Macaroni Boy by Katherine Ayres
During the Great Depression, a boy who faces bullying stumbles upon a mystery and comes of age in this novel that integrates fact and opinion and has a rich 1930's vocabulary. Extra material: An Author's Note is included in the back of the book.Mike Costa has lived his whole life in The Strip, Pittsburgh's warehouse and factory district. His father's large Italian family runs a food wholesale business, and Mike is used to the sounds and smells of men working all night to unload the trains that feed the city. But it's 1933, and the Depression is bringing tough times to everyone. Money problems only add to Mike's worries about his beloved grandfather, who is getting forgetful and confused.
Mike is being tormented at school by a loud-mouth named Andy Simms, who calls Mike "Macaroni Boy." But when dead rats start appearing in the streets, that name changes to "Rat Boy." Around the same time Mike notices that his grandfather is also physically sick. Can whatever is killing the rats be hurting Mike's grandfather? It's a mystery Mike urgently needs to solve in this atmospheric, fast-paced story filled with vibrant period detail.
Katherine Ayres is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she writes and teaches graduate students in Chatham University's MFA program on writing. She also maintains a home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where she writes, gardens, hikes, kayaks, and keeps an eye out for bears. She has written ten novels for children and teens, as well as three poetry chapbooks. The Pennsylvania School Library Association named her a Champion of Reading and an Excellent Writer for Children. Up, Down, and Around, her picture book, was picked as the Pennsylvania One Book, Every Young Child selection and the Kansas Reads to Preschool selection. Her debut collection of essays, BEAR SEASON (Autumn House Publishing, 2013), was published in 2013.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780440418849 |
| ISBN 10 | 0440418844 |
| Title | Macaroni Boy |
| Author | Katherine Ayres |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Random House USA Inc |
| Year published | 2004-07-13 |
| Number of pages | 192 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |