A Simple Gift [Hardcover]

Nancy Ruth Patterson (Author)

Book Description

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

Finding the courage to make amends

Ten-year-old Carrie O’Connor wants to be an actress. After starring as a singing tooth in her class play at a New York City school, she convinces her parents to let her audition for a summer theater production in the mountains of North Carolina. And not just any production – it is a play based on a beloved children’s book written by her own mother! By virtue of a plucky audition (and not, she makes certain, her relation to the book’s author), Carrie is invited to join the cast. But as Michael Madigan’s Curtain Call wends its way toward opening night, Carrie makes a blunder so big it threatens to topple the whole production.

Young readers will identify with this spunky young heroine as she finds a way to put things right – and makes some unexpected discoveries about her writer-mother’s past in the process.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-Budding actors especially will appreciate this contemporary novel about the theater experiences of a 10-year-old New Yorker during her summer vacation. Carrie travels to her mother's hometown in North Carolina to audition for a part in a play based on one of the woman's best-selling children's novels. The story line involves a popular boy letting an unpopular boy substitute for him in a school play. The lead, who cannot read or write well but has a natural talent as an actor, is talked into taking the part by the director, who grew up in the town and is now a success on Broadway. By the end of the book, Carrie realizes that the main characters are modeled after her uncle, who drowned when he was young, and her mother's childhood acquaintance-"Louis the Loser," who is now a director. Good characterizations and a well-developed plot make this an enjoyable read.
Marilyn Ackerman, Brooklyn Public Library, NY
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. After a well-received turn as a tooth in a class play, 10-year-old Carrie O'Connor decides she wants to be an actress. An opportunity for a more professional role appears in her mother's North Carolina hometown. Mrs. O'Connor is the author of the famous Mike Madigan series for children, and one of the books has been turned into a play. Carrie wins a role--on her own merits--but things almost blow up when she blabs that the show's young star has to be taught his lines because he has trouble reading. This could have used some tightening and revision. Carrie's age is not clear at first; she seems more like 7 or 8 than 10, especially for a New York City kid. There are too many stock characters, and it's odd that a famous Broadway director (also a hometown boy) is putting on this play. Patterson does have some nice touches, however, including getting some of the story out in newspaper articles and a poignant last chapter that links Mike Madigan with a family story. Those looking for a book with a contemporary setting that harkens back to an earlier era will find it here. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (May 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374369240
• ISBN-13: 978-0374369248
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,486,243 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:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Simple Gift, March 21, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: A Simple Gift (Hardcover)

Carrie, a ten year old girl wants to audition for a play that her mother wrote called Michael Madigan

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Simple Gift, October 20, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: A Simple Gift (Hardcover)

Carrie is a normal kid whose mother is a write. Carrie comes home one day after school and is really excited. She got a part in the school play as a molar. The thing that she liked the bast was that she got to have a solo and she was the only one and she get to write the song. Their school play was great and Carrie loved it. On their way home they saw a poster advertising one of Carrie's mom's books becoming a play. Carrie really wanted to try out for the play but her parents did not think it was a good idea. She kept asking and finally they said yes. Carrie's mom drove her to town ( which is Carrie's mom's hometown) where the try outs were taking place. After standing in line for a long time and finally getting to go home Carrie was tired. The next morning Carrie gound out she made the play. She went to every rehersal and found out she was a student in the class. One thing did happen, one day after rehersal Storm came and Carrie was still there. Well, Carrie was eves dropping and heard everything they said. The next day Carrie told Liza (another kid in the play) and then Liza told everyone there what had happened. After that Storm quit and he was the star of the play. Carrie and Liza had to find a way to get him back. It comes to find out they had to go to his house and apologize to him and make a bet with him. Storm did come back and the play went on. This was a really good book and i think it has really good advise in it. I would recomend it to people all ages.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Children will enjoy this simple gift., September 30, 2003

By 

"joy_couch24" (Corbin, KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Simple Gift (Hardcover)

I truly enjoyed this book. In "A Simple Gift", 10-year-old Carrie decides she wants to be an actress after a successful part as a tooth in her class play. When she discovers that one of the children's books that her mother writes is going to be made into a play, she begs her parents to go to her mother's hometown in North Carolina to try out. She earns a part in the play, but through a bad decision, puts the play in jepardy. Carrie has to find a way to put things right. Along the way, she discovers that sometimes the simple gifts are the greatest gifts of all.

I think that this book flowed well and the author kept the story engaging. Young readers age 8-12 will identify with the main character Carrie. This is an excellent example of a contemporary story with some good old-fashioned values.