When Zachary Beaver Came to Town [Hardcover]

Kimberly Willis Holt (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

The red words painted on the trailer caused quite a buzz around town and before an hour was up, half of Antler was standing in line with two dollars clutched in hand to see the fattest boy in the world.

Toby Wilson is having the toughest summer of his life. It's the summer his mother leaves for good; the summer his best friend's brother returns from Vietnam in a coffin. And the summer that Zachary Beaver, the fattest boy in the world, arrives in their sleepy Texas town. While it's a summer filled with heartache of every kind, it's also a summer of new friendships gained and old friendships renewed. And it's Zachary Beaver who turns the town of Antler upside down and leaves everyone, especially Toby, changed forever.

With understated elegance, Kimberly Willis Holt tells a compelling coming-of-age story about a thirteen-year-old boy struggling to find himself in an imperfect world. At turns passionate and humorous, this extraordinary novel deals sensitively and candidly with obesity, war, and the true power of friendship.

 

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town is the winner of the 1999 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Summer in the tiny Texas town of Antler is traditionally a time for enjoying Wylie Womack's Bahama Mama snow cones and racking up the pins at Kelly's Bowl-a-Rama, but this year it's not going well for Toby Wilson. His 13-year-old heart has been broken twice: once by his mother, who left him and his father to become a country singer in Nashville, and then again by his crush Scarlett Stalling, the town beauty who barely acknowledges Toby's existence. But when Zachary Beaver, "The World's Fattest Boy," comes to Antler as part of a traveling sideshow, Toby begins to realize that there might just be people who have it worse than him. By reaching out to Zachary in small ways--such as helping him realize his lifelong dream of being baptized--Toby is better able to put his own problems into perspective. At the baptism, Toby finally feels at peace: "Zachary smiles and I wonder if he's feeling different. Because standing here waist deep in Gossimer's Lake... I'm feeling different--light and good and maybe even holy." By summer's end, Toby's friendship with Zachary has provided him with the emotional stamina to begin dealing with his mother's decision and to gracefully accept the fact that Scarlett will forever be just beyond his reach.

With Zachary Beaver, Kimberly Willis Holt, author of the award-winning My Louisiana Sky, further explores southern-flavored small town life. Toby's quirky, yet ultimately rewarding coming of age story will serve as a gentle reminder to teens that sometimes the best way to work through your problems is by helping others with theirs. (Ages 11 to 15) --Jennifer Hubert

From Publishers Weekly

Holt (My Louisiana Sky) sets her heartwarming and carefully crafted novel during 1971, but her message of tolerance is one that contemporary readers will appreciate. The moment Zachary Beaver, "the fattest boy in the world," rolls into Antler, Tex., in a trailer, 13-year-old Toby Wilson stands in line with his $2 in hand, waiting for a peek. Toby can't imagine what life is like inside the cramped trailer for the 643-pound boy. When Zachary's guardian suddenly takes off, leaving himAand the trailerAin the Dairy Maid parking lot, Toby and his best friend, Cal, become his caretakers of sorts, and eventually, his friend. Through this friendship, Toby learns sympathy and respectAnot just for the misfit boy but for his own recently estranged parents and a string of other quirky characters who struggle with personal tragedies. While a few of the plot points feel predictable, the well-developed characters, all fantastic and flawed in their own ways, add plenty of spice. There's Toby's mother who aspires to be the next Tammy Wynette; Scarlett, the pouty-lipped teen dream, who hopes to escape Antler by becoming a model; and Miss Myrtie Mae, the town librarian who sacrificed her one chance at love to care for her brother. Picturesque images such as Zachary's baptism in a man-made lake and the novel's culminating scene drive home the point that everyday life is studded with memorable moments. Ages 10-15. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (October 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805061169
• ISBN-13: 978-0805061161
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (117 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,014,249 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a Navy brat that lived all over the world including Guam, Paris and the New Orleans Westbank. Even though we moved a lot, my emotional home was always Forest Hill, Louisiana, a little town in the piney-woods where my grandparents lived. I married a Texan and have lived in Texas most of my adult life. Both states feel like home now. I like to say that Louisiana gave me roots and Texas gave me branches.

I started writing on yellow legal pads and didn't own a computer until after I'd been writing a year. Maybe that's why I still write my first drafts by hand.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An English teacher's dream, ninth grader's nightmare, December 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (Hardcover)

Zachary Beaver is a novel of many charms, not the least of which is Ms. Holt's penchant and skill at characterization of quirky small-town America. Her adult characters, especially, ring true with the foibles and idiosyncracies that we all have. Holt does this as well as Carson McCullers did. However, Zachary Beaver is less successful the younger the characters get, especially on an emotional level, which should never happen with a novel for young adults. An example? Young Toby's mother sends word that she's not coming home from Nashville. Any 13 year old would be emotionally devastated. Toby is barely budged. Similarly, when his best friend's older brother dies in Vietnam. Should be devastating, does not play that way. Add to this the book's fairly predictable plot and leisurely pacing, and you have a book that many middle and high school kids are going to get assigned but not be aching to finish. Of those who say this is a better novel for adults, this reader agrees.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A true Texas treasure, November 28, 1999

By 

Mariya Rod - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (Hardcover)

There is no room to doubt that this book more than deserved the 1999 National Book Award. Holt's quirky but lovable characters and beautiful imagery make this a book not quickly forgotten. This book is about friendship, loss, life, love and everything that connects them. For adults who revelled in Billie Letts' WHERE THE HEART IS, this book rings with the same poignancy and life-affirming spirit.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the best story of the year!, December 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (Hardcover)

I just finished reading this book minutes ago and I am so moved and touched that I had to write in. Holt's writing is simple and cinematic. Her characters will stay with me for a long time. I was hesitant at first to read a book just about a fat boy who is ridiculed and objectified, but this book is so much more. The sub plots of Cal and his brother brought me to tears. I want to start reading it all over again.