- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC; Export ed edition (3 Oct 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 074758186X
- ISBN-13: 978-0747581864
- Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,594,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Sharon Creech is the queen of feel-good. Sunday Times Books by Sharon Creech always touch the heart and stick in the memory Junior Education Sharon Creech...is a skilful storyteller, whose books I always read with pleasure. Philip Pullman, Guardian
Product Description
When a young boy reluctantly becomes involved in his school play, he takes on not just the role of 'the old crone' but also a journey of discovery about his family. As the novel unfolds, a wonderful drama ensues, both in school on the stage and at home as the boy's relationship with his father becomes truer and more honest when some secrets buried in a dusty box in the attic are unveiled. A delightful novel told with the masterly control and calm excitement that we now expect from award-winning Sharon Creech.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
Sharon Creech is a versatile writer who pens books for children of all ages. This novel, Replay, is an attempt to do for drama what Creech did so successfully for poetry in her books: Love that Dog and Hate that Cat. She takes the story of Leo and his sprawling and complicated family and uses it to illustrate the redemptive power of what drama can do to make someone feel as if they have talent, as if they can express themselves, as if they can fit in, and as if they have a place in their family. I confess that I was a little disappointed in this book. The fresh originality of Love that Dog wears a bit thin on its third outing. The great thing about the poems in Love that Dog and Hate that Cat are that they are real poems by real poets, and the books provide a springboard to new and exciting study areas. In Replay the drama seemed rather weak and as if it were specifically written for the book. At the end of the book Creech adds the play should any reader wish to recreate it, but I wonder why they would. The story was pretty poor and I really think it let the whole of the rest of the novel down. I also thought that the main story of Leo and his quest to find out what made his dad sad, and what happened to his long lost aunt Rosario, was quite rushed and seemed incomplete.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
20 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
A great read for dreamers of all ages.
10 Mar 2007
Format:Hardcover
Maybe it's because I've always been drawn to acting. Maybe it's because I've always been a (day)dreamer myself. Maybe it's because I have always struggled to connect with my family. Maybe it's simply the amazing power of Creech's writing. Whatever the reasons, Leo has become a character I will never forget.
Sharon Creech's "Replay" tells the story of the day-dreaming Leo, though he is better known to family and friends as "Sardine" or "Fog-Boy" -- both nicknames that Leo hopes to leave behind at some point in his life -- in a coming-of-age story that will ring true to any middle child in the chaos of a large family that is always on the go. How do you deal with being cast as the "Old Crone" in the school play? How do you grow up in a family that never seems to know you're there? How do you connect to a father you don't understand? Especially when you find the autobiography he wrote at age 13 and learn about all those passions he once had that now seem to have faded.
As a middle school teacher, I have shared this book with my class. In watching my students as we read it together, I have watched my students laugh at Leo's daydreams, commiserate with his failures, and share in his joys. Most importantly of all, however, is that as Leo learns to look at his father with new eyes, so too have I seen my students begin to look at their parents in ways they never have before.
In the end, not all of Leo's dreams have come true, but he succeeds in taking one step further in the process of growing up, and does so in an authentic way that will resound to anyone who struggles, or who struggled, with that greatest of tasks in life: Becoming who you are.
Sharon Creech's "Replay" tells the story of the day-dreaming Leo, though he is better known to family and friends as "Sardine" or "Fog-Boy" -- both nicknames that Leo hopes to leave behind at some point in his life -- in a coming-of-age story that will ring true to any middle child in the chaos of a large family that is always on the go. How do you deal with being cast as the "Old Crone" in the school play? How do you grow up in a family that never seems to know you're there? How do you connect to a father you don't understand? Especially when you find the autobiography he wrote at age 13 and learn about all those passions he once had that now seem to have faded.
As a middle school teacher, I have shared this book with my class. In watching my students as we read it together, I have watched my students laugh at Leo's daydreams, commiserate with his failures, and share in his joys. Most importantly of all, however, is that as Leo learns to look at his father with new eyes, so too have I seen my students begin to look at their parents in ways they never have before.
In the end, not all of Leo's dreams have come true, but he succeeds in taking one step further in the process of growing up, and does so in an authentic way that will resound to anyone who struggles, or who struggled, with that greatest of tasks in life: Becoming who you are.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
*AUTHOR 'REPLAYS' HER TALENT FOR SURPRISING READERS*
28 Feb 2006
Format:Hardcover
Sharon Creech is a favorite author for delivering surprises in format and style. It is fascinating to follow the way she develops the character of pre-teen dreamer, Leonardo. In the crush of a large household, Leo feels unnoticed much of the time, one of 4 kids who usually sound like a thundering herd. His discovery of an auto-biography written by his father at age 13 opens Leo's eyes to the question of a "missing" aunt, and to his father's dreams. He realizes there are watershed events in most lives that dictate change, and his father's was a heart attack.The author does not cater to lazy-minded readers. She exposes the family's past to daylight & reminds us that everyone agonizes over growing up.
Chapter books can leave one with a stand-out favorite; mine was "Chores" to which I related & laughed about the most. Every mother would be grateful for a similar solution to doling out family responsibilities! Braided into Sharon Creech's story is the mystery of Rosario, the 'lost' aunt; the chaos & stresses of everyday life; and the 3rd strand: a school play written & directed by an insightful teacher. Leo, in the undesired role of 'the old crone' discovers that happiness can be found in less-than-spectacular achievements.
Reviewer mcHAIKU will continue to enjoy this tale of every child's fantasies of success and delivers this opinion: DON"T MISS READING "REPLAY" !
Chapter books can leave one with a stand-out favorite; mine was "Chores" to which I related & laughed about the most. Every mother would be grateful for a similar solution to doling out family responsibilities! Braided into Sharon Creech's story is the mystery of Rosario, the 'lost' aunt; the chaos & stresses of everyday life; and the 3rd strand: a school play written & directed by an insightful teacher. Leo, in the undesired role of 'the old crone' discovers that happiness can be found in less-than-spectacular achievements.
Reviewer mcHAIKU will continue to enjoy this tale of every child's fantasies of success and delivers this opinion: DON"T MISS READING "REPLAY" !
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
A TOUCHING STORY ABOUT GROWING UP
23 Oct 2005
Format:Audio CD
A cast headed by Christopher Burns gives full voice to a large Italian family. Italian or not, 12-year-old Leo's family is very much like all others - sometimes happy, at other times in disagreement. But, somehow in the words of Newbery Medalist Sharon Creech Leo's household bursts with more laughter than most.
Like many young folks, Leo has a few nicknames - "Sardine" because he is sometimes sandwiched between his older sister and his two younger brothers. He's also referred to as "Fog Boy" because he's a dreamer. He's just been given a part in the school play and, as his Dad says, "Leo, you make gold from pebbles" because Leo fantasizes about starring on Broadway. At other times, he dreams he's going to be a genius. This is, a story about growing up.
Not surprisingly, there are sometimes conflicts between father and son. However, when Leo discovers a diary his father kept when he was Leo's age, understanding soon follows.
Highly recommended for listeners in grades 5 through 7.
- Gail Cooke
Like many young folks, Leo has a few nicknames - "Sardine" because he is sometimes sandwiched between his older sister and his two younger brothers. He's also referred to as "Fog Boy" because he's a dreamer. He's just been given a part in the school play and, as his Dad says, "Leo, you make gold from pebbles" because Leo fantasizes about starring on Broadway. At other times, he dreams he's going to be a genius. This is, a story about growing up.
Not surprisingly, there are sometimes conflicts between father and son. However, when Leo discovers a diary his father kept when he was Leo's age, understanding soon follows.
Highly recommended for listeners in grades 5 through 7.
- Gail Cooke
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