Pay Attention, Carter Jones

By Gary D. Schmidt

Book Overview

Bestselling author Gary D. Schmidt tells a coming-of-age story with the light touch of The Wednesday Wars, the heart of Okay for Now, and the unique presence of a wise and witty butler.

Carter Jones is astonished early one morning when he finds a real English butler, bowler hat and all, on the doorstep--one who stays to help the Jones family, which is a little bit broken.

In addition to figuring out middle school, Carter has to adjust to the unwelcome presence of this new know-it-all adult in his life and navigate the butler's notions of decorum. And ultimately, when his burden of grief and anger from the past can no longer be ignored, Carter learns that a burden becomes lighter when it is shared.

Sparkling with humor, this insightful and compassionate story will resonate with readers who have confronted secrets of their own.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0544790855
• ISBN13: 9780544790858
• Release Date: February 2019
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 10 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 7

Customer Reviews

Gary D Schmidt never disappoints me.

I have been a lover of good children’s literature for more than 75 years. C S Lewis once said good children’s literature grows with you. This book is an example of that, revealing new treasures as I mature enough to receive them. And those treasures help me to live closer to my ideals, & meet challenges with more understanding and grace. Living is a joy, yet contained within that joy are things that are hard - sometimes very hard - to bear and to deal with. It is helpful to share in the ways others meet such challenges. When I read this book, as with others by this great story teller, I became fully engrossed in it, feeling with the characters and learning along with them. When my kids were at home, or when I was teaching, it was books like this, with heart & soul I shared. Much in our culture seems to pretend all hardship is avoidable, & the expectation of “happily ever after” starting now is ever more deeply planted, which leaves people without thought or preparation when hardship strikes. It is a gift to people of all ages, to share is the experience of working to develop character.

Beautiful story

I absolutely loved this story. Schmidt has a knack for wisely, gently and beautifully dealing with the heartbreak in childhood in a hopeful, redeeming way. He reflects on the failures of adults, while not bashing adults--in every story there is someone who is that loyal, faithful, and reliable adult that serves to help the main character work through hard things in life. He artfully develops his characters--we can all relate to them in some way, and learn with and from them. His stories are entertaining--laugh out loud--while also poignant. This one captured me and kept me up later than I intended just to see it through to the satisfying, heart-warming end.

Depressing

We ended up not giving this to our kids. There is sibling death, parental abandonment, etc. just not the heavy load we care to unload on our pre-teen.