Fig Pudding

From BooklistGr. 5^-7. Twelve-year-old Cliff, the oldest of six children ("Abernathys always overdo everything" ), recalls the past year in episodes focusing on his brothers and his sister. The year was bittersweet. There were good times, but there were also ones he'd like to forget--among them, the death of one brother, an event that will move readers to tears. Fletcher captures perfectly the humor, irritations, and sadness of life in a large, close-knit family and makes Cliff a sympathetic and thoughtful narrator, occasionally bewildered by his siblings' antics but always a completely believable older brother. The comedy in the final chapter will leave readers recalling hilarious family disasters of their own. Chris ShermanProduct DescriptionA series of anecdotes and vignettes chronicles a year in the life of the members of a family as they struggle through the grieving and healing process after the death of one of the children.From Publishers WeeklyTwelve-year-old Cliff, the eldest of the six Abernathy children, looks back on a year that feels like "five years crammed into one. With plenty of stuff I want to remember forever. And stuff I wish I could forget." In a style reminiscent of Cheaper by the Dozen, this warm story (unobtrusively set in what seems to be the '70s) neatly blends the humor and frustrations of growing up in a large family headed by two sanguine parents. Each chapter, while centering around a particular child, subtly weaves together household events, large and small. In the first vignette, the youngest child is hospitalized just before Christmas and asks only for a "yidda yadda" from Santa; the family eventually interprets the demand as a "little ladder" and everyone works all night to build one. The episodes smoothly move forward to the family's ultimate crisis: Brad, the gentlest of the children, is killed while riding his bicycle. With remarkable restraint and understatement, Fletcher (I Am Wings: Poems About Love) conveys the bewilderment and grief as each of the Abernathys reacts to this loss. A hopeful ending implies that Brad's memory will live on in the family's exchanges. Ages 8-12.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Review"In a fresh, exuberant voice, eleven-year-old Cliff Abernathy III narrates a rollercoaster year in his family's life, beginning with Christmas and Grandma's visit. Chapters are colorful vignettes of celebrations, crises, and day-to-day events." -- ReviewAbout the AuthorRalph Fletcher is the author of many well-received books for children, including the novels Fig Pudding and Flying Solo, and the picture books Twilight Comes Twice, Grandpa Never Lies, and Circus Surprise. He lives with his family in New Hampshire. Visit him online at ralphfletcher.com.Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.1.Clifford Allyn Abernathy IIIMy full name is Clifford Allyn Abernathy III, after my father and grandfather, but I leave off the III, the Allyn, and the ord. Call me Cliff. I’m in Mr. Beck’s class at the Bradford Bridges Elementary School in Ballingsford. I’ve noticed lately that lots of my favorite things seem to start with “B”: baseball (Baltimore is my favorite team), basketball, bacon, bluefishing, blue slush cones. Brad.I’m the oldest of six kids. And that makes me different from the other kids. Dad and Mom sure treat me different. The other kids can whoop and scream and holler like a bunch of savages. They can sneak into Mrs. Montgomery’s vegetable garden and pick all her cherry tomatoes-no big deal. They can climb trees and get sticky pine pitch smeared all over their shirts and hair-what do you expect Dad and Mom expect more from me. I have to be Mr. Responsibility, Mr. Set-a-Good-Example. On certain days keeping the other kids out of trouble makes me feel more like a policeman than a brother. Some days it drives me nuts.Take the time when a water pipe burst down the street and made a huge mud puddle on the Mcllreavys’ front la
Author: Fletcher, Ralph

Publisher: Clarion Books

Binding: Hardcover

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0395711258

ISBN-13: 9780395711255