Nekomah Creek

Living in New York City gives me a particularly skewed view of the rest of the world. When you're a resident of the Big Apple you begin to take certain things for granted. Sure lesbian couples are treated with nary a raised eyebrow in the public space. Sure moms are usually employed in some fabulous job and everyone has a nanny. Sure there are tons of stay-at-home dads out there taking care of the kids. These assumptions aren't bad necessarily, but they can certainly wreak havoc when it comes to reading something like, "Nekomah Creek". As I paged through this high-spirited and loving little tale, I kept getting bothered by the central conceit. Our hero has a stay-at-home dad who's a great cook. This is a big deal in the story and our hero is embarrassed by this blow to conventional lifestyles. I kept getting angry that this was treated as such a bizarre idea. Sure the publication date was 1991, but even then dads who cook were nothing new. Then I took a step back from my Manhattan goggles. If you're living in rural Oregon with residents who can trace their generations back through the Oregon hills, you are definitely gonna run into nuclear families that shudder at anything so original as a dad that makes a mean salmon. Once I relaxed and accepted that this story remains as pertinent today as ever, I was able to sit back and enjoy the ride. Robby doesn't like sports. Period. When recess rolls around he's always happy to sneak away and read his favorite copy of "Encyclopedia Brown" rather than embarrass himself at football. Unfortunately, his teacher this year is Mrs. Perkins and Mrs. Perkins does not approve of reading outside of scheduled times. Before Robby can so much as say "essential rights of man" he's been flung at the new school counselor for his reading "problem". The counselor seems nice, but she immediately sets about finding out what Robby's issues are. Trouble is, Robby doesn't have any issues. Sure, sometimes he gets a little annoyed with his stay-at-home dad, baby twin siblings, and constantly working mom. But he loves his crazy goofy family and wouldn't change them for anything in the world. Well... maybe he'd change some things. Robby's been getting teased by the class bully over the fact that his dad doesn't "work" in the conventional sense and knows how to cook. Now our hero must save his family from ruin (via the school counselor) and find a way to come to terms with the bully. It isn't easy, but at least he's living in beautiful Nekomah Creek. I identified with Robby immediately. If I could've found a way to sneak a book onto the playground at recess, I definitely would've done so as a kid. Like Robby, I despised sports. Especially group sports. And unlike Robby I didn't have the comfort of the four-square game to turn to. One of my mild objections to this book has to do with the fact that in "Nekomah Creek", it really is seen as imperative that all kids participate in sports. Even Robby's

I read this book way back in 3rd grade, and I loved it! Even now, at 21, I have extremely fond memories of the book. It is as much a part of my childhood as "Are you there God? It's me, Margaret" and Disney's "Beauty and the Beast." I remember loving the book so much that I devoured it in one sitting, and then checked it out again the next week, just to make sure it really was as good as I remembered. It's great for kids; it's awesome for adults. My dad read it, the second time I checked it out, and even he loved it. He couldn't put it down. Sometimes we still reminisce about Nekomah Creek. If you want to make memories for your kids, or if you're a kid looking for memories, this is the book for you.