Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
20th out of 21 books
—
16 voters
Kaline Klattermaster's Tree House
Kaline Klattermaster LOVES his mom. ADORES his mom. But his mom can be, well, a bit forgetful sometimes. A bit lax. A bit...CRAZY. For instance, she's a bit crazy when she leaves him in the tub for THREE HOURS. Or gives him a chicken leg for breakfast...or forgets that he needs to go to school. AND he's not completely sure his mother understands how time works. She's been...more
Hardcover, 160 pages
Published
February 5th 2008
by Atheneum
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
251)
It is hard to describe a conventional plot for this book. The basic storyline is that the title character, Kaline Klattermaster, is starting third grade and his dad has mysteriously disappeared, his mom is having a hard time concentrating, and he is being bullied at school. To cope with these unsettling developments Kaline creates an imaginary tree house full of two older brothers and hundreds of puppies.
When I first started reading I was slightly annoyed by the style. It drops you right into K...more
When I first started reading I was slightly annoyed by the style. It drops you right into K...more
This is a difficult book to review, because even after a waiting period, I can't tell you if I even liked the book or not. The back of the book is misleading, the summary describes things that are basically just the last five pages of the book.
The basic plot is that a spastic child named Kaline is dealing with starting a new school year, his father leaving, and various learning disabilities. Throughout the book you are subjected to his viewpoint, leaving you to piece things together yourself. K...more
The basic plot is that a spastic child named Kaline is dealing with starting a new school year, his father leaving, and various learning disabilities. Throughout the book you are subjected to his viewpoint, leaving you to piece things together yourself. K...more
So, my eleven year old son and I both read this book. My son read it first and said, "Wow, this author really likes Upper Case letters!" I read it and said, "WHAT was that all ABOUT?"
Overall - I loved the focus on a child's imagination, feelings of insecurity, self-doubt and angst in the form of "What are these strange people called grown ups?"
I found the upper case thing SUPER ANNOYING and was felled by a sense of WORRY and PANGEMONIUM (as Kaline might say) the more I viewed each page.
When I f...more
Overall - I loved the focus on a child's imagination, feelings of insecurity, self-doubt and angst in the form of "What are these strange people called grown ups?"
I found the upper case thing SUPER ANNOYING and was felled by a sense of WORRY and PANGEMONIUM (as Kaline might say) the more I viewed each page.
When I f...more
Jul 27, 2010
Charlyn Trussell
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Grades 4 and up
Kaline Klattermaster has an overactive imagination which matches his overactive behavior. His constant movement and strange noises distress his father who is obviously obsessive-compulsive. His mother, on the other hand, is the complete opposite—a free spirit. He is a bright child who has ended up in third grade at the age of seven, but his hyperactivity greatly reduces his ability to pay attention long enough to learn. Because he is the smallest in his classroom and his teacher is apparently i...more
Feb 21, 2011
Karin
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
juvenile-fiction,
funny,
bullying,
divorce,
quirky,
families,
imaginary-friends,
borrowed-from-the-library
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Kaline Klattermaster's dad has gone missing and all of the compulsive rituals he insisted on went with him. Kaline misses him and wonders where he is. Third grade is about to begin and Kaline is nervous. When he gets there, he has a mostly clueless teacher, Mrs. Gottlieb who just happens to be absent when three bullies pick on Kaline. Kaline's mother thinks he is just making the bullies up and she is in her own little world.
The stress, the absent father, the wigged-out mother and the bullies al...more
The stress, the absent father, the wigged-out mother and the bullies al...more
Loved this book! Kaline is a 7 year old boy going into 3rd grade. One day he woke up to find his father gone and his mother sitting around spacing out. The story takes us through descriptions of his neighborhood, life with his father where everything had to be perfect and timed, to his current situation of wondering where is his father and dealing with bullies at school. Sometimes, he gets words wrong and that is funny, but then other times he spouts off sentences fit for Shakespeare. My son and...more
At first I didn't think I would like this book. It was weird to have certain WORDS CAPITALIZED in varying places on the page. I think it was for EMPHASIS IN EXPRESSION-like using a ton of EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!! I think you get my drift. Plus, the kid, Kaline, was a super hyperactive kid and it was hard to figure out where he was going. You had to feel bad for his parents.
The book was crazy, ridiculous, wild and funny and I bet KIDS LOVE IT!!!!! Kaline not only has to deal with his super active...more
The book was crazy, ridiculous, wild and funny and I bet KIDS LOVE IT!!!!! Kaline not only has to deal with his super active...more
I thought this book was CUTE and FUNNY. The capital letters did NOT bother me as they seemed to bother everyone else. I loved the RANDOMNESS of this book and Kalines HUGE imagination. I want to LIVE in a treehouse with 100 puppies in it like Kaline's!
this is a funny book in which the main character (i.e. Kaline Klattermaster) has an active EVERYTHING, including imagination, whose father is not around, for a reason that Kaline can only guess at. And his mother is doing a lousy job of taking care of Kaline and the house, like when she forgets to wake Kaline up for school and then gives him a CHICKEN LEG for breakfast! and the Tree House? it is a place that Kaline dreamed up, and it has food furniture, 2 older brothers and 100 small puppies!(I...more
I loved this book! I read a few of the reviews in which people complained about the style and the unconventional use of capital letters. I say those people are babies and have no imagination. I thought Kimmel did a fantastic job of capturing the sporadic movement of a child's thoughts, and I can only hope that one day I have kids with imaginations like Kaline's. And I have a lot of admiration for Haven Kimmel, because she has written incredibly funny memoirs, intelligent novels, and now highly e...more
The synopsis from the book is very misleading so here is my own:
"Barely" seven-year-old Kaline's life has been turned upside down. His father abruptly leaves home, completely upending Kaline's routine -but imaginative- life, his mother's seriously distracted, and he's being bullied by three classmates. He seeks solace in his next-door-neighbor and in imagining an enormous tree house, where his imaginary two older brothers live with their race car, motorcycle and one hundred puppies.
The story i...more
"Barely" seven-year-old Kaline's life has been turned upside down. His father abruptly leaves home, completely upending Kaline's routine -but imaginative- life, his mother's seriously distracted, and he's being bullied by three classmates. He seeks solace in his next-door-neighbor and in imagining an enormous tree house, where his imaginary two older brothers live with their race car, motorcycle and one hundred puppies.
The story i...more
Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com
For third-grader Kaline Klattermaster (who is small for his age and started school early besides), life is full of rules:
1. Do not walk on grass!
2. The chair is not a jungle gym.
3. Placemats on the kitchen table must be exactly two inches apart.
4. Your stuffed dog is not real (even though it's sitting right there).
How he would love to dig in the grass, and how on earth is he supposed to sit still when he's not allowed to talk at the table? Us...more
For third-grader Kaline Klattermaster (who is small for his age and started school early besides), life is full of rules:
1. Do not walk on grass!
2. The chair is not a jungle gym.
3. Placemats on the kitchen table must be exactly two inches apart.
4. Your stuffed dog is not real (even though it's sitting right there).
How he would love to dig in the grass, and how on earth is he supposed to sit still when he's not allowed to talk at the table? Us...more
This book is the very imaginative account of a child dealing with divorce. Some of the phrases and words in here are reinterpreted by a 7 year old's mind, so occasionally words are mixed up. My largest complaint is that it is so silly, it seems forced. The use of the word "or" unnecessarily also bothered me. The cover of the book, and the fact that Peter Brown illustrated it were what drew me to read this book. I'm sure there are other really great silly kids books out there besides this one.
I'm confused about this book. First of all, I have to say that I did really enjoy it. BUT, I feel a need to point out that this book is probably aimed at 8-12 year old children, and I don't really think they will get the subtlety of the character. He was really odd, but I don't think they will see any more than that. Sad. It would almost make a better adult book. Kaline reminded me of David. Maybe the mom was like me. I'm not sure that's a good thing.
The voice of Zippy is back! Since I fell in love with "A Girl Named Zippy," I have hoped for another book by Haven Kimmel that reflects her imaginative youth. This is it. I would not recommend Kaline Klattermaster's Tree House to everyone, but definitely for those with a good imagination. I do, however, have a problem with some of the names. They're tricky to wrap the tongue around, thus interrupting the flow of the story.
I love the characters! Kaline is a most imaginative and sensitive third grader who has more than his share of problems both at home (a most eccentric mom and a missing father) and at school (three huge bullies), but with the help of his rich fantasy life, he manages to deal successfully with all his problems. Mr. P, the equally eccentric neighbor, is a charming addition to Kaline's life. A most fun read!
I wanted to love this book with all my heart. For sure, there were a lot of moments when I laughed out loud, and the character of Mr. P was genius. It would have been a much better novel than it is a kids book written in "child-speak".
I know a couple of 10 year olds, so I was pre-reading for potential gift status and sadly this one doesn't make the cut.
I know a couple of 10 year olds, so I was pre-reading for potential gift status and sadly this one doesn't make the cut.
Wonder if kids would like this who like Junie B. Jones as he talks in a similar sort of way? Loved the illustrations? Loved how he "marched to the beat of his own drum." My heart ached for his situation. Wondered how much would have been different for him if he would have been among kids on his own level/age?
This is the type of quirkiness that I thrive on. Kaline is the spawn of an OCD father and ADHD mother which results in a child that has a loose grip on reality, an autistic focus on bugle playing, puppies and following strictly enforced schedules; although he himself has no grip on the passage of time or the quantitative elements around him. I tried this as a cold read-aloud for a couple of third grade classes. I do not recommend anyone else stepping into this folly. Kaline is such an odd and nu...more
Charming, imaginative story but confused about its audience. It seems like it is meant to be a children's book but I feel like the actual story about Kaline's parents would only really make sense to an adult.
Kaline is a little boy that has quite an interesting mind.
Kaline has an awesome treehouse And the author
make you feel like it was your treehouse. This book was well written
Kaline has an awesome treehouse And the author
make you feel like it was your treehouse. This book was well written
Jimmy and I loved the first half of this book, then it got a little weird. But it's worth a read (very quick read) just to see the creative, unique writing style.
Nov 07, 2008
Devon Trevarrow Flaherty
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
haven kimmel fans and kids
I really like Haven Kimmel. I believe that she will be one of our most revered Contemporary American authors, when all the drivel has been weeded out by time. Klattermaster is a youth book, but I wanted to read it, anyhow. I thought it was great. I was a little confused over whether Kaline (how would you pronounce that?) was supposed to be ADHD, autistic, or just very funny and a little strange, but I was not confused over him being so lovable. As always, for Kimmel, laugh-out-loud and poignant....more
Some books are funny and some books TRY to be funny. This one TRIES. But a little TOO HARD. I finished it but only because it was short.
Read it today outside my library. What a wonderful book, perfect for a sunny and beautiful afternoon. Haven Kimmel amazes me with hertalent to write in so many genres. If you haven't read this book yet, do so TODAY.
Interesting and kind of odd. The ALL CAPS usage wasn't fun to read after the first few pages. And I'm not sure there was a strong enough message since it was such a short book.
I LOVED it! It was SO filled with IMAGINATION that I ENJOYED it very MUCH. (If that sentence annoys you, this book may not be for you) At first it was annoying, but I got caught up in the mystery around the disappearance of Kaline's father and the slowly but surely destruction of the house that was once lines and spotless. Amazing.
I loved, loved, loved the little boy in this story. I just wanted to take him home to my house. It shows the affects of grown-up decisions from the point of view of a little boy. It is written in the voice of the boy Kaline, and the author writes from his point of view really well. You can feel his innocence and frustration at the same time, and even though what is happening to him is a big deal, he is very resilient and quite hilarious. I love this kid.
Recommended Ages: grades 3 - 5
Third-grader Kaline's father has gone somewhere and his mother can't seem to keep everything straight, but the two brothers and one hundred dogs that live in his imaginary tree house--and his strange neighbor Mr. Osiris Putnaminski--help him cope with his father's absence, his mother's forgetfulness, and the bullies that torment him in school.
Third-grader Kaline's father has gone somewhere and his mother can't seem to keep everything straight, but the two brothers and one hundred dogs that live in his imaginary tree house--and his strange neighbor Mr. Osiris Putnaminski--help him cope with his father's absence, his mother's forgetfulness, and the bullies that torment him in school.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Haven Kimmel was born in New Castle, Indiana, and was raised in Mooreland, Indiana, the focus of her bestselling memoir, A Girl Named Zippy: Growing up Small in Mooreland, Indiana .
Kimmel earned her undergraduate degree in English and creative writing from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and a graduate degree from North Carolina State University, where she studied with novelist Lee Smith....more
More about Haven Kimmel...
Kimmel earned her undergraduate degree in English and creative writing from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and a graduate degree from North Carolina State University, where she studied with novelist Lee Smith....more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
