New Windmills: "The Swap" and Other Stories (New Windmills) - Hardcover

Layton, George

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0435130404 ISBN 13: 9780435130404

Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books - Secondary Division, 1999

Synopsis

From the author of The Fib, these fast-paced and humorous stories of growing up in the Fifties will make an excellent class reader for Key Stage 3 students. George Layton considers all sorts of questions - such as whether to cheat in exams, whether to tell the truth when you stand to lose out, how to stand up for yourself and your mates when you would rather the ground would swallow you up . Age 10+

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-8. Originally published in Great Britain, this gently humorous first-person narrative chronicles the adventures of a nameless 11-year-old boy living in North England in the 1950s. In six separate but related vignettes, the hero struggles with the complexities of early adolescence. He tries to stick up for the new boy in school, only to be taunted by his classmates. He wins second prize in a drawing contest and must decide whether or not to admit that his picture was actually done by someone else. In the final episode, he spends a week with a wealthy London family as part of an exchange program and returns home ashamed of his working-class background. He soon realizes, however, that he is exactly where he belongs?at home with his loving mother and aunt. All of the characters are drawn with careful detail. The boys' dialogue rings so true that readers will hear their laughter echoing in the school hallways. However, the book does have a few quirks that may be off-putting. The story line jumps back and forth in time, occasionally making it difficult to tell past from present, and the numerous British words and phrases will need explaining to an American audience. Young readers may not be drawn to this book on their own, but they will enjoy hearing it read aloud, or reading it as part of a classroom unit in which the cultural and historical contexts are explained.?Dawn Amsberry, Oakland Public Library, CA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

The schoolyard adventures of Arthur, 11, set against the background of northern England in the 1950s, form the anecdotal plot of this charming novel. Each chapter or cluster of chapters tells a story about Arthur and the rough-and-tumble boys at the strict school he attends; the narrative is held together by one plot thread, the ``swap'' of the title, which occurs in the final two chapters. Arthur, a sensitive boy with a feisty exterior, and his spirited single mother are likable, and his pals are certainly varied: tough-talking Norbert, who is beaten by his father, and William, a Jewish boy of Austrian descent. Arthur learns to act according to his conscience by befriending William, and helps Norbert lie to escape his father's brutal wrath. During his stay with an affluent family whose son is staying with Arthur's mother (the swap), he realizes just how much he cherishes her, and behaves accordingly. In Arthur, readers can acknowledge their own weaknesses, be reassured by their convictions, and witness the redemptive powers of humanity. (Fiction. 10-12) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books - Secondary Division
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0435130404
• ISBN 13: 9780435130404
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 144