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A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 100 TITLES FOR READING AND SHARING
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“Written in a homespun style that reflects the simple components of the artwork, the story guides readers along with Arthur to an understanding of the most important things in life. Luminescent, just like the artwork it celebrates.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Pearsall has struck just the right tone by imbuing her well-rounded, interesting characters with authentic voices and pacing the action perfectly. Excellent.” —School Library Journal, starred review
"A moving exploration of how there is often so much more than meets the eye." —Booklist,starred review
"There are so many things to love about this book. Remarkable." —Christian Science Monitor
"...interweaves the power and purpose of art with an exploration of a boy’s grief and redemption." —The Bulletin
"Pearsall shows us that hope isn’t somewhere “out there”—it’s quite literally in our own two hands." —Jen Bryant, author of A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin
School Library Journal - Audio
02/01/2016
Gr 4–7—It is 1963, and seventh grader Arthur Owens is mourning his father's death. In the Washington, DC, neighborhood where Arthur lives with his mother and sister, an old black man rummages through trash cans for glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, lightbulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. When Arthur sees the junk man, wearing his dad's discarded Harley Davidson ball cap, he hurls a brick at the old man. Arthur gets three weeks in juvie and at the junk man's request is sentenced to 120 hours helping him collect these seven most important things. At school, Arthur happens upon a classmate who's been imprisoned in a barrel of basketballs. Arthur rescues Squeak and finds a friend. The boys discover that in a rented garage, the junk man is building a religious shrine. Nick Podehl creates a believable voice for each character. The author based her junk man on the American folk artist James Hampton, whose Throne of the Third Heaven is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. VERDICT Recommended for all middle schoolers. ["Pearsall has struck just the right tone by imbuing her well-rounded, interesting characters with authentic voices and pacing the action perfectly": SLJ 7/15 starred review of the Knopf book.]—Mary Lee Bulat, Harwinton Public Library, CT
School Library Journal
★ 07/01/2015
Gr 4–7—A middle school student learns the meaning of redemption in this excellent coming-of-age story. For the rest of the country, it was the year President Kennedy was assassinated. For Arthur Owens, it would always be the year his Dad died. Arthur is struggling to adapt. When he sees his Dad's hat being worn by the neighborhood "Junk Man," it is just too much. Arthur isn't a bad kid, but he picks up that brick and throws it just the same. The judge pronounces a "highly unconventional sentence." At the behest of the victim James Hampton, the "Junk Man," Arthur must spend every weekend of his community service helping to complete Hampton's artistic masterpiece. Inspired by real life artist James Hampton's life and work, "The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly," the plot avoids overt religious tones and sticks with the exploration of friendship, love, and life's most important lessons. From the "Junk Man's" neighbor, Groovy Jim, to no-nonsense Probation Officer Billie to Arthur's new best pal Squeak, and even his family, Pearsall has struck just the right tone by imbuing her well-rounded, interesting characters with authentic voices and pacing the action perfectly. Give this to fans of Wendy Mass's Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life (Little, Brown, 2006) and Gennifer Choldenko's Al Capone Does My Shirts (Penguin, 2004). Reluctant readers may be intimidated by the page count, but a booktalk or read-aloud with this title should change their minds. VERDICT A recommended purchase for all libraries.—Cindy Wall, Southington Library & Museum, CT
DECEMBER 2015 - AudioFile
Nick Podehl capably narrates this story of grief, loss, and redemption. On a cold day in early November 1963, in Washington, D.C., Arthur T. Owens throws a brick at an elderly gentleman known as “the junk man,” and so begins a series of revelations. Initially, Podehl's performance is marked by sharp tones and a strident delivery; however, as Arthur, his voice softens to reveal a vulnerable 13-year-old boy who is grieving the loss of his dad. Eventually, Podehl's entire performance softens, reflecting Arthur's growing self-awareness. James Hampton, “the junk man,” is a pivotal character in Arthur's life despite his limited dialogue, and Podehl does well in creating a memorable presence that allows Hampton to linger in listeners' minds long after he's stopped speaking. A.S. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2015-06-10
Traumatized by his father's recent death, a boy throws a brick at an old man who collects junk in his neighborhood and winds up on probation working for him.Pearsall bases the book on a famed real work of folk art, the Throne of the Third Heaven, by James Hampton, a janitor who built his work in a garage in Washington, D.C., from bits of light bulbs, foil, mirrors, wood, bottles, coffee cans, and cardboard—the titular seven most important things. In late 1963, 13-year-old Arthur finds himself looking for junk for Mr. Hampton, who needs help with his artistic masterpiece, begun during World War II. The book focuses on redemption rather than art, as Hampton forgives the fictional Arthur for his crime, getting the boy to participate in his work at first reluctantly, later with love. Arthur struggles with his anger over his father's death and his mother's new boyfriend. Readers watch as Arthur transfers much of his love for his father to Mr. Hampton and accepts responsibility for saving the art when it becomes endangered. Written in a homespun style that reflects the simple components of the artwork, the story guides readers along with Arthur to an understanding of the most important things in life. Luminescent, just like the artwork it celebrates. (Historical fiction. 10-14)
