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Toppling
John lives for that satisfying clink of dominoes as they topple in a perfectly timed rhythm of his own design. His sister thinks he’s a dork, but all he cares about is setting the world record for knocking down dominoes -- that and hanging out with his best friends at school. But when his closest friend, Dom, gets sick and ends up in the hospital, John and the gang are lef...more
Hardcover, 128 pages
Published
August 14th 2012
by Candlewick
(first published March 1st 2010)
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Community Reviews
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170)
Jul 10, 2011
Lisa
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
library-book-or-loan,
australia
This is a heart-warming story in blank verse about a boy whose best friend has cancer. There are the usual stock characters of contemporary school stories: the irritating sister, the bully, the caring teacher, the friends from all corners of a multicultural society, but it's fresh and original because the boy's hobby is unusual (toppling dominoes) and the dialogue is authentic.
I'd recommend this for 8+ if read by a teacher to a class, and 10+ for kids reading it independently.
Shortlisted for t...more
I'd recommend this for 8+ if read by a teacher to a class, and 10+ for kids reading it independently.
Shortlisted for t...more
Read more of my reviews at Dazzling Reads
Toppling is a extraordinary touching and valuable story that brought tears to my eyes. Murphy's beautiful verse pulled me into the story, and into the main characters head, and also into his heart.
This is the story of a boy, John. He loves dominoes, and he loves to create complex and long shapes with them and make them topple. The only thing that makes him look forward to school are his friends, specially his best friend Dominic. On the first day back to...more
Toppling is a extraordinary touching and valuable story that brought tears to my eyes. Murphy's beautiful verse pulled me into the story, and into the main characters head, and also into his heart.
This is the story of a boy, John. He loves dominoes, and he loves to create complex and long shapes with them and make them topple. The only thing that makes him look forward to school are his friends, specially his best friend Dominic. On the first day back to...more
Having only read one Sally Murphy book before this one, I was not sure what to expect but knew I expected a lot. This book blew away even those high expectations. Two things grabbed my attention, the title and the cover. But the story was so much more than that. A few years ago I did a course in university on grief literature for children. It was a great course with a number of very good books. To be honest this one is better than most from that course. I read it to my son and though he is 4 and...more
In this novel in blank verse, fifth grader John loves to create elaborate constructions of dominoes and push them over. He would much rather do that than go to school, but he does have a good group of friends, and he likes his teacher, Miss Timms. After his friend Dominic throws up at school one day, John expects him to be out for a couple of days, but no one expects that he has a tumor that has to be removed because of cancer. This causes the entire class to be concerned, especially John's grou...more
John loves setting up domino runs in his bedroom. It's his favorite thing to do. He also likes hanging out with his friends. One day at school, his best friend, Dom, throws up in the middle of class. Unfortunately, it's not just a stomach bug. Dom has cancer. This throws John into a tailspin. He misses his friend and he's worried. What do you do when your best friend has a life-threatening disease?
This is a great book that explores how it feels to have a friend in crisis. It's not a super depres...more
This is a great book that explores how it feels to have a friend in crisis. It's not a super depres...more
John loves arranging long, intricate domino runs, and then toppling them. When his best friend Dominic gets sick in class and doesn't return to school, John makes domino runs instead of worrying. But then it turns out that Dom isn't just sick, he has cancer. John tells his story in chapters of poetry, the lines lining up like a domino run. But while he'll topple dominoes, John and his friends will support Dom in every way they can, so that that cancer doesn't topple him. Sally Murphy has a gift...more
John loves dominoes and creating more and more elaborate "topples". He also likes to hang out with his friends, but when his best friend Dominic gets very sick and ends up in the hospital, everything changes. This is a short book in verse with numerous black and white illustrations, making it perfect for younger readers who may be facing the serious illness of a friend. It’s a lovely, moving book that still has a lot of kid appeal. This would be a great addition to our “Sensitive Issues: Death”...more
Aug 06, 2012
Steven R. McEvoy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012-best-of,
read-2012
Having only read one Sally Murphy book before this one, I was not sure what to expect but knew I expected a lot. This book blew away even those high expectations. Two things grabbed my attention, the title and the cover. But the story was so much more than that. A few years ago I did a course in university on grief literature for children. It was a great course with a number of very good books. To be honest this one is better than most from that course. I read it to my son and though he is 4 and...more
Toppling, is a sweet book, well written. Sally Murphy captures perspectives of a young boy quite well, and some of the deep emotions that come with the circumstance he finds himself in. Overall it was not as touching to me as her previous book, Pearl Verses The World, and makes less sense as a novel-in-verse. Nevertheless, as a very quick read it is worth the time.
Apr 24, 2011
Jess - The Tales Compendium
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
aussie,
contemporary
This is a very well written non-rhyming verse novel told from the perspective of 11-year old John who has found out his best friend has cancer.
The importance of friendship is the main message behind this book but the subplot of a bully and why he behaves how he does is thoughtfully interwoven in the story.
This would make a great resource for teachers or parents.
As a side note without spoiling the story, page 124 is heart-warming.
The importance of friendship is the main message behind this book but the subplot of a bully and why he behaves how he does is thoughtfully interwoven in the story.
This would make a great resource for teachers or parents.
As a side note without spoiling the story, page 124 is heart-warming.
A well written children's book that portrays the story of a boy and his best mate, who has cancer. It's no easy feat to deal with heavy issues in a way that kids will identify and engage with, but I think this book managed to do just that. The metaphor of the dominoes 'toppling,' as the title suggests, was also poignantly used in this heart-warming story. Not too many books bring a tear to my eye, but this one certainly did!
A good one for reluctant readers - in blank verse, story moves very quickly but is about fifth grade kids and addresses bullying and cancer. Overall it has a positive tone despite the serious stuff. For some reason it had no appeal to my guys so I read it in a sitting.
Warning, this book is not really about dominoes. I thought it would be a good game related book for my kid. She read it quickly and told me it wasn't about what I thought it was about. Then I read it and wondered how I missed that on the book jacket!
This book is a quick read. Simply written from the perspective of the best friend of a boy diagnosed with cancer.
Very sad
Everyone should read this book, similar to (younger level) Life on a Refrigerator Door.
Very sad
Everyone should read this book, similar to (younger level) Life on a Refrigerator Door.
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS EVER!!!
i am so disappointed that this book did not win this year. it shows what true friendship really is. a bully to a caring person. sick to feeling well. friends staying around forever.
i am so disappointed that this book did not win this year. it shows what true friendship really is. a bully to a caring person. sick to feeling well. friends staying around forever.
This book is poignant, sad and beautiful. It is about a 6th grader dealing with his best friend getting cancer along with the rest of the children in his class. A novel in prose, I loved it.
Novel in blank verse. John enjoys toppling dominoes and hanging out with his friends, but his comfortable life changes when his best friend is diagnosed with cancer.
Couldn't stop reading. Well written with humour, plenty of relationship issues and sad life experiences. Left with hope at the end!
Shortlisted book for 2011 CBCA Book Week. Great read about the importance of friendship. So sad in places.
Quick book to read, deals with child cancer in a very sensitive manner, lovely story.
The heart-warming story about a boy whose best friend has cancer
I love Sally Murphy's ability to convey strong emotions and tell amazing stories in verse form. "Toppling" is a wonderful story. John and his group of friends, "the gigglers", are in 5th Grade and this trimester they get to do a project on "anything". When one of "the gigglers" gets sick and ends up in the hospital,they are left wondering what is wrong, what can they do and what will happen. The day the class presents their projects an unlikely classmate shares a story that will help them get so...more
Easy-to-read novel in verse for grade 5.
It was interesting. At parts though, I felt really sad.
cried. like a baby.
Reviewed on my blog: http://sharingsoda.blogspot.com/2013/...
May 01, 2013
Brigid
marked it as to-read
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Sally Murphy writes reviews for READNG TIME, the magazine of the Children’s Book Council of Australia, and runs a website that reviews Australian books. PEARL VERSES THE WORLD won the 2010 Australian Family Therapists’ Award for Children’s Literature as well as the 2010 Australian Speech Pathology Book of the Year Award for Best Book for Language Development. She lives in Wheatbelt, a tiny town in...more
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