SuitabookChildhood fear and uncertainty
Cathy believes an old woman can transform her if she does not surrender a penny, and she later comes down with a fever.
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Book details
Myron Levoy - Author
Expect linked-feeling visits to a poor, ethnically diverse Lower East Side community, with children facing family work, embarrassment, illness-related fear and questions about generosity. Humour and sentiment accompany these difficulties.
Eight stories about growing up poor on the Lower East Side of New York City. Cathy Dunn knew that if she would not give her penny to the witch, the old lady would turn her into a lizard, or a goat. Or a spider so small Cathy's mother would step on her. But one day Cathy decided that she would not give up her penny, and that was the day she came down with a fever. Cathy is just one of the many children who came to New York City with their parents seeking a better life. There is Keplik the Match Man, who builds masterpieces from used matchsticks; Noreen Callahan, who is ashamed to work in her father's smelly fish store; and even a Hanukkah Santa Claus!
Book Brief
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Sign in for personalised guidanceExpect linked-feeling visits to a poor, ethnically diverse Lower East Side community, with children facing family work, embarrassment, illness-related fear and questions about generosity. Humour and sentiment accompany these difficulties.
Cathy believes an old woman can transform her if she does not surrender a penny, and she later comes down with a fever.
Pay attention to how poverty, paid work and family pride shape the children’s choices. Cathy’s belief about the ‘witch’ and her fever may also prompt discussion of fear, coincidence and what adults tell children.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: the book’s treatment of its main themes is not yet firm enough; some draft conclusions still depend on unresolved evidence.
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