Candlewick Press
January 2005
$24.95 AU
68p hc
ISBN: 978-0736320981
fp September 2004
North Of Everything
Craig Crist-Evans
from the book...
Looking
for a new beginning and a simpler life, a young boy and his parents
move north -
from Miami, Florida, to Montpelier, Vermont. But just as the seasons
change on
their new farm, the family experiences its own series of beginnings and
endings
- for even in a place that seems safely "north of everything," life is
never simple.
In this gentle, poignant novel-in-verse, Craig Crist-Evans has created a family story infused with joy, sorrow, and hope.
If you have read this verse novel and would like to share your opinion of it with other readers please send your review or comments to YARR-A
A young boy and his family move from Miami, Florida where there are “buses, trains, airports, malls, fast-food, restaurants, discotheques, and bars” and the only snow was “from movies and picture books” to Montpelier, Vermont “almost as far as you can go before you get to Canada”. Moving from a busy city environment to a 100 acre farm along the bank of the Winooski River, where his father grew up, is a big change for the young boy; other changes come too with a new baby on the way. As the young boy’s mother grows bigger his father seems to grow smaller and after the birth of baby Carolyn we find out he has been diagnosed with cancer…
This is a beautifully told short novel told in verse. It will move the reader who cannot but feel the joy, the sadness and the hope expressed. This gentle story is recommended for readers aged 10 and above.
Stephen, Canberra, Australia
North of Everything by
Craig Crist-Evans is a heart wrenching tale of a young boy who moves
from the
south of America, where nothing seems to change, to north of
everything, where
everything is constantly changing; he has moved to the small town of
Montpelier,
Vermont.
The
book is written in a young person’s perspective of the world. This boy
although quite young, is very mature in his thinking. The book goes
through
‘seasons’, showing the different parts of life and the different ways
people
experience things. It shows how it is to lose someone close to you, in
this case
a loving father. It also covers making friends, the differences of
where he used
to live and where her lives now, the birth of his sister Carolyn, whom
he calls
Spanky and the other joys and misfortune that life brings to you. The
boy says
that he doesn’t know why he calls his sister Spanky. When people wonder
why
others do the things they do, it shows that there doesn’t always have
to be a
reason for everything.
North of Everything
shows how young children see things when older people see it totally
differently. It was a very sad, loving story and I would recommend it
to people
of all ages as it is a very easy read but the story is one that will
stay with
you forever.
Samantha, Year 10, Canberra, Australia
North of Everything is written by Craig Crist-Evans and is about a boy and his family moving north all the time; it is almost spring and they are moving again but he doesn’t want to move again. His father grew up on a farm with cows and horses. Then the baby came and Mum and Dad called him Spanky.
This book is written for a young person. It is very easy to read and is a nice short book. I liked it but it was a little too short.
Bryce, age 15, Canberra, Australia