Taking Care of Moses

by Barbara O'Connor

Overview

Who left the baby at the Rock of Ages Baptist Church?

Randall Mackey has a secret. He knows who left the baby on the steps of the Rock of Ages Baptist Church. But he can't tell anyone, not even his best friend, Jaybird. And he certainly can't let Jaybird's little sister, Althea, find out because she'd be sure to shout it from the rooftops. Randall can't tell because Queenie Avery was also there, and he wants to protect her. Poor old Queenie seems to be getting more and more forgetful these days. And now that she's begun to wander, folks in town want to send her away, which would break Mr. Avery's heart. While Randall's busy worrying about doing the right thing, everyone in town is discussing who should take care of baby Moses, and it isn't long before a feud breaks out. Randall has to come up with a plan that won't hurt those he most wants to help. And he's got to do it quickly before the situation gets completely out of control.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466811737
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	10/13/2004
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	140 KB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Barbara O'Connor is the author of several noteworthy books for children, including Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia and Moonpie and Ivy. She lives in Duxbury, Massachusetts.

Barbara O’Connor was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. She has written many award-winning books for children, including the New York Times–bestselling Wish, Wonderland, How to Steal a Dog, Greetings from Nowhere, and Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4-7-Randall Mackey, 11, has a secret: he knows who left a baby on the doorstep of a local church, but he can't tell because he wants to protect an elderly neighbor. What transpires is a battle between the white minister's wife, who wants the infant, and black Miss Frieda, who is authorized for foster care and believes that the child should be "with his own kind." The tensions that ensue split the black and white communities, and the congregation as well. While Randall's reluctance and indecision are a little drawn out, overall this is a funny and touching story. It shows how barriers between the races can be broken down by simple friendliness, and has plot elements that include child abandonment, the role of the Baptist church in a small South Carolina town, and an examination of summoning up the courage to do what's right. O'Connor sweetens everything with an earthy humor and a great ear, with dialogue peppered with phrases like, "-you take to babies like a snake to a woodpile." Randall's friend Jaybird has a sassy young sister who has some of the best insults in the book, and the dialogue between the friends is right on target. O'Connor's take on situations is psychologically astute; she describes well how children sometimes manipulate the adults around them, and how perceptive they can be about adult secrets.-Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Randall, 11, is harboring a secret. Exposing the identity of an abandoned baby's mother might not only place this mother of six in jail but also might interrupt the home life of Mr. Avery, who is desperately trying to keep his elderly, confused wife from being taken to a nursing home. Speaking up would confirm Randall's witnessing both the abandonment and Queenie Avery's wandering in town in her night clothes. His silence, however, begins to torment him as the weeks go by and this mixed-race South Carolina town argues over the proper solution to the baby's care. O'Connor has written a well-developed, intriguing short novel with a suspenseful clue-filled story line proposing an ethical dilemma that will keep readers wanting to know the outcome. Randall's best friend and his bratty younger sister provide realistic comic-relief dialogue and child-oriented actions and behavior. Parallel adult roles offer a mature outlook to Randall's clandestine moral questions as he debates and eventually has the "grits and gumption" necessary to do what's right. Good premise and delivery make this a thought-provoking choice for discussion. (Fiction. 8-10)

Kirkus Reviews