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Paperback(Reprint)

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Overview

Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech's inspired novel tells the story of a boy who fantasizes about who he is in order to discover who he will become.

Now with fresh and gorgeous new cover art, this touching tale has received many starred reviews, and was called a "warm, funny, philosophical novel" by Kirkus.

With the backdrop of a large family and a theater as its frame, this is a story about twelve-year-old Leo, who has a talent for transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. That's why he's called "fog boy." He's always dreaming, always replaying things in his brain. As an actor in the school play, he is poised and ready for the curtain to open. But in the play that is his life, he is eager to discover what part will be his.

With the universal theme of finding one's true identity, and set amid a loud, noisy, memorable family, Leo's story is one that all kids will relate to. And there's a full play at the end of the book that kids and teachers can perform!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780060540210
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/23/2013
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	365,324
Product dimensions:	5.12(w) x 7.62(h) x 0.45(d)
Lexile:	780L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Sharon Creech has written twenty-one books for young people and is published in over twenty languages. Her books have received awards in both the U.S. and abroad, including the Newbery Medal for Walk Two Moons, the Newbery Honor for The Wanderer, and Great Britain’s Carnegie Medal for Ruby Holler.

Before beginning her writing career, Sharon Creech taught English for fifteen years in England and Switzerland. She and her husband now live in Maine, “lured there by our grandchildren,” Creech says.

www.sharoncreech.com

Hometown:

Pennington, New Jersey

Date of Birth:

July 29, 1945

Place of Birth:

Cleveland, Ohio

Education:

B.A., Hiram College, 1967; M.A., George Mason University, 1978

Read an Excerpt

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Chapter One

Boy Wonder

From his perch in the maple tree, Leo hears a cry of distress, a high-pitched yelping. He scans the neighborhood, and there, midway down the block, he sees the old woman lying on the sidewalk. Leo leaps from the tree and races down the street.

"Call the rescue squad!" he orders a neighbor peering from her window.

Leo reaches the old woman, takes her pulse. It's weak, fading. "Stand back," he tells the gathering neighbors as he works at reviving the woman.

The woman's eyelids flutter. By the time the wail of the rescue squad car is heard, she is breathing normally, color returning to her cheeks.

"You saved her life," the rescue crew tells Leo. "You saved her life!"

"Hey, sardine! Fog boy! What the heck are you doing? Mom is looking all over for you."

Leo blinks and looks around.

"Did you hear me, sardine? You're going to be in big trouble—"

Leo turns. Trouble? Maybe someone needs him. He dashes for home. Maybe he will get there just in time.

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

Twelve-year-old Leo carries an indelible, slightly odious nickname: Sardine. In his day-to-day life, he often feels squished within a tin. In his fantasies, though, Leo is no sardine. He soars with dreams, replays memories, and speculates about who he could become. Rehearsing for the school play serves as both catharsis and meditation for this shy, introspective boy. This charming, ultimately cheering book by the author of Walk Two Moons and The Wanderer is a good pick for reflective, slightly timid young readers.

Creech, a multiple Newbery honoree, sometimes dips into sentimentality…In this perfectly constructed novel for middle readers, some schmaltz-alert elements are present—huge Italian-American family, wise grownup, sweet, precocious kid—but Creech keeps her balance.
—The Washington Post

Elizabeth Ward

The play's the thing in this uneven audio adaptation of Creech's latest novel. Though he has a grand imagination and big dreams, young Leo often feels invisible in his large Italian family. None of his accomplishments seems to measure up to his siblings' efforts and he is the only one excited about his winning a role in the school production of drama teacher Mr. Beeber's play. Along with learning his lines, Leo spends much of his time rewinding and replaying scenes from his life, of course, dramatically fashioned to his liking. But fantasy and reality dovetail nicely at the end as Leo learns more about his family and his role in it. The elements of the play-within-the-novel device and the inclusion of Leo's frequent daydreams make the story's transition to audio a bit rough. At the recording's outset, readers hear a lengthy listing of Leo's extended family members as well as a recitation of the cast list for the play. These components may prove helpful in print, but are overwhelming and somewhat confusing on audio. Throughout, Burns reads with an often halting rhythm, rarely allowing readers to catch the beat of the tale, or of some of the more poignant or humorous bits in the writing. His deep voice frequently sounds like an old-fashioned radio announcer, which sometimes detracts from the youthful underpinnings here. Unfortunately, a full-cast reading of the bizarre school play at the end is an exercise in patience. Ages 8-12. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 6-8-Meet Leonardo. His family calls him "sardine," as he often feels smashed between Contento, his moody older sister, and his two younger brothers, Pietro and Nunzio. His life is filled with possibilities; he's a dreamer (which gains him the additional nickname of "fog boy"). But two events converge in unexpected ways, leading to new understanding, growth, and insight. Leo finds a journal written by his father at age 13 and is chosen for a part in a play written by the drama teacher entitled "Rumpopo's Porch." To his dismay, he is given the role of the Old Crone and the journal presents a person whom Leo doesn't know. Gradually, however, the Old Crone comes to appreciate Rumpopo just as Leo begins to see glimmers of the 13-year-old boy who matured into his now-frazzled father. Life, like plays and replays, has a cyclical nature. A rift in Leo's large, noisy, and completely realistic family begins to heal after a near disaster when Nunzio is injured, just as a hole created by loss can heal. Leo's fantasies intertwine with actual events, adding humor and insight. Characters are brilliantly delineated by their actions, reports of Leo's observations, and short dialogues presented in both conversations and in screenplay form. As Leo matures, nuggets of wisdom emerge from the simple text in this beautifully crafted novel. The script of "Rumpopo's Porch" is included to further clarify parallels. For in the end, "all the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players."-Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at Washington DC Public Library Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

One of four children in a large, chaotic Italian-American family, 12-year-old Leo is nicknamed "sardine" because he once said he felt squished like one, and occasionally "fog boy" because he slips into thoughtful trances where he "replays" life's disappointing scenarios. Papa says Leo can make "gold from pebbles," and indeed, in Leo's amusingly grandiose imaginings, readers will behold the often-stumbling, invisible-feeling boy emerge as the Nobel Prize winner or famous actor he was (possibly) born to be. When Leo gets the part of "old crone" in the school play, he analyzes that character, but more important, he examines his own life's role, and that of his once-vivacious, now distant father. In this warm, funny, philosophical novel, Creech cleverly juxtaposes life and stage life, complete with a cast of characters, short chapters listed as scenes and pieces of dialogue recorded as script. By the end, Leo knows life can't be scripted, that he wouldn't want it to be, that "dorky, little nobody kids" (not that he is one) can become "amazing grown-ups" and that improvisation is key. (complete script of the school play) (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

Christopher Burns brings a large, boisterous Italian family to life. The plot weaves the past and the present, a school play, and the main character’s imaginary world into an insightful coming-of-age story. Thirteen-year-old Leo is known as “Sardine” because he is positioned between an older sister and younger brothers. His sister also calls him “Fog Boy” because he’s often lost in a daydream, casting himself as a hero as he replays his life. Burns embodies Leo’s growing self-awareness with a simple, perfectly enunciated “Huh!” every time comprehension dawns. Papa says, “Leo, you make gold from pebbles.” This little story is filled with golden pebbles, including a full-cast rendering of the school play to end the production. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

AUG/SEP 07 - AudioFile