Eli's Songs - Hardcover

Killingsworth, Monte

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689505272 ISBN 13: 9780689505270

Publisher: Margaret K McElderry, 1991

Synopsis

Shipped off to relatives in Oregon while his father is touring with his rock band, twelve-year-old Eli comes to love the magnificent trees of a nearby forest and tries to prevent their imminent destruction

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-- A city kid transplanted to a rural setting, separated parents, a coming-of-age, and the meaning of commitment are all woven into this well-written first book. Elixir (Eli), 12, faces a summer living with an aunt and uncle he barely knows. Accustomed to the gilt and glitz of Los Angeles, he does not fit into the timber country of Oregon with his diamond earring and long, platinum hair. Conflicts surface and Eli rises to the challenge in a straightforward manner. He finds peace and solitude amidst a beautiful stand of virgin timber, only to have it threatened by the lumber industry; staging a protest, he creates a real stir in the community, growing stronger in the process. Eli is a well-defined, sensitive character. It's easy to identify with the other types of personalities found in the story, and there is enough conflict to keep readers interested. Eli is similar to Marty Preston in Phyllis Naylor's Shiloh (Atheneum, 1991). Both are boys who see wrongs that need to be righted and develop plans to do it. Although this book is not a page turner, it is worthwhile as part of a new trend in which young people are allowed to be caring without being sentimental. --Kenneth E. Kowen, Atascocita Middle School Library, Humble, TX
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Eli (12) feels old enough to stay home alone in L.A. when his rock-star father goes on the road--but he's sent to his aunt and uncle, Maud and Danny, in a small town in the Willamette Valley. Flashy-as-they-come Eli soon sheds his snakeskin boots and diamond earring--though not his long hair or his songwriting (lyrics head each chapter and form an appendix); in gardening, chopping wood, and the quiet forest all around he finds something that he needs. Soon, Eli learns that his favorite stand of fir is to be logged off; in protest, he climbs a tree in the loggers' path and refuses to leave until a judge orders a hearing. The author leans hard on Oregonians for their narrow-mindedness, yet Danny is easygoing, and he and Maud--who is permanently disabled by an auto accident--are wise and personable. Eli, too, is intelligent and adaptable; after he learns that his stay is likely to be extended, he cuts his hair and makes a successful effort to fit in at the local school. A simply told first novel featuring an effective act of nonviolence. (Fiction. 11-14) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Margaret K McElderry
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0689505272
• ISBN 13: 9780689505270
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 137