Keeper of the Doves [Paperback]

Betsy Byars (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Amen McBee, the youngest of five sisters, gobbles up words the way other children gobble up sweets. She couldn’t be more different from her elder twin sisters Arabella and Annabella—called the Bellas. The mischievous Bellas constantly frighten Amen with stories of Mr. Tominski—the old recluse who lives in the woods nearby and mysteriously tends to a flock of doves. The Bellas insist that Mr. Tominski is a dangerous bogeyman who eats children whole, but Papa vows that the “keeper of the doves” wouldn’t hurt a soul. When tragedy strikes the family, Amen must decide once and for all who is right.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Byars (Summer of the Swans) organizes this jewel-like novel into 26 brief chapters, each beginning with a letter of the alphabet, and often resting upon a single image. Amen ("Amie") McBee, born in 1891 and the fifth daughter of a fragile mother and a father who ardently wishes for a son, searches for her place in the family and discovers a talent of her own. Even before Amie, who narrates, pens her first poem at age six, she shows signs of a poet's sensibility. She admires her sister Augusta, who "knew more words than anyone in the world," and eloquently sums up her bitter aunt: "She seemed to see life as a narrow and dangerous cliff, with charmed objects and correct action all there was to keep you from falling over the edge." Amie grows fascinated with the enigmatic Mr. Tominski, who tends the doves behind the nearby chapel. A seemingly harmless game of hide-and-seek that Amie plays with her devious twin sisters (Arabella and Annabella, dubbed "the Bellas"), in which the person being "it" pretends to be the feared Mr. Tominski, prompts their father to explain the man's importance to him. In tightly constructed scenes such as this, the author slowly and fluidly unspools the small revelations that aid in Amie's understanding of the world around her. With the arrival of Amie's grandmother (to assist with Amie's mother's pregnancy), the girl begins to blossom: Grandmama calls Amie a "wordsmith" and dispels her fears about Mr. Tominski, unveiling him as a "dove magician." The woman also gives each granddaughter a camera, and the subjects of their photographs reveal much about who they are. Amie, after photographing the lamb on the gravestone of her sister, Anita, who died at 10 days old, discovers Mr. Tominski behind her and photographs him, in what turns out to be a prophetic encounter. Byars effortlessly links subtle images into a cycle of life a death comes closely on the heels of the birth of Amie's brother, Adam; an early chapter in which three-year-old Amie names the parts of their dog reverberates at the novel's close, when two-year-old Adam recites the parts of the gravestone lamb. The snippets of Amie's and her family's lives add up to an exquisitely complete picture. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-In 26 short chapters, this well-formed, introspective novel chronicles Amie McBee's life from her birth in 1891 until a pivotal summer eight years later. Throughout her childhood the awful Bellas, her older twin sisters, tell scary stories and make fun of the mysterious Mr. Tominski, who saved their father's life and, in return, is allowed to live in the old chapel behind the house. But Amie, a bright, observant child, is convinced that the "Keeper of the Doves" is no more than a harmless, gentle recluse. In a memorable scene, she and her grandmother secretly observe Mr. Tominski with his birds, and her grandmother says, "The man is a dove magician." Byars has a gift for writing dialogue, and here she uses a spare, almost poetic style to craft an accessible story that grapples with life-altering issues. And because Amie is an aspiring poet, the story is also about the creative process, with examples of her poetry woven into the text. The thematic elements interplay in perfect symmetry; when older sister Augusta recites the names of garden flowers in alphabetical order, she echoes the alphabet structure of the chapters. All of the characters are vividly portrayed, from feisty and frank Grandmama to stern Aunt Pauline, who has a "deep respect for bad luck." Even the awful Bellas provide some comic relief while revealing just how malicious human nature can be. The effective foreshadowing of a death provides dramatic tension throughout the narrative, and the surprising climax presents provocative questions about judging others and the nature of truth.
Caroline Ward, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (February 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142400637
• ISBN-13: 978-0142400630
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #426,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( B ) > Byars, Betsy

More About the Author

Betsy Byars began her writing career rather late in life First, she married and started a family. The writing career didn't emerge until she was 28, a mother of two children, and living in a small place she called the barracks apartment, in Urbana, Illinois. She and her husband, Ed, had moved there in 1956 so he could attend graduate school at the University of Illinois. She was bored, had no friends, and so turned to writing to fill her time. Byars started writing articles for The Saturday Evening Post, Look,and other magazines. As her family grew and her children started to read, she began to write books for young people and, fortunately for her readers, discovered that there was more to being a writer than sitting in front of a typewriter. "Once a wanderer came by my house and showed me how to brush my teeth with a cherry twig; that went in The House of WingsThe Summer of the Swans." Since that time, Byars has written more than 45 books for young readers and has won numerous awards, including The American Book Award, which she received in 1981 for The Night Swimmers. The humor, compassion, and insight Byars brings to each of her books won her a large audience of admirers both in the United States and abroad. Six of her novels were presented on national television, and her books are translated into nine languages. Six of Byars' novels have been named ALA Notable Books, and in 1971, The Summer of the Swans -- a story about a 14-year-old girl and her mentally retarded brother -- won the Newbery Award as the most distinguished contribution to literature for children in the year of its publication. Byars was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 7, 1928. Unlike many of the characters in her books, Byars grew up in a normal, loving family. Her father was an engineer and worked as a bookkeeper in a cotton mill. He was stern and hardworking and had a strong sense of humor. Her mother was a lively woman who loved acting and music. Byars's sister, Nancy, two years older, was sometimes an inspiration and sometimes an evil nemesis. Byars has always been adventurous and never allows a few setbacks to prevent her from doing things she wants to experience, like petting a blacksnake and flying planes. The snake was named Moon and became the subject of her 1991 autobiography, The Moon and I. Betsy Byars and her husband live on an air strip in South Carolina, and have traveled widely throughout the United States in pursuit of their interest in gliding and antique airplanes. They have four grown children and seven grandchildren.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keeper of the Doves, October 11, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Keeper of the Doves (Paperback)

The book is very different than any book I have ever read. It is about a girl who has three sisters when she is born and her dad really wants a son. All of the children's names have to start with an A. So her name is Amen. She was the fifth one born after her older sister died after 9 days of living. Her and her sisters are all scared of their neighbor Mr. Tominski, a mysterious man that saved their father from death. Mr. Tominski is the keeper of the doves behind an old church. There are some sad parts. But I would still recommend this book any day.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Start, April 11, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Keeper of the Doves (Paperback)

I think this book has a good start but I also think that the dad overeacted when he found out that Amen was a girl!!

3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book you will ever read, October 10, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Keeper of the Doves (Hardcover)

I loved this book!
This book is about Amie and a man named Mr Tominski. He had doves in a nearby chapel. He trained his doves. This story is placed in 1899 in Kentuky. One day Amie meets Mr Tominski in the grave yard. Amie has a camera. Mr Tominski talks in German. He was pointing at himself. Amie said do you want me to take a picture of you? Mr Tominski shook his head. Amie took 2 pictures of Mr Tominski. This book is about differences. I recommend this book to anybody!!!