about the book
Although they are father and son, John Baker, Jr. and John Baker III are really strangers. His dad left four years ago, a Navy captain fighting in the European theater. Now that World War II is nearly over, his father returns only to bury his wife—young John’s mother.
John begs to stay with his grandparents, but his father packs him up and ships him off to a military boarding school on the coast of Maine.
Coping with grief and a drastically different environment, John doesn’t fit in. A true fish out of the water, this landlocked Kansas kid gets motion sick just by looking at the rolling ocean waves!
But he does make a friend. The school’s loser, Early Auden is weird and brilliant at the same time. Although the term “autistic savant” hasn’t been coined yet, that is what this quirky math genius is. Constantly sorting by patterns and sequences, Pi is his passion. To Early, Pi is more than just a number, it is a real person. Soon after they meet, he tells John an epic tale about Pi, a legendary academy student who went off to war never to return. Early believes Pi is still alive, lost and in danger.
Then during spring break, the two boys find themselves unexpectedly left all alone in the dorm. Jack agrees to accompany Early on a quest to rescue Pi. As the two head into the Appalachian wilderness to find the Great Black Bear that will lead them to Pi, they encounter all sorts of characters and adventures, all very similar Early’s epic tale.
What the boys actually find will be very different than what they were searching for.
about the author
Clare Vanderpool lives in Wichita, Kansas, just four blocks from where she grew up, and is surrounded by family and childhood friends. She grew up reading everywhere…even in dressing rooms, bathrooms, and church! By fifth grade, she knew she would be a writer.
Clare studied English and elementary education at Newman University. While in college, she took a job at a summer camp as a youth minister, and for the next ten years, worked with high school youth camps and sports. Because the job was so creative, she didn’t have much time to write.
When her first child was born in 2001, she started working on Moon Over Manifest… often during “Sesame Street,” at stop lights, and during long-winded sermons at church. Ten years later, her debut novel won the 2011 Newbery Medal, making her the first debut author to win in thirty years!
Although college is very important, Clare will tell you the best education comes from reading, listening to the stories of family and friends, gazing out windows, and most important, pretending!
Sources:
Author website
Also by Clare Vanderpool:
Moon Over Manifest. Delacorte. 2010.
read more!
As Easy As Falling Off the Face of the Earth by Lynne Rae Perkins
On his way to summer camp, Rys learns that the camp has gone out of business. With his parents in the Caribbean, Rys gets off the train in Montana to call his grandfather…and the train leaves without him. With several misadventures, Rys tries to make his way home to Wisconsin. Then a super-hero comes along who ends up being much more than the fix-it guy he appears to be.
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Willow is obsessed by nature, diagnosed medical conditions, and counting by sevens. Unable to connect well with others, she leads a quiet happy life with her parents until they are both lost in a tragic car accident. Confused in a baffling new world, she embarks on a journey to find and accept a new family, leading her through unexpected twists and forcing her to confront reality in new ways.
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
In 1936, Abilene Tucker is sent to her father’s hometown of Manifest, Kansas, where she is forced to spend the summer while her dad works a railroad job. When she unearths a hidden cigar box with a letter and odd mementos, Abilene embarks on a quest—with the help of new friends—to learn about her father’s past.