The Seventh Most Important Thing
Published on 4. October 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-0-553-49731-1 (ISBN)
Description
This "luminescent" (Kirkus Reviews) story of anger and art, loss and redemption will appeal to fans of Lisa Graff's Lost in the Sun and Vince Vawter's Paperboy.
NOMINATED FOR 16 STATE AWARDS!
AN ALA NOTABLE BOOK
AN ILA TEACHERS CHOICE
A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
Arthur T. Owens grabbed a brick and hurled it at the trash picker. Arthur had his reasons, and the brick hit the Junk Man in the arm, not the head. But none of that matters to the judge-he is ready to send Arthur to juvie forever. Amazingly, it's the Junk Man himself who offers an alternative: 120 hours of community service . . . working for him.
Arthur is given a rickety shopping cart and a list of the Seven Most Important Things: glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, lightbulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. He can't believe it-is he really supposed to rummage through people's trash? But it isn't long before Arthur realizes there's more to the Junk Man than meets the eye, and the "trash" he's collecting is being transformed into something more precious than anyone could imagine. . . .
Inspired by the work of folk artist James Hampton, Shelley Pearsall has crafted an affecting and redemptive novel about discovering what shines within us all, even when life seems full of darkness.
"A moving exploration of how there is often so much more than meets the eye." -Booklist, starred review
"There are so many things to love about this book. Remarkable." -The Christian Science Monitor
NOMINATED FOR 16 STATE AWARDS!
AN ALA NOTABLE BOOK
AN ILA TEACHERS CHOICE
A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
Arthur T. Owens grabbed a brick and hurled it at the trash picker. Arthur had his reasons, and the brick hit the Junk Man in the arm, not the head. But none of that matters to the judge-he is ready to send Arthur to juvie forever. Amazingly, it's the Junk Man himself who offers an alternative: 120 hours of community service . . . working for him.
Arthur is given a rickety shopping cart and a list of the Seven Most Important Things: glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, lightbulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. He can't believe it-is he really supposed to rummage through people's trash? But it isn't long before Arthur realizes there's more to the Junk Man than meets the eye, and the "trash" he's collecting is being transformed into something more precious than anyone could imagine. . . .
Inspired by the work of folk artist James Hampton, Shelley Pearsall has crafted an affecting and redemptive novel about discovering what shines within us all, even when life seems full of darkness.
"A moving exploration of how there is often so much more than meets the eye." -Booklist, starred review
"There are so many things to love about this book. Remarkable." -The Christian Science Monitor
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Random House USA Inc
Target group
Children/juvenile
US School Grade: Fifth Grade and over, Interest Age: From 10 years
Product notice
Paperback (digest)
Dimensions
Height: 194 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
312 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-553-49731-1 (9780553497311)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Shelley Pearsall
The Seventh Most Important Thing
E-Book
09/2015
Knopf Books for Young Readers
€6.49
Available for download
Person
A former teacher and museum historian, Shelley Pearsall is now a full-time author. Her first novel, Trouble Don’t Last, won the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction. The idea for The Seventh Most Important Thing began many years ago when she first saw outsider artist James Hampton’s amazing work. She was disappointed that so little is known about Hampton and was intrigued that his work was brought to light by anonymous sources. It was the perfect foundation for this remarkable, inspiring novel. To learn more about the author and her work, visit ShelleyPearsall.com and follow her at @ShelleyPearsall.