Common Sense Media Review
Tales of childhood long ago -- in 1979.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Author Esme Codell relates a series of vignettes from 1979, when she was a fifth-grader in Chicago. She describes her neighborhood stores and parks, her relatives, friends, and neighbors, and minor events, such as egging the illegally parked car belonging to a rich person, fighting sexism in temple, trying to avoid her piano lesson, going to a free school, dealing with a big snowstorm, trying to find out about boys, and surprising her grandmother.
Is It Any Good?
This slight but entertaining collection of vignettes (they can't really be called stories) is pleasant and, at times, witty. It doesn't have the power or depth of Esme Codell's previous book, Sahara Special, but then it doesn't intend to. Kids who clamor for stories of their parents' childhoods will enjoy it, and it may make the adults sharing it with them nostalgic.
The size, typeface, and illustrations make this look like a middle grade book, on the order of the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. But some of the content, while not strikingly objectionable, is clearly aimed at somewhat older children, such as a chapter on love in which a friend gives Esme a lesson in "butt-switching," a way to walk to attract boys. On the other hand, older children may find Codell's way of addressing her readers a bit condescending. This is a pleasant, amusing book, but Codell can do better -- and no doubt will.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about childhood stories. Parents can use this as a prompt to tell their kids stories of their own childhoods. Kids can talk about what stories they hope to share with their own families some day.
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Short Stories
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Hyperion Books for Children
- Publication date : April 3, 2005
- Number of pages : 133
- Last updated : September 17, 2015
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate