Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Categories
Children’s, Teenage & Educational

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

Avi

Stories About Sons, Fathers, and Grandfathers

One of the most beloved writers of our time presents seven short stories exploring the vital ties between fathers and sons.

Luke sees the ghost of his father but can’t figure out what Dad wants him to do. Paul takes a camping trip with the grandfather he’s just met and discovers what lies behind the man’s erratic behavior. Ryan has some surprising questions when he interviews his prospective stepfather for the job. In a compellingly honest collection of stories, multiple-award-winning author Avi introduces seven boys — boys with fathers at home and boys whose fathers have left, boys who spend most of their time with their grandfathers and boys who would rather spend time with anyone but the men in their lives. By turns heartbreaking, hopeful, and funny, the stories show us boys seeking acceptance, guidance, or just someone to look up to. Each one shines a different light on the question “What is the most important thing a father can do for his son?” By the acclaimed and beloved Newbery Award- winning author of WHAT DO FISH HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?

Available products
Book Published 2016-04-26 by Candlewick

Comments

In this collection of seven heartfelt stories, the indefatigable Avi breathes new life into an old theme: the relationship between sons and fathers. Ranging in tone from the somber to the sprightly, the stories have in common a psychological acuity, the presence of inevitable change, and the grace of Avi's simile-rich style… It would take a full book just to list Avi's accomplishments; librarians know it and will sense that this is one of the author's more heartfelt works.

In these seven short stories from Avi, the relationships among fathers, grandfathers, and sons are as varied as the clearly delineated characters themselves… Whether good, bad, or indifferent, the feelings and outlooks of Avi’s young protagonists are deeply influenced by the men in their lives. Endings are not always happy or neat, but moments of discovery and recognition point the way to change. Avi’s deft incorporation of humor, heartache, and the occasional touch of the supernatural will draw readers in as they ponder how family ties bind in both positive and negative ways

“[Avi] examines the troubled, touching, fractured, burgeoning, and beautiful relationships of seven different young men and their fathers, grandfathers, and, on the periphery, their mothers... What Oedipus didn't know about the intricacies of father/son kinship could fill a book—and has.

Beijing Yutian Hanfeng Books in Mainland China and Holp Shuppan in Japan.