The early reader must be the most difficult book of all to write. To create something new, something real from so few words of such limited complexity is a challenge not every writer can meet. Sure, there are masters of the genre. Cynthia Rylant comes immediately to mind. But, it is unusual to come across a new(ish) author writing for the newly reading who writes with as much honesty and emotional depth as does Michelle Edwards.
Stinky Stern Forever is the fourth volume of The Jackson Friends series--a series of short chapter books designed for school-aged children working on reading fluently on their own. Jackson Magnet is a school populated by children of many different backgrounds and family situations. Our narrator, Pa Lia Vang, decorates her snowflake with Hmong patterns, for example. A boy named Vladmir Solbokin returns from ESL to Mrs. Fennessey's classroom. Another child, Bridgett, doesn't have a mother living at home. Mrs. Fennessey's class also has a resident bully, a boy named Matthew--or Stinky--Stern.
Stinky likes to tease the other kids in the class and make a scene. On the day Stinky Stern Forever begins, Stinky Stern ruins Pa Lia's snowflake with a glob of glue. Then, after school, Stinky Stern is hit by a van when he runs into the street without looking. Pa Lia witnesses the accident and wonders, "Will Stinky be okay? He is so quiet. So still."
Stinky isn't okay. Stinky dies. When Pa Lia returns to school the next day, Mrs. Fennessey tells her class the news and asks the children to share their stories about Matthew Stern. Pa Lia, a quiet, observant child, finds she can't speak right away. She feels confused because she didn't like Stinky Stern. She listens to her classmates' stories--some good, some bad, some funny--and draws, creating pictures of what Stinky loved in life. Finally, after listening to all the children in her class, Pa Lia admits, "'I was so mad at Stinky yesterday. He tried to ruin my snowflake. I was still mad at him when I saw the accident.'" Speaking the truth out loud, Pa Lia realizes, "a heavy bird had just flown from its nesting spot on her heart." Pa Lia is finally able to say what hurts her so much: "'Stinky, get up. This is not funny, I thought. But I knew he couldn't get up. And that was sadder and hurt more than anything Stinky ever said or did to me.'"
Wow. Consider the words Edwards uses here--short words most first graders can read on their own. Despite this limitation, she manages to create a story that is interesting, important, and relevant to children. And, because Stinky Stern Forever is for children, it ends on a positive and hopeful note. The children of Mrs. Fennessey's classroom celebrate their unique, multi-faceted classmate through story and conclude by showering his desk with their beautiful snowflakes.
Stinky Stern Forever is a book you can share with any child experiencing a loss. However, I also think it will be appreciated by children who haven't experienced directly the death of a friend or classmate. We adults, more experienced in loss and death, are easily traumatized by the death of a child, even if that death is fictional. Children, on the other hand, may appreciate Edwards' message here--that everyone has value, everyone has a story and a talent, everyone is loved by someone. Even Stinky Stern.
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Stinky Stern Forever is the first of Michelle Edwards' The Jackson Friends books I've read. I'm purchasing the first three as soon as I can bear to enter a retail establishment again. (Sometime in late January, probably.) I haven't been this impressed in ages. And, I'm not alone. Check out these other blog reviews:
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By: Kelly Herold,
on 12/11/2007
Blog: Crossover (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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9 Comments on Review: Stinky Stern Forever, last added: 12/25/2007
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Sounds like a series that I'll definitely like, Kelly. Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check them out. It's an important thing to have great books in one's back pocket to recommend to early readers.
Can't wait to get this! I am always on the lookout for good, new series books-thanks for sharing.
I had to read this for work, as part of a very long list of books to read. So I just picked it up, intending to just read through it quickly--not at all critically, but just to know what it was about...
And there I was, crying on the reference desk. Ai ya.
But I have to say, I was most excited about Pa Lia's character. I grew up in an area with a large Hmong population and you so rarely see Hmong characters in children's books. Even though I'm whiter than white, I was really struck at how much the presence of a Hmong character resonated with me as "speaking to my experience" of school.
Jen: Definitely check these out. If Stinky Stern is anything to judge by, Michelle Edwards is a new star on the scene.
Franki: Perfect for the classroom!!
Jennie: I sobbed all the way through it, too. So I can see you at your desk :) I thought the way Edwards included just the tiniest details of a character's background gave so much to the book as a whole. Very well done.
OK, I'm tearing up just at your review (motherhood made me a total sap as far as tear control!). Thank you for this review. I'm putting the book on reserve today!
Just reading the review made me tear up. I hear what you're saying about entering a retail establishment... thank God for ordering from Powells. Wow. This sounds so heavy -- but beautiful. What an amazing find.
Sorry, Laura, but I know how you feel. Motherhood will do you in.
Tanita: Yes, ordering is by far and away the best thing in the world.
This is a wonderful book. A rare story for children that thoughtfully deals with a very serious topic. Thanks for highlighting it!
I read this book last week and really liked it. Totally real, heartbreaking, yet unsentimental. Thanks for pointing me toward it.