Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan was published in 2002 and received the Newbery Honor award in 2003. This children’s novel follows a quirky and artistic family, adults and children alike, save one: E.D., who is the only organized one in the bunch. They operate a very loosely run homeschool and each family member is in pursuit of their own particular art (dance, writing, etc.) and largely oblivious to the needs of the running of the household and needs of other members of the family.

Enter: Jake Semple. Jake is a juvenile delinquent for whom time and options are running out. His grandfather has taken him in and now he has been delivered to the Applewhites to become a member of their homeschool, as a boarder. E. D. is none too happy about this. Besides quirky people, there are animals with lots of “personality” as well: a parrot, a goat and a dog. There is mayhem at every turn. Despite each member’s inclination to ignore the rest of the family to work on their own personal endeavor, when things come to a head and one member needs all hands on deck to succeed, family members do step up to the plate to help. Jake is caught up in this whirlwind of a family, and it is satisfying to see Jake’s development and his slow shedding of the tough exterior he has developed in the past to protect himself and remain aloof.

I enjoyed this book and had not read it until this year. My youngest son remembers reading it as a child and enjoying it. He says it reminded him of the book series by Helen Cresswell about the Bagthorpes (Ordinary Jack being the first in the series)-only the characters in Tolan’s book are less dysfunctional. Surviving the Applewhites is recommended for ages 11-14. I find that there are two further books about the Applewhites: Applewhites Coast to Coast and Applewhites at Wit‘s End. I will have to look for them at my library and give them a look! Hope you give this Newbery Honor book a try and share it with a child! Happy Reading!