Connor’s family is a pretty typical, modern family- overbooked, overworked, and completely out of touch with each other. His parents work long hours at important careers, leaving he and his sister to fend for themselves most of the time- they eat fast food and pre-packaged dinners and often do their homework while multi-tasking in front of the television. When he comes home early from school one day to find his mother sitting on the living room couch staring blankly, smiling into a book, he knows that some thing is really, really wrong. It’s like the Twilight Zone. His mother has gotten rid of all the televisions and extra telephones and has actually cooked him an after school snack. Yeah, and there’s this weird thing she’s done with her hair, and strange clothing she’s wearing. Connor is determined to get to the bottom of things and when he picks up the new book he caught his mother reading, he is transported back in time, to the 1920’s. He is in the home of a painter who is responsible for the paintings in the book his mother ponders over- Fitzgerald Cotton. Connor solicits the assistance of the painter’s niece and nephew and uncovers the key to the mystery of his mother’s change in personality. The story ponders over the significance of modern living and poses questions about the importance of outside entertainment, and in the end Connor comes to value the sort of fun that comes from being with friends and family and not television. I would recommend this selection to curious tweens in need of some adventure.
Reiss, K. (2002). Paint by Magic. San Diego: Harcourt. 172 pages. ISBN: 978-0-152-16361-7.
Ages 11+
No comments:
Post a Comment