Vendor
	Fritz Agency Christian Dittus
Original language
English
Categories
Books for very young children, children’s picture books & activity books
Weblink
http://ErinBow.com

SIMON SORT OF SAYS

Erin Bow

For fans of Kate DiCamillo and Jack Gantos, a hilarious, wrenching, hopeful novel about finding your friends, healing your heart, and speaking your truth.

Simon O'Keeffe tells a lot of stories --like that his family was driven out of Omaha by alpacas, his church-deacon dad accidentally gave a squirrel a holy sacrament, and his undertaker mom occasionally has to wrangle emus. There's also the beer-drinking golden retriever who flunked out of service-dog training, his mom's bumbling assistant who's more likely to lose a corpse than deliver the right one, and the empty-headed peacock that came with the O'Keeffes' new funeral-home-slash-house.

But Simon's about to tell the biggest story of his life. His family's just moved to Grin And Bear It, Nebraska, smack in the middle of the National Quiet Zone, where internet and cell phones are banned so astronomers can search the skies for signs of alien life. And on his first day of school, Simon meets Agate --his effervescent, ingenious classmate on a mission to give the scientists what they're looking for.

Simon needs a new story. A story to keep the scientists from giving up and the internet from coming to town; a story to overpower the one that everybody outside of Grin And Bear It knows about him -- that he's the sole survivor of a school shooting. So along with Agate, his Minecraft-loving new friend Kevin, a service puppy in training, and a forbidden microwave, Simon sets out to send a message from the stars.

From award-winning author Erin Bow, Simon Sort of Says is a breathtaking testament to the lasting echoes of trauma, the redemptive power of humor, and the courage it takes to move forward without forgetting the past.

Available products
Book Published 2023-01-01 by Disney Hyperion

Comments

Blunt as trauma, delicate as healing, and hilarious and tragic as middle school can beeach piece of Simon Sort of Says snaps together like the most satisfying jigsaw puzzle. This book is as close to everything as one book can be. -- Kyle Lukoff, Newbery Honor - winning author of Too Bright to See

Watch this charming author video. Read more...

With an abundance of humor, vibrant characters, and a gentle approach to hard truths, Simon Sort of Says strikes a perfect balance of fun and meaning. A remarkable achievement. --Ali Benjamin, New York Times best-selling and National Book Award-nominated author of THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH

Facing trauma from the past is difficult, but this book handles it masterfully....... Funny and heartfelt in equal measure, this book tackles some tough topics, but the humor keeps readers engaged, and it is easy to care about these characters. ... It deftly handles the sensitive topic of being a young trauma survivor. School Library Journal

BookRiot named Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow as one of the "12 of the Best New Children's Books Out January 2023."

(...) compassionate and refreshingly hopeful ...uplifting emotional arc about making peace with his past...imbues this sincere story with levity. -- Publisher's Weekly, starred Review

Fast-paced and full of quirky characters, Simon Sort of Says presents a tragedy stitched up with humor, sensitivity, and rare humanity. -- Jack Gantos, Newbery Awardwinning author of Dead End in Norvelt

[...] Bow crafts an uproarious small-town comedy with a devastating tragedy at its core played out by a cast as memorable for its animals as its people. Adroit, sensitive, horrifying, yet hilarious. --Kirkus Starred Review

While the violence happens offscreen, Simon's descriptions of his resulting panic attacks and anxiety have a visceral urgency; even more painful, however, are the small adjustments he's madealways staying aware of people's position in a room and noting exits for an escape route. Despite the weighty premise, Bow's storytelling brims with vitality, featuring many hilarious, outlandish scenes, like the antics of a funeral home's peacock, a dog that retrieves cans of beer, and the life and death of a Jesus Squirrel. The scientific plotline is thematically compelling, and the character-driven narratives thrive in its context, including Simon's narration of his post-traumatic healing and the development of winsome secondary characters. An author's note illuminates Bow's motivation to write about this topic and clarifies which story details are real or fictional. --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review