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Review by Andrea R. Huelsenbeck
Spoon Gilmore, ten years old, misses his recently deceased grandmother. He's worried that some of the intimate details of her uniqueness are already slipping from his memory. He decides to do two things: keep a journal of his memories and find a special item of Gram's for a keepsake.
He should have asked Pa (his grandfather) for help, but he doesn't want to make Pa sad. One day, while he is in his grandparents' house all alone, he takes Gram's deck of cards from the bottom drawer of the breakfront. They remind him of many happy hours playing triple solitaire with Pa and Gram. And just having them in his pocket makes him feel closer to Gram.
But Spoon doesn't know the cards have been a comfort to Pa, also. When Pa can't find them after searching for a night and a day, he plunges into renewed grief. The cards in Spoon's pants pocket no longer buoy him up, but instead weigh him down.
When they mysteriously reappear in the breakfront drawer, Pa perceives it as a sign from Gram. Unable to bear the weight of his guilt any longer, Spoon confesses his lapse of judgment.
Pa picks out some of Gram's things that he thinks Spoon would appreciate: a photograph of her at Spoon's age, and a tracing of her hand at the same age. The tracing has a cryptic message on it -- "M is always for Martha" (Gram's given name). When Spoon figures out the meaning of those words, he knows he has a part of Gram that will stay with him forever.
Kevin Henkes gives us an inside look at the likable Gilmore family. We learn how Spoon got his unusual nickname. We discover the significance of the sun. We see typical annoyances (and also fierce loyalty) among Spoon and his siblings, Charlie and Joanie. The interactions give "Sun and Spoon" its depth and emotional content. It rings true.
"Sun and Spoon" is the most recent in a string of 23 children's books Henkes has written for Greenwillow Books. Two picture books, "Owen" and "Lily's Purple Plastic Purse," were Caldecott Honor Books.
Andrea R. Huelsenbeck is a freelance writer from Tempe, Arizona.
©1997, ProMotion, inc.
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