Beethoven in Paradise - Softcover

O'connor, Barbara

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0374405883 ISBN 13: 9780374405885

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr), 1999

Synopsis

Set in a trailer park called Paradise

"You're just wasting your God-given talents if you don't get yourself something besides a little ole harmonica to play." Wylene made it sound so easy. Martin had always like music -- liked to listen to it, liked to make up tunes in his head. But all he had to do was say the word "piano" to his father and all hell would break loose. His father thought music was for sissies, and was always mad at Martin for not being good at baseball. But with a lot of help from his friends Wylene and Sybil and his grandmother, Hazeline, Martin learns that, although he can't change his father, he can learn to stick up for himself. With humor, pathos, and a colorful cast of offbeat characters, Barbara O'Connor shows that there's room for genius wherever there's a place for compassion-- even in Paradise.

About this title

Review:

"Martin. . .is musically talented and lives in a trailer park called Paradise. His macho father thinks that music is for wimps and that real boys play baseball." --School Library Journal

"For every child who never wanted to play sports, a kindred spirit. . .Captures a young boy's heart and holds it out as a gift." --Pointer, Kirkus Reviews

"Quirky characters populate this promising...first novel...." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author:

Barbara O'Connor is the author of numerous acclaimed books for children, including Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia; Me and Rupert Goody; Greetings from Nowhere and How to Steal a Dog. She has been awarded the Parents' Choice Gold and Silver Awards, the Massachusetts Book Award, and the Dolly Gray Award, among many honors. As a child, she loved dogs, salamanders, tap dancing, school, and even homework. Her favorite days were when the bookmobile came to town. She was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, and now lives in Duxbury, Massachusetts, a historic seaside village not far from Plymouth Rock.

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0374405883
• ISBN 13: 9780374405885
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160