Onion John [Library Binding]

Joseph Krumgold (Author), Symeon Shimin (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

The story of a friendship between a 12-year-old boy and an immigrant handyman, almost wrecked by the good intentions of the townspeople.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the distinguished books of our time. . . . The writing has dignity and strength." -- --SLJ.

"[A] penetrating picture of a boy growing up. . . . The book has a lingering effect on the reader." -- --H.

About the Author

Joseph Krumgold received the Newbery Medal for ...And Now Miguel. One of the few people to receive the medal twice, he was subsequently awarded it for his novel Onion John,also available in a Harper Trophy edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 256 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (October 30, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0690046987
• ISBN-13: 978-0690046984
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,980,172 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars TUG OF WAR BETWEEN FATHER AND FRIEND, June 14, 1999

By 

Plume45 "kitka12345" (Westchester, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Onion John (Paperback)

Twelve-year-old Andy Rusch has lived in a small town named Serenity all his life, working part time in his father's hardware store, but this fall proves anything but serene. In additon to a few buddies his own age, he has added a most unusual, adult, friend, who quietly grows in personal influence on the impressionable youth. Eventually Andy feels the strain and frustration of this emotional tug of war; he writhes under the unfair burden of having to choose to honor his new friend's different background or to obey his father re his future. The book presents this moral dilemma: does a Democracy--with the best of intentions--have the right to force modernization upon a harmless immigrant with a childlike faith in his power over Nature and the human heart?

Onion John is the kindly-given nickname of a man from Eastern Europe, whose English is undecipherable to everyone but Andy--who has to work at understanding his speech, until he discovers the trick of translating John's gutteral tongue and bizarre (medieval) ideas.

The boy, with no more ambition than to become a shopkeeper in New Jersey, becomes a companion to the strange but friendly hermit; they combine forces and enthusaism as they attempt to produce first rain, then gold. Onion John knows the rites to ward off "evil" spirits, to protect innocent workers, and even to fumigate an entire town. But does Serenity Need to be fumigated out of its expansive good will and generous desire to improve

John's living conditions--dragging him into the 20th century against his will? There is NO black magic, just European folklore and superstition. This is a simple, down home story about a boy who views his dad as a hero and his adult friend as a victim. Serious themes with elements of humor and touching family values.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Onion John, February 13, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Onion John (Library Binding)

I thought that this was a kind of book that was really hard to understand at times. This was a really good book about friendship. The friendship between these two friends is powerful no matter their height,age, or lifestyle. But even their frienndship has changed because at the end of the book they go their separate ways. I recommend this book to any person who is beginning to make friends

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Onion John: Review, December 8, 2005

By 

Chris OH! - See all my reviews

This review is from: Onion John (Paperback)

Onion John is a book that displays family in an interesting way. This story is in the point of view of Andy Rusch Jr. who enjoys working at his father's store. Andy Rusch Jr. is happy with his life but his father seemed to always expect more from him, he had the idea that things could always be better then they were.

This book is kind of a "get what you give" book, thus reading it with an open-mind, will help the reader realize some of the key points. For example, Andy Rusch Jr. has such a unique outlook on things, that the reader would only notice if the story has been read carefully. The family life, represented in this book, "rings true" because of the fact that the family is pretty ordinary, which makes connecting to the book much easier. The characters such as Andy Rusch Jr. and Onion John are what make this book unique, family-wise, because of how different from each other they really are.

The author intends to get the point across that things weren't always supposed to be better when people think they should be, and that giving someone help when you don't know if they want it or not may or may not always be a good thing. He wrote this book about an average family to prove that expecting more from a child, or another person might turn out differently than expected. Learning lessons like this make us grow as people.

Parents and teenagers should read this book because it might help families become closer and learn more about each other.