The Moon Over High Street

January 2, 2012
When 12-year-old Joe Casimir’s grandmother breaks her hip, his summer starts with a bus trip to a distant relative. Joe doesn’t even know Aunt Myra, but he goes in order to please his grandmother, who raised him after his parents died. Once Joe arrives in Midville, Ohio, his outlook improves. Aunt Myra confides that she always hoped he might come to live with her, and Beatrice, a friendly (and pretty) girl Joe’s age, lives across the street. Most significantly, he has a chance encounter with Midville’s richest citizen—Anson Boulderwall, a Polish immigrant turned manufacturing millionaire. Boulderwall, 71, has no one to take over his lucrative factory, and he rashly settles on Joe as his heir apparent (based on little more than Joe’s Polish surname), writing Joe’s grandmother to announce his intentions to begin adoption proceedings. Joe’s feelings about this offer are conflicted, but he’s allowed to make his own choice. There are some lovely moments (especially Joe’s relationship with Aunt Myra), but the implausible plot line, a too neat
resolution, and characters that are largely well-worn types don’t give readers enough to be invested in. Ages 10–14.

January 1, 2012
Babbitt's gentle tale presents 12-year-old Joe, who is faced with a decision that could completely change the course of his life. Orphaned shortly after his birth, Joe, who loves the moon, has been raised by his Gran, but after she breaks a hip, he's sent to spend some of the summer with his father's cousin, Aunt Myra, an unmarried teacher who's always dreamed of raising the boy. In nearly idyllic Midville, he meets the lovely Beatrice, who is not only just his age but also a soul mate. But he inadvertently comes to the attention of the very wealthy factory owner Mr. Boulderwall—aptly, humorously named—who decides that he will adopt Joe and raise him to take over his company, a decision offering the potential of enormous wealth for the boy, but little else. Characters share an otherworldly simplicity of focus and concern that changes this effort from a realistic tale to a cautionary fable about the true impact of choices. The plot quietly meanders toward a conclusion that's never in doubt, but readers will still celebrate Gran's showdown with the clueless businessman. While set in the mid-1960s, there's little to strongly place it in that period. A congenial, cheerful tale with an important message; Babbitt may reach a new generation of readers with this satisfying work. (Fiction. 8-12)

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April 1, 2012

Gr 4-7-Joe Casimir's parents died when he was only a few months old, and he has been raised by his paternal grandmother. The summer he is 12, Gran breaks her hip days before they are scheduled to visit their cousin in Ohio, so Joe is sent off alone. Once in Midville, he blooms under the comfortable companionship of Myra, her old friend Vinnie, and Beatrice, the quintessential girl next door. Then the richest man in town, Ansom Boulderwald, takes an interest in him as a possible heir to his business. Playing off Joe's fascination with meteors, Babbitt elegantly weaves the metaphor of a meteor about to come crashing into the boy's world to describe Boulderwald's proposal to adopt him and control his future. While set in the '60s, the story has a timeless quality to it, and segments of the writing soar with vivid figurative language. Boulderwald is not portrayed as totally evil, but his power and wealth, plus his wife's ruthless upwardly mobile striving, are viewed as empty goals, while Gran's and Myra's more humble views on the importance of family, friends, and following your heart win out. Joe is a hesitant, reserved kid who only allows himself to open up when he is comfortable with certain people. As a result, readers may have to work to understand his motivations. Nonetheless, there is an endearing quality in shy, reticent Joe and his small, but fiercely loving family, and much to ponder thematically here. Ultimately it will take that special discerning child to appreciate this thoughtful yet quirky novel.-Caroline Ward, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2012
Grades 3-5 Although Joe's parents died when he was a baby, he is happy living with his grandmother and learning all he can about the moon. Why the moon? He's always seen it as something he can count on. After his grandmother breaks her leg, 12-year-old Joe travels downstate for an extended stay with Aunt Myra. Unexpectedly, the wealthiest man in town takes a shine to the boy and offers to adopt him, an opportunity that feels more like a crisis to Gran, Myra, and Joe. Once Joe opens up about what he really wants for his life, their dilemma is settled with uncommon clarity of vision and purpose. Set in the early 1960s, this chapter book creates a vivid sense of the past as a simpler time. With swift, sure strokes of imagination, Babbitt creates larger-than-life characters in a small Ohio town half a century ago. In this idyllic setting, even the moon, untouched by human footprints, seems relatively uncomplicated and pure. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The author of beloved classics, including Tuck Everlasting (1975), continues to enjoy a large fan base; expect requests from both young readers and teachers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)