Retrato do autor

Shawn Stout

Autor(a) de Penelope Crumb

16 Works 357 Membros 5 Críticas

About the Author

Shawn K. Stout received an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is the author of A Tiny Piece of Sky, the Not-So-Ordinary Girl series, and the Penelope Crumb series. (Bowker Author Biography)

Includes the name: Shawn K. Stout

Séries

Obras por Shawn Stout

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Membros

Críticas

12-year-old Frankie Baum lives with her parents, grandmother, and two older sisters in a small apartment in a small town in Maryland. In the late 1930's, her father, an American of German descent, decides to open a restaurant. The devious president of the Chamber of Commerce begins spreading rumors that Mr. Baum in in league with the Germans, and possibly Hitler himself, just as the new restaurant is about to open.
Frankie gets involved in trying to defend her father, assist the young black man, Seaweed, who works in the kitchen but is an aspiring musician, get herself out of working in the kitchen, solve a few family mysteries, and a number of other often funny entanglements. Stout's writing style is reminiscent of T.R. Pearson's in "A Short History of a Small Place" and I often found myself laughing at the way a story was told as much as the story itself.
At the end of the book, all the loose ends are neatly tied up, with no dangling threads. Great story telling. A story about prejudice (both American prejudice against those of German descent and the white prejudice against blacks) which somehow keeps that focus without ever getting too depressing.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
fingerpost | 1 outra crítica | Aug 2, 2019 |
Narrated by Tara Sands. Somehow I just couldn't stay on track with the sound of this reader's voice and with the many humorous tangents in the story it was a bit of a trial to keep up. The author's note about the relatives who inspired the novel was illuminating. Frankie's dad opens a restaurant in their Maryland small town on the eve of war in Europe. He has big plans for a restaurant of renown but his German heritage troubles a mayoral candidate bent on ridding the town of evil in the name of patriotism. High-spirited Frankie has her trials and tribulations as the third and youngest child but it's that spirit that is her strength when it counts. Lib notes: The funeral chapter may be disturbing to children sensitive about death.… (mais)
½
 
Assinalado
Salsabrarian | 1 outra crítica | Oct 5, 2016 |
Penelope Crumb is no ordinary fourth grader. She carries around a red toolbox that used to belong to her father (who's been dead since Penelope was a baby), she keeps a list for the government chronicling the many ways in which her brother is turning into an alien, she helps her home-schooled neighbor Littie with her many projects--including the construction of a marshmallow helmet--and also, she can draw pretty much anything. So when her best friend Patsy has to draw a picture of Penelope for class, she attributes the big nose Patsy gives her to Patsy's poor art skills. But then Penelope finds out that it's true! She does have a big nose! Just like her Grandpa Felix, who's been gone from her life since before she can remember. What follows is a sweet and funny story--with tons of heart and hijinks-- about Penelope finding her grandpa and using her big nose--and his big nose--to make her family whole again.… (mais)
 
Assinalado
cay250 | Dec 28, 2014 |
Fiona Finkelstein wants badly to be a big-time ballerina, and she might have her chance when her dance class is invited to dance in a professional production of The Nutcracker. Unfortunately, Fiona has a nasty case of stage fright, which would be bad enough, but her father is the local chief meteorologist and her mother is an absentee soap opera star—so people expect a lot from Fiona. In this book, Fiona tries to conquer her stage fright by using Operation Underwear (picturing various people in their unmentionables) in several different settings, but inevitably hijinx ensue. Fiona is a nice enough protagonist, and her history of vomiting on a fellow ballerina onstage makes her instantly sympathetic. But the characters around her are one-dimensional, and some potentially interesting plot developments (particularly Fiona’s parents’ marriage, which is clearly in trouble) are introduced but not fully explored or resolved. The cartoonish black-and-white illustrations help readers visualize Fiona, who is set apart from the other nearly identical ballerinas by her curls. The conclusion of Fiona’s story is unexpectedly sweet, and this girly book will probably be attractive to readers in grades 3-5, particularly those with an interest in ballet.… (mais)
 
Assinalado
alexanan | 1 outra crítica | Nov 26, 2011 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
16
Membros
357
Popularidade
#67,136
Avaliação
½ 3.7
Críticas
5
ISBN
68
Línguas
2

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