Nobody likes me.
I mean except my mom and dad and my little sister, Ronette (I know…a weird name). But who would like a hick from Idaho with stick-out ears and is the shortest kid in his 7th grade class and who doesn’t think people should be down on Negroes and Jews and short kids from Idaho with stick out ears? Okay, so it’s 1953 in St. Louis where they keep Negroes separate from white people and I’ve just come here from Willow, Idaho (I know…you never heard of it) and I’m about as in with the other kids at Dewey School here as a pin in a balloon factory and I’ve never said ‘Yes ma’am’ or ‘No ma’am’ to a teacher in my life before and I’m not exactly the Einstein of 7th graders in the world, but… Well, you get the picture.
So, what does Nava Silbertasch a Jewish girl in my class who decides to like me and Joshua Josephson a really cool Negro who gives me a mysterious amulet that he says will change my life have to do with my story? Well, you’ll have to read Peter and the Amulet to find out.
HINT: You’ll be surprised!
In spite of what he claims, you will like Peter as he and his friend, Nava, cope with bullying and tween struggles that are, at times, heart wrenching and loud-laugh funny. This engrossing book, with its inspiring grab-a-tissue twists, echoes the poignancy and humor of classics like Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson and Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.
The reaction to Peter and the Amulet by a mother of two junior high boys says it all: “I cried! I laughed! I was inspired!”