Tadpole [Hardcover]

Ruth White (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up

A funny and moving story set in Kentucky

It’s the beginning of summer 1955, and though her family is struggling financially, Carolina’s mama still indulges her four daughters’ whims, like springing for all of them to get permanents. Each of her older sisters seems to have cut out a niche for herself, but Carolina Collins is still trying to find her own special place in life. The girls’ hardship is softened by the sudden appearance of their favorite cousin, Tadpole, a charismatic thirteen-year-old with a knack for guitar playing. Tad sees in Carolina a spirit and talent that no one has noticed before, and he predicts that she “is gonna surprise everybody one of these days.” The Collinses soon learn the real reason for Tad’s visit, however, and the weeks that follow are filled with dread that his abusive guardian will come and take him away.

But Tad is not the sort of boy to succumb to a bully, and he and Carolina both have surprises in store for everyone.

A Junior Library Guild Selection

 

Tadpole is a 2004 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Ten-year-old Carolina Collins has three loud, boisterous older sisters, each exceptional in her own way and well known in their small, 1950s Appalachian town. Carolina feels like the "runt" and "nobody at all," until a beloved, orphaned cousin, Tadpole, comes to stay. Fleeing a cruel guardian, Tadpole hides with Carolina, her sisters, and single mother, winning the hearts of the neighbors with his fun-loving generosity and charm. He also transforms the Collinses' house, gently encouraging the girls to appreciate and support their mother and helping Carolina to find her special talent. The story is written in Carolina's age-appropriate voice, and the colorful, hill-country language will be familiar to White's fans, as will the warm portrayal of poor, small-town life and the appealing characters, especially the children who overcome abuse and discover their gifts. White also nicely captures a child's gradually widening view of the world, in which change is constant and mothers aren't just parents: they have insecurities, complicated histories, and even boyfriends of their own. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"White skillfully re-creates the time and place, and her superbly drawn characters possess the resiliency of spirt necessary to transform themselves." --Starred, School Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (March 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374310025
• ISBN-13: 978-0374310028
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,473,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good character can overcome hard times, October 17, 2004

By 

ptrillium "a reviewer" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tadpole (Audio Cassette)

It is the summer of 1955 and Carolina Collins feels like the "10 year old runt" of the family who is overshadowed by her older sisters - each named for a state their Daddy visited. There is Kentucky who is the most popular girl in Polly's Fork, Kentucky, Virginia - the prettiest, and Georgia - the smartest. Their mother, Serilda, catches a ride to work each day in order to feed and clothe her girls since their dad has left.

Suddenly their favorite cousin, Tadpole Birch comes to visit. Everybody in Polly's Fork admires Tadpole's talents for "picking and grinning" and the girls look up to him. He bolsters Carolina's confidence in herself and helps her see talent she never knew she had.

Carolina and her family are sad to learn the secret abuse that has forced Tadpole to run away from his Uncle Matthew. Unfortunately, Uncle Matthew wants Tadpole back so he can work the farm, but Tadpole is not a boy to be kept down.

What I liked about this book was the characters. Carolina is a 10year old that we can identify with as she feels like an ugly duckling. Tadpole's character was admirable. In spite of being a victim of abuse, he channeled this toward being empathetic - helping Carolina's mama by running the household chores and working to help pay the bills.

Besides the abusive uncle (the abuse isn't detailed), there are a couple of events one should be aware of and ready to handle when using this book with children. First there was Uncle Matthew's son who shared a room with Tadpole and died mysteriously. We are told that no one knows how he dies, but Tadpole shares with Carolina that Eugene told him goodbye and he was going to a happier place (we don't know if it was connected to abuse or suicide - I inferred that it was suicide, but it was left to the reader to put together). Tadpole also tells some stories of seeing some of his deceased family members. Later in the book Carolina comes to realize that those are ways that Tadpole deals with unpleasant situations - he keeps those loved ones alive by seeing them in the window and the painting.

Overall the message in this book is very uplifting. In spite of hard circumstances, good character can overcome.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kentucky Harmony-family, dreams & dealing with hard times, July 23, 2003

By 

shoutgrace "savedbyhisgrace" (Charleston, WV United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tadpole (Hardcover)

Ruth White's tale about the Collins family who lives in a small house in the Kentucky hills in 1955. The family makes up of four little girls Kentucky, Virginia, Georgia and Carolina and their Mama. Their daddy left them when Carolina was a baby. What little electricity they got in the house when they can pay the bill. Their idea of a good time is a trip to town for a hair-do and see one of those Hollywood movies. One day a young fellow by the name of Winston Churchill "Tadpole" Birch comes walking into their lives. He was named Tadpole after he took a dare to swallow a tadpole. Tad had ran away from abusive relatives and now comes to live with the Collins family. He has a talent for singing, playing guitar, he gets neighbors together for social events and gets free passes to the carnival.

The story is laid-back and the dialect is very Southern colloquial. The family are well-adjusted and go through remarkable changes inspite of hard times. They learn important lessons about closeness of family, what home is, keeping your dreams and dealing with child abuse. The story looks at the family in a warm and sensitive way with what little they do have, they have so much. They have each other and their dreams beyond the hills. In Carolina's case she find her special talent. The way she can harmonize with Tadpole's music. Parents who buy this book for younger children may want to consider the theme and content of the story. I think this should be for older children who can understand a very sensitive subject in this story. I find it a good story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My name is Tad now, not Tadpole! MP 311, March 23, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Tadpole (Paperback)

Have you ever read a book that you just couldn't stop reading and you had to find out what was going to happen next? That's how I felt while reading Tadpole. It was such a good book that I had to just keep reading it. That's because the book had a good plot and great character's.
I liked the plot because at times the book was sad but at others, it was happy. Tadpole was trying to find a different home. Uncle Matthew, the owner of the house Tadpole was staying at, didn't treat him right. If he did something wrong, Uncle Matthew would slap Tadpole on the back with a horsewhip. Tadpole ran away to the Collin's house, his cousin's, so he could get away from Uncle Matthew.
The main character's were Tadpole, or Tad, Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, Georgia, and the girl's mom, Aunt Serilda. I liked them because they all had their own personality's. Kentucky was popular, Virginia was pretty, Georgia was smart, and, well Carolina, she didn't quite know what talent she had, at least until Tadpole came, and that's what I love about him. He is nice, honest, he include's other people, and he helps people too. That's how Carolina found her talent, by Tad. She found that her talent was singing, finding the harmony in music, and also, playing the guitar, she was a natural at it. She could also identify car engines.
As you can see, I really liked this book and I didn't have to say anything bad about it. This book was made up of a great plot, great characters, and so many other reasons!