Available:*
Library | Audience | Home Location | Material Type | Shelf Number | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... McGovern-Stella Link | Kid/Juvenile | Fiction | Kids book | EDWAR | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Pa Lia has never liked Stinky Stern, the enemy of the second grade. He makes fun of other kids, he says mean things, and he's always causing trouble. But when Stinky is suddenly hit by a car and killed, Pa Lia and the rest of the students in Mrs. Fennessey's class face a difficult challenge: How do you deal with the death of someone nobody really liked?
This moving story is certain to resonate with anyone who has ever experienced--or even just thought about--the loss of a classmate or friend.
Author Notes
MICHELLE EDWARDS has written and illustrated many books for young readers, including Chicken Man , winner of the National Jewish Book Award, and the Jackson Friends series. She lives in Iowa City, Iowa.
Visit Michelle Edward's website for reader's and teacher's guides for all of the Jackson Friends books.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-This fourth book in the series focuses on a potentially scary and emotionally charged theme: the death of a classmate. Pa Lia Vang doesn't like Stinky Stern, the bully of her second-grade class. But late one day, on his way home from school, he is hit by a van in full view of the child. She learns later that evening that he has died. When the students take turns remembering him, Pa Lia is unsure of what to say. In an honest and sensitive series of remembrances, the author never allows her characters to sugarcoat or gloss over the boy's past injustices. The children acknowledge the truth about their relationship with Stinky, but also express their sadness and confusion about his death. Edwards's expressive black-and-white computer-sketched illustrations provide additional details about the characters and setting. The author handles the topic with skill and sensitivity, a significant accomplishment given the vocabulary and structural constraints of the easy-to-read chapter-book format. While the subject matter is indeed serious and the tone, for the most part, somber, children who have experienced the loss of a classmate or friend will find hope in this honest presentation.-Carol L. MacKay, Camrose Public Library, Alberta, Canada (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
(Primary) In the fourth book in the Jackson Friends series, second grader Pa Lia finds obnoxious classmate Matthew ""Stinky"" Stern very irritating with his teasing and mean pranks. One day after school, Pa Lia watches horrified as Stinky runs across the street without looking and is hit by a van. The next day, she learns that Stinky has died, and as the teacher asks the class to share their memories of him, Pa Lia begins to internally sort out her complicated feelings. Eventually she is able to share her own memories and emotions: ""Stinky, get up. This is not funny, I thought. But I knew he couldn't get up. And that was sadder and hurt more than anything Stinky ever said or did to me."" Despite the compressed timeline, with only a few hours between crisis and resolution, the emotions are gently and truthfully articulated for early elementary-grade readers. The series resembles Patricia Reilly Giff's long-running Polk Street Kids but is written at a younger level, with tender and evocative black-and-white illustrations. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Gr. 1-3. In this latest entry in the Jackson Friends series, second-grader Pa Lia Vang is upset when fellow classmate Matthew Stinky Stern intentionally ruins her intricate, cut-paper snowflakes. On the same afternoon, though, Stinky is killed by a car. The next day, Pa Lia's wise teacher invites students to share their memories of Stinky, and Pa Lia has conflicted emotions, because she never liked the boy. She works through her complex feelings by drawing pictures of episodes in Stinky's life, as recounted by her classmates. Finally, when a boy stands up and announces that he never liked Stinky but will still miss him, Pa Lia comes to better understand her feelings. Edwards manages to portray deep and complicated emotions through simple language in a short book for young readers. Her computer-generated, black-and-white illustrations add to the story's emotional depth by representing Pa Lia's thought processes as she struggles to understand the frightening events. An excellent exploration of the difficult subject of death. --Todd Morning Copyright 2005 Booklist
