners, and values, while Allen's pencil drawings elaborate upon these themes. The people who surround and support Littlejim are lovingly depicted, even as readers understand that Bigjim's respect and love is somehow more important to Littlejim than they are. Like Lowry's Rabble Starkey (Houghton, 1987), this novel concerns itself with growth and the role writing can play in it. Like Hamilton's M. C. Higgins, the Great (Macmillan, 1974) and the Cleavers' Where the Lilies Bloom (Lippincott, 1969), it also increases readers' understanding of the Appalachian region and its people. --Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming-Laramie, School Library Journal

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0688121128
• ISBN 13: 9780688121129
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176
• Illustrator: Allen Mr. Thomas B