Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
201st out of 424 books
—
717 voters
Petey
A critically-acclaimed novel that explores the world of a man bound by cerebral palsy -- now in paperback.
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
April 3rd 2000
by Disney-Hyperion
(first published January 1st 1900)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,800)
In 1920, Petey is born with Cerebral Palsy. After his parents drained their savings trying to treat him, Petey is given to the state, where he grows up in a state mental institution. Since he cannot speak, he is considered an idiot, but Petey can hear, think, and feel. As time goes by, Petey learns to communicate and makes friends along the way, but through various circumstances beyond his control, he is always alone in the end. In the second part of the book, Petey is an old man, and he hasn’t...more
view 1 comment
Summary:
(view spoiler)
Review:
The book Petey was e...more
(view spoiler)
Review:
The book Petey was e...more
Though written for 12-15 year olds, I think high school and young adults would find this a valuable read. Not a fast fun read, but valuable in terms of thinking about how we treat people with disabilities. Born in 1920 with cerebral palsy and dismissed by ignorant doctors as feeble-minded, Petey Corbin spends all but the first two years of his long life institutionalized, his world barely larger than the walls of an asylum ward or, much later, nursing home. Within those walls, further imprisoned...more
Okay, I haven't actually read this in quite a while but I have read it twice. It was one of the most heart-touching stories ever! A boy is dropped off at a psychiatric hospital because his parents can't take care of him and don't know what to do with him. This is back in the day when disabilities were indistinguishable; they just knew something was wrong with you and you went in to the loony bin. Anyway, throughout his time there, he makes friends with mice and some others who are in the ward, l...more
A very moving story about the relationship between a boy and an old man, but also about the resilience of one boy as he lives a life so difficult it is hard to imagine. Petey is born with cerebral palsy or something similar (undiagnosed) in the 1920's and given up to a mental asylum as an "idiot," because he can't walk or talk or communicate (or so it is thought). He lives his whole life in various institutions, where as a boy he does luck into having a kind attendant who notices that Petey can...more
Apr 23, 2009
Emily
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anybody except for people who don’t like sad books
Recommended to Emily by:
my brother
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Mar 05, 2009
Charlie Weil
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who is willing to read it
Recommended to Charlie by:
my librarian
The book that I am reading is a book called Petey. The characters are: Petey, Sarah, Petey's mother, Cassie, Calvin, Ed, and Petey's dad. This book is about a boy named Petey who is born with some significant special needs that allows him to be in a wheelchair. His needs are so significant that he is admitted to a mental institution basically throughout his whole life. At the mental institution he meets tons of new friends like Cassie, Calvin, and Ed. This book takes place during the 1920's thro...more
My 4th grade son's class read this together. He came home talking about it. And then, luckily, they got to have a phone interview with the author! As he learned more about the back story of Petey from the author, he came to love the book even more. One day while we were in the library, he insisted that we check the book out so I could read it too. I agreed and we brought it home.
Technically, it wasn't a difficult book to read, but it was hard.... emotionally. Maybe more so because I'm a mother....more
Technically, it wasn't a difficult book to read, but it was hard.... emotionally. Maybe more so because I'm a mother....more
Really good book and a fast read about how a deformed baby with Cerebral Palsy was misdiagnosed as an idiot and institutionalized in an insane asylum in the 1920s. Most thought he couldn’t think but a few of his attendants and one other resident discovered he could think. When he was in his 40s, he was finally transferred to a nursing home where he was able to go outside and do things. A boy protected him from some bullies who were throwing snowballs at him one day and the 13-yr. old boy became...more
Okay this is one of the greatest books ever. I read it in 4th grade and almost cried. It's great
A sad and wonderful story. It’s inspiring to see the heartfelt joy of Peter Corbin, and the people who grow to love him.
The setting is Montana in the 1920s. Petey has cerebral palsy. He’s diagnosed from birth as an idiot, incapable of conscious thought. And so he’s admitted into a state hospital, almost entirely abandoned. But Petey can think, he just can’t control his dramatically deformed body. Over the years, a few people discover Petey’s intelligence. Along with that, they draw out his opti...more
The setting is Montana in the 1920s. Petey has cerebral palsy. He’s diagnosed from birth as an idiot, incapable of conscious thought. And so he’s admitted into a state hospital, almost entirely abandoned. But Petey can think, he just can’t control his dramatically deformed body. Over the years, a few people discover Petey’s intelligence. Along with that, they draw out his opti...more
Ben Mikaelsen does not possess the talent to be writing a book about cerebral palsy. His words are clumsy and pedestrian, his characters are paper dolls, his pacing is non-existent, and his sense of plot is amateur at best. Most of Petey centers around the titular character, who suffers from cerebral palsy, and the people who enter his life only to abandon him a couple chapters later. Is this Mikaelsen's Big Message? Humans Are Uncomfortable And More Than Willing To Ditch People Who Aren't Perfe...more
I 'read' this book with my kids- ok so we listened to the CD's on the way to visit family. I recommend this book for everyone! My kids loved it as much as I did, and it encouraged some great conversations about how we should and shouldn't treat people who are different from ourselves.
'Petey' is based on the life of a real man. Born in 1920 and severely handicap, he is diagnosed as an 'idiot' and put in a mental hospital at age two. Later he is diagnosed as having severe cerebral palsy, but medi...more
'Petey' is based on the life of a real man. Born in 1920 and severely handicap, he is diagnosed as an 'idiot' and put in a mental hospital at age two. Later he is diagnosed as having severe cerebral palsy, but medi...more
Wow! What a powerful read!
I bought this book, kind of by accident. I bought a set of audiobooks and received Petey as a bonus audiobook. I wanted my students to read along as they listen so I needed a hard copy. Both audiobook and hard copy have sat on the shelves for two years. The book is highly recommended so I needed to read it so I could hard sell it to my students.
I read it in less than a day. I couldn't put it down.
Sometimes it's hard to realize how recently we stigmatized physical disabi...more
I bought this book, kind of by accident. I bought a set of audiobooks and received Petey as a bonus audiobook. I wanted my students to read along as they listen so I needed a hard copy. Both audiobook and hard copy have sat on the shelves for two years. The book is highly recommended so I needed to read it so I could hard sell it to my students.
I read it in less than a day. I couldn't put it down.
Sometimes it's hard to realize how recently we stigmatized physical disabi...more
I loved this book! Petey is a touching story about somebody who was misdiagnosed as an infant. He lived life in mental institutions and was stuck in his reclined wheelchair, and had trouble communicating. Many people failed to give him a chance at life calling him dumb and stupid, but some lucky people gave Petey a chance to show them how smart he really is and a second chance at life. Some of these Esteban, Cassie, Joe and Calvin. Then Petey was moved to Warm Springs Retirement Home. When a har...more
this book is so good i really cried in the end. in the begining petey is miss diagonosied as a mently handy capped person when he really had cerebal palsy and so he was raised in and insane asylum. and there he met a boy that was two years younger than petey named calvin and they grew up together and they pretended to have a gun fight. then 20 years later thay got seprated and petey went to a nursing home and then a boy saves him from snowballs ans thenn he wants that boy to met him and his name...more
I learned that you should never ever judge someone by how they look. Just because a person is disabled doesn't mean they're idiotic! I recommend this to people who like reading books about someone and how they grow up. So basically I recommend this to people who like reading about someone and who like crying while reading the book and laughing while reading it.
In 1922, a precious baby boy was born. But he was not perfect. His parents reluctantly surrendered him to an insane asylum, where he was diagnosed as an idiot. Petey, (real name Clyde Cothran), was born with Cerebral Palsy. CP, as you know, does not affect the brain. Petey was totally trapped in a body that could not communicate and he was written off as having no brain function at all.
The books spans 70 plus years and perception of handicapped individuals changed greatly over the years.
This is...more
The books spans 70 plus years and perception of handicapped individuals changed greatly over the years.
This is...more
this book is about a boy named Petey who is born with ceratable paulsy
and is consitered as an idiot.
pg. 82
That Petey is a special gift for you."
"waa waa"
"here ill read it to you" joe slowly, they who wait for the LRod shall renew thier strength they shall mount up with the wings like eagles tehy shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint."
whats an eagle? clavin blurted
well its like the pigions around here only much bigger. joe explained.
Joe i like pigions better, calvin commented....more
and is consitered as an idiot.
pg. 82
That Petey is a special gift for you."
"waa waa"
"here ill read it to you" joe slowly, they who wait for the LRod shall renew thier strength they shall mount up with the wings like eagles tehy shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint."
whats an eagle? clavin blurted
well its like the pigions around here only much bigger. joe explained.
Joe i like pigions better, calvin commented....more
Jan 06, 2010
Aqua Xian
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes touching-but-not-soppy stories that are upbeat the whole way through!
This book is WONDERFUL!! I haven't quite finished yet, but I will be done soon. I feel as though I have lived Petey's life, his whole life, and I weep. I am always on guard right now, afraid something terrible is going to happen to Petey, because he is old and he has cerebral palsy (did I spell that right?). I laugh, cry, smile, glare, and yell all at the same time, in my head. Petey is one of the most wonderfullifficawesocool (wonderufl terrific awesome cool) books! It is also moving. I learned...more
Nov 28, 2012
Ali
added it
Petey was a heart-warming story about a man named Petey who was misdiagnosed as a retard when he really had ceribrial-palsy. The first part of the book focuses on the friends Petey makes at the insane asylum (where he is put because people think he is an idiot) and him growing up. The second part focuses on him as an old man and Trevor Ladd, and their remarkable friendship. They first meet when Trevor saves Petey from a group of bullies harrassing him by pelting snowballs at him. Ever since they...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book can touch and make even the toughest person cry. This is about a man named Petey who is born in 1922 with cerebral palsy, but is mis-diagnosed as being metally insan Abandoned at birth, the only home Petey has ever known are the walls of insane asylums. Through all the friendships and losses, Petey finds a boy named Trevor. Trevor, at first, regards Petey as another disabled old man. But as their friendship grows stronger, Petey sees something in Trevor, forcing Trevor to make the ulti...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book has a really cute plot, its about a boy who is born with cerebral palsy, and everyone told his parents that he was unable to think and that he would be and "idiot" his whole life. His mother at first refuses to give him up, so she and her husband attempt to take care of him, but they find it hard to because they have another child to care for as well, and petey requires around the clock care, so his parents leave him at a psych ward and petey lives there and starts to become friends wi...more
This was an excellent book! It's the kind of book that I'm going to want my children to read because of what it can teach them. It's the story of a man with cerebral palsy who is committed to an insane asylum as an idiot, but has an overwhelming optimism and view on life that he touches the lives of many people around him. It's also an interesting book because it helps the reader see what it might be like to be inside the head of someone with cerebral palsy. It's also very heart-rending, as Pete...more
This is a book about an old man. But he is not an old man like any others he has the disability cerebral palsy. In life Petey is neglected by just about everyone. The few people he comes close with soon leave and Petey is left alone. Just when there looks like there is no hope for Petey he meets Trevor. Trevor is a young boy who stumbles across Petey one day. Soon he and Petey become close friends. Petey and Trevor are almost family. Hope is finally found for Petey.
This book takes place between...more
This book takes place between...more
Jan 16, 2012
Christian
added it
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
TCL call number: J Mikaelsen
no rating
Petey's parents gave him up to the state after trying day and night to care for him and the medical bills. Petey was born with a disability and during the 1920s his condition was not correctly diagnosed as cerebral palsy; therefore he was doomed to a life of being treated as an "idiot." His will to survive amidst horrible conditions in institutions and the monotony of the routine (never being taken outdoors) is truly unbelievable. This is a haunting and touch...more
no rating
Petey's parents gave him up to the state after trying day and night to care for him and the medical bills. Petey was born with a disability and during the 1920s his condition was not correctly diagnosed as cerebral palsy; therefore he was doomed to a life of being treated as an "idiot." His will to survive amidst horrible conditions in institutions and the monotony of the routine (never being taken outdoors) is truly unbelievable. This is a haunting and touch...more
I've read this twice and cried both times. This books is about the indomitable human spirit and the true nature of friendship.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2014: Ivon | 1 | 5 | Feb 14, 2013 09:26am | |
| What's The Name o...: Baby boy was born deformed. People thought he was retarded because of his deformity, but in reality he was intelligent. Years later, he met a boy and befriended him. [s] | 7 | 144 | Dec 19, 2012 10:39pm | |
| Amazing | 3 | 16 | Nov 27, 2012 07:58pm |
