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Nine Open Arms

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Nine Open Arms

Board Book

$16.95

Board Book
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Overview

The Boon family story and their indefatigable gallows humor are Benny Lindelauf's literary memorial to those persecuted by history.

A ghost story, a fantasy, a historical novel, and literary fiction all wrapped into one, this highly awarded novel for young readers begins with the Boon family's move to an isolated, dilapidated house. Is it the site of a haunting tragedy, as one of the daughters believes, or an end to all their worries, as their father hopes? The novel's gripping language, enriched by Yiddish, German, and Dutch dialect, plunges the reader into the world of a large, colorful, motherless family.

Product Details
About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592701469
Publisher:	Enchanted Lion
Publication date:	06/03/2014
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Benny Lindelauf is a multi-award-winning Dutch children’s book author who has published twelve books in Holland, several of which have appeared in translation. He also teaches creative writing to adults and children. Nine Open Arms has been translated into six languages, including Czech and Korean, and both it and its Dutch sequel, Heivisj’s Heaven, have won several prestigious awards in the Netherlands. Imagination, wit and drama are crucial ingredients in Benny’s stories, where the narrative is always woven together in an exceptional way. Lindelauf once said: ‘Writing is like moving from one house to the next over and over again.’ In Nine Open Arms, the writing moves through many rooms and houses, even worlds.

From the B&N Reads Blog

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Editorial Reviews

★ 04/21/2014
Twelve-year-old Fing narrates the adventure of her family’s 1937 move to the house at the end of Sjlammbams Sahara, in a fictitious Dutch town based on Lindelauf’s childhood home. Initiated by yet another business venture (this time, cigar-making) launched by Fing’s ever-optimistic father, whose mottos include “First believe, then see,” and “the opposite of worrying,” the family’s latest move brings Fing’s four older brothers, two younger sisters (dramatic Muulke and timid Jess), dreamy father, and gruff, swivel-eyed, story-telling grandmother, Oma Mei, into a house that “seemed to be bursting with voices, quarrels, footsteps, squeaking doors, creaking windows,” peculiarities, and secrets. Strong female personalities include the long-dead “Nienevee from Outside the Walls,” whose unfortunate son, the button-eating Oompah, still haunts the town fringes and pulls the family’s heartstrings. Lindelauf’s masterful rendering of fraught yet loving sisterly ties, snappy dialogue, graveyard mysteries, and “traces of a tragical tragedy” from generations past combine to humorous and poignant effect in this gripping tale of eclectic families and inveterate wanderers in search of a welcoming home. Ages 9–up. (June)

Publishers Weekly

A 2015 Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book

“Every element of the tale has a purpose, and in the end, the multiple layers of past and present separate and come together in surprising, often discomfiting twists and turns. . . A challenging and entirely unique Dutch import.” — STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews

“Nine Open Arms is welcome proof that young adult publishers recognise the value of translated fiction, too. Originally published in 2003, Nine Open Arms has won several esteemed awards in its native Holland.” — Emily Gale, Readings

“Delightfully wild and incredibly quirky, this book is one of a kind. . . Beautifully written, magnificently crafted, this Dutch novel is like nothing you have read before.” — Waking Brain Cells

“Lindelauf’s masterful rendering of fraught yet loving sisterly ties, snappy dialogue, graveyard mysteries, and “traces of a tragical tragedy” from generations past combine to humorous and poignant effect in this gripping tale of eclectic families and inveterate wanderers in search of a welcoming home.” — STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly

“A family of nine moves into the titular rundown brick house in 1930s Holland and tries to figure out its mysteries, including the tombstone in the cellar, a forbidden room, and the homeless man who moves into the hedge.” — The Horn Book

“Ultimately, this is a story about storytelling, and it’s sure to appeal to readers who dote on Roald Dahl or Polly Horvath and are willing to go further abroad.” — Francisca Goldsmith, Booklist

From the Publisher

06/01/2014
Gr 5–8—The Boon family is down on their luck when they move into a leaky old house on the edge of town. Fing and her sisters sense the house and adjacent cemetery have a macabre past, and they defy their strong-tongued grandmother to explore the dank cellar and curious hole in the hedge. Between the mysterious house, a spitfire sister, schoolyard bullying, and their father's latest bumbling get-rich-quick scheme, nothing goes according to any sort of predictable plan—either for the Boons or readers who will be drawn into their story. The translation from the original Dutch is fluid with nuanced language and tone, allowing kids to inhabit a world at once strange, engaging, and richly historical. A fine addition for large collections.—Amy Koester, St. Charles City-County Library District, Wentzville, MO

School Library Journal

★ 2014-04-30
At the end of an isolated road outside a small village in Holland in 1937, Fing and her eccentric family find themselves in a strange house that gives up its secrets reluctantly and with far-reaching consequences.Young Fing is stalwart, compassionate and truth-seeking, but she is not an omniscient narrator, for she learns the intricate, tangled stories as they are doled out piecemeal by her grandmother Oma Mei, who is hiding as many secrets as the house. The work's three-part construction weaves the events surrounding Fing's family with an earlier cast of characters from the 1860s. Each part has a distinct tone and sensibility. In the first and third parts, Fing and her sisters rise to the challenges of life with their ever optimistic father, their somewhat inept older brothers, and the mad and mysterious Hatsi. All the while, they grow increasingly uncomfortable with the puzzles posed by the house and Oma Mei's sometimes-contradictory tales. The middle part, Charley and Nienevee's story, is narrated by Oma and has a darker and more sinister quality. Lindelauf lures readers into the intrigue and mystery of it all and then demands their intense concentration. Every element of the tale has a purpose, and in the end, the multiple layers of past and present separate and come together in surprising, often discomfiting twists and turns.A challenging and entirely unique Dutch import. (translator's note, character list, slang word list, map, contents) (Fiction. 11-14)

Kirkus Reviews

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