The Boy on the Porch

One morning John and Marta find a young boy asleep on their porch. Narrator Heather Henderson's soothing voice carries the listener through the unraveling mystery and beauty in this story about love, family, and cherishing moments and people. Henderson's warm tones and measured pacing portray the relationship that develops between Jacob and the couple with sensitivity. While their keen bond with one another is conveyed with sincerity, the portrayals of the townsfolk are more lighthearted and farcical at times. Henderson's stirring performance also reflects the poetic qualities the narrative takes near the end of the story as the ups and downs of life are revealed. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

June 10, 2013
Newbery Medalist Creech’s slim, understated story about a young childless couple who find a small boy of indeterminate age asleep on their farmhouse porch one morning has a fablelike quality. Accompanied only by a note reading, “Plees taik kair of Jacob. He is a god good boy. Wil be bak wen we can,” the boy doesn’t speak, but he overflows with creative gifts and has an affinity for communicating with animals. The novel is set in a rural area, where town means a general store, a schoolhouse, and a sheriff’s office, and in an earlier era—telephones aren’t commonplace, but trucks, cars, and trailers are standard. Creech’s quiet tale movingly follows Marta and John’s evolution from puzzlement over Jacob’s mysterious appearance to a deepening love for him and a fear that somebody will return to claim him. While the target audience may not find the novel’s point of view, which is focused entirely on the adult couple, initially compelling, the suspense surrounding Jacob’s origins and his future makes it a page-turner for readers of any age. Ages 8–12. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House.