Sauerkraut / by Kelly Jones ; illustrated by Paul Davey.

Title:

Author:

Jones, Kelly (Kelly Anne), 1976-

Additional Author(s):

Davey, Paul

ISBN:

9781524765958

1524765953

1524765961

9781524765965

Edition:

First edition.

Publication Info:

New York :

Description:

280 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Summary:

A new quirky-funny book from the author of Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer about a boy whose plans for the summer go sideways when the ghost of his great-great-grandmother demands his attention. HD Schenk is a maker--an inventor, a builder of things. He wants to show everyone what he can do, and his plan is to build his own computer and enter it in the county fair. To earn money for the parts, HD has promised to clean out his uncle's basement. Simple enough--until a voice starts talking to him about cabbage. Funny thing--it seems that the ghost of his great-great-grandmother is haunting a dusty old pickling crock. And she has a grand plan, too. She wants HD to make her famous recipe for sauerkraut and enter it in the county fair so that she can be declared pickle queen. After some initial shock, HD is willing enough to help. This ghost is family, after all. But a person can only enter one thing at the fair--and only HD can really see and hear his grandmother, which is going to make it hard for her to enter on her own. . . . Kelly Jones spins a wonderfully goofy ghost tale that celebrates creative problem solving, family ties, and makers of every variety.

Subject(s):

Grandmothers -- Juvenile fiction.

Families -- Juvenile fiction.

Sauerkraut -- Juvenile fiction.

Holds: Copies (not including on-order items):

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Call Number	Shelf Location	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Penrose Library	Children's Book	JONE	Children's-J-Fiction	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

A new quirky-funny book from the author of Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer about a boy whose plans for the summer go sideways when the ghost of his great-great-grandmother demands his attention.

HD Schenk is a maker--an inventor, someone who builds cool stuff. He's got a plan for the summer: he'll build his own computer and enter it in the county fair. Then everyone will know who he is and what he can do.

To earn enough money for the parts he'll need, HD has promised to clear out his uncle's overflowing basement. No big deal, right? But there's more in that basement than HD bargained for. On his first trip down there, a voice only he can hear starts talking to him. About... sauerkraut?

Who knew the ghost of his great-great-grandmother was haunting an old pickling crock? She's got a grand plan, too. She wants HD to help make her famous recipe for sauerkraut and enter it in the county fair so that she can be declared pickle queen.

After some initial shock, HD is willing enough to help. This ghost is family, after all. But only HD can really see and hear his Oma, which is going to make it hard for her to win on her own...

Kelly Jones spins a wonderfully goofy ghost tale that celebrates creative problem solving, family ties, and makers of every variety.

Author Notes

KELLY JONES has been a librarian and a bookseller and is a raiser of (much-loved but fairly ordinary) chickens. She is now a novelist and the author of Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer; its sequel, Are You Ready to Hatch an Unusual Chicken?; and the feminist Regency romp Murder, Magic, and What We Wore . You can find her at her website, curiosityjones.net, or on Twitter and Instagram at @curiosityjones.

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 3--6--Maker and superhero-loving HD Schenk has a plan to build his own computer from scratch and enter it into the county fair this summer. But first he must earn enough money to buy parts, so he offers to help clear out his uncle's basement. On his first trip downstairs, HD encounters a ghostly voice. When he finds an old pickling crock that had been used by his great-great grandmother (Oma) to make sauerkraut, HD realizes that Oma is haunting the crock and she has a singular mission: to enter her sauerkraut in the county fair and win. As the only person who can hear Oma's voice, HD is compelled to help her but has trouble balancing his own dreams and goals for the summer with the demanding Oma's. Instead of keeping Oma a secret, HD introduces her first to his best friend Eli and then to his family and trusted members of his community. Oma is a strong enough ghost to work a pencil (among other kitchen equipment) and communicates with everyone through notes. This thoroughly quirky tale highlights the importance of mutual respect, community, and family heritage. HD, who is biracial and bicultural (black and German American), must constantly explain why he doesn't look like his dad, and has integrated his parents' different cultural backgrounds into his worldview. The grown-ups encourage HD and his friend to make time for their own goals and summer plans and respectfully accept Oma into their lives. Lists and plans and scientific observations of various projects are featured throughout, as well as warm, evocative pencil illustrations by Davey. VERDICT A ghost story about family heritage and obligations that will appeal to fans of family-driven, slice-of-life tales.--Kristy Pasquariello, Westwood Public Library, MA

Publisher's Weekly Review

The hero of this funny, kindhearted novel is HD Schenk, a 12-year-old self-proclaimed "black geek"--he's a biracial German-American-- who dreams of building his own computer with help from his understanding parents, his best friend Eli, and others in his small town. His summer takes a turn when he discovers an old pickling crock among his late grandmother's belongings. "All pickling crocks are haunted," says a local mystery writer. Enter Marietta, the ghost of his German great-great-grandmother, who has an agenda of her own: get other to make her famous sauerkraut and win the title of Pickle Queen at the county fair. Jones weaves identity into the story seamlessly, and offers a model for incidental representation: the diverse cast of characters (including HD's disabled veteran father and gay uncles, and Eli, who grapples with a learning difference), encounter casual racism as well as brief ableism and homophobia, but these incidents are more like bumps in the road than central plot points, and HD and company confront them swiftly and effectively. Jones's nimbly constructed plot features no adversary beyond competing needs for time and attention in a happy family, and it doesn't bother with the usual conflicts about who can see the ghost (everyone, eventually). Celebrating the collision of old and new worlds, this simple but smart saga will appeal to kids who like their ghost stories more sweet than sour. Ages 8--12. (Sept.)

Excerpts

You know, there are a lot of ghost stories out there that just aren't that realistic. Maybe somewhere there's a ghost that wants to spend all their time clanking chains around or whatever. But I bet most ghosts have better things to do. They're busy people, after all, and they're pretty focused on what they need to do. Kind of like me. Only, more ghostly. My full name is Hans Dieter Schenk. My dad's name is Hans Peter Schenk. Before him came Hans Frederich Schenk, and before that came Hans Franz Schenk. (He wanted to be called Franz, because, come on, would you introduce yourself as Hans Franz? It would not be good, not even in olden times.) Before him came more guys back in Germany called Hans Something too. They all looked pretty much the same in old photos, with pale skin and pale hair and square chins and eyes that were probably blue, like my dad's. All except for Hans Franz, who had a bigger nose than the rest. They all fit their names exactly. Mom says I got my chin from my dad. But honestly, I look a lot more like her and my little brother, Asad. I have short black locs, and medium- brown skin, and brown eyes, and no one ever thinks my dad is my dad unless they know us. (Sometimes they even think my dad is my best friend Eli's dad, not mine, just because they're both white. It's . . . awkward.) So, people call me HD. My mom's name is Kikora Davis Schenk. She has darker skin than me and much longer locs, and she is a no- nonsense person. She says that knowing where you came from is important, but so is knowing who you are, and what kind of person you want to become. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. Right now, most adults know me as "Kikora's son-- the older one" (because everybody knows my mom) or "Hans Peter's son-- the older one," or "Gregor's oldest nephew," or "that boy who takes care of Mr. Ziedrich's goats for him." Most kids know me as "that Black kid with the white dad and the weird name-- the older one," or even "Asad's older brother." But after they've seen the computer I'm going to build from scratch, old- school- style, they'll know me as "HD, the maker." I like the sound of that. Excerpted from Sauerkraut by Kelly Jones, Paul Davey All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.