{"id":36050,"date":"2019-04-04T22:52:49","date_gmt":"2019-04-05T02:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36050"},"modified":"2020-01-15T18:38:53","modified_gmt":"2020-01-15T22:38:53","slug":"review-of-pay-attention-carter-jones-by-gary-d-schmidt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36050","title":{"rendered":"Review of Pay Attention, Carter Jones, by Gary D. Schmidt"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Pay Attention, Carter Jones<\/em><\/p>\n

by Gary D. Schmidt<\/p>\n

Review written March 25, 2019, from a library book
\nClarion Books (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), 2019. 217 pages.
\nStarred Review
\n2019 Sonderbooks Stand-out<\/a>: #4 in Children’s Fiction<\/p>\n

This book was delightful. I shouldn\u2019t have chosen it to read during Silent Book Club, because I kept coming to spots that made me chuckle. My friend was reading Game of Thrones<\/em>, and she said it was a little incongruous. Oops!<\/p>\n

And yet some serious topics are covered in this book. There\u2019s a little brother who died and an absent father. So that my primary response was chuckling shows that the serious topics were handled with a light touch and my overall response is delight.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how the book begins:<\/p>\n

If it hadn\u2019t been the first day of school, and if my mother hadn\u2019t been crying her eyes out the night before, and if the fuel pump on the Jeep had been doing what a fuel pump on a Jeep is supposed to be doing, and if it hadn\u2019t been raining like an Australian tropical thunderstorm \u2013 and I\u2019ve been in one, so I know what it\u2019s like \u2013 and if the very last quart of one percent milk hadn\u2019t gone sour and clumped up, then probably my mother would never have let the Butler into our house.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As it was, it was a crazy morning, and Carter Jones was the one who answered the door when the Butler rang their bell.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s some confusion, but the Butler, Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick, takes things in hand. It turns out that Carter\u2019s grandfather has died, and in his will, he provided a generous endowment for Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick to now serve his son\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

That son is Carter\u2019s father, who is now serving with the military in Germany. But the family can definitely use his services, though Carter\u2019s not so sure he wants someone calling him \u201cYoung Master Jones\u201d and requiring him to behave with good manners.<\/p>\n

And then the Butler dresses Carter up in white, along with his friend Billy, and takes him to the school football field to learn to play cricket.<\/p>\n

It seems like disaster when the eighth grade cross country team sees them \u2013 two sixth graders dressed strangely being taught to play cricket by an Englishman. But one thing leads to another, and soon the entire eighth grade cross country team is learning the fine points of playing cricket.<\/p>\n

There are tidbits about the game of cricket at the start of each chapter \u2013 and I\u2019m still completely confused by the rules. Though I do have a much better idea of how it works than before I picked up this book.<\/p>\n

The whole idea of a proper English gentleman\u2019s gentleman dealing with an American sixth-grade boy is what gives this book layers upon layers of humor. Carter Jones, though, is dealing with some big issues \u2013 and Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick also has compassion, in his proper English way.<\/p>\n

I finished this book with a smile on my face. Completely delightful!<\/p>\n

PS: Something else I loved about the book was that the principal was Principal Swietek! And the town is Marysville! Why is that so exciting? We find out who Doug Swietek married from Okay for Now<\/a><\/em>, which was set in Marysville in the sixties. (The principal is female and her first name is given at one point.) Very fun for Gary Schmidt fans. In fact, I reread my review of Okay for Now<\/em>, and yes I was right that it was the same town. Now I want to reread the book.<\/p>\n

hmhco.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Fiction\/pay_attention_carter_jones.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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