Noah Barleywater Runs Away

July 11, 2011
At age eight, Noah Barleywater runs away from home. He is "the seventh cleverest boy" in his class and has "read 14 books from cover to cover" but does not consider these achievements sufficient, and seeks adventure. On his journey, which has strong shades of Alice in Wonderland and The Phantom Tollbooth, he travels through quirky villagesâin one, when he picks apples, it is considered a serious crime, and the tree and apples are rushed to the hospitalâbefore meeting a dachshund and a donkey, who point him to a magical toyshop. There he meets an old man, his friends, and many intricate puppets, which represent figures from the man's past. As the old man shares his stories, which touch on themes of courage, selflessness, and keeping promises, Noah opens up about his own family's struggles. Though the magical elements in this carpe diem tale are loosely bound by a meandering thread, Boyne (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas) touchingly conveys Noah's emotional development from a boy in denial of painful realities to a young man who accepts that which can't be changed. Ages 8â12.

September 1, 2011

Gr 7-10-Early one morning, eight-year-old Noah Barleywater runs away from home. Almost immediately, he finds himself, like Alice in Wonderland or Milo journeying past the Phantom Tollbooth, in a world turned upside down, where animals talk, a few stolen apples lead to a world of trouble, a house remakes itself to replace missing parts as needed, and a mysterious toy maker gladly shares the outrageous adventures of his youth. A sense of impending doom fills the story as it becomes evident that Noah's mother is dying, and knowledgeable readers will be able to figure out the identity of the toy maker long before his name is actually given. The story is told mostly from Noah's viewpoint; however, the tone is adult, somewhat nostalgic, and even melancholy. Older, more sophisticated kids might appreciate the whimsical humor, creative details, and fairy-tale connection; the true audience for this novel is long past elementary school age.-Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2011
Noah, eight, "couldn't bear to stay [home] any longer." The author of the controversial Boy in the Striped Pajamas (rev. 9/06) invokes several literary fantasies here: Noah's unexplained opening bolt before sunrise recalls Alice's rabbit hole plunge; his try at picking apples for breakfast is an Oz-like run-in with indignant trees. The bulk of the book consists of dialogue between Noah and "the old man," a puppet maker with a sympathetic ear and memories of his own past. What is troubling Noah emerges in response to the man's parallel experiences. Each recounts significant events: in his youth, the man was a phenomenal runner so involved in his career that he forgot his promise to come home, arriving only after his Poppa's death -- a cautionary tale that finally sends Noah back to his own dying Mum in his own realistic world. Meanwhile, references to Pinocchio accumulate -- cricket, fox, cat, nose. Whatever the man carves from the wood of his remarkable regenerative tree is animate and can engage in amusing repartee; yet he has no customers. Curiously, Pinocchio himself (yes, the old man is he) regrets not only his tardy return to Geppetto but the immortality he forfeited by becoming "real." Choosing more wisely, Noah will thrive. Like Collodi's classic, this is weighed down by its message; still, it's briskly told, a clever use of its source, and a sympathetic take on a sober topic. joanna rudge long

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2012
Noah, eight, "couldn't bear to stay [home] any longer." The bulk of the book consists of dialogue between Noah and "the old man," a puppet maker. Noah's troubles emerge in response to the man's parallel experiences; meanwhile, Pinocchio references accumulate. Like Collodi's classic, this story is weighed down by its message. Still, it's briskly told and provides a sympathetic take on a sober topic.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)