The Pinballs (Apple Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Betsy Byars (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Apple Paperbacks

You can't always decide where life will take you--especially when you're a kid.

Carlie knows she's got no say in what happens to her. Stuck in a foster home with two other kids, Harvey and Thomas J, she's just a pinball being bounced from bumper to bumper. As soon as you get settled, somebody puts another coin in the machine and off you go again. But against her will and her better judgment, Carlie and the boys become friends. And all three of them start to see that they can take control of their own Iives.

Carlie knows she's got no say in what happens to her. Stuck in a foster home with two other kids, Harvey and Thomas J, she's just a pinball being bounced from bumper to bumper. As soon as you get settled, somebody puts another coin in the machine and off you go again. But against her will and her beter judgement, Carlie and the boys become friends. And all three of them start to see that they can take control of their own lives.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"One summer two boys and a girl went to a foster home to live together"--the Newbery Medal-winning author chronicles their trials and tribulations in witty and poignant fashion. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A former winner of the Newbery Award scores again with a story that has poignancy, perception, and humor." -- -- The Chicago Tribune

"A hopeful, loving, and very witty book. No wonder 58,000 school children in Georgia voted it their favorite." -- -- Jim Trelease, The Read-Aloud Handbook

"The 1971 Newbery Medalist for The Summer of the Swansdoes a superb job of creating vivid characters who change convincingly in reaction to each other." -- C.

"Three unwanted kids'Pinballs, as wisecracking Carly dubs them'collide in a warm and caring foster home and learn to pin their hopes on each other." -- SLJ.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (September 25, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064401987
• ISBN-13: 978-0064401982
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #441,553 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

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Pinballs, June 16, 2006

By 

Anna M. Ligtenberg "AnnaLovesBooks" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Pinballs (Apple Paperbacks) (Paperback)

ISBN 0064401987 - An ALA Notable Children's book, The Pinballs is one of those books that took me a little while to like. Once I gave it a chance, it turned out to be a very good read.

Carlie, Harvey and Thomas J. come into the foster care system and meet in the living room of the Masons. Mrs Mason can't have children, so she and her husband began the process to adopt. Along the way, they ended up as foster parents and they've gotten quite good at it. Harvey's there because his father got drunk and ran over his legs with the car - and that was after his mother ran away from them. Carlie's had a hard time with stepfathers and is in the system until things stabilize. Thomas J. is a mystery - a child who toddled up to a farmhouse owned by twin sisters, who took him and raised him until they both ended up in the hospital. Then the authorities found him and while they figured out what to do with him, he was at the Masons.

Carlie comes across, at first, like a girl you'd like to NOT know; Thomas J. is the loudest quiet kid in the world; Harvey just seems to be broken, in more ways than one. How they help each other and how they learn to let others help them is a touching story that every kid - and every adult! - ought to read. And who they really are, under all the hurts of their short, messed up lives, might surprise you.

- AnnaLovesBooks

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Pinballs, February 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Pinballs (Apple Paperbacks) (Paperback)

One summer, Carlie, Harvey and Thomas J are forced to live together in a foster home. Harvey's father ran over his legs, the Benson twins couldn't care for Thomas J anymore, and Carlie had been abused by her stepfather. At first, they don't get along. Will they ever become friends? Will they ever be a "Brady Bunch"-type family? Besty Byars has written an intersting story about life in a foster family. The Pinballs is realistic,with believable, fast-paced, witty conversation. The sassy way Carlie talks is humorous at times, but the theme story is a serious one. The Pinballs contains some difficult vocabulary for a middle school readers, but it's easy to understand and to identify with the characters' feelings

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Pinballs, February 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Pinballs (Paperback)

The Pinballs is a powerful look at how living in a foster home may change your life. The setting takes place in the Mason's foster home during the summer. The characters are believible. They are Carlie, Harvey, and Thomas J. All three characters want to go gome, however their parents are in a conflict. The author of this novel is Betsy Byars. She writes in a lively way. The aurthor has great descriptive images and is a great writer of non-fiction stories.

Carlie is 13 years old, Harvy 11 years old, and Thomas J. is 8 years old. They all have certain problems. One of those three problems is that Harvey's dad abused him. He was an alcholholic and Harvey is now paralized. Thomas J., never got to know his biologicial parents. Thomas J's mother left him at he door step of the Benson's twins. Carlies's stepfather also abused her. He hit her, punched her, and did everything to hurt her.

How can these three children go beyond their problems? Read this novel The Pinballs.