opfbad.blogg.se

Aretha, the family dog, does see Crenshaw.

And there is a bit of Applegate magic in there as well. Although Crenshaw isn’t really a cat (he has fingers), he is Jackson’s lifeline. Like “The One and Only Ivan,” “Crenshaw” is about how our relationship with animals - real or imaginary - can keep us sane. He draws a line with ups and downs, and explains that life is like that. It’s complicated.” And he shows Jackson a straight line and tells him that life is not like that. While Jackson’s father gets a part-time job as the assistant manager at a music store, he tells Jackson that “…Life is messy.

And it’s by sharing the truth that Jackson gets his parents to promise that they will always tell him the truth. The most important advice that he gives Jackson is to tell the truth. The other main character in the story is Crenshaw, the human-sized imaginary cat who gives Jackson sage advice. Their parents argue about money, his mother saying that asking for help is not a bad thing but his father insisting that asking for help means they’ve failed.

Jackson and his sister understand hunger. The story doesn’t sugar coat being poor and being homeless. When his parents plan a yard sale with all their belongings, Jackson feels that living in the minivan again is inevitable. When Jackson asks his parents what the plan is for their future, they make jokes like planting a money tree or starting up their rock band and winning a Grammy Award. His younger sister, Robin, is too young to share in his worry or understand what is happening to their family. Jackson is wise beyond his years because of what he has lived through. And what bothers Jackson even more than the insecurity is that his parents won’t tell him the truth. After I was born, they stopped being musicians and became normal people.” As normal people, his parents can’t pay the rent. Starving musicians is what my mom calls it. Jackson explains in the story: “My parents used to be musicians. She works as a waitress at two restaurants and as a cashier at a drugstore. His mom has three part-time jobs because she lost her job teaching music. Now, because of his dad’s illness, multiple sclerosis, the father can’t work as a carpenter, and he can’t even work as a handyman. They had left the home they lived in and lived in their minivan until they got enough money to rent a small apartment. He still hasn’t forgotten the last time they had no home. Jackson is upset because it appears that his family might be homeless again. Jackson doesn’t totally understand it, but Crenshaw teaches him what he needs to learn. As the reader learns in the story, Crenshaw appears in times of need. “Crenshaw” is no exception Jackson, the main character, lives with his parents, his sister, his dog, and sometimes, his imaginary cat Crenshaw. Katherine Applegate specializes in books that make the readers feel.