Dear Colleagues,
A few more additions have come in! And Collette,
I sent you a personal thank you but was blocked.
Toni
SO BE IT by Sarah Weeks sort of fits for this scenario. (After spending
her life with her mentally retarded mother and agoraphobic neighbor,
twelve-year-old Heide sets out from Reno, Nevada to New York to find out who
she is.) I have had 5th graders read this one and come back for more.
Dancing on the edge by Han Nolan. I read it
awhile ago and I believe it is her father that
left her and I think she eventually gets to meet him.
Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin I loved this
disturbing book. Three children are being raised
by a mother with sever mental problems. Their
father abandoned the family, but what is
interesting is that he comes back into their life
very briefly for some pretty emotional scenes.
I'm currently reading "Bud, not Buddy" to my 5th
graders and this book deals with a father who abandoned their child.
You could add the Joey Pigza books for upper
elem/middle. Joey's dad abandoned his mom but in
"Joey Pigza Loses Control" the dad reappears and
makes a half-hearted effort to establish a
relationship with Joey. The books are funny,
told from Joey's viewpoint, but carry lots of messages as well.
Also, What Jamie saw / Carolyn Coman.
Having fled to a family friend's hillside trailer after his mother's
boyfriend tried to throw his baby sister against a wall, nine-year-old
Jamie finds himself living an existence full of uncertainty and fear.
Gripping book!
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, not Buddy. New York: Delacourt Press, [1999].
Note: Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living
in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression,
escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search
of the man he believes to be his father--the
renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.
Gantos, Jack. Joey Pigza swallowed the key. New York: HarperTrophy, [1998].
Note: To the constant disappointment of his
mother and his teachers, Joey has trouble paying
attention or controlling his mood swings when his
prescription medications wear off and he starts
getting worked up and acting wired.
Vining, Elizabeth Gray and Lawson, Robert. Adam
of the road. New York, N.Y., U.S.A: Puffin Books, [1987, 1970].
Note: The adventures of eleven-year-old Adam as
he travels the open roads of thirteenth-century
England searching for his missing father, a
minstrel, and his stolen red spaniel, Nick.
Philbrick, Rodman. Max the mighty. New York: Scholastic, [1998].
Note: Fourteen-year-old Max helps a younger girl escape from her abusive
stepfather by running away with her to the distant town of Chivalry,
Montana, searching for her real father.
Ryan, Pam Muņoz. Becoming Naomi Leon. New York: Scholastic, [2004].
Note: When Naomi's absent mother resurfaces to
claim her, Naomi runs away to Mexico with her
great-grandmother and younger brother in search of her father.
Toni Buzzeo, MA, MLIS <mailto:tonibuzzeo@tonibuzzeo.com>
Maine Library Media Specialist of the Year Emerita
Maine Association of School Libraries Board Member
Buxton, ME 04093
http://www.tonibuzzeo.com
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