Belle Prater's Boy: (Newbery Honor Book)

I loved "Belle Prater's Boy" from the moment I began reading it, and my love only deepened when I began teaching the book to my 6th grade students. The children were immediately fascinated with the many mysteries in the book, such as the sudden disappearance of Belle Prater, the mysterious circumstances of Amos' death, and why Gypsy has strange, violent nightmares. The author skillfully reveals clues steadily throughout the book, causing readers to keep reading until their teacher forces them to put the book down. :-) My students loved examining the clues and playing detective to determine how the pieces fit together, as well as discussing the themes of forgiveness and how appearances can be deceiving. "Belle Prater's Boy" proved to be an excellent book for my 6th graders, many of whom are reluctant and/or struggling readers. I give it my highest recommendation for children's literature!

Has anyone in your family ever disappeared? Gypsy's Aunt Belle did. Now Gypsy's cousin Woodrow has to live with their grandparents that live next door to Gypsy. Woodrow is cross-eyed and his mom was saving money to get his eyes fixed. When Belle disappeared, the money for the operation also disappeared. Woodrow knows something about his mom's disappearance, will he tell anyone what he knows? Belle Prater's Boy was a very good book to me. I found the experiences that the characters go through exciting and sometimes funny. I loved the book even though none of my life expieriences related to the story at all. The only weakness is that the author used a lot of slang words like "Didja" substituting for "Did you." I would recommend this book to teens mostly because of the excitement, suspense, and the characters.

Gypsy Leemaster was a normal sixth grader in 1953. When her cousin, Woodrow Prater, moved in next door, all michief began one crazy summer. Woodrow was a cross-eyed boy whose mother, Belle, disappeared from their mountain shack one foggy morning. Rumors flooded the small Virgina town, but no one ever saw Belle again. As Woodrow and Gypsy became friends, they developed a special bond. Both children had family situations that were painful and hard to talk about with others. They even had to defend each other against the cruel words of bullies. As Woodrow entertained the children of Coal Station, Virginia, Gypsy was determined to find out what really happened to Aunt Belle. Throughout the summer, Woodrow finally revealed little clues about his mama's disappearance to Gypsy. Gypsy and Woodrow became best friends that one crazy summer, and they both faced their pasts with courage. This was a wonderful book. The plot is wonderful and humorous. The description in this book is phenomenal. I would get angry at times and could be laughing on the next page. White really gets in touch with the characters' feelings. This would be a great book to read aloud. It is very humourous. I loved this book because it was an amusing story that really touched my heart.

Woodrow, a twelve year old boy, is living with his grandparents and cousins, because his mother disapeared. His father was not able to take care of him alone. They are living in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia in the 1950s. Woodrow becomes very popular in school and at home. Because of this his cousin Gypsy gains some jealousy of him. Gypsy finds out some information about her father, and she takes it quite hard. She tries to blame it on her stepfather,who she truly hates. Woodrow and the rest of the family try to comfort her and help her think good thoughts. Gypsy realizes that they were being very kind and that's all they were doing for Woodrow and she shouldn't be jealous. I'm rating this book a five star book because it's a very good book. It made me feel very good about my life.It also made me realize how lucky I am. I think that almost everyone would like this book!

Belle Prater dissapears, in 1954, and is nowhere to be found. Her boy Woodrow is no longer provided with a stable living condition and is sent to live with his Granny and Grandpa Ball. Woodrow's grandparent's live next door to Woodrow's cousin, Gypsy Arbutus Leemaster, who is Belle Prater's neice. Much like everyone else in Coal Station, Virginia, Gyspy is curious about her Aunt's dissaperance. She and Woodrow have never really liked, or even gotten to know one another. They soon form an unbrakable bond between one another. When Gypsy learns that Woodrow dosen't have much more than a clue about his mother's dissaperance, she comes to realize who he really is inside. Once she looks pat his crossed eyes and hand-me-down clothes, she realizes that he is a down-to-earth type of guy and an excellent story teller. They share stories, laughter, and all together good times while relazing a true moral in life: You must look past the apperance of a person to find out what's inside.