The Silver Spoon of Solomon Snow

by Kaye Umansky Narrated by Jenny Sterlin

Overview

Nottinghamshire Book Award winner Kaye Umansky combines humor and a Dickensian atmosphere to bring young readers into the unlikely world of Solomon Snow. Solly's life stinks. He lives with Ma and Pa Scubbins in a rundown cottage outside of the village of Boring working as a delivery boy for their laundry service. But his luck soon changes when Ma lets slip a little secret-Solly was left on their doorstep as an infant with a silver spoon in his mouth. Solly sets out to find his spoon with the help of some ragamuffin friends he picks up along the way. But will Solly ever find his spoon and his real parents?

Editorial Reviews

School Library Journal

Gr 4-7-A luckless foundling stars in this sometimes-amusing orphan tale. When 10-year-old Solly Snow learns that he was left on the doorstep as a baby, he immediately sets off to find his true parents. His only clue is the silver spoon that Pa Scubbins had recently pawned in town. Accompanied by a bookish neighbor girl and a pesky, but clever circus performer called the "Infant Prodigy," the boy has several narrow escapes and surprises before his quest ends. These mildly involving adventures are related in a sardonic tone that fans of Lemony Snicket's books might enjoy. Highlights include several "interludes" that mockingly describe the still-grieving "Perfect Parents" who may (or may not) finally clear up the mystery of Solly's birth. The cloyingly sweet, but resourceful "Prodigy" is an especially fun character, as she blithely charms and annoys people along the way. Sly narration injects a sense of fun to many of the happenings. Solly himself isn't particularly funny, but his determination, lightened by nervousness and occasional moments of exasperation with his companions, makes him a likable protagonist. His Victorian-style world is filled with greedy adults on the lookout for orphans to exploit. The tale loses a bit of steam when the humor takes a backseat to plot advancement, but there are enough quirky characters and funny moments to sustain readers' interest through to the unexpected, but satisfying conclusion.-Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Foundling Solly searches for his origins in a humorously Dickensian world. Solly works for his parents' laundry business, where his prissy manners stand out in his poverty-stricken village. He's shocked to discover he arrived on his parents' doorstep in a raging blizzard with a silver spoon in his mouth, and leaves home questing for his true parents. Accompanied by Prudence, the local poacher's daughter, and the Infant Prodigy, a lisping circus child, Solly confronts overly affectionate kidnappers, a silver-loving orphanage matron and The Dirtiest Boy in the World. The conclusion of Solly's story is an amusingly unexpected note in a seemingly conventional adventure. Despite some excesses-the Infant Prodigy's speech impediment quickly goes beyond funny to annoying-this over-the-top parody of Oliver Twist-type adventures is a good giggle. (Fiction. 9-12)

AUG/SEP 06 - AudioFile

After ten years of impoverishment, Solomon Snow discovers that he was abandoned at his parents’ doorstep. The only proof of his heritage lay in a silver spoon, which his adoptive father hocked to buy more alcohol. Snow sets out to find his real parents. The elegant and refined English voice of Jenny Sterlin has a wonderful tone that engages the listener yet doesn't fully embody the story. While she renders the character of young Prudence into an old maid, for example, she executes a vocal characterization that enhances the cuteness of adoring Rosabella. Overall, Sterlin does a good job, but one still wonders if another voice might fit the story better. L.E. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170646395
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	03/11/2008
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

The Silver Spoon of Solomon Snow

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By Kaye Umansky

Candlewick

Copyright © 2005

Kaye Umansky

All right reserved.

ISBN: 0763627925

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"You sold my clothes?"

Solly's voice came out in a strangled squeak.

"They wasn't strictly your clothes, Son," said Pa. "You was a babby. They was too big for you."

"Still! They were in my basket. My clothes. My basket. Wasn't there anything else there? Any sort of clue to my identity? A note? An embroidered hankie? Didn't you even make inquiries?"

"No, Son. Brutally speakin', you was just plain dumped," said his father. "And we took you in, out of the kindness of our 'earts."

"And because you needed the basket."

"Well, yes, there was that."

"There must have been something," insisted Solly. "It was snowing. Wasn't I wrapped in a shawl or anything?"

"Nope. Just the cloth."

"Cloth? What cloth?"

"That bit of old cloth you drag around with you. It was newer then, o' course."

"I was wrapped in my crumb-catching cloth?"

"Aye."

Well, well. It was all coming out now. Solly snatched up his cloth, which had fallen to the floor. He stood turning it over in his hands. Just a plain, blank square, fraying a little on one edge, with a couple of stubborn grease stains that wouldn't come out. No clues there.

"How old was I at the time?" he demanded.

"Well, we don't know, do we?" sniffed his mother. "I do know you was teethin', because you had the spoon in yer mouth -- "

She stopped and clapped her hand to her mouth again.

"Spoon?" said Solly. "What spoon?"

"Now see," muttered Pa Scubbins to his wife. "That's another can o' worms you've opened up."

"Oh, he might as well know it all," cried Ma Scubbins. She raised her sodden face to Solly. "There was a spoon, Son. A fancy silver spoon. You was suckin' on it."

I can't believe this, thought Solly. Revelation after revelation! Doorstep, snow, basket, fancy clothes - and now a spoon?

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THE SILVER SPOON OF SOLOMON SNOW by Kaye Umansky. Copyright (c) 2005 by Kaye Umansky. Published by Candlewick Press, Inc., Cambridge, MA.

Continues...

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Excerpted from The Silver Spoon of Solomon Snow
by Kaye Umansky
Copyright © 2005 by Kaye Umansky.
Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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