Punch With Judy - Softcover

Avi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0380722534 ISBN 13: 9780380722532

Publisher: Avon Books, 1994

Synopsis

An outcast young boy, orphaned by the Civil War, is taken in by the owner of a traveling medicine show and, despite the doubts of others, confirms the man's faith in him and his talents. Reprint.

About this title

About the Author:

Avi is the award-winning author of more than seventy-five books for young readers, ranging from animal fantasy to gripping historical fiction, picture books to young adult novels. Crispin: The Cross of Lead won the Newbery Medal, and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Nothing But the Truth were awarded Newbery Honors. He is also the author of the popular Poppy series. Avi lives outside Denver, Colorado. You can visit him online at www.avi-writer.com.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-7-- Avi's style here doesn't work well, and this offering won't be among his popular works. After the Civil War, a young street performer is taken in by a traveling showman with an acrobatic wife (sort of a show biz Mr. and Mrs. Macawber), their daughter Judy, and an assortment of ragtag entertainers. The boy, dubbed Punch, becomes general servant to the rest, tries to please everyone, but is constantly abused and berated. When her father dies and her mother loses touch with reality, Judy tries to run the operation. As the troupe struggles to survive, Punch tries to establish himself. He also struggles with his love for Judy, a futile crush, he being 12 years old and she old enough to marry. As in a Punch and Judy show or commedia dell'arte, the tale is cast with stock characters. There is a cruel streak present here that's made all the more chilling because the voice is so objective, so removed from any involvement, any sense of a warm presence. Punch, as is his puppet forbear, is pounded on, emotionally and, finally, physically. Illustrated with black-and-white heavy ink drawings in a naive style, this book keeps readers at a distance. Perhaps the aimlessness of the performers is a metaphor for the state of the country post-war. Other than that, there's little sense of time or place, and events occur without much preparation. There is minimal character development, and in spite of the stated action and conflict, there is no tension. Instead, the book is a stark outline of a story within a stylistic exercise. Are readers expected to provide the human context? If so, it seems likely that few will be interested. --Sally Margolis, Deerfield Public Library, IL
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Avon Books
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0380722534
• ISBN 13: 9780380722532
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160
• Illustrator: Lisker Emily