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Sauerkraut



by
Kelly Jones
illustrated by
Paul Davey

Edition
Library edition with trade jacket added
Publisher
Penguin Random House
Imprint
Knopf
ISBN
9781524765965
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
None
$10.80   $9.00
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QTY
Out of stock

HD Schenk is a maker—an inventor, someone who builds cool stuff. He’s got a plan for the summer: he’ll build his own computer and enter it in the county fair. Then everyone will know who he is and what he can do. To earn enough money for the parts he’ll need, HD has promised to clear out his uncle’s overflowing basement. No big deal, right? But there’s more in that basement than HD bargained for. On his first trip down there, a voice only he can hear starts talking to him. About…sauerkraut?

Who knew the ghost of his great-great-grandmother was haunting an old pickling crock? She’s got a grand plan, too. She wants HD to help make her famous recipe for sauerkraut and enter it in the county fair so that she can be declared pickle queen. After some initial shock, HD is willing enough to help. This ghost is family, after all. But only HD can really see and hear his Oma, which is going to make it hard for her to win on her own…

Black-and-white illustrations.

POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
None

Details

Format

Print

Page Count

288

Trim Size

8 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Dewey

F

AR

4.8: points 7

Lexile

750L

Genre

Fiction

Scholastic Reading Counts

11

JLG Release

Feb 2020

Book Genres

Magical Realism

Topics

Inventors. Great-great-grandmothers. Ghosts. Family life. Sauerkraut. Friendship. Family history. Summer. Computers. County fairs.

Standard MARC Records

Download Standard MARC Records

Cover Art

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Praise & Reviews

Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:

Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly

School Library Journal

Maker and superhero-loving HD Schenk has a plan to build his own computer from scratch and enter it into the county fair this summer. But first he must earn enough money to buy parts, so he offers to help clear out his uncle’s basement. On his first trip downstairs, HD encounters a ghostly voice. When he finds an old pickling crock that had been used by his great-great grandmother (Oma) to make sauerkraut, HD realizes that Oma is haunting the crock and she has a singular mission: to enter her sauerkraut in the county fair and win. As the only person who can hear Oma’s voice, HD is compelled to help her but has trouble balancing his own dreams and goals for the summer with the demanding Oma’s. Instead of keeping Oma a secret, HD introduces her first to his best friend Eli and then to his family and trusted members of his community. Oma is a strong enough ghost to work a pencil (among other kitchen equipment) and communicates with everyone through notes. This thoroughly quirky tale highlights the importance of mutual respect, community, and family heritage. HD, who is biracial and bicultural (black and German American), must constantly explain why he doesn’t look like his dad, and has integrated his parents’ different cultural backgrounds into his worldview. The grown-ups encourage HD and his friend to make time for their own goals and summer plans and respectfully accept Oma into their lives. Lists and plans and scientific observations of various projects are featured throughout, as well as warm, evocative pencil illustrations by Davey. A ghost story about family heritage and obligations that will appeal to fans of family-driven, slice-of-life tales.

Praise & Reviews

School Library Journal

Maker and superhero-loving HD Schenk has a plan to build his own computer from scratch and enter it into the county fair this summer. But first he must earn enough money to buy parts, so he offers to help clear out his uncle’s basement. On his first trip downstairs, HD encounters a ghostly voice. When he finds an old pickling crock that had been used by his great-great grandmother (Oma) to make sauerkraut, HD realizes that Oma is haunting the crock and she has a singular mission: to enter her sauerkraut in the county fair and win. As the only person who can hear Oma’s voice, HD is compelled to help her but has trouble balancing his own dreams and goals for the summer with the demanding Oma’s. Instead of keeping Oma a secret, HD introduces her first to his best friend Eli and then to his family and trusted members of his community. Oma is a strong enough ghost to work a pencil (among other kitchen equipment) and communicates with everyone through notes. This thoroughly quirky tale highlights the importance of mutual respect, community, and family heritage. HD, who is biracial and bicultural (black and German American), must constantly explain why he doesn’t look like his dad, and has integrated his parents’ different cultural backgrounds into his worldview. The grown-ups encourage HD and his friend to make time for their own goals and summer plans and respectfully accept Oma into their lives. Lists and plans and scientific observations of various projects are featured throughout, as well as warm, evocative pencil illustrations by Davey. A ghost story about family heritage and obligations that will appeal to fans of family-driven, slice-of-life tales.

Grades 3-5
Intermediate Readers
For Grades 3-5

A wide variety of novels and accessible nonfiction for younger elementary readers who love a good story comprise this category of 12 books per year. The focus in these titles is primarily on the text, though some novels may feature illustration.

12 books per Year
$236.64 per Year
Interests
Chapter Books,Fiction,Transitional Readers
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Grades 3-5
Intermediate Readers
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