Isaac Campion
An old man recounts a traumatic event that occurred when he was a 12-year-old boy in rural Britain in 1901--the death of his older brother--and the resulting bitterness of his sometimes violent father. Howker's spare, hardhitting prose appeals to all of the reader's senses as she hones in on a specific time and place.The use of voice, including dialect of time and place, is particularly outstanding, as Isaac reveals much about himself and his bleak situtation, which does show signs of changing by story's end, with just with the words he chooses to use in telling the story. ©1987 Cooperative Children's Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 11 and older
Age Range:
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
20th Century
British and British Americans
Death and Dying
Domestic Violence
Families
Fathers
Grief and Loss
Historical Fiction
Publisher:
Greenwillow
Publish Year: 1987
Pages: 86
ISBN: 0688066585
CCBC Location: Fiction, Howker