Keeper

Keeper's troubles begin when the crabs start talking to her. "Help us!" they say, somehow knowing they're destined for a pot of boiling water. She does help them, and that's when everything starts going wrong in this heart-warming middle school book.Ten-year-old Keeper lives with Signe, because long ago Keeper's mother, who always said she was a mermaid, swam away and never came back. Keeper and Signe have a warm and loving relationship and they live in an old house near a beach in Texas. One of their neighbors is Dogie, who loves Signe and has a surfboard shop down the beach. The other is elderly Mr. Beauchamp, who dreams of a lost love and is waiting for a special flower to bloom. We also get to know Keeper's dog BD, Mr. Beauchamp's one-eyed cat Sinbad, and Captain the seagull, BD the dog's best friend.The day that everything went wrong was supposed to be the most wonderful day ever, because Dogie, who stutters except when he sings, planned to sing a two-word song to Signe: "Marry me." But then the day did go wrong: now Signe is mad at Keeper; old Mr. Beauchamp's special flower is ruined, and Dogie's guitar, which he needs in order to sing the "Marry me" song, is broken.Keeper can only think of one solution: late at night she must take Dogie's little rowboat, bringing her dog BD along, and row out under the blue moon to the sand bar. Once there, she'll call to her mermaid mother and ask for her help. The trip doesn't go as planned and soon she is drifting farther and farther from shore.This sweet and touching example of magical realism is a great choice to read aloud, both because of its whimsical charm and because of the rhythms of the writing. I loved the characters and never wanted to leave their world, even though dark themes, such as the mother who abandons her child, mingle with the sweetness.Author Kathi Appelt spent time as a child on the beaches of Galveston, Texas, where her grandmother lived. Her grandmother once rescued an injured seagull, who then became best friends with her dog BD.Reading level: 9 to 11, and adults who love magical realism. Sometimes Keeper seems younger than ten and I suspect readers twelve and up might not identify with her. Discreet mention is made of a homosexual relationship: Mr. Beauchamp and Jack loved each other long ago in France, never stopped missing each other, and are once seen holding hands-that's as explicit as it gets.

Keeper, a ten-year-old girl, lives in a beach town with Signe, a friend of her mother's. Her mother disappeared years before. Keeper is convinced her mother is a mermaid and will be back. The blue moon holds the magic that will make it happen and take her to the sandbar where the mermaids wait.With rich characters, the story grips the reader. Will she survive the watery search for her mother? Will she ever realize that she really has it pretty good?The real magic comes from Signe, who recognizes the needs of others and is able to fulfill those needs without too much sacrifice of herself. She teaches Keeper to be practical, and Keeper does a lot of planning for her journey. Keeper works for their next-door neighbor, Dogie, scraping and re-waxing surf boards. Dogie casts a protective eye over the little family. He's loved Signe for a long time. Keeper is also protected by a dog named BD (Best Dog), a seagull named Captain, a grumpy cat named Sinbad, and Mr. Beauchamp, a neighbor. We even get to hear BD's thoughts.The mystical nature of Keeper's beliefs is one of the things that makes this a unique story. Most kids, and many adults, feel they can make events happen with one act. For example, someone got hurt because you wished that person ill. Throw in a mermaid or two, and you have Keeper.The illustrations add to the magic.

I purchased this book for my daughter, who is an avid reader, and while beyond her years academically and philosophically, still believes in Fairy Tales. So, I must say, that I'm disappointed. First of all, I want my children to hang on to their childhood as long as possible. Perhaps I shelter them too much, but the magic of childhood is important to me. I thought I was buying a fairy tale book about mermaids...that's really not at all what I got, and I'm very happy that I read it before giving it to her. I will keep it...and perhaps allow her to read it in middle school. Most who gave negative reviews were concerned about homosexuality. I can say that my daughter is mature enough to understand and has known about homosexuality since the day her 2 year old classmate's two mommies came to school for class parties, and every party and field trip since. I don't offer a moral opinion on that. In fact, I would charge that your children will figure it out on their own, and probably already have. We've had our own family talk at our house regarding how we are to treat people, whether we agree with them or not...so the homosexuality issue is not what concerns me. What concerns me about this book is that I simply don't feel that it should be read by children who are still young enough to believe in Fairy Tales, because this book just sort of blows all that out of the water, and that just stinks as far as I'm concerned. I'll let her read it when she decides on her own to leave the Magic of childhood behind her.

When I finished reading KEEPER by Kathy Appelt I was relieved. Sometimes 400 page books take me so long to read that I just want to be done already. Then I was confused about my feelings on the book. Did I like it? Did I not like it? So I reread the editorial reviews and some amazon reader reviews and saw I was not alone. While the critics love it other readers are like me. It is a wonderful poetic book with strong characters and a charming story. Mermaids, a loving (non-traditional) family, life by the sea, surfboards. However, it is not an easy book to read and many children will not stick with it long enough to really enjoy. However, strong readers who love mermaids and long stories will love it if they stick with it. Best for girls grades 4 and up who love reading and are strong readers.

Like how it was written.

My 12 year old daughter rated this a 3. She said it was ok, but a little boring. According to her, the only really interesting part was at the very last. Humph.