Full of beans

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Summary

Ten-year-old Beans Curry, a member of the Keepsies, the best marble playing gang in Depression-era Key West, Florida, engages in various schemes to earn money while "New Dealers" from Washington, D.C., arrive to turn run down Key West into a tourist resort.

Published Reviews

Booklist Review: "*Starred Review* Key West, Florida, wasn't always a vibrant tourist destination. Holm (The Fourteenth Goldfish, 2014) turns back the clock to the 1930s, when the Great Depression had the island in its grip, leaving jobs scarce, feet bare, and houses in disrepair. Times may be tough, but they aren't getting down Beans Curry, an enterprising 10-year-old who will do most anything to earn a dime. Accompanied by his tag-along brother Kermit and a stray dog named Termite, Beans wanders the neighborhood collecting used cans, making laundry deliveries, shooting marbles, or if he's lucky seeing the latest Shirley Temple picture. Things get shaken up when a team of New Dealers descends on the town to turn it into a vacation hot spot, but Beans doesn't appreciate these visitors, until he runs into a bit of trouble while trying to make some easy money. Holm's talent for writing historical fiction is on full display in this story inspired by actual events. Readers will latch on to antiquated expressions (What a bunch of applesauce!) and marvel at aspects of Beans' everyday life for instance, few houses had phones, but party lines made eavesdropping a breeze. Mostly, though, they will be invested in Beans, whose tough exterior hides a vulnerable side. Interesting family and small-town dynamics further enrich this fascinating account of a young boy's life in Florida's Recovery Key. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Holms is a three-time Newbery honoree and best-seller, plus she is touring with this title's release, so purchase accordingly.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2016 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "In this excellent prequel to the Newbery Honor-winning Turtle in Paradise, Holm recounts the origins of the Diaper Gang, the group of barefoot boys who have the run of Key West during the Great Depression. Their unofficial leader, Beans, narrates the arrival of the New Dealers who attempt to transform the poverty-stricken island into a tourist destination. Through Beans's eyes, Holm captures the population's economic distress ("Our town looked like a tired black-and-white movie"), with his father heading north to look for work, his mother's hands "red and raw" from doing the neighbors' laundry, and the ubiquitous "conch chowder." To help his family, Beans ventures into a life of crime, setting false fire alarms to create diversions for Cuban rum smuggler Johnny Cakes; dire repercussions motivate him to make amends, igniting his latent leadership skills to the town's benefit. Period details-like keeping Sears and Roebuck catalogues handy in outhouses, "marble mania," people with leprosy hidden by their families, and the Shirley Temple craze-make for entertaining and illuminating historical fiction. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary Management. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved."
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Additional Information

Subjects	Moneymaking projects Fiction Gangs Fiction Depressions 1929 Fiction Moneymaking projects Juvenile fiction Gangs Juvennile fiction Depressions 1929 Juvenile fiction Historical Fiction Juvenile Literature Juvenile Fiction Key West (Fla.) History 20th century Fiction. Electronic books. Children's stories. 1929 20th century
Publisher	New York :Random House Children's Books,2016 Random House Children's Books2016
Edition	First edition.
Contributors	OverDrive, Inc.
Audience	490
Language	English
System Details	Mode of access: World Wide Web. Format: Adobe EPUB eBook Format: Kindle Book Format: OverDrive Read Requires Adobe Digital Editions or Amazon Kindle
Description	1 online resource
ISBN	9780553510393 9780553510393
Other	Classic View