This book was really good. At the beginning of the story, it was really confusing because it started off with the boy throwing a brick at an old man's head. The back was really hard to understand too. But the more I got in the book, I started to understand it. The book was amazing and I loved the mystery.
The Seventh Most Important Thing
By Shelley Pearsall
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 4 - 8 | Grades 3 - 8 | Y | 5.1 | 54258 |
Shelley Pearsall's story of anger and art, loss and redemption, is a transformative read that will appeal to fans of Lisa Graff's Lost in the Sun and Vince Vawter's Paperboy.
One kid. One crime. One chance to make things right.
It was a bitterly cold day when Arthur T. Owens grabbed a brick and hurled it at the trash picker. Arthur had his reasons, and the brick hit the Junk Man in the arm, not the head. But none of that matters to the judge—he is ready to send Arthur to juvie for the foreseeable future. Amazingly, it’s the Junk Man himself who offers an alternative: 120 hours of community service . . . working for him.
Arthur is given a rickety shopping cart and a list of the Seven Most Important Things: glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, lightbulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. He can’t believe it—is he really supposed to rummage through people’s trash? But it isn’t long before Arthur realizes there’s more to the Junk Man than meets the eye, and the “trash” he’s collecting is being transformed into something more precious than anyone could imagine. . . .
Inspired by the work of American folk artist James Hampton, award-winning author Shelley Pearsall has crafted an affecting and redemptive novel about discovering what shines within us all, even when life seems full of darkness.
One kid. One crime. One chance to make things right.
It was a bitterly cold day when Arthur T. Owens grabbed a brick and hurled it at the trash picker. Arthur had his reasons, and the brick hit the Junk Man in the arm, not the head. But none of that matters to the judge—he is ready to send Arthur to juvie for the foreseeable future. Amazingly, it’s the Junk Man himself who offers an alternative: 120 hours of community service . . . working for him.
Arthur is given a rickety shopping cart and a list of the Seven Most Important Things: glass bottles, foil, cardboard, pieces of wood, lightbulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. He can’t believe it—is he really supposed to rummage through people’s trash? But it isn’t long before Arthur realizes there’s more to the Junk Man than meets the eye, and the “trash” he’s collecting is being transformed into something more precious than anyone could imagine. . . .
Inspired by the work of American folk artist James Hampton, award-winning author Shelley Pearsall has crafted an affecting and redemptive novel about discovering what shines within us all, even when life seems full of darkness.
Publisher: Yearling
ISBN-13: 9780553497311
ISBN-10: 0553497316
Published on 10/4/2016
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 288
Book Reviews (9)
I really loved this book! At first, I thought it was a bit confusing as you were placed in court with the main character (Arthur Owens) Answering the judges' questions. This book starts with Arthur Owens in court, the book gives you a flashback about what he did and how he landed in Juvie. He threw a brick at a man and was sentenced to work for the man for 140 hours. The reason he threw a brick, gave me empathy for him. The book went on and I learned about what happened to Arthur Owen's life. You also saw the relationship between the man he hit and him. For all the reasons and more I loved this book! This also was a true story which makes it even better.
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This is an amazing book, there was a mystery all throughout the pages at every turn. The book made you feel how the characters felt and made you feel attached to them. Its ability to show you that even the worst things can be beautiful. The fact that friends can be made in even the oddest circumstances is inspiring.
This book is about a boy who has to do community service for throwing a brick at an old man's head. He has a list " The Seven Most Important Things" to get that includes glass bottles, cardboard, mirror, coffee cans, wood, and foil.
I will recommend this book. I recommend this book because it is one of the best books that I have ever read and I am not a very big reader but this book will catch you instantly and you can't stop reading it. In chapters 1-17 it tells you how Arthur Owens goes to jail for throwing a brick at Mr. Hampton who people call him the junk man. In chapter 18 it says that Arthur got two weeks off his probation because of Christmas. Arthur had to collect 7 really important things for Mr. Hampton. When Arthur would go to Mr. Hampton's house he would always stop at Groovy Jim's. He would ask Groovy Jim where Mr. Hampton.
I think the book explains different perspectives and how Arthur goes through all this. It is very heart touching and VERY interesting!!!!!!!!!
what? the junk man is going to let him work for him!
I think that this book is AMAZING so far! I love it! Although its a little scary in the beginning, it talks about crime, family, and more! :)
I think that this book is amazing so far!!! Although I haven't finished it yet it's So good right now and I'm right in the middle! :) It's about family, crime, and a lot more, and I think that anyone who reads this book, will fall in love with it even though the beginning was a little scary. :(