Mama's Going to Buy You a Mockingbird : Review -Canadian author Jean Little

Couldn't resist this Summertime book cover calling me -

* "Jeremy's parents are in the city while he and his little sister go to their cottage at the lake with their aunt; there are strange whispered phone calls between his aunt and his mom; and there's a sadness about everything that puzzles and disturbs Jeremy.There is time, just about, for Jeremy and his father to be alone together before the end comes; time enough for them to give each other one last gift: Jeremy's is a special good luck token; his dad's to him is a special new friend. a young girl whom his teacher father has befriended. It is this very special girl, whose own tragedies have left her strong and compassionate and able to bear her eccentricities with self-confidence, who enables Jeremy to bear the burden of his own sadness as well as that of his mother and sister. The overtures of friends and teachers and the discomfort of grief is borne because of Tess' help and her admiration for his father. Simply told in straightforward prose, the complexities are made comprehensible without diminishing their depth. Both boys and girls will appreciate this novel. It can also open up a discussion of death and dying, comfort, friendship and bereavement at an appropriate level. Grades 5-7" Marjorie Lewis, Scarsdale Junior High School, N.Y. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. -from School Library Journal * this edition published in 2005 by Puffin of Penguin Books Canada 245 pages * My thoughts? Sensitive treatment of 11 year old Jeremy and his younger sister, summer vacationing at the lake with their paternal aunt, whilst waiting expectantly for their parents' to join them. Father is ill, but they haven't been told more. This is a ya journey through a parent's discovery of cancer and its impact on the family as a whole and on each individual.

Characters are a joy to meet as described by Canadian author, Jean Little. Believable, likeable and true to age depicted, it took me back to my own childhood at that stage. Thoughts, actions, reactions - all the characteristic behaviours with Ms Little's added insights of this threat to Jeremy's life as he'd known it.
Endearing moments between father and son, mother and son; maturing moments captured between brother and sister, Jeremy and a classmate his father had suggested befriending. All work together creating a tender story of loss, growth and understanding of family.

Highly recommended. * My 2nd book reviewed for this year's Canadian Reading Challenge hosted by John Mutford in the NorthWest Territories. Do you read Canadian?  authors, locales, characters?  Why not add your commitment, then post your reviews that introduce us to new titles?   Follow and add your Tweets
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