Wow! eBook
Kalpana's Dream
Author(s): Judith Clarke (Author)
- Publisher: Front Street
- Publication Date: April 1, 2005
- Edition: First Edition
- Language: English
- Print length: 164 pages
- ISBN-10: 1932425225
- ISBN-13: 9781932425222
Book Description
While an English class at Wentworth High in Australia struggles with a six-week essay assignment answering, “Who am I?,” one child’s great-grandmother arrives unexpectedly from India to follow her dream of flying.
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 6-9. Who Am I? That’s the question Miss Dallimore wants answered in an essay that will be due in six weeks. The assignment animates and alarms several of the young people in the freshman class and forms the underpinnings of this heartfelt novel that lightly wraps the realistic story lines in a flimsy gauze of magic realism. Neema, half Indian, half Australian, is one of the students. She is also dealing with a visit from her great-grandmother, who speaks only Hindi, and her unsettling feelings for a skateboarder named Gull Owens, with whom grandmother Nani has her own relationship. As Nani watches Gull fly by on his skateboard each night, she wishes that she might soar as he does. Clarke is brilliant at making gossamer connections between her characters. The interweavings can be common or unexpected, but they are always meticulously rendered. Unlike many young-adult authors, Clarke takes special care with the adult characters, especially Nani, who is exquisitely drawn and shows that when hope and love are near the surface, age is of no consequence. Only Miss Dallimore and her boyfriend, who may or may not be a vampire, dent the story’s magical circle. The book also has an unfortunate title and a dreadful cover. Do your best to make sure the trappings don’t deter readers. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
About the Author
Judith Clarke is the author of the story collection Wolf on the Fold, which won the Children’s Book of the Year Award from the Children’s Book Council of Australia. She has also written many award-winning young adult novels including Night Train, The Lost Day, and Al Capsella and the Watchdogs. She lives in Melbourne, Australia.
