PROCESSING REQUEST...
BIBZ
 
Login
  Forgot Password?
Register Today Not registered yet?
  1 The Fourteenth Goldfish
Author: Holm, Jennifer L.
 
Click for Large Image
Class: Fiction
Age: 8-12
Language: English
Demand: Average
LC: PZ7.H732
Grade: 3-7

Print Run: 50000
ISBN-13: 9780375870644
LCCN: 2013035052
Imprint: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publisher: Random House
Pub Date: 08/26/2014
Availability: Available
List: $16.99
  Hardcover
Physical Description: 195 pages ; 22 cm H 8.56", W 5.81", D 0.74", 0.7125 lbs.
LC Series:
Brodart Sources: Brodart's For Youth Interest Titles
Brodart's For Youth Interest: Popular
Brodart's Insight Catalog: Children
Brodart's TOP Juvenile Titles
Bibliographies: Booklist High-Demand Hot List
Children's Core Collection, 22nd ed.
Children's Core Collection, 23rd ed.
Children's Core Collection, 24th ed.
Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award, Gr. 3-5 Book lists
Middle and Junior High Core Collection, 12th ed.
Middle and Junior High Core Collection, 13th ed.
Middle and Junior High Core Collection, 14th ed.
Middle and Junior High Core Collection, 15th ed.
New York Times Bestsellers List
New York Times Bestsellers: Children's Middle Grade and Young Adult Books
Awards: Booklist Starred Reviews
Children's Choices Reading List
Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices
Horn Book Guide Titles, Rated 1 - 4
Indies Choice/E.B. White Read-Aloud Book Award Winners and Honors
Notable Children's Books, ALA
Publishers Weekly Starred Reviews
VOYA's 5Q Picks
VOYA's Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror
VOYA's Top Shelf Fiction for Middle Grade Readers
Starred Reviews: Booklist
Publishers Weekly
~VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates Magazine - Retired Journal)
TIPS Subjects: Family Life
Aging
BISAC Subjects: JUVENILE FICTION / Fantasy & Magic
JUVENILE FICTION / Family / Multigenerational
JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / Death, Grief, Bereavement
LC Subjects: Aging, Fiction
Aging, Juvenile fiction
Families, Juvenile fiction
Family life, Fiction
Grandfathers, Fiction
Grandfathers, Juvenile fiction
Scientists, Fiction
Scientists, Juvenile fiction
SEARS Subjects:
Reading Programs: Accelerated Reader Level: 4.1 , Points: 4.0
Lexile Level: 550
Reading Counts Level: 3.2 , Points: 7.0
 
Annotations
Brodart's TOP Juvenile Titles | 08/01/2014
An 11-year-old who misses her dead goldfish, wishes she had her old friend back, and hates change is in for the shock of a lifetime when she meets a bossy boy who looks eerily similar to her grandfather, a scientist long obsessed with finding the key to immortality. 208pp.
Starred Reviews:
Booklist | 07/01/2014
Grades 4-6. It's a little strange for 11-year-old Ellie when her mother brings home a boy who looks to be about 13 but dresses like Ellie's grandfather. But it's a shocker when Ellie realizes that the kid is her grandfather, a scientist who has suddenly succeeded in reversing the aging process. Now sleeping in their den and newly enrolled in Ellie's middle school, Grandpa connives with her to sneak into his old lab and swipe what he needs to continue his research. Meanwhile, Ellie comes to admire the grandfather she has barely known, listens to his stories of famous scientists, and discovers her own passion for science. Written in a clean, crisp style, with lively dialogue and wit, this highly accessible novel will find a ready audience. The idea of an adult in a young teen's body may not be new, but Ellie's first-person narrative makes good use of the situation's comic potential, particularly in the fractious, role-reversed relationship between Mom and Grandpa. Along with the comedy, the story has a reflective side, too, as Ellie thinks through issues such as death and immortality and confronts Grandpa with the social consequences of his research. A great choice for book groups and class discussions as well as individual reading. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A three-time Newbery Honor-winning author, whose books have also ranked on the New York Times best-seller lists, Holm has a formidably sized fan base waiting for her next release. Phelan, Carolyn. 208p. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2014.
Publishers Weekly | 05/26/2014
Ages 8-12. Middle school doesn't start smoothly for 11-year-old Ellie, whose best friend finds her passion (volleyball) and new teammates to eat lunch with, while Ellie flounders, uninterested in sports or her parents' avocation, theater. A startling addition to the household helps Ellie get her groove back when Grandpa Melvin, a scientist, moves in after engineering a cure for aging (the regenerative properties of jellyfish are involved) and transforming himself into a teenage boy. Though Melvin dresses and acts like the crotchety old man he was, he and Ellie bond over spirited discussions about Jonas Salk, Robert Oppenheimer, the possibilities of science, and the moral questions scientific advances can raise. Though the subject matter has a lot of intellectual heft, the writing has Holm's ever-present light touch. The small cast, which refreshingly includes divorced parents who treat each other respectfully, is so well realized that the farfetched aspects of the plot seem almost plausible. This is top-notch middle-grade fiction with a meaty dilemma, humor, and an ending that leaves room for the possibility of a sequel. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Grinberg Literary Management. (Aug.). 208p. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, c2014.
~VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates Magazine - Retired Journal) | 08/01/2014
5Q 4P M. When Ellie's mother shows up at home one night with an opinionated and curmudgeonly thirteen-year-old boy in tow, there is something familiar about him. Imagine Ellie's surprise when she learns that boy is Melvin, her grandfather, who has discovered the cure for aging (thanks to a particular species of jellyfish). The cure comes with some catches: despite actually being seventy-six and having two PhDs, Melvin must attend middle school and live with Ellie and her mother (his daughter, with whom he has a contentious relationship). Ellie, who is growing apart from her best friend, is surprised by her newfound interest in science, thanks to Melvin, and her new friendship with Raj, a goth classmate who is let in on Melvin's secret. Ellie begins to question whether her grandfather's discovery is actually a good thing, wondering what the long-term consequences will be. As Ellie navigates all that comes with being twelve, she ruminates on life, change, beginnings, and endings. Holm strikes the perfect balance of looking at weighty topics while keeping the tone light. The mix of introspection and action (Ellie, Raj, and Melvin need to break into Melvin's lab) keeps the plot moving along. As Ellie learns more about scientists and their experiments, she draws parallels to her own life, thinking, "I'm a jellyfish glowing in the dark sea, bright and brilliant, just waiting to be discovered." This is a smart, funny, and touching story about a family learning from one another and about themselves.--Amanda MacGregor. 208p. VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES, c2014.
Journal Reviews
BookPage | 09/01/2014
8-12. Lots of scientists--Newton, Salk, Galileo--changed the world. Now Ellie's grandfather Melvin might be on the same track. But is that a good thing? When 11-year-old Ellie meets the new, somewhat odd, boy in town, she soon learns it's really her Grandpa Melvin, a scientist who discovered the secret to eternal youth. Masquerading as Ellie's cousin, Melvin embarks on a secret mission to prove his scientific methods are valid. But amid the adventure of it all, something just doesn't seem right. Despite her growing interest in science, Ellie begins to understand that all science has consequences, positive or negative. She considers Oppenheimer's atomic bomb, for example. Just because something works doesn't mean we should use it, right? Maybe Grandpa Melvin's eternal youth solution isn't the answer to everything. Science is powerful stuff, and it can be heady. But in the hands of capable Newbery Honor author Jennifer L. Holm, it can be truly funny and touching as well. Holm seamlessly brings a science theme to a quirky book that middle grade readers will actually want to read because, after all, who doesn't want to know what is really possible in the world? As Holm deftly shows, nothing is impossible. Sharon Verbeten. 16.99. BOOKPAGE, c2014.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books | 09/01/2014
R. Gr. 3-5. It's already been a year of adjustments for eleven-year-old Ellie, and it gets worse when her scientist grandfather moves in with her family following an age-reversal experiment that undid his physical aging so effectively that he's back to having the body of a thirteen-year-old. Soon, though, she's getting to know her brilliant, crotchety grandfather and learning about scientific giants such as Oppenheimer, Salk, and Galileo and the questions their work both answered and raised. In the process, she discovers her own passion for science, as well as an ability to adapt to the inescapable changes of life in middle school and beyond. Ellie is funny, unpretentious, and easygoing, and her curious nature and quick mind make her an enjoyable and approachable heroine unconcerned with being anyone other than herself. Holm's writing is crisp, accessible, and well paced, and her enthusiasm for science and its impact emerges clearly and consistently but not overbearingly, with clear, appreciative nods to the world of theater and its purpose in our lives. Indeed, this novel explores weighty elements of human existence with a light touch, allowing readers to engage with the issues at multiple levels; an excellent appendix of recommended readings encourages exploration and dialogue. This novel would make an ideal classroom read aloud, particularly to expose students to the rich and rewarding STEM fields. AA. 224p. THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIV. OF ILLINOIS, c2014.
Horn Book Guide | 11/01/2015
3. Ellie's science-obsessed grandfather finds a way to physically be thirteen again, and his grumpy seventy-six-year-old personality and the limitations of early adolescence make for a comical combination. With its richly entertaining premise, this novel is a breezy read, but it also manages to show off the potential of science and raise big questions about age and ethics. sf. 196pg. THE HORN BOOK, c2015.
Kirkus Reviews | 07/01/2014
What would it be like if your grandfather turned up in your house as a 13-year-old boy?For sixth-grader Ellie, this leads to a recognition of the importance of the cycle of life and the discovery of her own passion for science. After her scientist grandfather finds a way to regain his youth, he's denied access to his lab and must come to live with Ellie and her mother. Although he looks young, his intellect and attitudes haven't changed. He still tells Ellie's mother what to wear and when to come home, and he loathes middle school even more than Ellie does. There's plenty of opportunity for humor in this fish-out-of-water story and also a lesson on the perils as well as the pluses of scientific discovery. Divorced parents, a goth friend and a longed-for cellphone birthday present are among the familiar details setting this story firmly in the present day, like Holm's Year Told Through Stuff series, rather than in the past, like her three Newbery Honor-winning historical novels. The author demonstrates understanding of and sympathy for the awkwardness of those middle school years. But she also gets in a plug for the excitement of science, following it up with an author's note and suggestions for further exploration, mostly on the Web.Appealing and thought-provoking, with an ending that suggests endless possibilities. (Science fiction. 10-14). 208pg. KIRKUS MEDIA LLC, c2014.
School Library Journal | 06/01/2014
Gr 5-7--Eleven-year-old Ellie Cruz's life changes dramatically when her mother brings a teenage boy home one night and she learns it is her estranged grandfather. Melvin is a scientist who has figured out how to reverse aging and is now 13 again. Tensions are high between Melvin and his adult daughter, Ellie's mother, but Ellie feels like she now has the opportunity to really get to know her grandfather. Her interest in science blossoms, and she is eager to help Melvin retrieve the jellyfish specimen he used in his experiments so he can publish his discovery. Fascinated, Ellie learns about the work of Jonas Salk, Robert Oppenheimer, and Marie Curie. But as she learns more, she realizes that scientific discoveries often have unforeseen consequences. Readers are carried along with Ellie as she navigates old and new friendships in her first year in middle school with the added complication of her teenage grandfather at the same school. Short chapters keep the story moving at an engaging pace, and the interactions among the characters will easily hold readers' interest. Ellie's growing relationship with her grandfather helps her make discoveries about herself. Melvin, who begins as unapologetically single-minded in his determination to continue his work, also learns from Ellie. With humor and heart, Holm has crafted a story about life, family, and finding one's passion that will appeal to readers willing to imagine the possible. Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL. 224p. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2014.
9780375870644,dl.it[0].title
Review Citations
New York Times Book Review | 08/24/2014