Grand River Prep Reads! discussion
The Child Called "IT"
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Adiene
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Jul 22, 2010 07:05AM
The book "The Child Called It " is a book about a boy that went through child abuse.the author shows imagery that makes you feel like your in the story feeling what David felt .I really like this book because the story is about the author which caught my attention to read this book. everything in the story did happen even though the story seems unreal with all the horrible things David Pelzer's mom did to him .I learned to be gratefull for what you have because there is people out there who doesnt have a family that love them so im gratefull that my family does. I recommend this book to people who do not mind geting emotional and that like stories that actually happen .If you want to know more about the book just read it because its a story that you will never forget.
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A Child Called “It” was an amazing book! Overall, I like this book because it grabbed my attention from the start keeping me hooked throughout the book. I liked how David was very hopeful and strong throughout the story. David faced many terrifying punishments during his childhood. I also liked how David's father was so inspirational to David keeping him strong both mentally and physically. I did not like how David's mother treated David because some things mad me really sad, like when David was forced to sit in the bathroom which was filled with ammonia and Clorox or when he was beaten and forced to not tell the true story that happened to him. My favorite character was David because he could deal with just about anything that was thrown at him, no matter how terrifying or freakishly weird some of the punishments were. My least favorite character is David's mother because she could really put a disturbing image in my mind when she was thinking of punishments for David, and it was even more disturbing when she followed through with the punishments. I would recommend this book to people who are not afraid to get in touch with their emotional side because of the terrors in it. I do not have any questions about this wonderful story. It is a book that no one will forget or ever want to forget. The inspiration that this book may give to people around the world facing many of the same situations that David was put through can help them cope and get help.
After reading A Child Called “It” I felt the physical and mental abuse that occurred by Dave’s mother was very horrific. I don’t understand how the father just stood around and didn’t do anything to help his son. Dave’s mother was an alcoholic who had irrational thoughts against her child. I felt bad for Dave because he had to go through so much pain. Dave had many battles to fight on a daily basis at a young age. He had to steal food to eat and sometimes he didn’t eat at all. Sometimes he went without food for days. His mother sent him to school with dirty clothes and his classmates teased him. She didn’t let him bathe, so when he went to school he had a bad odor. Dave could not eat at the dinner table with his siblings. Some days he would eat scraps from the trash. The most horrible action a mother could do to their own child, Dave’s mom did it. She stabbed him. I don’t understand how could a mother that is supposed to love her child do so much harm to her child?
Although the first chapter should have been the last chapter, I still enjoyed the sequence of events. Chapter two started with Dave being a happy five year old boy and, in the last chapter Dave’s worst nightmare came true when his father moved out. This allowed for him to be abused by his mother daily.
The story was told from Dave’s point of view who is the author of the story. I liked how the main character, Dave, never gave up and always tried to think of ways to outsmart his mom. The message in the book was very clear which was to always have hope no matter what the situation is. I enjoyed the ending because Dave was rescued from his mothers cruel ways.
I would recommend this book to anybody that likes true stories and an easy read. This book should also be read by mothers that abuse their children because they will understand the child’s point of view.
The questions I would like to ask, Is what happened to the mother? Did Dave’s other siblings get taken away? When Dave was removed from his home, Did his mother get arrested? Why did it take so long for his teachers to turn Dave’s mother in?
I totally agree with Cameron.When I read A Child Called "IT" I couldn't believe that this actually happened to somebody.1. When I read this book it felt like I was Dave. That his pain was my pain. When he was mad I was mad, and when he cried, I cried. I've always heard about kids being abused and hurt, but this was just plain crazy. It was obvious his mother needed help, but no one was brave enough to get her some help.
2. I loved how he wrote this book. It was definitely one that kept me turning the pages. He really made you feel as if you were right there along with him. It made me so mad to see his dad give up, and just leave. I remember when he said,"I'm so sorry, Dave, but I just can't stay in this house anymore." It made me think like if you couldn't take it how much worse do you think it was for Dave? Who actually endured everything? Like Cameron I didn't like how he told the ending first, and then went into the story, but I loved the ending. I felt like I had been released from a burden that I had been carrying on my shoulders was lifted off in the epilogue. I can't wait to read The Lost Boy. This book clearly shows that hope and perseverence will get you very far in life even when you think that all hope is gone.
3. I would recommend it for anyone in the age group 10 and up. Or for anyone who would enjoy a book that is an easy read and keeps you turning the page.Also for those who would like to learn more about child abuse, because I believe you're never too young to learn about these things.
4. My questions were:
Whatever happened to the mother? Did she get help or just continue in her evil ways?
why did she only beat Dave and not Ronald, Stan, Russel, or Kevin?
What did Dave ever do to his mother that she would lash out like that against Dave, but none of his other brothers?
What happened to his teachers?
Were they allowed to visit Dave?
How come people didn't realize sooner what was going on with Dave?
All I can say is THANK YOU GRAND RIVER PREP!!!! I never would have read this book if it wasnt required. This book was amazing and yet terrible. It was amazing because it caught me attention and kept a firm hold on to it. I felt it was terrible 'cause no one should have to have the experience to be able to write that kind of a story! I wasnt able to just straight out read this book, I constatanly had to put the book down and focus on NOT puking. I dont care if the woman was sick or not... what she did was cruel, disgusting, terrible, and down right aginst the nature of humanity. This was only the 3rd worst case ever: meaning that there are two other casses even WORSE than David's! Just the thought... there's NO words for it. I must say though how amazing it is that even after all he went through... and after all he's done to TRY and forget about it; and yet the had the guts to right 3 novels about the WORST times of his life. David is MY hero.
Mod
I agree with Brian and Mary, A Child Called "it" is an AMAZING book! 1. This was a great book and I loved it! I like this book because it was an interesting with lots of attention grabbers throughout. It wasn't boring at all. As I was reading this, it brought out a sad emotion in me. I felt scared and worried when I saw that Dave would get beaten continuously for no reason at all which explains my emotion of sadness.
2. The plot was about Dave being abused and treated badly by his alcoholic mother. Although I liked the book, I didn't find the plot so enjoyable because it was sad to me. I think there is a message in this book to alcoholics. The message to alcoholics is not to be around children because they are unstable and they can start abusing the kids. The style was written with the author Dave Pelzer telling us his own story. I like this style because you get it from his perspective and it makes me feel like its believable because he's telling it and not someone else. The characters of the book are Dave, his mom, his dad, his brothers and his teachers that cared about him. Of these characters I enjoyed reading about Dave and his teachers. I enjoyed reading about Dave because of the terrible things he went through. In the story Dave's mom did not make him part of the family anymore by not letting him eat with the family or making him sleep in the garage on an uncomfortable cot. He was also stabbed by his mother and his mother made him sit in the bath tub full of ice and freezing water naked several times. Dave also stole food repeatedly for his starvation. His teachers were enjoyable to read about. Mr. Ziegler his homeroom teacher, Miss. Moss his math teacher and the principle Mr. Hansen were all very concerned about him and tried to help by calling the police. I didn't like the ending because dave's father had left the family so dave had no one to go to for protection. In the last paragraph was a sign of death because he felt like it was the end of his time and that he was going to die because his father had left. His mother said, "you are all mine now. Too bad your fathers not here to protect you."
3. I recommend this book to everyone especially the kids who are being abused. I think everyone should read this book so that we know the signs of someone being abused and we can try to help them. Kids who are currently being abused should read this because Dave went through abuse and grew up to be a successful man so abused kids can hope to become just like him.
4. The questions I have are:
-Did the mother go to jail for the abuse?
-Does Dave see his father or brothers anymore after he left the home?
-Did any students try to help him at the school?
-Did the neighbors see any abuse? If so why didn't they help?
Mod
A Child Called “IT” had been recommend to me by so many different people that I finally decided to read it, and I’m so glad that I did because I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book was an amazing story of a little boy who was brutally abused by this psycho mother. It was so hard to believe that this was actually a true story based on the author’s life. Dave Pelzer had a loving family until he was about five when his mother chose him out of his other three siblings to punish and abuse. The book starts off with his relief of getting out of the home, and then Dave goes back and begins with how happy he remembers them all being together. But then suddenly his mother turned drunk and Dave stood out to her. That’s when all the cruelty started. I liked Dave Pelzer’s style of writing, starting with the end result so that you know that this disturbing story has a happy ending. But what I also like was the message at the end of the book. It told of how we can all help kids in this situation by taking in foster kids. I would recommend this book to anyone who thinks that they can take in some really hard stuff. Most likely some eighth graders and all of high school kids would be able to read this. At the end of this book I had a lot of questions about whether the mother was brought to justice for abusing her child. But I was then told that those were all answered in the next two books, The Lost Boy and A Man Named Dave.
1) A Child Called “It” was a very well written book. The vast descriptions of what happened and what he felt were very touching and brought tears to my eyes. To think that this has actually had taken place is horrific. I loved how as I read it made me continue to turn the pages just to find out what happened next.2) Every aspect of this book I enjoyed, but the message in my opinion was most important. I believe the message was about learning to overcome obstacles in your life and living with the pain even when you don’t think you can take it anymore. So instead of a story about an abused child it was about David’s survival.
The plot itself was good, but I would have rather had the first chapter be at the end so the story itself excluding the epilogue would have ended on a more cheerful note. Reading a book written by a limited narrator always seems more interesting to me therefore I enjoyed the style in which it was written.
3) I would recommend this book to everyone from preteens on up. One thing I took from this book was when you feel down and can’t take it anymore to remember everything will someday get better. I think that is important, because no ones life is perfect and everyone will have problems that will need to be overcome. When you are living in the shadows it only means light is nearby.
4) Why did David’s mother only abuse him?
Why didn’t his father or brothers help him?
