The King Boy - Hardcover

Judy Carole Rhodes

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0027761150 ISBN 13: 9780027761153

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 1991

Synopsis

Benjy's childhood in rural Arkansas is enriched by the special times he spends with his grandfather, but it is not until his grandfather's death that an old family secret is revealed

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-- The warm bond between Benjy King and his grandfather grows over the years they spend fishing together, sharing dreams and encouragement. Yet increasingly the boy becomes aware of the terrible rift between his parents and his grandfather, and of hatred throughout the county for the older man. Tension provoked by that mystery pervades the narrative from Benjy's first day of school until, when he is 16, his grandfather dies. At heart, this is a story of relationships--abused and severed between father and son, cherished and nurtured between grandfather and grandson--the latter in obvious repentance for the former. Smoothly unfolding adventures, together with the compelling quality of revealed character and the bittersweet pattern of unhealed family, set this apart from a plethora of other intergenerational stories. The writing is simple, reflecting a rural Arkansas accent of 40 years ago, but the message is charged and memorable. Even older reluctant readers will find substance here. --Katharine Bruner, Brown Middle School, Harrison, TN
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

Benjy King isn't sure why his grandfather is so unpopular with everyone in town. Grandpa says it is because people are jealous of his wealth. Others, including Benjy's parents, hint that there are other reasons. The only thing Benjy knows for sure is that he loves spending time fishing and talking with his grandfather, who lives nearby. Spanning eight years, this leisurely novel traces Benjy's ups and downs as he attempts to find out the truth about Grandpa King's past. The rural setting and unsentimentalized portrayal of life and death gives the story the same earthy quality evoked in Lilies of the Field and The Day No Pigs Would Die. Some isolated events prove meaningful, but Benjy's coming of age is awkwardly presented; evidence of his maturation occurs rather suddenly when, in the end, family secrets are revealed. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0027761150
• ISBN 13: 9780027761153
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 168