Customer Reviews

Petey

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When Petey Corbin was born in 1920, very little was known about cerebral palsy. Trapped inside a body that he cannot control and a tongue that protrudes, Petey was committed to an insane asylum in Warm Springs Montana bearing the diagnosis of idiot. Once he is turned over to the state at age two, he never sees his family again.

Petey's life is marked by a series of shift changes. Once admitted to the Infants' Ward where he resides for the first decade of his life, he meets an angel. The angel is a young ward worker named Esteban who responds to Petey and knows this child is no idiot. The two bond and Petey learns to nod his head and respond to words. Esteban brings Petey chocolates and sadly loses his job after he tells a group of visitors not to talk about the young residents in their presence or call them freaks. "They are NOT freaks," Esteban tells them. "They are poor children!" Sadly, he is fired for taking this stand. That was in 1927.

Petey languishes for a few years after Esteban's departure and, for the first time in several years is taken outside. This trip is his transfer from the Infants' Ward to the Mens' Ward where he will receive total skilled nursing care. Sadly, it is not an appropriate placement for this child as many of his ward mates suffer from a variety of mental illnesses.

Fate intervenes; in the late 1930s a boy named Calvin was found freezing and abandoned outside the asylum doors. Admitted to Mens' Ward, he and Petey become good friends. Both wheelchair bound, the boys talk to each other with Calvin serving as Petey's interpreter. They even make pets out of the mice who come to eat scraps and crumbs. Their efforts are rewarded by their friendship with Joe, a kind ward worker who talks to the boys; gives them Christmas presents and takes a personal interest in them. Sadly, poor health forces Joe to retire, but he always sent the boys cards every year until his death.

The next angel to enter Petey's life was a loving nurse named Cassie. Cassie's husband was in the armed services during WWII and she needed the job. Once at Warm Springs, she, too, is drawn to Petey and Calvin and takes them out on the grounds and lets them play with her infant daughter. Sadly, she leaves during the latter part of the war to join her husband, who has been stationed in New York.

Life as Calvin and Petey know it becomes a metronome of monotony; they are ground into a routine until early 1965. An angel in a Chevrolet arrives at the gates; by then the asylum has been renamed "Warm Springs State Hospital." Owen, a retiree and a widower picked up where Esteban, Joe and Cassie left off. He recognizes the bond between Calvin and Petey and he takes a special interest in the men. He even convinces the director of nuring to provide Petey with a better wheelchair.

Owen retires in 1973 due to advanced age and poor health. He periodically visits his friends, but the pain of leaving them is great. Shortly after he retires, a "deinstitutionalization" takes place. Many of the residents are shipped to nursing homes and group homes based on their needs and level of care. During the winter of 1977-1978 Petey is admitted to a nursing home and Calvin a group home.

Luckily, the nursing staff recognize Petey's intelligence and humor. They learn, as Joe and others before them to "translate" Petey's words. So does another friend Petey makes in 1990, an unlikely meeting with 13-year-old Trevor, a neighborhood child who protects Petey from bullies pelting him with snowballs. In time, the young boy and the senior citizen form a bond that is truly heartwarming. The friendship these two have takes them far and wide and -- back to old friends Petey made.

This book makes me think of the 1965 Beatles classic, "In My Life." The lyrics of that song underscore this wonderful book.

This is one of the most moving stories I have ever read. This is a truly beautiful, uplifting, grim, serious, loving book. It might even make you cry. It is a testament to how love heals the spirit and is inclusive. I can't recommend this one highly enough. Please read this and share it with somebody.

Misdiagnosed as an idiot and locked in a body twisted by cerebral palsy, Petey is subjected to the inhumanity of a mental asylum for most of his childhood and adult years. He makes a friend with another child who is also in the adult ward and the two of them forge a friendship that defies their respective disabilities. A series of compassionate people come in and out of their lives to brighten their bleak existance and eventually, they are separated and sent to other placements as older adults. Years later, in a nursing home in Montana, Petey is reluctantly befriended by Trevor, a lonely teenage boy. In Petey, Trevor finds a bond he does not have with his own parents, and is determined to help reunite him with his lost friend. This story celebrates the strength of the human spirit as the author recounts in fictional form the remarkable life of a very real person. Mikaelsen expertly portrays the need to treat all people with respect and dignity and how the power of compassion and friendship can bring joy and meaning to both parties.

This book Petey by Ben Mikaelsen truly captures how just one person can make such a huge difference in somebody's life. In this book a baby in 1920 gets miss-diagnosed as an idiot and got placed in a mental institution. Throughout Petey's life he meets tons of people, many of them care for Petey and he cared for them too. But, when Petey gets older he has to get transferred to an old age home. There he meets a teenage boy who learns to care for Petey . This book makes you want to reach out and help someone, it makes you strive to be a better friend. Find out how all of Petey's relationships grow and at the end of the book you also will care for Petey. Every one should read this book. It keeps you wanting to read more; you practically can't put this book down. You want to know what happens to Petey in his lifetime, and you also want to know if his illness gets better or worse. Ben Mikaelsen wrote this book extremely descriptive; it feels like you are in the story. You are in touch with the character's feelings. The topic of this story is cerebral palsy. It is a topic that you normally would not read about, but this book is not only appealing you actually learn about the sickness, cerebral palsy. I know some people disagree with me and they don't like this book, because they think it is slow. This book may start out slow in the beginning for some people, but as it continues it gets better and better. This book would not be appropriate for younger children, because it has some words that are hard to understand, and also some concepts that may not yet have been introduced to younger children. Dealing with an illness is also hard for young children to understand. However, you can really learn about topics that are new to you by reading about them in a book like this, and thereby learn to be more understanding of people's problems. This is a touching book, and even after you finish reading it you will keep thinking about it and want to read it over and over again. This is not a book that just gets thrown on a bookshelf and forgotten.

Petey is one of the most touching stories I've ever read and one of my all-time favorite children's novels. I'm a young middle school teacher, and I read 100+ YA/children's chapter books every year, but I keep coming back to this one. If there was one book I could recommend that everyone read, it would be Petey. I get teary just thinking of this story...that is how real Mikaelsen made Petey to his readers. Petey is the story of a baby, who becomes a boy, who becomes a man, with cerebral palsy. Petey's capacity for love will reach down and grab hold of you in a real way. This became "the book to read" last year for my 7th and 8th graders (who saw me crying once when I was reading it, and of course were fascinated!), both for boys and girls. Some of my "toughest" boys admitted to everyone that they cried while reading it, and challenged other boys to try it and see if they didn't cry. But the tears you'll cry for Petey aren't all of sadness; some are tears of happiness, of triumph...and there is also plenty of laughter in this story. What an important story to share with kids, as they develop love and understanding for people who are different than them! And what a wonderful story for adults to remember what life is really about.

Ben Mikaelsen's touching story of Petey's life brought us to tears and through wonderful fits of giggles as I read this book to my two elementary school age sons. Mr Mikaelsen establishes Petey's character so fully while expressing the struggles and joys in his difficult but happy life. The book created a terrific opportunity to discuss special needs and see great joy in a unique life.

I have just finished Petey and I am writing this with a lump in my throat. Petey is an unforgettable character who will help us all appreciate being alive. I plan on using Petey as a story reader traveling around the country reading to children. The Newbury committee should really consider this one for an award! Jim McKenna, STORYREADER

You've just had your baby boy, but instead of the perfect baby, he is shriveled and crippled. That's how Sarah Corbin felt on that tragic day in 1922. Petey Corbin, her son, got diagnosed as an idiot. He was sent to an insane asylum when he was two, and every one thought he was mental.
As Petey grows up, he starts to understand things, although the nurses just think the movements that he makes are part of his problem. During his time in the Infants Ward, he makes some friends who understand him, but they always end up leaving. When he's eleven, he gets moved to the Men's Ward.
In the Men's Ward, he makes a new friend, Calvin. Petey starts learning how to make sounds and can talk to Calvin. As he did in the Infants Ward, he made many other special friends in his new ward. The only thing was that they always ended up leaving him. Then, while they are renovating the asylum,s Calvin gets moved to a nursing home. Petey is all alone.
A couple of months later, Petey gets moved to a nursing home too. A boy named Trevor protects him from some snowballs being thrown, and they become fast friends. Trevor learns how to live life to the fullest with Petey, while Petey himself has the time of his life.
Personally, I think that this is a great book and that if you're looking for a heartfelt story to read, this would be a great choice. Petey is a character that you'll never forget. He has a disorder, but that doesn't stop you from loving him. You will get pulled into the book when you read it, and will love feeling how he goes through life. Petey is a great book and I hope that you read and enjoy it.

Have you ever heard of the disease cerebral palsy? If you have, you probably know that it is a disease that people can't control and even if they have cerebral palsy it does not make them stupid it just makes it hard for victims to show how intelligent they are. In the 1930's the doctors had never heard of cerebral palsy and children born with twisted limbs and were not able to say words were plainly classified idiots. That is exactly what happened to Petey Corbin in a book called Petey by Ben Mikaelesen. Petey is a good book about friendship and equality among others. I feel Petey is a good book because it really gets people thinking about all the beautiful things in life and what true friendship really is.
Petey's Parents tried to take care of their son Petey for two years and sadly decided it was too much and sent him to warm springs, Montana to live in an insane Asylum. Petey locked inside his body could not express his kind and lively character through words or much facial expression but his heart and actions spoke for him. A handful of people took the time to get to know Petey one being Calvin who was abandoned at the insane Asylum when he was a child. Calvin and Petey became good friends. Calvin took the time to listen to Peteys gurgles and grunts and hear that Petey was trying to communicate. Calvin and Petey were much alike Calvin was lively and dare devilish, Petey was lively and caring. Though unfortunately something happens to Petey and Calvin that sadly leads to Petey being forced to once again find a new friend, of course he does find one a boy named Trevor. Trevor is a lot like Petey he has lost many friends and like Petey could use a new one. Will Trevor and Petey stay friends? Or again will they lose another friend?Petey by Ben Mikaelsen is honestly a wonderful book that makes good points about life for instance Petey taking outside as a gift rather than taking it for granted like the average human, It really shows ho caught up in life people are. The book Petey again really shows you what is important in life and what a true friendship is, which Petey and his friends demonstrate well. This book most of all shows that in a friendship no matter how different someone may seem or look if you take the time to get to know them they could turn out to be your best friend. Ben Mikaelsen truly makes the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover," come alive. Petey is a good book for anyone interested in friendships or just looking for a good read!

Petey is a heart warming story that I read at the beginning of each school year to my 5th grade students. The story reviews the injustices faced by a man with cerebral palsy. I always try to talk to my students about learning to accept new and different people. I refer to this story throughout the school year, and it is often a memorable book for them.

Petey is a book about a guy named Petey who was born with Cerebral Palsy.He was cosidered an idiot so they sent him to an insane asylum.He met alot of people there including his best friend Calvin.Calvin is so funny.He also had four more friends named Estaban,Joe,Cassie,and Owen.They figured out how to communicate with Petey.All of these people unfortunetly left the insane asylum and later on, Calvin left too.Petey was left alone.Eventually Petey left too and went to the Boazman nursing home.There he met a boy named Trevor Lad who soon became Petey`s best friend.They did almost everything together.But one night Petey got really sick and had to go to the hospital.To find out what happens to Petey and how he lives his life read the awesome book Petey!!!!