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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good character can overcome hard times, October 17, 2004
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.
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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
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.
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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!
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