The Facts And Fictions Of Minna Pratt (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) [School & Library Binding]

Patricia MacLachlan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1990 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. An eleven-year-old cellist learns about life from her eccentric family, her first boyfriend, and Mozart.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Minna is technically an excellent cellist, but she wants to find her vibrato. The process of that discovery is almost as elusive as the vibrato itself. As are many of Newbery Medalist MacLachlan's heroines, Minna is serious and questioning, counting objects and categorizing them, and wondering why her mother's fiction-writing isn't considered outright lying. Meanwhile, there is Lucas, a new member of her chamber group who has both a viola and a vibrato. He seems not to need questions or answers, but he does want his very formal parents to fuss over him. Lucas and Minna are different and understand each other in ways that may remind readers of the eponymous heroine of Cassie Binegar and her friend Margaret Mary. While Minna's musings make much of this novel sobering and philosophical, the language is playful and intensely poetic about such familiar of things as a laundry basket of unmatched socks. It is impossible not to be swept into the world of Minna's concerns and to find, among the more absorbing aspects, a simple, sweetly told story. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7 Minna Pratt is confused: by life and the nature of love, by Mozart and her struggles to play the cello, and by the quotes her writer-mother tapes over her desk, such as ``Fact and Fiction are Different Truths.'' Minna wants everything to follow an orderly pattern like the dinner conversation between her friend Lucas' parents. Through her friendship with Lucas, the newest member of her chamber music group, Minna begins to understand that life is not as simple as she wants it to be. In this book, which recalls Cassie Binegar (1982) more than Sarah, Plain and Tall (1985, both Harper), MacLachlan has written a story of the wistful longings of early adolescents, laced with humor and an uncanny sense of the ordinary, everyday things that make life so special. With the briefest description, she sketches wonderfully memorable characters: Imelda, the violinist who announces obscure facts at odd moments in rehearsal; Lucas' mother, sitting in her solarium thinking up dinner conversation topics; and Minna's brother McGrew, who likes to sing the headlines from the daily paper. The twin themes of writing and music provide an unobtrusive metaphor for Minna's search for order in her world, and provide interesting layers in the writing for perceptive readers. In the end, it is very much a book about that personal tug of war that begins in early adolescence between dependence on one's parents' approval and the need to become one's own person. As such, it will have great appeal for young readers, and will live on in the memory the way the strains of a melody live on after a concert. Connie C. Rockman, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, Conn.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• School & Library Binding: 144 pages
• Publisher: Turtleback (January 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0833546503
• ISBN-13: 978-0833546500
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,942,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Patricia MacLachlan was born on the prairie, and to this day carries a small bag of prairie dirt with her wherever she goes to remind her of what she knew first. She is the author of many well-loved novels and picture books, including Sarah, Plain and Tall, winner of the Newbery Medal; its sequels, Skylark and Caleb's Story; and Three Names, illustrated by Mike Wimmer. She lives in western Massachusetts.

In Her Own Words..."One thing I've learned with age and parenting is that life comes in circles. Recently, I was having a bad time writing. I felt disconnected. I had moved to a new home and didn't feel grounded. The house, the land was unfamiliar to me. There was no garden yet. Why had I sold my old comfortable 1793 home? The one with the snakes in the basement, mice everywhere, no closets. I would miss the cold winter air that came in through the electrical sockets."

"I had to go this day to talk to a fourth-grade class, and I banged around the house, complaining. Hard to believe, since I am so mild mannered and pleasant, isn't it? What did I have to say to them? I thought what I always think when I enter a room of children. What do I know?"

"I plunged down the hillside and into town, where a group of fourth-grade children waited for me in the library, freshly scrubbed, expectant. Should I be surprised that what usually happens did so? We began to talk about place, our living landscapes. And I showed them my little bag of prairie dirt from where I was born. Quite simply, we never got off the subject of place. Should I have been so surprised that these young children were so concerned with place, or with the lack of it, their displacement? Five children were foster children, disconnected from their homes. One little boy's house had burned down, everything gone. 'Photographs, too,' he said sadly. Another told me that he was moving the next day to place he'd never been. I turned and saw the librarian, tears coming down her face."

"'You know,' I said. 'Maybe I should take this bag of prairie dirt and toss it into my new yard. I'll never live on the prairie again. I live here now. The two places could mix together that way!' 'No!' cried a boy from the back. 'Maybe the prairie dirt will blow away!' And then a little girl raised her hand. 'I think you should put that prairie dirt in a glass bowl in your window so that when you write you can see it all the time. So you can always see what you knew first.'"

"When I left the library, I went home to write. What You Know First owes much to the children of the Jackson Street School: the ones who love place and will never leave it, the ones who lost everything and have to begin again. I hope for them life comes in circles, too."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humorous and touching, April 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt (Charlotte Zolotow Books) (Paperback)

I bought this book in the 4th grade simply because the main character and I shared the same name. I couldn't fully appreciate the book back then, but I do now. _Facts_and_Fictions_ has become one of my favorite books because it has so many wonderful aspects. MacLachlan has such a unique way of writing about all of Minna's relationships--with her mother, her brother, her crush, and her cello. I've also dog-eared and highlighted many pages in my worn copy of the book; every sentence MacLachlan wrote was carefully constructed. No matter what your age, I think you will enjoy this book. I highly recommend it!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVE this book!, September 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt (Charlotte Zolotow Books) (Paperback)

I first read this book in 6th grade and I loved it then because it was sort of the image of who I wanted to be. I have read it so many times since then and I still love it. I am a violist and I hope to become professional after college, so this book means a lot to me. I also have a stand partner is Symphony who reminds me a lot of Lucas (only he talks a lot less). The only thing I didn't like about this book is that when you learn vibrato, you can't do it all of a sudden; you have to practice about a year before you get it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent coming-of-age story., April 12, 2001

By 

Dana H. Pasterjak "Dana" (Palm Coast, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt (Charlotte Zolotow Books) (Paperback)

Patricia MacLachlan has such a wonderous way of writing and an economy with words. Despite the fact that I am not "musical" in any way I could understand and learn quite a bit about the world of concerts and stringed instruments. The author's flowing style of writing made it easier to synthesize. The characters are great. You can feel that teenage angst all over again, however painful it may be! I wanted to read this whole story. As a fifth grade teacher, we read a portion of this tale in the Scholastic series. The students really seem to respond to Minna's troubles, so it inspired me to go out and purchase the book to read the entire story. I could not put the book down once I sat down to read the whole story! It is a most enjoyable book for students of pre-teen age to read and relate to! As an adult, I enjoyed it as well.