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68th out of 137 books
—
675 voters
Will Sparrow's Road
In his thirteenth year, Will Sparrow, liar and thief, becomes a runaway. On the road, he encounters a series of con artists—a pickpocket, a tooth puller, a pig trainer, a conjurer—and learns that others are more adept than he atlying and thieving. Then he reluctantly joins a traveling troupe of "oddities," including a dwarf anda cat-faced girl, holding himself apart from t...more
Hardcover, 224 pages
Published
November 6th 2012
by Clarion Books
(first published November 1st 2012)
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Nothing really wrong with this book, but the concept felt so tired that I had trouble maintaining interest.
6/19/12: Oh, good lord. If precedence means anything, this is likely to become the fourth Newbery winner about an orphaned or semi-orphaned boy traveling through medieval England meeting colorful characters typical of the period. Edit: Ah, but this is ELIZABETHAN. Entirely different. Pardon!
6/19/12: Oh, good lord. If precedence means anything, this is likely to become the fourth Newbery winner about an orphaned or semi-orphaned boy traveling through medieval England meeting colorful characters typical of the period. Edit: Ah, but this is ELIZABETHAN. Entirely different. Pardon!
Once again Karen Cushman has thoroughly researched the setting for her new book and created a memorable character in Will Sparrow’s Road. Set in 1599, Elizabethan England when market fairs included side shows of oddities or “freak shows” Cushman has written her first historical fiction novel with a male protagonist.
Thirteen year old Will Sparrow runs away from an abusive situation but has no money, no shoes and nowhere to go. He finds much hardship on the road running from the “wicked Irish” and...more
Thirteen year old Will Sparrow runs away from an abusive situation but has no money, no shoes and nowhere to go. He finds much hardship on the road running from the “wicked Irish” and...more
Will Sparrow is an undersized, feisty 13-year-old whose mother abandoned him early on, and whose father sold him to the innkeeper in exchange for free beer for life. But Will has had enough, and runs away, without boots or food or any idea where he is going. Ill luck and starvation dog him, until he finds uncertain sanctuary in a fair as a magician's helper. Then the magician too is gone, but Will hires himself on to Master Tidball, whose traveling show of oddities and wonders features a dwarf,...more
Rating Clarification: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
My Summary: At the age of thirteen, Will Sparrow runs away from 'home' and sets out on his own adventure after his father sells him to an innkeeper for beer. Although he isn't the brightest or the quickest, Will is determined to make a better life for himself by doing what he can. Along the way he meets people who do what he aspires to: steal, chea...more
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
My Summary: At the age of thirteen, Will Sparrow runs away from 'home' and sets out on his own adventure after his father sells him to an innkeeper for beer. Although he isn't the brightest or the quickest, Will is determined to make a better life for himself by doing what he can. Along the way he meets people who do what he aspires to: steal, chea...more
Newberry Award medalist Karen Cushman's newest novel is also her first featuring a male protagonist. Will Sparrow's father sold him to an innkeeper for ale, but now Will is striking out on his own, determined to lie, steal, and cheat his way to a better life. Unfortunately for Will, he isn't half as hard as he thinks he is.
I think even less experienced readers (aka the kiddos this book is aimed at) will realize that Will isn't the most perceptive spyglass on the binocular shelf. (I really wanted...more
I think even less experienced readers (aka the kiddos this book is aimed at) will realize that Will isn't the most perceptive spyglass on the binocular shelf. (I really wanted...more
Newbery-award winning novelist Karen Cushman is an expert writer of historical novels for youth, and is particularly drawn to tales set in "merry old England." I use this phrase a bit ironically, since one of the features of Cushman's writings is that she does not shirk from describing the hardships of life at that time, particularly for those children in the lower classes. Her newest book differs from all her past novels by featuring a boy as a protagonist rather than her usual feisty girl hero...more
a. Historical Fiction
b. 216 pgs
c. Will Sparrow lives at the inn where his father sold him for money so he could buy ale. When he steals a meat pie the innkeepers sells him for a chimney sweep. Will runs away and goes to the fair. There he meets someone who tricks him and someone else who hires him and gives him money. From there he meets Mr. Tidball, who seems kind at first. Mr. Tidball runs a company of oddities whom he treats badly. Slowly Will realizes that Mr. Tidball is bad and helps the ot...more
b. 216 pgs
c. Will Sparrow lives at the inn where his father sold him for money so he could buy ale. When he steals a meat pie the innkeepers sells him for a chimney sweep. Will runs away and goes to the fair. There he meets someone who tricks him and someone else who hires him and gives him money. From there he meets Mr. Tidball, who seems kind at first. Mr. Tidball runs a company of oddities whom he treats badly. Slowly Will realizes that Mr. Tidball is bad and helps the ot...more
Oct 07, 2012
Barbara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
abusive-relationships,
animals,
bullies,
community,
families,
friendship,
homelessness,
jobs,
ncbla2013,
poverty,
social-studies,
travel
In Elizabethan England, twelve-year-old Will Sparrow, who calls himself a liar and a thief out of necessity, runs away from the abusive innkeeper to whom his father sold him to pay off his drinking debts. After enduring betrayal after betrayal from those he encounters on the road, Will ends up traveling with a band of "oddities and prodigies" (p. 209) who are a part of the open-air fairs that spring up near large cities and towns. Not only can attendees purchase food, but they can also amuse the...more
Circus stories seem to be big now. Whether they take place in space, the great depression, or in this case are just side shows at street fairs in Elizabethan England.
Before we get to that street fair however we obviously need a runaway. Will Sparrow has every reason to run away and join the circus. His mother has left him, his father has sold him for drink, the innkeeper he's been sold to is about to re-sell him into a more dangerous job. On the road young Will learns that perhaps stealing food...more
Before we get to that street fair however we obviously need a runaway. Will Sparrow has every reason to run away and join the circus. His mother has left him, his father has sold him for drink, the innkeeper he's been sold to is about to re-sell him into a more dangerous job. On the road young Will learns that perhaps stealing food...more
Finally, a Karen Cushman book with a boy for the main character! This book will appeal to boys about 11 to 12 years old and we all know it's hard to crack that group.
Young Will Sparrow was sold to an innkeeper by his father for beer. His mother disappeared years before and that started the downfall of his father into chronic alcoholism and abusive behavior. Young Will admits to being a liar and a thief and his only loyalty is to himself and his stomach.
Times were very hard in Elizabethan England...more
Young Will Sparrow was sold to an innkeeper by his father for beer. His mother disappeared years before and that started the downfall of his father into chronic alcoholism and abusive behavior. Young Will admits to being a liar and a thief and his only loyalty is to himself and his stomach.
Times were very hard in Elizabethan England...more
Will Sparrow's Road will give young readers a look at what life was like for a poor, young boy in Elizabethan England. Will's father is a drunk who sold him to an innkeeper in exchange for liquor. When Will steals a pie the innkeeper threatens to sell him to a man who will make him a chimney sweep. Will knows that this is a death sentence. So he runs away with no shoes and a blanket that smells of horse as his only possession.
Will meets a number of people along the road as he flees including a t...more
Will meets a number of people along the road as he flees including a t...more
Will Sparrow is a liar and a thief ... and he's hungry. His drunken father sold him; the innkeeper who bought him wants to sell him again when Will is caught stealing food; and after Will runs away, he meets a string of people he gruffly insists he doesn't care for or trust, but who lure him and his empty belly into helping them anyway. And it all seems for naught, as time and again Will is cheated, tricked and abandoned.
But then Will meets a small band of odd people: a foul-tempered dwarf; a ha...more
But then Will meets a small band of odd people: a foul-tempered dwarf; a ha...more
The language in this book was simply too dense for young readers (and even for me!). I choose young reader books for 3 reasons:
1. I pick new books for my classroom this way, so I'm looking for good vocabulary, interesting plot lines and a generally interesting story that could hold an elementary school student's attention
2. Young read books omit unnecessary information and I find unnecessary information both tedious and annoying
3. I can allow myself to become really absorbed in these books becau...more
1. I pick new books for my classroom this way, so I'm looking for good vocabulary, interesting plot lines and a generally interesting story that could hold an elementary school student's attention
2. Young read books omit unnecessary information and I find unnecessary information both tedious and annoying
3. I can allow myself to become really absorbed in these books becau...more
"Small things are so easy to lose, he thought: stones and apples and buttons. And hope."
―Will Sparrow's Road, PP. 34-35
It pleases me so to be able to say this book is vintage Karen Cushman, at least as fascinating, insightful and emotionally engaging as any of her Newbery material. In Will Sparrow's Road, Karen Cushman has done what she does best: recreate a wholly authentic environment from a period in history that isn't much written about, take all the necessary pains to be completely accur...more
―Will Sparrow's Road, PP. 34-35
It pleases me so to be able to say this book is vintage Karen Cushman, at least as fascinating, insightful and emotionally engaging as any of her Newbery material. In Will Sparrow's Road, Karen Cushman has done what she does best: recreate a wholly authentic environment from a period in history that isn't much written about, take all the necessary pains to be completely accur...more
By the end of the first page of Will Sparrow's Road, it's established beyond question that twelve-year-old Will Sparrow has had a hard life, and that it's made him hard in return. Sold by his father, and about to be sold again by the innkeeper for whom he has worked, Will makes his escape and runs away. Where is he going? Will has no idea, only that he wants to be as far as possible from everywhere he's ever been.
Along the way, Will is repeatedly forced to ask himself questions about trust. Can...more
Along the way, Will is repeatedly forced to ask himself questions about trust. Can...more
Will's father traded him to the inkeeper for drink, and told him his mother had left because she didn't want him. No wonder Will decides to run away, and care for no one but himself.
Despite his best efforts, Will is still soft-hearted, and rather easily deceived. Along the road he takes up with various people who help him, or cheat him, or both, before he joins Master Tidball and his wagonload of oddities, prodigies and wonders. Even then, all is not as it first appears. As Will grows in experie...more
Despite his best efforts, Will is still soft-hearted, and rather easily deceived. Along the road he takes up with various people who help him, or cheat him, or both, before he joins Master Tidball and his wagonload of oddities, prodigies and wonders. Even then, all is not as it first appears. As Will grows in experie...more
Will gets off to a rough start in life when his father sells him. Life wasn't good with his father, so he doesn't so much mind that, but the innkeeper who buys him plans to resell him, and Will takes off. Will is comfortable with thievery and given the circumstances surrounding him, we can see why he might feel entitled to take what he needs to survive. He falls in with a troupe of wandering entertainers, and comes to adopt a moral sense. Life isn't going to be easy for any of the characters in...more
Thirteen-year-old Will Sparrow has a hard life in 1600s England where his own father sells him to an innkeeper in exchange for ale. Now the innkeeper wants to sell Will to someone in London who wants Will to clean chimneys as a climbing boy. Will thinks this will be his sure death, so he takes to the road. On this road he meets other travelers going to the fairs who often take advantage of him and harden Will to trust no one.
The sounds and sights of the Renaissance fairs comes alive for Will an...more
The sounds and sights of the Renaissance fairs comes alive for Will an...more
Nov 20, 2012
Kristin
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
boys,
friendship,
historical-fiction,
kids,
middle-grade,
read-in-2012,
reader-s-advisory,
self-worth
A short but not necessarily quick read about a neglected boy who comes to value others and himself after being thrown in with a group of misfits in Elizabethan England. Karen Cushman excels in writing tight, often-funny stories about kids growing up in a difficult time in history. She doesn't mince words on how rough it was to grow up during the Black Death, general lawlessness, great superstition and more. Adults and children alike led hard lives, but the author writes about her characters with...more
Enjoyed the tale of young teen Will Sparrow in Elizabethan England. Life is not easy for abandoned Will. His drunkard father beat him and then sold him for ale after his mother abandoned him. Never fed enough after working for the Inn Keeper he steals food - and then runs away when the Inn Keeper plans to sell him again. He thinks of himself as a thief and a liar, unlovable. On the road Will meets an assortment of characters, most who take advantage of him. When he finds himself accompanying a t...more
The story is excellent and I recommend that you get it on Audio. If you have a child that is reluctant to read, get both the book and the audio. Katherine Kellgren's narration is excellent. She does the young voices that are needed and the english variations for the adults, in old England. She is not shy with her voice! Let your child read along with the Narrator! This method worked for me for 3 years of school. (Then he stopped being a "child" >grin<.)
The story has much in the way of emot...more
The story has much in the way of emot...more
This book could be used in a psychology class. His mother has left him, his father has sold him for drink, the innkeeper he's been sold to is about to re-sell him into a more dangerous. Will decides to run away. Will meets a several odd people: a bad-tempered dwarf; a girl who is half-cat; a blind juggler; and a clever old soul who has trained his lovable pig named Duchess how to do tricks and answer riddles. The author has also sprinkled the book with Latin phrases, French words (avant) and old...more
Good adventure story for middle grade readers, especially boys. Set in Elizabethan England, 13 year old Will Sparrow runs away when learning he is to be sold as a climbing boy (chimney sweep) where he would be sure to die an early death. He has been abandoned by both mother and father, tricked and stolen from. He has learned to trust no one and care only for himself as he sets out to keep his "belly full and be warm and dry". It is not always easy to tell who is a friend and who is a foe and Wil...more
A middle grade historical fiction novel by the wonderful Karen Cushman, this was a totally enjoyable read. As always, Cushman's characters - even the ones who appear only briefly - are intriguing and well-drawn. I liked Will from the beginning - he was clearly a survivor by necessity, but not hard or bitter despite having been sold by his own father for ale. The only problem I'd have recommending this title is that not much happens that kids would find interesting -some lady steals his apples, h...more
Didn't blow me away like most of Cushman's books. The first half of the book might as well be called "Will Sparrow's Hungry" -- Cushman really gets carried away demonstrating her knowledge of Elizabethan England cuisine (and all Will cares about is food for his belly - we have that in common). I liked it more by the time I got into the final act and found that I was more interested in the author's note at the end that discussed the real-life "oddities and prodigies" which inspired the book's cha...more
In Elizabethan England, Will runs away from his job and winds up with a small traveling group of sideshow entertainers - a dwarf, a girl whose face is covered in hair, and a blind juggler. The details of the time period are deftly woven into the story, with a rich vocabulary that adds to the setting. The plot is not as compelling as it could be - a main event near the end of the story takes place "off stage," and Will hears about it but isn't there to experience it. As Cushman's first novel with...more
When I think of children’s historical fiction, one of the first names that comes to mind is Karen Cushman, whether it’s for Catherine Called Birdy or The Midwife’s Apprentice, her name makes me think of journeys to the past. However, I’m not entirely sure if I have read her books before, you know my childhood was kind of a haze. When I came across Will Sparrow’s Road on Vine, it had a few qualities that attracted me — Elizabethan England setting, intrepid young boy, and an assortment of misfits...more
Another hit from narrator Katherine Kellgren. She brings this audiobook to life and greatly contributed to my enjoyment of the story. Of particular delight to me is Ms. Kellgren's singing throughout the book (even when she's portraying some of the more tone-deaf characters) because I think singing the songs helps bring the time period to life in a way that reading the lyrics does not. The audiobook is fully voiced, expertly as you'd expect from this seasoned reader. I'd recommend this tale to fa...more
Will Sparrow is homeless after running away from his owner, sometime around 1599 in England, and hits the open road concerned only for himself. And his stomach. And shoes. And any number of things that he doesn't have and finds it difficult to provide for himself. He ends up traveling with a curiosity show that features a dwarf and and mysterious oddities (cost 1 penny), meeting a very smart pig, and generally discovering a longer list of concerns. I enjoyed it, though its not quite of the calib...more
It wasn't my favourite Karen Cushman novel, but I still enjoyed it. Readers will find many similarities to her other books, but also new ideas. It liked the whole fake oddities booth, and I thought the first chapter was great, where he gets caught stealing the cold rabbit pie and is threatened to be sold as a chimney sweep. I also thought Grace Wyse was an interesting character, but It was hard to understand that she was just a girl with excess amounts of hair, since the narration made it sound...more
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Karen Cushman was born in Chicago, Illinois.
She entered Stanford University on a scholarship in 1959 and graduated with degrees in Greek and English. She later earned master’s degrees in human behavior and museum studies.
For eleven years she was an adjunct professor in the Museum Studies Department at John F. Kennedy University before resigning in 1996 to write full-time.
She lives on Vashon Isla...more
More about Karen Cushman...
She entered Stanford University on a scholarship in 1959 and graduated with degrees in Greek and English. She later earned master’s degrees in human behavior and museum studies.
For eleven years she was an adjunct professor in the Museum Studies Department at John F. Kennedy University before resigning in 1996 to write full-time.
She lives on Vashon Isla...more
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“My pains are but trifling things compared to my joy.”
—
2 people liked it
“Me iudice, in my opinion, life is like juggling... Things come at you―balls, clubs, knives, sorrow, loss. Either you stand there and let them hit you or you throw them back pugnis et calcibus, with all your might.”
—
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