Soul Moon Soup - Hardcover

Lindsay Lee Johnson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1886910871 ISBN 13: 9781886910874

Publisher: Front Street imprint of Boyds Mills Press, 2002

Synopsis

A novel written in verse, Soul Moon Soup tells the story of a young homeless girl, Phoebe Rose. Phoebe and her mother carry their suitcase through the city from soup kitchen to soup kitchen, trying to get by. Her mother warns Phoebe not to expect too much from life, but Phoebe is an artist who likes to draw wishes and dreams. One terrible day, Phoebe loses the suitcase and everything in it. Her mother puts her alone on a bus and sends her to the country to live with her grandmother for the summer. Phoebe misses city life and is hurt that her mother sent her away. Gram is gentle and welcoming, but Phoebe is slow to warm to her and makes plans to run away. Then Phoebe befriends a girl across the lake and begins to draw again. Phoebe slowly comes to terms with her separation from her mother, and just when she begins to enjoy being at Gram’s, her mother comes for her with the news that they now have a key to a room in the city a place they can give things another start.

About this title

About the Author:

Lindsay Lee Johnson grew up in a family of storytellers. She thinks of words as her first and most enduring playthings. Ms. Johnson has worked as a newspaper reporter, editor, community education instructor, visiting author in schools, and freelance writer of everything from business brochures to greeting cards and fortune cookies, but her heart has always belonged to fiction. She has written award-winning stories for adults and children and has published two books for children—Hurricane Henrietta and A Week With Zeke & Zach. Ms. Johnson writes from her home in the east central Minnesota countryside, where she lives with her husband, four cats, and assorted other animals. She and her husband have twin daughters and three grandchildren.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6-9-When Phoebe Rose's father leaves, the child and her mother find themselves on the streets, struggling to make it through each day. Phoebe tells her story in poems that offer snapshots of the sorrow and emptiness of homeless life. She shares her realization that she is a burden, and begins to shut down emotionally as she relinquishes her art and her hope. When their small suitcase is stolen, Phoebe's mother breaks down and sends the 11-year-old to stay with the grandmother she doesn't know. Adjustment to a country way of life and to Gram, who "leaks stories" about her family history, come slowly. When a new friend frees Phoebe to begin drawing again, the girl's pain comes pouring out, climaxing when her mother finally comes to visit. Phoebe's mother's voice is not as true as her daughter's, and occasionally the themes become obtrusive. Although Phoebe comes to some sudden understandings, readers leave her appropriately uncertain yet hopeful. The poetry offers glimpses into a world most people quickly pass by on the streets, and will allow readers to imagine the pain of a child hiding in the world and watching the adults she depends upon collapse. This moving story is likely to inspire thought and discussion.
Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Front Street imprint of Boyds Mills Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1886910871
• ISBN 13: 9781886910874
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 112