Throwing Shadows

This book is a collection of five short stories. In the first, a conceited college president recruits a boy to help him search for fossilized shark teeth on the beach--and is disappointed when the boy is better at it than he is. In the second story, we meet Avery, who always seems to be getting into trouble, even when he isn't doing anything wrong. In the third story, the main character is a tour guide who takes people through Ecuador. She manages to befriend a boy who sells weavings and he takes advantage of their friendship in order to make a bigger profit for himself. In the fourth story, a boy who is recovering from a broken arm goes with his mom to the nursing home where she volunteers. By chance, he starts to record some of the residents, and finally builds up a reputation for recording histories of what the residents went through before they ended up in the nursing home. In the fifth story, a boy and his mother realize that they have a knack for the antiquing business. These stories were all uplifting. The characters in them were likable and through the stories they realized something good about themselves. I liked the relationships between people in these stories. The problem with short stories is that you don't get very deep into the lives of the characters. I would have liked to have known more about some of these characters, but the stories ended too quickly.

In many ways, the collected works of E.L. Konigsburg can be summarized quite simply. With few exceptions, her books feature children wise beyond their years. Whether you're skimming the self-aware musings of Claudia in, "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" or chancing across the adventures of the kids of, "A View From Saturday", Konigsburg excels at creating kids that embody the statement, Know Thyself. And the best example of this, without question, is her 1979 collection of five short stories entitled, "Throwing Shadows". The bookflap for this work says of the characters that, "In each of these lives something happens that allows the hero to throw a shadow that is his very own, one that is sharp and has a shape as specific as a fingerprint". At its worst, this book seems like a series of writing assignments penned by the author. At its best, it tells unique tales about learning to be honest with one's self. Ned, Avery, Ampara, Phillip, and William each have a separate story to tell. For Ned, his life's work consists of finding and collecting fossilized shark teeth off the coast of northern Florida. When an oblivious tourist attaches himself to Ned with high hopes of shark tooth glory, Ned has to decide exactly how he should treat this unwanted, but pitiable, tagalong. Avery doesn't have it any easier. It's taken him some years to figure it out, but by the time he reaches sixth grade Avery has separated the world into catchers and catchee. You're either the kind of person who catches others, or you get caught. Avery is in the latter category. It's only through the insightful musings of his older brother, though, that he knows what to do with that information. Ampara is a little different from the other people in this book since she is not a child. She knows one though. A guide to the rural villages of Ecuador, Ampara meets and befriends Antonio. A boy with grand ambitions for becoming a man, he comes to realize through Ampara that trust is something adults must come to appreciate if they wish to be respected themselves. Phillip tells the viewer right from the start that he's not a spaz, a fact that may strain a the reader's credulity. After accompanying his mother to the nursing home where she works, he begins to slowly record the stories of the residents there. When the project gets out of hand, Phillip finds a way to make even some of the home's more prejudiced members open their minds a little. Finally, in William's story we are sucked fully into the world of antique dealers. As his mother becomes fascinated with learning more about critiquing pieces of furniture she learns to become more self-reliant, even at the expense of being right when others are wrong. The stories are connected by the idea that human beings, regardless of age, are capable of learning more and being more than the world would sometimes have them. When it comes to themes such as this, Konigsburg is at her best. Each story

Konigsburg has written 5 short stories that each are designed to teach a lesson about life in a subtle manner. The stories are somewhat entertaining and beautifully written. While there is something that can be learned from life, none of these stories have large impacting moments; rather they are all lessons we learn from daily experiences with people. That was what I liked about it.What I didn't like is that it was very slow moving and the stories were a bit lengthy with too much background information about characters we will not know for very long anyhow. Because of this I would not use the book as a read-aloud in a classroom environment, but some children may enjoy reading.Why 4 stars?:This is a beautifully written book that shows some lessons that we all learn in life through varied experiences. It doesn't suit well to read-alouds and the stories can get a bit long and bogged down with unimportant details. However, this may be just the right book for some child and if it keeps him reading then it is invaluable.

This is a collection of short stories by my favorite children's author. Although I have "out grown" her books, I will never feel that way. She is an amazing author, and although I am not Jewish, I feel like I have learned about the Jewish culture through the characters in her books. A must-have for Konigsburg fans.