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Mr. Wheatfield's Loft
Developing an interest in homing pigeons leads to a significant change in the life of 11-year-old Ellis Hampton who has been mute since he witnessed his father's death.
143 pages, Library Binding
First published August 1, 1981
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March 8, 2015
I read this because I was interested in children's books with pigeons in them. And there was a fair amount of information in the text about racing pigeons. Care, feeding, some historical references.
But what really surprised me in a book that seems to target about third grade or so, is references to prostitution, homosexuality, pedophilia and cigarette smoking. By 1981, I thought smoking was already a no-no in book sfor young children. And the other topics kind of surprise me.
Pedophilia and homosexuality are brought into it because the main character, an electively mute 11-year-old boy befriends a neighbor who is a grown man (and who, it turns out, is harboring a couple of migrant kids). The man has no ill intentions at all, and is, conversely, a stabilizing influence in the lives of all three young people (ages 11, 13 and 19). The worry about his intentions is probably realistic, so I am not sure it's totally out of place here.
Not as convinced that the prostitution element was as necessary. The 19-year-old Cuban migrant worker is female, and trying to make ends meet and better the life of her brother, resorts to prostitution, though almost no information other than that is included. This part of the story just seems like some tangent the author went on to add an additional social issue.
All works out in the end. But I am not convinced this is a book that should remain in library collections. There are other novels that include racing pigeons and info about them.
But what really surprised me in a book that seems to target about third grade or so, is references to prostitution, homosexuality, pedophilia and cigarette smoking. By 1981, I thought smoking was already a no-no in book sfor young children. And the other topics kind of surprise me.
Pedophilia and homosexuality are brought into it because the main character, an electively mute 11-year-old boy befriends a neighbor who is a grown man (and who, it turns out, is harboring a couple of migrant kids). The man has no ill intentions at all, and is, conversely, a stabilizing influence in the lives of all three young people (ages 11, 13 and 19). The worry about his intentions is probably realistic, so I am not sure it's totally out of place here.
Not as convinced that the prostitution element was as necessary. The 19-year-old Cuban migrant worker is female, and trying to make ends meet and better the life of her brother, resorts to prostitution, though almost no information other than that is included. This part of the story just seems like some tangent the author went on to add an additional social issue.
All works out in the end. But I am not convinced this is a book that should remain in library collections. There are other novels that include racing pigeons and info about them.
Displaying 1 of 1 review