What Jamie Saw

Name: What Jamie Saw
Brand: Penguin Random House
Availability: InStock
Author: Carolyn Coman
ISBN: 9780739371930

Author: Carolyn Coman

Narrator: Bronson Pinchot

Unabridged: 1 hr 39 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Listening Library

Published: 09/23/2008

Categories: Children's Fiction, Children's Social Themes

Synopsis

“When Jamie saw him throw the baby, saw Van throw the little baby, saw Van throw his little sister Nin, then they moved.”

Nin’s okay–Jamie knows that because his mom was there to catch her. And then Jamie and his mom and Nin moved into Earl’s little trailer that loos like a silver toaster up in the hills in the middle of nowhere. Jamie imagines they are the only survivors of some catastrophe, them and Earl, who brings them food and makes sure they’re okay. But then there’s the county fair and Jamie wants to go. And there’s the school and Mrs. Desrochers, Jamie’s teacher, who keeps trying to get close. There isn’t enough money for Christmas presents and the car doesn’t always start and Jamie’s mom is worried lots of the time. Jamie just practices his magic tricks and takes things as they come…until one day Van shows up.

“This chillingly rhythmic opening scene left me breathless and hooked…[this] story could have been bleak…instead, it comes laced with spiritual and literal magic.”–The New York Times Book Review

About The Author

National Book Award FinalistCarolyn Coman is the author of Tell Me Everything, What Jamie Saw, and Bee and Jacky. What Jamie Saw received a 1996 John Newbery Honor Award from the American Library Association and was also named a National Book Award Finalist. She has two children and lives in New Hampshire.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Josiah on August 25, 2023

There are a lot of promising ideas here, and a flowing style that readers of all ages will find accessible and interesting. The strength of What Jamie Saw is the ease with which young readers who have faced similar situations to Jamie's will identify with (and hopefully find comfort from) his story.......more

Goodreads review by Karla on December 16, 2008

I honestly don't remember hearing about this book, which won a Newbery Honor Award in 1996. I don't like the cover art, so probably would have passed it up. I don't really know why I started reading it, but after the first sentence - When Jamie saw him throw the baby, saw Van throw the little baby,......more

Goodreads review by Linda on March 05, 2013

This 1996 Newbery Honor book was also a finalist for the National Book Award. It packs a punch in a mere 126 pages and it addresses a social issue that is compelling and necessary to discuss, ie the impact that adult decisions have upon their small children. Jamie's mother chose to subject her child......more

Goodreads review by Carrie on December 12, 2018

I was very disappointed in this book. I had it on my to read list for a very long time and was excited to find out my new local library had it on the shelves. But it was not good. I get that it was written from the point of view of a 3rd grader and thus the tension was seen through his eyes and ther......more

Goodreads review by Ron on August 24, 2024

This is a very short book (90 minute listen) that was a Newbery Honor book back in the 1990s. It starts with Jamie seeing an incident of abuse and his mother grabbing the children and leaving. The author tries to get you inside Jamie's head so that you can see some of what he is dealing with. This i......more