Customer Reviews

What Jamie Saw (Newbery Honor Book)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Those complaining about a lack of action miss the boat--and it doesn't matter whether they're sixth graders or sixty year olds. The book is not driven by event, but by perception, and, just like "What Maisie Knew," whose title it echoes, the point is to show us how Jamie thinks and feels about a situation beyond his control and in some senses beyond his ability to make sense. No, it's not full of Harry Potter-ish magic (which I do like) or graphic violence, it asks its readers, in language young readers CAN understand, to value spending some time inside someone else's mind and emotions.

Carolyn Coman has written an excellent book on a subject many people are rightly aghast at. Still children by the age of nine have seen and heard much, and most will be able to make sense of this book and its language. Like One Hundred Dresses this Newberry Honor Book will demand a degree of maturity from its young reader, and I have met many children who have the intellectual capacity to understand this book.

This book deals with the abusive behavior within a family. The family consists of a mother: Patty, a father: Van, a step-son of Van's: Jamie a 3rd grader, and a daughter of Van's: Nin a baby. Jamie wittnesses his step-father Van throwing his step-sister Nin across the room. His mother, Patty, immediately takes the children out of the house. It's freezing cold, December and Christmas is nearning. She is careful to bring warm clothes and blankets. She also brought the children's toys as well as Jamie's magic book. Jamie loves to perform magic.

A friend Earl helps them by giving them an old trailer in the woods to live in. The trailer has very little comforts. Patty has very little money. Jamie is kept out of school for several days while he and his mother cope with their situation. Patty tries to make ends meet by working part-time at the local A&P gorcery store. Jamie's teacher comes to find out why he's not in school and how she can help. She offers to keep! Jamie after school on Tuesdays so Patty can attend a self-help group.

The devestated family has very little to eat let alone spend on Christmas. Patty wants to make their Christmas enjoyable but can't afford to buy to much. The family decorates a small pine tree outside their trailer with makeshift oranments. Also, their friend Earl comes just before Christmas and brings a few gifts for them. Jamie gets a pair of ice skates. Earl and Jamie skate on a nearby pond. They have wonderful time. For a moment Jamie forgets his pain, forgets what he saw.

Jamie is sadden by his situation and lives in constant terror that Van will find them and hurt Nin. Jamie loves Nin and his mother and wants the pain to stop. Van locates the family and comes to make peace with them one day when Jamie is left alone to tend to Nin. Jamie is frieghtened that Van will break in the trailer door and hurt or possibly kill them. In desperation he hides a sleeping Nin under the only bed in the trailer, ! being careful not to wake her, for he fears her cries may a! lert Van to their presences. Van comes into the trailer and Jamie tries to act as if Nin isn't there. Jamie now fears that his mother will come home and Van will hurt her too, so he tries to distract Van by showing him magic tricks. Jamie loves to perform magic. His mother Patty comes home and finds Van in the trailer with her children. She demands that Van leave them alone. He leaves without incident and this is when Jamie, Nin, and Patty realize that they made the right the choice to leave a bad situation.

This book is heartwarming, but only at the end. It is descriptive when outlining the abusive situation; therefore, I recommend that a parent or teacher be present to answer any questions a child may have. Child abuse it something that is ever present in out society and must be dealt with. This book can faciliate a meaningful decision on the topic. Their is so much more to this book. It's only a 126 pages, but it says a lot. Enjoy!!!

The book I read was What Jamie Saw .I enjoyed the book for many reasons. The main reason I enjoyed the book was that it had a good story line that was very easy to follow. I felt the author did a good job writing the story, yet the author could have possibly used the character Van a little more. I feel the book reflects people's lives more than I know because in the book Van drank and hurt the baby. All in all I would recommend What Jamie Saw because of its content and how it was written. I can understand why it has been on the following book lists: Newbery Honor Book, 1996 National Book award finalist, ALA Notable Book, and Booklist Editors Choice. This selection is a good book for older readers and is a very enjoyable book.

This book theme is very storg it is about child abuse. It talks about an incident that changed a third grade boy's life. His mother who took care of him was under stress and finacial problems, so she always shout's at her son to realeas her anger. I liked how the author decribed the feeling of characters in the story. The author repeated phrase to create the nevousness feeling. The author also includes lessons about life in the story that I think is very intresting. For example, always count on yourself and don't count others.

Commented By Lemon Tea

what jamie saw was a book that made me realize that nobody is perfect and even if a person makes a mistakes there are eventually going to learn from them. the way that van threw jamie in the air in the beginnig of the story made the the story intereesting to read the book talks about people in general is very interesting. no ones the same and everyone have a different point of view of there life. i also have learned that all not adults are the same and they don't act responsible thety make mistakes like any other human being they all have done something wrong in the past and will continue to make mistakes till the day that they die.it tayght me that i should stand for what i believe and there is nothing wrong with that.
the character that i mostly admire is jamie because he reminds me of my personal life and that is because he has gone through the divorce of his family just like me. the character that i mostly dislike is van because he is so violent because she therw nim in the air and a person like that i shall call child abuser. and well i don't appreciate people like that.ruby facundo is a little brat.and thats how my story ended.

THis book has a lot of emotional fellings in it. THe mood is very powerful and and can be suspenseful at times.

Coman, Carolyn. What Jamie Saw. Arden: Front Street, 1995. Gross, Melissa. "The Giver and Shade's Children: Future Views of Child Abandonment And Murder." Children's Literature in Education 30 (1999): 103-117. The mother-son relationship in Carolyn Coman's novel, What Jamie Saw, is stronger and much more stable than Clay's relationship with his mother in Monkey Island. In What Jamie Saw, Jamie, his mother, and his baby sister, Nin, move into a trailer after Nin's father attempts to hurl Nin across the room. Jaime and his mother face many struggles, and their relationship is threatened several times by emotional outbursts resulting from anger and frustration. However, their love for each is evident, and they are able to overcome their fears together. Throughout the novel, Jaime's reaction to the tone of his mother's voice indicates that they have a loving relationship. For example, as they are leaving Nin's father's house, a frightened Jamie asks his mother if she remembered to bring his magic. She answers, "Yes," and her one word quickly stops the ferocious pounding in his heart (Coman 18). In another instance, Jaime becomes scared while he is staying with his mother's friend because he does not recognize his surroundings and feels lost. As he runs into the house, his mother reaches for him and inquires, "Oh honey, what is it?" Just the sound of her voice makes all the difference and calms him down (29). These situations illustrate the bond that Jaime and his mother share and how easily Jamie is soothed by his mother's concern. On the other hand, after Clay's mother leaves him, he no longer trusts her and cannot be completely comforted by her kind words and gestures. Jaime's mother also seems more concerned for the welfare of her children than Clay's mother. Jaime's mother left Nin's father to protect her children, while Clay's mother abandoned her son to "protect" herself. The primary reason for child abandonment is economically related. The parents are usually facing a condition of poverty, lack of food, or other kind of scarcity situation (Gross 103). This is true of the problems that Clay and his mother faced in Monkey Island. Although Clay's mother has her reasons for leaving, the sense of betrayal that Clay feels toward his mother is strong and will always burden their relationship. Jaime's mother, however, never abandons her children when life gets tough. She gets angry and takes her frustration out on Jamie at times, but she always puts her children's needs in front of her own and does everything she can to comfort them. While I was reading What Jamie Saw, the relationship between Jamie and his mother stood out because I have read many novels in which the mother-child relationship is emphasized in the plot. Monkey Island came to mind in particular because the situation of both families is somewhat similar. In both books, a single mother must support her children on a low income during a stressful time in her life. It was interesting to compare the way in which each mother handled the situation and how it affected the relationship she shared with her son.

Unfortunately many childrens books have sad topics. However, although this deals with a difficult topic (domestic violence) Coman does a fantastic job directing it to a younger audience. Appropriate, and realistic, this is a great book that sheds light on a topic that needs to be discussed.

this is the moving story of a mother running away from her abusive boyfriend with her son jamie.it describes the pain children suffer when in such a horribel sichuation.this book should be a newberry winner not honor