Scribble

by Richard W. Jennings

He saw the first one at Wal-Mart, where a person can find just about anything they need, and quite a lot they don’t—even ghosts, as twelve-year-old Lawson discovers. Soon, Lawson’s days and nights are filled with the comings and goings of numerous long-dead famous people. But for all the ghosts he sees, there is one whose face he cannot, no matter how hard he tries. Jennifer Iris Palmer—why couldn’t he picture her face, when he wanted to more than anything? She would have understood. Jip knew something about everything. But Jip was gone, leaving Lawson without the benefit of his best friend’s extensive knowledge. Together with his dog Scribble, he struggles to unravel the meaning of his experiences.
Through Lawson’s unusual misadventures, author Richard Jennings presents a sensitive and moving portrayal of one boy’s struggle to make some sense of his world in the wake of the loss of his best friend.

Genres: Childrens

160 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2004

About the author

Richard Jennings was born and raised in Tennessee. After attending Rhodes College, he moved to Kansas City where he co-founded a popular book store, Rainy Day Books, where his books are always in stock.

Mr. Jennings lives in Overland Park, Kansas, with his wife and family. “He has five children, four grandchildren, a dog, a cat, and a parrot” (as seen on the cover of his books).

He has written novels, short stories, essays, articles, children’s activity books, has made several professional appearances, is a literary judge, and he continues to publish new works.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lawson lives next door to his best friend Jip. He'd never thought about his best friend being a girl. Jip knew about everything including ghosts. Lawson didn't think much about Jip not being well, until suddenly she died. Scribble had been Jip's dog until he bit her. She gave Scrbble to Lawson, who couldn't think about a life before him. Then Scribble and Lawson started seeing ghosts: Sam Walton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Matisse, a bus of ghosts being driven by Nat King Cole. He knew Jip was trying to send him a message, but what was it? Good read about the way we deal with death and acceptance.