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Summary
Summary
Believe in the possible . . . with this "warm, witty, and wise" New York Times bestselling novel from three-time Newbery Honor winner Jennifer L. Holm. A perfect read about a child's relationship with her grandfather !
Galileo. Newton. Salk. Oppenheimer.
Science can change the world . . . but can it go too far?
Eleven-year-old Ellie has never liked change. She misses fifth grade. She misses her old best friend. She even misses her dearly departed goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. He's bossy. He's cranky. And weirdly enough . . . he looks a lot like Ellie's grandfather, a scientist who's always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this pimply boy really be Grandpa Melvin? Has he finally found the secret to eternal youth?
With a lighthearted touch and plenty of humor, Jennifer Holm celebrates the wonder of science and explores fascinating questions about life and death, family and friendship, immortality . . . and possibility.
And don't miss the much-anticipated sequel, The Third Mushroom!
"Warm, witty and wise"-- The New York Times
"Awesomely strange and startlingly true-to-life. It makes you wonder what's possible." -- Rebecca Stead, Newbery Medal-winning author of When You Reach Me
SUNSHINE STATE AWARD FINALIST!
Author Notes
After graduating from Dickinson College, Jennifer L. Holm became a broadcast producer of television commercials and music videos for numerous companies including Nickelodeon, MTV, American Express, Hershey's and Huggies. Her first book, Our Only May Amelia, was a 2000 Newbery Honor Book. Both Penny from Heaven and Turtle in Paradise were Newbery Honor recipients in 2007 and 2011, respectively. She is also the author of numerous series including Boston Jane, Babymouse, and The Stink Files, which she writes with her husband Jonathan Hamel. Her title, The Fourteenth Goldfish made The New York Times Best Seller List in 2014.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-7-Ellie's amicably divorced parents found their passion in the "thee-a-tah." Her previous best friend found hers in sports. Ellie doubts she'll ever find anything she's passionate about, but then her mother brings home Melvin, Ellie's cranky scientist grandfather. He's found the fountain of youth in the compound of a newly discovered species of jellyfish, the T. melvinus. His proof? Melvin now resides in the body of a sullen 13-year-old boy. He insists a Nobel Prize is imminent and enlists Ellie's help in recovering the T. melvinus from the research lab. In the course of their (mis)adventures, Ellie discovers a passion for science, meets a new friend, and finds life is full of opportunities to make the impossible possible. Holm provides a humorous view into the ever-evolving cycle of relationships and the importance of the wonder of science. Narrator Georgette Perna is exceptional, especially as cankerous, trying-to-maintain-his-dignity Melvin. The well-constructed mix of historical nonfiction and age transformation is a little bit Blue Balliett's The Calder Game and a little bit Mary Rogers's Freaky Friday. A top pick.-Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Schools, OH (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Middle school doesn't start smoothly for 11-year-old Ellie, whose best friend finds her passion (volleyball) and new teammates to eat lunch with, while Ellie flounders, uninterested in sports or her parents' avocation, theater. A startling addition to the household helps Ellie get her groove back when Grandpa Melvin, a scientist, moves in after engineering a cure for aging (the regenerative properties of jellyfish are involved) and transforming himself into a teenage boy. Though Melvin dresses and acts like the crotchety old man he was, he and Ellie bond over spirited discussions about Jonas Salk, Robert Oppenheimer, the possibilities of science, and the moral questions scientific advances can raise. Though the subject matter has a lot of intellectual heft, the writing has Holm's ever-present light touch. The small cast, which refreshingly includes divorced parents who treat each other respectfully, is so well realized that the farfetched aspects of the plot seem almost plausible. This is top-notch middle-grade fiction with a meaty dilemma, humor, and an ending that leaves room for the possibility of a sequel. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Grinberg Literary Management. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Goldie When I was in preschool, I had a teacher named Starlily. She wore rainbow tie-dyed dresses and was always bringing in cookies that were made with granola and flax and had no taste. Starlily taught us to sit still at snack time, sneeze into our elbows, and not eat the Play-Doh (which most kids seemed to think was optional). Then one day, she sent all of us home with a goldfish. She got them at ten for a dollar at a pet store. She gave our parents a lecture before sending us off. "The goldfish will teach your child about the cycle of life." She explained, "Goldfish don't last very long." I took my goldfish home and named it Goldie like every other kid in the world who thought they were being original. But it turned out that Goldie was kind of original. Because Goldie didn't die. Even after all my classmates' fish had gone to the great fishbowl in the sky, Goldie was still alive. Still alive when I started kindergarten. Still alive in first grade. Still alive in second grade and third and fourth. Then finally, last year in fifth grade, I went into the kitchen one morning and saw my fish floating upside down in the bowl. My mom groaned when I told her. "He didn't last very long," she said. "What are you talking about?" I asked. "He lasted seven years!" She gave me a smile and said, "Ellie, that wasn't the original Goldie. The first fish only lasted two weeks. When he died, I bought another one and put him in the bowl. There've been a lot of fish over the years." "What number was this one?" "Unlucky thirteen," she said with a wry look. "They were all unlucky," I pointed out. We gave Goldie Thirteen a toilet-bowl funeral and I asked my mom if we could get a dog. Excerpted from The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm 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.