Tadpole

by Ruth White

Book Overview

A funny and moving story set in Kentucky It's the beginning of summer 1955, and though her family is struggling financially, Carolina's mama still indulges her four daughters' whims, like springing... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440419794
• ISBN13: 9780440419792
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Yearling Books
• Length: 196 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 10 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 5 and higher

Customer Reviews

My name is Tad now, not Tadpole! MP 311

Have you ever read a book that you just couldn't stop reading and you had to find out what was going to happen next? That's how I felt while reading Tadpole. It was such a good book that I had to just keep reading it. That's because the book had a good plot and great character's. I liked the plot because at times the book was sad but at others, it was happy. Tadpole was trying to find a different home. Uncle Matthew, the owner of the house Tadpole was staying at, didn't treat him right. If he did something wrong, Uncle Matthew would slap Tadpole on the back with a horsewhip. Tadpole ran away to the Collin's house, his cousin's, so he could get away from Uncle Matthew. The main character's were Tadpole, or Tad, Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, Georgia, and the girl's mom, Aunt Serilda. I liked them because they all had their own personality's. Kentucky was popular, Virginia was pretty, Georgia was smart, and, well Carolina, she didn't quite know what talent she had, at least until Tadpole came, and that's what I love about him. He is nice, honest, he include's other people, and he helps people too. That's how Carolina found her talent, by Tad. She found that her talent was singing, finding the harmony in music, and also, playing the guitar, she was a natural at it. She could also identify car engines. As you can see, I really liked this book and I didn't have to say anything bad about it. This book was made up of a great plot, great characters, and so many other reasons!

A Bright Future And a Sad Past-CL

One mother, four girls, and one fun music loving cousin named makes this a great book. I enjoyed this book because the author had a great style of writing, and the plot of Tadpole was good too. In Tadpole Ruth White, the author did a great job of writing this book in a way that an eleven year old girl in the south would have talked. Ruth White used words like `cause instead of because, and git instead of get. Details like these makes Tadpole more realistic book. Tadpole was about a mother, four girls whose father left them because he was tired, and a cousin nick named Tad whose parents had both died. Tad had been living with his abusive uncle Matthew Birch, who had adopted him but, he uses him as free labor until Tad turns 18. One day when Tad's uncle was really mad at him he decided to run away and go to his mother's sister Serilda who lives in a small house with her four daughters. In the middle of the night he goes to his aunts room and tells her all about what his uncle has done to him. Carol who is the youngest and sleeps in the same room as her mother woke up in the middle of their conversation and decided to listen in, so she heard a lot and it became her secret. Mama tried to get a herring with a judge so she can be his legal guardian, but the judge won't hear the case. This is a great book I it think should have a sequel, to tell more about Tads life and if Uncle Matthew tries to do something to Tad, or if he leaves him alone.

Best abd exciting book in the world

Have you ever read a book that you just can't put down? That's how I felt when I read an amazing book called Tadpole. There were so many exciting sections that made me jump out of my seat. But the best part that I liked was the characters. The first exciting event was when Tadpole came to Aunt Serilda's house and lived with the four girls for a while. It got me excited because I thought was not going to be that good. It turned out to be very suspenseful. Another section of the book were there was excitement was when when Tadpoles uncle came to their house to find him. When his uncle came it got me very excited because they hid under the bead and it put a picture in my head right away. The characters were very funny, but one, Uncle Matthew. He was very cruel and mean. He would abuse Tadpole when he lived there, but he eventually escaped. Tad was very entertaining and funny because he played the guitar and sang. The best character was Carolina because, she reminds me of ME! She reminds me of myself because, because she's nice and quiet. I really liked the book because it was exciting, suspenseful, and the characters were very funny. There are so many more reasons that I liked the book Tadpole and I'd read it again. Maybe, if you read it too, you would like it also.

From a young adults point of view

I read this book as one of the requirements for a organization know as the "Caudill Craze". I really liked this book. It was refreshing in the way it was written and the subject. There are not many books in this time that have a moral like this one. I like the way the author used dialect and didn't use proper grammer in the letters that were written, like the way it would have relly been written in 1955. All in all, I personally really liked this book.

Kentucky Harmony-family, dreams & dealing with hard times

Ruth White's tale about the Collins family who lives in a small house in the Kentucky hills in 1955. The family makes up of four little girls Kentucky, Virginia, Georgia and Carolina and their Mama. Their daddy left them when Carolina was a baby. What little electricity they got in the house when they can pay the bill. Their idea of a good time is a trip to town for a hair-do and see one of those Hollywood movies. One day a young fellow by the name of Winston Churchill "Tadpole" Birch comes walking into their lives. He was named Tadpole after he took a dare to swallow a tadpole. Tad had ran away from abusive relatives and now comes to live with the Collins family. He has a talent for singing, playing guitar, he gets neighbors together for social events and gets free passes to the carnival. The story is laid-back and the dialect is very Southern colloquial. The family are well-adjusted and go through remarkable changes inspite of hard times. They learn important lessons about closeness of family, what home is, keeping your dreams and dealing with child abuse. The story looks at the family in a warm and sensitive way with what little they do have, they have so much. They have each other and their dreams beyond the hills. In Carolina's case she find her special talent. The way she can harmonize with Tadpole's music. Parents who buy this book for younger children may want to consider the theme and content of the story. I think this should be for older children who can understand a very sensitive subject in this story. I find it a good story.