Macaroni Boy [Paperback]

Katherine Ayres (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 13, 2004 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Mike Costa has lived his whole life in The Strip, Pittsburgh’s warehouse and factory district. His father’s large Italian family runs a food wholesale business, and Mike is used to the sounds and smells of men working all night to unload the trains that feed the city. But it’s 1933, and the Depression is bringing tough times to everyone. Money problems only add to Mike’s worries about his beloved grandfather, who is getting forgetful and confused.

Mike is being tormented at school by a loud-mouth named Andy Simms, who calls Mike “Macaroni Boy.” But when dead rats start appearing in the streets, that name changes to “Rat Boy.” Around the same time Mike notices that his grandfather is also physically sick. Can whatever is killing the rats be hurting Mike’s grandfather? It’s a mystery Mike urgently needs to solve in this atmospheric, fast-paced story filled with vibrant period detail.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-In 1933, as the Great Depression hits his Pittsburgh neighborhood, Mike Costa has a handful of problems to face. The family business is in financial trouble, his grandfather is losing his memory, and he faces bullying and anti-Italian prejudice at school. Meanwhile, his job as family rat catcher leads him to investigate the mysterious sickness that has killed some local hoboes, and affected his own grandfather. From the start, this fast-paced novel puts readers right into the vivid world of "the Strip" where Mike lives. His confused feelings of guilt about the neighborhood homeless and the squalid home of his bullying classmate add powerful human touches to the effects of the Depression. Though Mike has to rely on help from his archenemy, and helps him in turn, the boys quite realistically remain foes afterward. The mystery of why there are suddenly no rats for Mike to catch adds to the fast pace, though an encounter with moonshiners seems more contrived than other plot developments. As protagonist, Mike seems like an ordinary boy at first, but learns to solve his problems with intelligence, rather than the straightforward resistance his grandpa and uncles preach. His actions and his perceptions give readers an involving and informative kid's-eye look at several aspects of city life in the 1930s.
Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. In 1933 Pittsburgh, sixth-grader Mike Costa's family owns a food warehouse. The school bully torments Mike for this, calling him Macaroni Boy. Mike's job is to kill rats in the cellar, but each morning, when he checks his traps, he notices that there are fewer rats in the traps and more dead ones on the street. He notices also that his grandfather is becoming increasingly ill. With the help of his best friend, Joseph, Mike sets out to discover if there is a link between the dying rats and his grandfather's illness. Eventually, they piece enough clues together to determine the cause of the health problems. The mystery, however, is secondary to Ayres' evocation of Pittsburgh at the height of the Depression. She effectively describes not only Mike's warehouse-district neighborhood but also the highly anxious mind-set of the era. Mike's world is not, however, unrelentingly grim; he's surrounded by a loving extended family who helps him gradually gain a more mature understanding of the world. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (July 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440418844
• ISBN-13: 978-0440418849
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.5 x 7.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #276,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Caroline's Macaroni boy review, November 21, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Macaroni Boy (Paperback)

I read a nutmeg book titled Macaroni Boy by Katherine Ayres. It is an interesting and suspenseful story that left me hanging every time I closed the book. This book was set in Pittsburgh during the time of the depression.

The main characters in this story are Andy Simms-the school bully, Michael Costa who is nick named Macaroni boy because his family owns a food company, Joseph who is Mike's best friend, and Mikes Grand-pap... who is been acting very strange lately.

The main problem of the book occurs when Mike's grand-pap starts vomiting blood and dead rats start appearing everywhere. Other strange things happen like a banana warehouse suddenly explodes leaving the smell of rotten bananas for weeks. Mike decides to investigate to find out what is killing the rats and making his grand pap sick.

My favorite part of the book was when the banana warehouse exploded. It was my favorite part because it brought a lot of suspense it brought to the story, and of all the commotion it caused on the strip and how much people wished for it to rain for the nasty smell to disappear- I thought that it was pretty funny.

I really liked this book because it was really suspenseful and it left my hanging every time I had to close the book, it was great story that had a lot of suspense and somewhat of a mystery.


I would recommend it to any body who likes a story with a lot of suspense because it was a very well written book.
I would give this book five stars because it had a lot of suspense and mystery.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars David's Review, November 21, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Macaroni Boy (Paperback)

Macaroni Boy Book Review 11/21/06 LA 3
By David


I read an interesting book titled Macaroni Boy by Katherine Ayres. It is a story set in 1933 during the great depression in Pittsburgh.
The main characters in this story are Mike Costa or Macaroni Boy, Andy Simms, Grand Pop, Macaroni Boy's uncles, and his Dad. Rats are also involved this story.... Mike also likes chocolate ice cream.
The main problem of the book occurs when Mike keeps on getting into fights with a bully, Andy Simms and his Grand Pop has a sickness which can turn everything upside down in a minute. Mike is trying to figure out what this sickness is before it gets too late.
My favorite parts of the book are the fights between Mike and Andy Simms. This is my favorite part because the narrator describes the fights vividly and I always want to see whether Mike would learn a lesson and report the bully instead of fighting back physically.
I really enjoyed this book because it gives a sense of life during this period of Great Depression. I would recommend it to anybody because it will help readers appreciate the things they have more.

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is good, November 4, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Macaroni Boy (Paperback)

Macaroni boy is a very good read. I think everyone should read it. It tells about life during the great depression. We had to read as a class book, so everytime we stopped i wanted to read some more.