I Like Where I Am - Hardcover

Harper, Jessica

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399234799 ISBN 13: 9780399234798

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile, 2004

Synopsis

This boy has trouble.  The movers are here and they're loading the truck without a care for his feelings.

’Cause I like my room and I like my school, And we live real close to a swimming pool, And my best friend lives around the block. Why move to a place called Little Rock Anyway?  

Any child who has ever had to move will relate to the feelings of loss and also rejoice in the boy's newfound pleasures when he gets to his new neighborhood.

 

About this title

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2--In a rhythmic and rhyming text, a six-year-old expresses his feelings about his family's impending relocation. He likes his neighborhood, his school, and his friends, and has doubts about living in a place called Little Rock. As the movers carry out boxes, he feels powerless to stop them: "And I think (but I'm too scared to say),/Oh, why don't you just go away!/Take your truck and take your Trouble and/Move somebody else!" Finally, his mother senses his unhappiness and takes him on her lap and rocks and sings to him amid all of the chaos. He sheds his tears and is comforted but is still apprehensive. After the move takes place, he discovers that he likes his new environs, but will always keep fond memories of his old home. Harper presents an honest, comforting depiction of what can often be a traumatic event. The text clearly captures a child's view of a world in which the adults are in charge and the youngster feels lost in the shuffle. Karas's realistic and playful illustrations in colored pencil, gouache, and acrylic add depth to the story. The endpapers show cartons with labels such as "magic tricks," "spy stuff," and "comic books." A good choice to initiate a family discussion about moving.--Linda Staskus, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 2. Rhyming text describes the traumas a six-year-old faces as his family gets ready for and then completes a move to a new house and town. The theme is familiar, but Karas adds sparkle with deceptively simple, funny pencil-and-watercolor pictures, which feature a baby sister dumping food on her head, a kitten who likes to crawl on boxes, and a pair of massive movers, one of whom sports impressive armloads of tattoos and nearly ends up with a flattened nose when trying to lift a dresser. The focus is on the traumas of the move, but things turn out fine once the family has arrived at the new house, with new friends made and the height charts established on the back of a closet door. Kids facing a move will find Harper's story a reassuring choice, and the humorous illustrations will atttract others as well. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0399234799
• ISBN 13: 9780399234798
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Karas G. Brian