Neville

by Norton Juster, G. Brian Karas (Illustrator)

Overview

Written by the acclaimed author of The Phantom Tollbooth, this Amazon Best Picture Book of the Year is a simply told story about a boy who moves to a new neighborhood and finds a unique way to make friends. With whimsical illustrations by award-winning illustrator G. Brian Karas, here is a read-aloud that's great for storytime, and is sure to be a hit among fans of Juster, Karas, and anyone who is "the new kid on the block."

“[T]his ingenious foray into breaking into a new neighborhood makes for an amusing and appealing story.” —School Library Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780375867651
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	10/25/2011
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.58(w) x 8.72(h) x 0.44(d)
Lexile:	AD600L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

NORTON JUSTER is the acclaimed author of the children's novel The Phantom Tollbooth, and the Caldecott-winning picture book, The Hello, Goodbye Window, among others. His book The Dot and the Line was made into an Academy Award winning film. He was also a practicing architect until his retirement.

G. BRIAN KARAS is the prolific, versatile, and award-winning illustrator and writer of many books for children, including Clever Jack Takes the Cake, which received four starred reviews; How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?; Are You Going to Be Good?, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book; Home on the Bayou, which was the recipient of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award; and Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming. You can visit him at GbrianKaras.com.

Editorial Reviews

In this emotionally authentic tale of an unhappy new kid in town, Karas (Young Zeus) pictures the boy—unnamed at first—punting a box off his front stoop, then grumpily taking his mother’s advice to “take a little walk down the block.” The boy slouches to a street corner and begins to call out the name “Neville.” As he shouts, other children gather to help and ask about Neville (“When did he move here?”). Oddly, they never ask the boy his own name, nor do they fret when Neville fails to appear. By sunset, the displaced child can half-smile at having made acquaintances. Karas’s melancholy illustrations brighten and expand as the mood improves; small, quiet type sets the sullen tone, until colorful hand-lettered display type implies the children’s collective chatter. Readers learn the boy’s name only at bedtime (hint: it starts with N), a resolution that reinforces sympathy. Juster (The Odious Ogre) identifies a common, stressful situation, and Karas handles the drama with compassion, implying a lonely, single-parent household. Even if the narrative logic falls short, this poignant tale expresses a longing for connections. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review, School Library Journal, September 2011:
"...this ingenious foray into breaking into a new neighborhood makes for an amusing and appealing story."

Starred Review, Booklist, October 15, 2011:
"The story’s simple charm comes to life in Juster’s well-paced, spare language. Karas’ deft mixed-media sketches carry remarkable weight. A harmonious blend of text and illustration, this is a warm, reassuring choice for all children who know the anxieties that come with big life changes."

From the Publisher

A little boy, bereft over moving, makes strides toward feeling at home in his new neighborhood.

With uniform houses and patches of lawn, the community depicted evokes Levittown. Karas' mixed-media art employs a bleak, gray palette for the setting, befitting the boy's forlorn feelings. His mother suggests, "Maybe you'd like to take a little walk down the block. You might even meet someone." Though unenthusiastic, he "slowly shuffle[s] away." When he stops and (rather inexplicably) calls out, "Neville," another child hears him, and then another and another, and they all join in. But who is Neville? "Is he new?" one child asks. "Are you a friend of his?" adds another. "His best friend, I guess," he responds. The children wander off, leaving the boy hopeful after making this foray into joining their community. His homecoming is alight with colors that Karas slowly incorporated into prior illustrations, and when his mother tucks him in, she whispers, "Good night, Neville..." Readers then can hope that when the neighborhood children discover that the boy himself is Neville, they will embrace him as surely as they did his search.

A fine treatment of a tried-and-true theme.(Picture book 4-6)

Kirkus Reviews

Gr 1–3—Finding new friends after a family move can be one of the most devastating traumas of childhood, but Juster and Karas use imagination and humor to address the situation. Told by his mother to take a walk down the block—"you might meet someone"—a child takes her suggestion to a new level. Heading down the sidewalk, he suddenly throws his head back and shouts "NEVILLE" at the top of his lungs. Soon one child, then another, and before long, a bevy of youngsters show up mimicking his cry. Even the neighborhood dogs join in. Questions fly as to who this Neville is and what he is like, and at the end of the day, as everyone goes home for supper, the crowd pleads with the boy to return tomorrow, which, of course, he is happy to do. Karas places likably scruffy-looking children across the spreads and, in sync with the call-outs for "Neville," stretches out hand-written versions of the name in various sizes and colors, cleverly capturing the evolving event with wit and energy. Although Juster doesn't reveal who Neville is until the last page, sharp readers will guess his identity early on. Nevertheless, this ingenious foray into breaking into a new neighborhood makes for an amusing and appealing story.—Barbara Elleman, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA

School Library Journal