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Summary
Summary
Level 3. This story presents a warm, funny relationship between a boy and his sweet, sometimes annoying, younger brother Ant (short for Anthony).
Author Notes
Betsy Cromer Byars was born in1928. She graduated from Queens College in Charlotte, North Carolina. While she was in graduate school, she began writing articles for The Saturday Evening Post and Look.
Byars writes novels for young people. She is an expert at tapping in to the pain of adolescence, using bits of her own experience to flavor her characters. She is author of more than 60 books and has won numerous awards. Her book about a 14-year-old girl and her mentally retarded brother, The Summer of the Swans (1970), won the Newberry Award as the most distinguished contribution to children's literature that year. Other books include The 18th Emergency (1973), The TV Kid (1976), and After the Goat Man (1995).
Betsy Byars died on February 26,2020 at the age of 91. (Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
It may not earn Byars (Summer of the Swans) another Newbery Medal or Simont (A Tree Is Nice) another Caldecott, but this volume is tailor-made for kids just beginning to read on their own. For starters, they will immediately take to the admirably tolerant narrator, whose feisty younger brother, Ant (short for Anthony), would test any sibling's patience. In these snippets, the older boy chases a monster from under Ant's bed; copes with an indecipherable picture that someone (guess who?) has drawn on his homework paper; reads Ant a fairy tale; and plays scribe when Ant dictates a letter to Santa . . . in July. Told with brevity, in simply constructed sentences and controlled vocabulary, these four vignettes are full of homespun warmth and easy-going humor. Echoing the good-natured narrative, Simont's straightforward pictures do a commendable job of helping to relay the plots-a big plus in fiction for this audience. Ages 6-9. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Illustrated by Marc Simont. With her hallmark humor and snappy dialogue, Betsy Byars tells four stories about a boy and his little brother Anthony, known as Ant. When Ant's brother offers to check out the monster under his bed, Ant tells him that he won't see it: "He hides from big people." His brother's response, pointing to himself, is, "THIS is a big person? Get real." Controversies over spelling homework that gets embellished with Ant's art work; a teasing version of a familiar story that Ant's brother tells about the three little figs and the big, bad lemon; and the puzzle of a letter to Santa in July are all amicably resolved. With Marc Simont's expressive illustrations, this is a sparkling addition to the Viking Easy-to-Read series. h.b.z. H Jacqueline Briggs Martin Grandmother Bryant's Pocket Illustrated by Petra Mathers. In 1787, Sarah Bryant is eight years old and lives on a farm in Maine. She and her spotted dog Patches are inseparable companions until that spring, when the barn burns down and Patches is killed in the fire. Sarah begins to have bad dreams that "stuck to her skin like the smell of soot," and so she is sent to her grandparents, an herbalist and a woodworker, for solace and healing. Working alongside her grandparents, and with the company of a one-eyed stray cat, Sarah's days are busy, but at night she still wakes up "shaking from dreams of fire." With the gift of her grandmother's fifty-year-old herb pocket embroidered with the words "Fear Not," with her grandfather's comforting presence when she wakes up weeping, and with the ragged cat purring on her pillow at night, Sarah's bad dreams finally fade until, one night, she closes her eyes and dreams of rain. In a small, square book very much recalling Grandmother Bryant's pocket, Martin and Mathers tell Sarah's story with understated but vivid intensity. Both text and pictures have the quality of vignettes, slipping in details that neatly piece together as the narrative progresses. Mathers's small, trim figures - often graced with a tint of humor - are sometimes set within rich watercolor backgrounds but more often are imaginatively placed with only the white page as their landscape. This simple story of grief and healing is immediate and moving, with each page marked by a sense of eloquent communication between author and artist. h.b.z. Mary Matthews Magid Fasts for Ramadan Illustrated by E. B. Lewis. An informative chapter book for young readers tells the story of an eight-year-old Muslim boy who secretly joins the ritual feast for Ramadan. Magid's parents instruct his older sister to fast, but declare that Magid is not old enough to go from sunrise to sundown without food or drink. Magid wants to prove that he too is a "truly obedient" Muslim, so he skips breakfast and feeds his lunch to the geese. After two days of the difficult fasting, Magid's sister discovers his deceit and tells their parents. In a satisfying conclusion, Magid's parents and grandfather express their understanding of Magid's disobedience and come to a compromise: as a stepping stone toward adulthood, Magid will each day skip only breakfast during the month-long festival. The story takes place in modern Cairo, and the author skillfully weaves details of the culture and religion through her strong, readable story. Lewis's full-page watercolor paintings give the viewer details about dress and customs while they develop character and setting along with the text. The artwork is handsome, although there are times when the illustration does not match the text on the page opposite it but instead shows something that happens on a previous or succeeding page. Still, this is a fine offering that explores a holiday unfamiliar to many American children. m.v.k. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 1^-3. Forget Dick and Jane. Books for beginning readers have been an honored genre in children's literature for more than 30 years, from Else Minarik and Maurice Sendak's Little Bear (1957) as well as their 1962 Caldecott Honor book, Little Bear's Visit and Arnold Lobel's classic Frog and Toad books, to Cynthia Rylant's Henry and Mudge series and the exceptional science books by writers such as Paul Showers and Joanna Cole. A great storyteller and a great illustrator are at their very best in this tender, funny Easy-to-Read chapter book in which a boy talks about his younger brother, Ant. The family situations are elemental, and there's not a trace of condescension. In one story, Anthony (Ant) is afraid of the monster under his bed; Dad's irritable, so the older brother has to take care of things, comfort Ant, and banish the beast. In the next story, the older boy is furious because someone has scribbled on his perfect spelling homework. Every chapter has a surprising twist that grows from the people and their relationships. When his brother reads to him, Ant doesn't want one word changed of "The Three Little Pigs," not one word, but then he can't bear to stay around to hear about the scary wolf. The pictures are achingly affectionate. As in his illustrations for Welch's Playing Right Field (1995), Simont shows the small child's sturdy innocence and vulnerability. Every part of Ant's body pays attention. The economy of line and language will grab new readers. They'll see that a good story can leave a lot unsaid, even while it shows you what you didn't quite know you felt. --Hazel Rochman
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3In this appealing easy reader, a boy chronicles how his sometimes-pesky younger brother, Ant, puts a twist on everyday events and keeps the family on its toes. The caring older sibling gets rid of the monster under Ant's bed, reads him a short version of "The Three Little Figs," records his summer thank-you letter to Santa, and manages to take into stride the preschooler's addition to his spelling homework. The affectionate relationship between the boys underscores all the stories. Simont's lively, realistic watercolors enhance the understated humor. Beginning readers will enjoy this effort and look forward to more low-key adventures featuring the irrepressible Ant.Gale W. Sherman, Pocatello Public Library, ID (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
An effective pairing of author and illustrator in a disarming Easy-to-Read entry. Ant (short for Anthony) is the younger of two appealing brothers; Ant's older brother narrates four episodes that highlight their affectionate bond. In the first, Ant's big brother talks tough to a monster (``Listen up. Ant does not want you under his bed''), and Ant, not fooled, is comforted nevertheless. In a neat twist in the second tale, Ant turns out not to be lying about trouble between the brothers, smoothing the way for reconciliation; the third story is about reading together. In the fourth, the older brother believes that July is much too early for Ant's letter to Santa, but ends up admiring the message it contains: ``Thank you for last Christmas. I still like my presents. Love, Ant.'' Byars (Tarot Says Beware, p. 1277, etc.) spins the tales in dialogue, and the pace never lags; Simont provides charming scenes of the boys together. (Picture book. 5-7)
