Editorial Review :

Twelve-year-old Darcy, trying to project a "normal" image in junior high school despite her wheelchair, runs for office with the promise of exposing cruel and unfair teachers in the school, until prayer and her friends reveal to her that every situation has two sides.

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Editorial Review :

A young boy’s life is shattered when his mentor and older brother breaks his neck playing high school football and lands in a wheelchair. Teetering at poverty line without insurance, all resemblance of a normal family or social life is snatched away from the boy and his family; stress replaces love in the home. Later on, as a young adult, the same little boy witnesses his youngest brother’s battle against leukemia, a child killer, and he prays that he doesn’t die. As if he hadn’t had enough anguish during his youth, twenty years later the same boy, now a man and father himself, is forced to endure the helpless sorrow and pain watching his three year old son fight cancer, a 4 year battle of never ending therapy, pain and tragedy.

Hello, my name is Chuck Kesterson, and I am the “young boy” and father who is witness to all the tragedies described above. I have written a 76,000 word, nineteen chapter novel of these non-fictional events. My book’s main objectives are to paint a picture with words detailing my wonderful early childhood and how it was shattered with the tragedy of my older brother’s accident and my little brother’s fight with leukemia. I continue on to explain my participation as a firefighter during two major airplane crashes, then on to describe the events surrounding my 3 year old boy’s four year battle with cancer.

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Editorial Review :

"Top cat Arnie teases Philip because he is confined to a wheelchair. Yet when Arnie falls down the school steps and breaks a leg, twists a wrist, and sprains a tail, he begins to see life from a different perspective. With few books about mainstreaming available, this entertaining story should be welcome."--Booklist. Full color.

Customer Review :

Kids understand it!

I don't agree with the former reviewer. I have used this book in classes of 2nd and 3rd grade children. They all understood the story and its message. I thought it was a very good book.

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Carlson failed miserably with this one!

Clearly the author made an effort towards inclusion but she failed miserably. Arnie and the New Kid is really the story of how the school bully was able to save a classmate with a physical disability from a life of shunning by befriending him. This is far from the message that we should be imparting in our children. We need to show children that people with disabilities are valuable, contributing citizens. I'd recommend Verna Allette Willkins' books Are We There Yet and Boots for a Bridesmaid as wonderful examples of this fact.

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