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Summary
Summary
A funny and moving story set in Kentucky
It's the beginning of summer 1955, and though her family is struggling financially, Carolina's mama still indulges her four daughters' whims, like springing for all of them to get permanents. Each of her older sisters seems to have cut out a niche for herself, but Carolina Collins is still trying to find her own special place in life. The girls' hardship is softened by the sudden appearance of their favorite cousin, Tadpole, a charismatic thirteen-year-old with a knack for guitar playing. Tad sees in Carolina a spirit and talent that no one has noticed before, and he predicts that she "is gonna surprise everybody one of these days." The Collinses soon learn the real reason for Tad's visit, however, and the weeks that follow are filled with dread that his abusive guardian will come and take him away.
But Tad is not the sort of boy to succumb to a bully, and he and Carolina both have surprises in store for everyone.
A Junior Library Guild Selection Tadpole is a 2004 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Author Notes
Ruth White is the author of many books, including Belle Prater's Boy , a Newbery Honor Book, and Memories of Summer , an ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults. She lives in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-The brash Collins girls don't have much but they have one another and their loving mama; their orphaned cousin Tadpole has only his daddy's guitar to comfort and sustain him. A gem of a novel about resilience and the ability to believe in oneself. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
White (Belle Prater's Boy; Memories of Summer) transports readers to 1955 in tiny Polly's Fork, Ky., for another memorable view of individuals who transmute their pain and suffering into compassion and even art. Carolina Collins, the 10-year-old narrator, feels ordinary beside her three older sisters: Kentucky is the popular one, Virginia the pretty one and Georgia the smart one. Even though she hasn't yet found her place, Carol feels lucky compared with her orphaned cousin, 13-year-old Tadpole. Carol's father may have deserted the family, but Carol's mother, Serilda, works hard to care for her girls. The story takes off when Tadpole shows up at the Collinses, having run away from the abusive uncle who is his legal guardian. Serilda, known for her lack of "spunk," surprises everyone with the fierceness of her efforts to protect Tad. Serilda is not the only one for whom Tad's presence prompts a discovery of hidden resources: Tad's intelligence and musical talent help Carol locate gifts of her own. Involving as the plot is, the power of White's work derives from her seemingly easy evocation of ordinary people as they stumble into enduring truths about human strength and vulnerability. Embedded in the homespun language (Carol, for example, describes preparations for a neighborhood picnic: "The Pughs, who owned a grocery store up the holler a piece from us, come by in their pickup.... They had closed up shop for the day, and brung pokes full of goodies"), are insights both finely honed and enriching. Ages 8-12. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Intermediate, Middle School) In her usual down-home, approachable style, White offers up a novel that may have a minimum of plot but doesn't stint on appealing characters or eloquently crafted images of 1950s life in the Kentucky hills. The story's heart is the title character, a personable thirteen-year-old orphan who famously acquired his nickname by eating a live tadpole on a dare. All four of his cousins--sisters Kentucky, Virginia, Georgia, and Carolina--are thrilled to see him when he shows up on their front porch after running away from his abusive uncle. But the book's narrator, ten-year-old Carolina, seems to need Tadpole's optimistic, rather mystical outlook on life the most. When Tadpole isn't playing his guitar, organizing neighborhood picnics, canning fruits and vegetables, or working odd jobs to help the girls' bighearted but weary mother make ends meet, he is encouraging his youngest cousin, the self-described ""runt, sometimes called Carol, and nobody at all,"" to discover what makes her special. Tadpole's ability to inspire and charm most everyone he meets forges the novel's gratifying sense of community. Neighbors drop by with a plucked chicken for the family's dinner or a brand-new pair of wingtips for the virtually shoeless Tad, and they help hide the boy when his uncle tries repeatedly to assert his legal guardianship. It's somehow not far-fetched that Tadpole ends up happily established in Nashville, winning over even bigger crowds with his playing and singing. Perhaps Carolina, with her newly discovered musical talent, will join him there one day. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
"Them loud-mouthed Collins girls," Kentucky, Virginia, Georgia, and narrator Carolina, receive a responsibility makeover in this sweetly slight coming-of-age story set in rural Kentucky in 1955. The agent of change is their cousin Tadpole, a dreamy and musical orphan who has fled his cruel uncle for the loving welcome, if not safety, of his aunt and cousins. The four girls have lived alone with their mother ever since their father left them years ago; their mother, a well-meaning but weak-willed woman, has let them run wild and selfish. Under Tadpole's influence, the girls learn to help out around the house and to support their mother; additionally, Carolina, the youngest and most-overlooked of the four, discovers a talent for music. Everything happens almost by surprise in this agreeably slow story: Tad goes back and forth between the Collinses and his uncle, finally running away for good; the family goes to a picnic; a widower begins sparking the girls' mother; Carolina and Tad sing in a talent contest; but White (Memories of Summer, 2001, etc.) creates such vivid and pleasing characters that the reader is happy to bide a while despite an overt lack of action. The progress of the girls from happy-go-lucky and irresponsible to a more focused concentration on the good of the family is fairly obvious and programmatic, but once again is accomplished with such amiability that it's easy to swallow. Their mother's corresponding journey from pushover to woman with a spine is touchingly presented through Carolina's eyes, with a little help from Tadpole. Written in a vivid drawl, this optimistic confection is all Southern sweetness. (Fiction. 10-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 5^-8. Ten-year-old Carolina Collins has three loud, boisterous older sisters, each exceptional in her own way and well known in their small, 1950s Appalachian town. Carolina feels like the "runt" and "nobody at all," until a beloved, orphaned cousin, Tadpole, comes to stay. Fleeing a cruel guardian, Tadpole hides with Carolina, her sisters, and single mother, winning the hearts of the neighbors with his fun-loving generosity and charm. He also transforms the Collinses' house, gently encouraging the girls to appreciate and support their mother and helping Carolina to find her special talent. The story is written in Carolina's age-appropriate voice, and the colorful, hill-country language will be familiar to White's fans, as will the warm portrayal of poor, small-town life and the appealing characters, especially the children who overcome abuse and discover their gifts. White also nicely captures a child's gradually widening view of the world, in which change is constant and mothers aren't just parents: they have insecurities, complicated histories, and even boyfriends of their own. --Gillian Engberg