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Summary
Summary
It's 1948 in Rippling Creek, Louisiana, and Tate P. Ellerbee's new teacher has just given her class an assignment--learning the art of letter-writing. Luckily, Tate has the perfect pen pal in mind: Hank Williams, a country music singer whose star has just begun to rise. Tate and her great-aunt and -uncle listen to him on the radio every Saturday night, and Tate just knows that she and Hank are kindred spirits.
Told entirely through Tate's hopeful letters, this beautifully drawn novel from National Book Award-winning author Kimberly Willis Holt gradually unfolds a story of family love, overcoming tragedy, and an insightful girl learning to find her voice. This title has Common Core connections.
Author Notes
Kimberly Willis Holt was born in Pensacola, Florida September 9, 1960, but spent most of her childhood in Forest Hill, Louisiana.
Kimberly is a children's writer, most famous for writing When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, which won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 1999.
She has also won, or been shortlisted, for a number of prestigious awards: Mister and Me, My Louisiana Sky, Dancing in Cadillac Light, Keeper of the Night, Waiting for Gregory, Part of Me, Skinny Brown Dog, Piper Reed Navy Brat, Piper Reed the Great Gypsy, and Piper Reed Gets a Job.
Kimberly lives in Amarillo, Texas.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-The year is 1948, and Tate P. Ellerbee is writing to her favorite singer, Hank Williams, as part of a pen pal assignment at school. Although her letter writing is one-sided, Tate continues to send Hank details of her life. She tells Hank about her actress mother and famous photographer father. Tate lives with her Aunt Patty Cake, who she describes as being like the sun because no matter what happens, she's always there. Her Uncle Jolly is the comic relief, as he has one heartbreak after another in his pursuit of a wife. Holt skillfully uses foreshadowing and the element of surprise in a twist ending. Included are some glimpses into the anti- Japanese and anti-communist feelings after the war. The author also highlights the Louisiana Hayride and Grand Ole Opry shows broadcast on radios throughout the country during that time period. The strength of this novel lies in the insight Tate develops as she deals with tragedy and depends on the love of family. VERDICT Artfully told, this middle grade novel pleases on many levels.-D. Maria LaRocco, Cuyahoga Public Library, Strongsville, OH (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
When Tate Ellerbee's teacher tells her class to think about who they might choose for a pen pal assignment, the 11-year-old immediately knows who she will write to: Hank Williams, an up-and-coming country singer she and her guardians, Aunt Patty Cake and Uncle Jolly, listen to each week on a Saturday night radio show, Louisiana Hayride. In letters written over the course of the 1948-49 school year, Tate unspools her life story to Hank, first sharing the lies she's been telling herself, then reversing course with one hard truth after another. The last big reveal doesn't quite pack the emotional wallop it might, but Tate is a very entertaining letter writer, and Holt (the Piper Reed series) salts her letters with just enough detail about post-WWII America to make this more than just a story about a girl coming to terms with the bad hand she's been dealt. A redemptive ending helps redress the balance of a mostly tragic story told in a folksy voice. Ages 9-12. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
On the first day of school, September 1, 1948, eleven-year-old Tate P. Ellerbee learns that her class will be writing to pen pals, with her teacher explaining that new worlds will unfold in front of you, and youll see your own world through fresh eyes. Although the teacher plans for her class to correspond with Japanese students to promote postwar understanding, Tate, with ideas of her own and the resolve to carry them out, chooses country singer Hank Williams, a man she knows only through the radio. Williams never responds except for sending a couple of autographed pictures, and it quickly becomes clear that Tate is using her letters as a therapeutic diary. That shes an unreliable narrator also becomes clear: she claims that she lives with her great-aunt Patty Cake in Rippling Creek, Louisiana, because her mother is starring in a Hollywood movie and her father, a world-famous photographer, is off photographing, well, the world. But when she finally reveals the truth of her circumstances (Moms in prison and Dads just gone), she also shows the gumption that ultimately defines her character. Holt creates an underlying tension, an unease about Tates situation, that finally comes into light as she reveals her deepest tragedy, allowing her to see her own world through, if not fresh then at least honest eyes. Deftly including historical context, Holt gives readers a character for the ages. betty carter (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Tate has gumption, and it's a good thing: She's the only one who has faith in her ability to singexcept for her little brother, Frog, and everyone seems surprised whenever Tate mentions him. Tate explains all this and more in her pen-pal letters to Hank Williams. Her teacher has arranged an exchange of letters with Japanese students, but it's too soon after World War II for Tate's comfort; besides, she and Hank have singing in common. Sassy and observant, Tate also tells him how her parents travel while she lives in a house by a cemetery with her aunt, uncle and Frog. She helps Aunt Patty Cake sell cosmeticsexcept in Pine Bend where colored folks live, but her aunt won't explain why this is. Writing proves therapeutic, and Tate begins to revise half-truths: She has no idea where her father is, and Momma is in jail. And Tate almost gives up the idea of the talent contest she's had her heart set on entering when her new dog, Lovie, goes missing: She's too sad to sing. It's while searching for Lovie in the cemetery that Tate faces, finally, the lie she's been telling herself about her most sorrowful loss. Real to the period and place, subtle and gently paced, Tate's story is heartbreaking but hopeful; when she sings, Tate remembers the good times. Soulful and satisfying. (Historical fiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
When 11-year-old Tate P. Ellerbee is told by her teacher to write to someone outside of her hometown of Rippling Creek, Louisiana, she knows exactly who her pen pal will be: Hank Williams. Told exclusively through her letters to the singer, Tate's voice as a unique and imaginative young girl comes through crystal clear. Living with her aunt Patty Cake and uncle Jolly, Tate writes of her absent parents, the trials of having a pest for a younger brother, and her dreams of being a singer like her mama. National Book Award winner Holt (When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, 1999) deftly turns back the clock to 1948, outfitting Tate's world with accessibly vintage details: physical letters, radio programs, records, and singers from a bygone era. Larger issues relating to segregation and post-WWII prejudices cast shadows over the story and see further discussion in the author's note. A heartbreaking revelation at the book's end secures Tate's place as a lovable protagonist, while opening the door to a hopeful future.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2015 Booklist