Getting near to baby (Newbery Honor Book) [Hardcover]

Audrey Couloumbis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 1999 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Newbery Honor Book

When twelve-year-old Willa Jo climbs onto the roof at Aunt Patty's house to see the sunrise, she never expects the conflicted feelings she's had for three weeks to crystallize into a stubbornness that will keep her there all day. But once she's up there, Willa Jo can't seem to come down. Coming down means having to explain herself. And how can she explain?

After Baby died, Little Sister stopped talking. Then Aunt Patty took the girls away from Mom to give her time to pull herself together. Aunt Patty has a million rules about everything, and she seems to have forgotten that Willa Jo and Little Sister are trying to cope with losing Baby, too. And missing Mom something fierce.

In this beautifully-structured novel--which takes place all in one day--two generations of big sisters struggle with what being a big sister means. Couloumbis masterfully shows us the pervasive feelings that can take hold when tragedy strikes and the slow, subtle healing that comes when one can finally get near to the source.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her first novel for children, Couloumbis deftly constructs an intricate montage of thoughts and memories from the perspective of 12-year-old Willa Jo Dean who, with Little Sister, mourns the death of their baby sister. As the story opens, Willa Jo and Little Sister are sitting on the roof, ignoring their Aunt Patty's orders to come down. Over the course of a single day, Willa Jo, from her high perch, mulls over the events of the past few weeks: her mother's depression, Little Sister's refusal to talk and Aunt Patty's efforts to make things right by taking the girls into her home. But Aunt Patty and her nieces don't see things the same way. Willa Jo and Little Sister would rather play with the children across the street (dirty "mole rats," in Aunt Patty's opinion) than attend Bible School or associate with the socially acceptable daughters of Aunt Patty's friends. The tension rises until Uncle Hob, in his soft-spoken way, forms a bridge of understanding that unites them all. Willa Jo's narrative, with its subtle cadences of a Southern drawl, achieves a child's sense of the timelessness of long summer days stretching before her. Coloumbis infuses the heroine's voice with an elegiac quality, even as the child's humor and determination to keep up Little Sister's spirits shine through. The tale of this one day on the roof chronicles the changes in the other three characters as much as the changes in Willa Jo, and the combined strength of this unforgettable cast of characters leaves a lasting and uplifting impression. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8-A touching examination of grief and healing, of the affects of a tragedy on a family, and of loss and acceptance. Willa Jo Dean, one week shy of her 13th birthday, crawls onto the roof of Aunt Patty's house to watch the sunrise. Little Sister follows her, as always. Much to Aunt Patty's chagrin, the sisters stay on the roof, ignoring her pleas and threats to come down. The novel encompasses one day's sunrise to sunset. In a series of flashbacks, Willa Jo tells of the death of Baby from drinking tainted water at a carnival, of their mother's blaming herself and incapacitating grief, and of Little Sister's refusal to talk. The girls have been taken to their aunt's house, where they have spent an uncomfortable three weeks, missing their mother, their baby sister, and being at odds with the well-intentioned yet bossy and humorless Aunt Patty. By day's end, the girls are reunited with their mother, reconciled with their aunt, and realize that death is not to be feared, that life is short, and that love brings healing. Couloumbis's writing is strong; she captures wonderfully the Southern voices of her characters and conveys with great depth powerful emotions. Indeed, this is a book about feelings and relationships, and the reverent tone and child-focused attempts to understand the unknowable ring true in a deeply satisfying manner. While the lack of action as well as the nonchronological flashbacks may prove a challenge for some youngsters, this is a compelling novel that will speak to special readers.
Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; First Edition edition (September 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039923389X
• ISBN-13: 978-0399233890
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,219,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ballet Students in Nutcracker Stay Occupied, December 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Getting near to baby (Newbery Honor Book) (Hardcover)

My wife stages a Nutcracker production involving over 100 children. During long hours of rehearsals there is much down time. The young dancers get bored and irritable. One day she found Getting Near to Baby. (recommended by a grammar school teacher) In the Green Room one of the mothers began reading the novel to the waiting dancers and they were enthralled. It seemed to be a situation they could relate to. The language was "theirs" and the story struck a chord. It was difficult to get them to go onstage for rehearsal until they found what happened to the little girls up on the roof.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A COMPASSIONATE READING, April 28, 2001

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Getting Near to Baby (Audio Cassette)

This profound Newbery Honor Book bears revisiting, and it surely bears listening as the story reveals what it means to be a sister and the different forms that tragedy may take. Mischa Barton reads with compassionate understanding.

Twelve-year-old Willa Jo and seven-year-old Little Sister have lost their baby sister. The child's sudden death has, of course, devastated their mother. Aunt Patty, who is not accustomed to having children in her home, takes the two girls thinking that mother needs some time alone to grieve and perhaps begin adjusting to her loss.

What seems like a good and generous thought doesn't turn out very well for the girls as they miss their mother desperately, are grieving for their lost sister, and Aunt Patty has jillions of rules.

In an effort to escape what seems to be an intolerable situation the girls climb onto the roof one morning to watch the sunrise. The problem is, following the sunrise Willa Jo can't bring herself to come down. After all, once she came down, how could she explain her unusual behavior?

There is much for all to learn in this thoughtful recounting of a tragedy and the toll it takes.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better the second time around!, August 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Getting near to baby (Newbery Honor Book) (Hardcover)

When Willa Jo climbs on the roof of Aunt Patty's house to watch the sunrise, she discovers that although grief affects everyone differently, no one escapes the sadness that follows a death in the family. With cleverly-inserted flashbacks, Audrey Couloumbis tenderly describes how an extended family's relationships change as two sisters grieve the death of their baby sister. Sometimes stubborn and prickly, thirteen-year-old Willa Jo resolutely resists Aunt Patty's bossiness, her exacting household rules, and her well-intentioned but awkward attempts to care for Willa Jo and Little Sister. Only on her rooftop retreat, does Willa Jo begin to understand the bond that entwines her grief, sunrise memories, and the sisters' relationship with Aunt Patty and Uncle Hob. Getting Near to Baby explores family relationships with humor and sensitivity as it describes one family's struggle to find peace after a baby's death. More than a sensitive depiction of bereavement, this story explores the special closeness two sisters may share. I liked Willa Jo and found her narration believable, touching, and sometimes funny.

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