The Future of Hooper Toote

by Felice Holman, Gahan Wilson (Illustrator)

An eleven-year-old boy struggles to accept the advantages and disadvantages of his unique ability to skim through the air wherever he goes.

138 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1972

About the author

Felice Holman was born October 24, 1919, in New York City. She graduated from Syracuse University in 1941 and later worked as an advertising copywriter. She married Herbert Valen in 1941 and some of the experiences of their daughter, Nanine Elisabeth Valen, would serve as the model for her first book, Elisabeth, The Bird Watcher, which was published in 1963.

During the 1960s, she published two more "Elisabeth" stories and wrote some humorous books for children. In 1970, she published her first book of poetry for children: At the Top of My Voice. Critics praised the poems for their "originality, humor, and point." She continued to write humorous stories for young readers, including The Escape of the Giant Hogstalk (1974) that critics called filled "with giggles interspersed with horse laughs all the way."

In the 1970s, she also began writing realistic fiction for young adults. Her book Slake's Limbo (1974), the story of a boy who lives in a cave below Grand Central Station, was lauded for its "authenticity of detail" and as "remarkably taut" and "convincing." In 1975, she co-wrote The Drac: French Tales of Dragons and Demons, a collection of French legends with her daughter, Nanine Valen.

Throughout her long and prolific career, Felice Holman has received several honors, including a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award for young adult's literature and an American Library Association notable book citation for Slake's Limbo in 1978. Felice lives in California.

Reviews

[Payam Ebrahimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

یکی از لذت‌بخش‌ترین بازگشت‌ها به کتابهای کودکیم بود. داستان فوق‌العاده جذاب و گیرا که از ابتدا خواننده رو با خودش همراه می‌کنه و با ریتم عالی و اتفاقات جذاب، همزمان با ورود شخصیت‌های جدید و غیرقابل پیش‌بینی، مخاطب رو تا آخر با خودش می‌کشونه. از یک رمان کودک دیگه چه انتظاری می‌خواید داشته باشید؟ یا اصلاً چه انتظاری می‌تونید داشته باشید؟

از جمله کارهاییه که عنصر زمان توش کاملاَ مشهوده و مشخصه که مربوط به زمانه و دوره‌ی خاصیه، اما این زمان هیچ محدودیتی در لذت بردن از اثر ایجاد نمی‌کنه و به کار تاریخ انقضا نمی‌ده.

در عین حال که کتاب ترجمه‌ی نسبتاً خوبی داشت. روون بود و البته خیلی جاها، بوی ترجمه می‌داد، هرچند که ترجمه از عصر و دوره‌ای می‌اومد که اینچنین بوهایی بخش غیرقابل انکار ترجمه بوده‌ن. در کل به‌نظرم ترجمه‌ی خانم طهماسبی توی این کتاب از ترجمه‌های جدیدشون بهتر بود.

نشر چشمه (ونوشه) در دوره‌ی نوجوانی ما کتاب‌های فوق‌العاده‌ای چاپ می‌کرد که از خیلی‌هاشون خاطرات درخشانی توی ذهنم داره. به تازگی دیدم که بعضیا تجدید چاپ شدن. امیدوارم این کتاب هم جز کتاب‌هایی باشه که چاپ مجددش در دستور کار قرار می‌گیره.