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Spitting Image
Twelve-year-old Jessie K. Bovey has a lot to worry about. She doesn’t know who her father is; her old biddy of a grandmother keeps interfering in her life; her best friend, Robert, desperately needs new glasses that his family can’t afford; and mean Dickie Whitten teases Robert until Jessie has no choice but to punch him out.
When some New York City reporters show up in Beulah County to research a story about the War on Poverty, Jessie sees a way to solve one of her problems. She can charge money for showing the reporters around town so they can take pictures of the “local color” and use it to help pay for Robert’s glasses. But her plan backfires spectacularly, and Jessie learns some big lessons—and some big secrets as well.
A small Kentucky town and its quirky inhabitants are vividly evoked in Shutta Crum’s warm, atmospheric coming-of-age story, which handles multiple serious themes with a light touch.
When some New York City reporters show up in Beulah County to research a story about the War on Poverty, Jessie sees a way to solve one of her problems. She can charge money for showing the reporters around town so they can take pictures of the “local color” and use it to help pay for Robert’s glasses. But her plan backfires spectacularly, and Jessie learns some big lessons—and some big secrets as well.
A small Kentucky town and its quirky inhabitants are vividly evoked in Shutta Crum’s warm, atmospheric coming-of-age story, which handles multiple serious themes with a light touch.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
3 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Shutta Crum
30 books32 followersShutta Crum is bi-peninsular, spending half the year in Michigan and half the year in Florida. She is the author of three middle-grade novels and fifteen picture books, as well as many poems, magazine articles, and two poetry chapbooks for adults. Her books have made Bank Street College lists as well as state award lists. THUNDER-BOOMER! was an ALA and a Smithsonian Magazine “Notable Book” of the year. WHEN YOU GET HERE (poems for adults) won a gold Royal Palm Literary Award, (FL). She is also the author of two nearly wordless books MINE! and UH-OH! both published by Knopf. MINE! made the Texas 2X2 list and was a Crystal Kite Award winner for the illustrator Patrice Barton. Of MINE! the N. Y. Times said, “a delightful example of the drama and emotion that a nearly wordless book can convey.” In 2005 she was invited to read at the Easter Egg Roll at the White House. She is a retired librarian and now blogs regularly for the Florida Writers Association, writes a bimonthly column for the Fl. State Poetry Association magazine Of Poets & Poetry, and leads the Friday Follies writing group. In addition, she writes and publishes THE WORDSMITH’S PLAYGROUND, a monthly newsletter for writers. For more info: www.shutta.com
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 29, 2017
I will be talking about the book spitting image, its a very nice book that's talking about a girl named Jessica a twelve years old girl that lives with her single mom, she always spend her time with her best friend Robert and his young brother baby blue in a small town in Beulah. She lived her childhood but at the same time she had a very strong personality that she can defend herself very well.
For me I recommend that people should read this book because any one read it will learn too many lessons just as much as I learned and maybe more, some of the lessons that I learned was to know how to defend myself and to accept being bullied or treated in a bad way, the second lesson was to be generous with people and to know who to be generous with like the closest people to me and the ones I love and feel comfortable talking with them also to try to help them as much as I can when they need it. An example on her strong personality from the book was when she said "Yeah. Well, right now I can't think of a better one than punching his lights out" And that was her reaction when a boy named Dickie tried to annoy her and say to her bad words, she didn't accept that so she wanted to hit him in his face and show that he deserves it. This quote shows how strong she is and that any body hurts her will deserve being in trouble. Another quote that represents her kindness and generous treatment with the people she loves such as her best friend Robert was when she said " That's enough for two chances I earned it filling in for mama and lester at the gas and go" She wanted to help her friend and the thing is that her friend didn't have enough money to buy his new glasses so she did her best just to buy him a new ones and see him happy and smiling, all of this is an evidence on her old age thinking and the way she thinks like adults even though she is twelve years old which approve that she is a very kind and nice person. She was saving money alone for buying her best friend new glasses and she hid the money so no one can take it, she is very generous.
I rate this book for about four out of five because I can tell that it was a very nice story that any one reads it will learn many lessons from it that will benefit them always and I can tell that it wasn't that famous or a masterpiece that why I give it four, but I really earned many advantages reading this book it is such a pleasure to read it because each page in this book owned a lesson to be taught.
Also it gives me a lot of that positive feelings in helping others and trying to do my best to draw the smile on their faces, people should read it because of all the things I just talked about and the things we benefit from. That was the general lesson I learned from this book, is to see people happy, that way I will be loved by every one. That was my opinion about the book spitting image I hope people would read it and like it and learn as many lessons as I learned from it because it contains many words and sentences that can change your feelings against someone.
I hope it would be as nice as I think for you.
For me I recommend that people should read this book because any one read it will learn too many lessons just as much as I learned and maybe more, some of the lessons that I learned was to know how to defend myself and to accept being bullied or treated in a bad way, the second lesson was to be generous with people and to know who to be generous with like the closest people to me and the ones I love and feel comfortable talking with them also to try to help them as much as I can when they need it. An example on her strong personality from the book was when she said "Yeah. Well, right now I can't think of a better one than punching his lights out" And that was her reaction when a boy named Dickie tried to annoy her and say to her bad words, she didn't accept that so she wanted to hit him in his face and show that he deserves it. This quote shows how strong she is and that any body hurts her will deserve being in trouble. Another quote that represents her kindness and generous treatment with the people she loves such as her best friend Robert was when she said " That's enough for two chances I earned it filling in for mama and lester at the gas and go" She wanted to help her friend and the thing is that her friend didn't have enough money to buy his new glasses so she did her best just to buy him a new ones and see him happy and smiling, all of this is an evidence on her old age thinking and the way she thinks like adults even though she is twelve years old which approve that she is a very kind and nice person. She was saving money alone for buying her best friend new glasses and she hid the money so no one can take it, she is very generous.
I rate this book for about four out of five because I can tell that it was a very nice story that any one reads it will learn many lessons from it that will benefit them always and I can tell that it wasn't that famous or a masterpiece that why I give it four, but I really earned many advantages reading this book it is such a pleasure to read it because each page in this book owned a lesson to be taught.
Also it gives me a lot of that positive feelings in helping others and trying to do my best to draw the smile on their faces, people should read it because of all the things I just talked about and the things we benefit from. That was the general lesson I learned from this book, is to see people happy, that way I will be loved by every one. That was my opinion about the book spitting image I hope people would read it and like it and learn as many lessons as I learned from it because it contains many words and sentences that can change your feelings against someone.
I hope it would be as nice as I think for you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2015
Spitting Image by Shutta Crum is a novel that follows the life of a young girl named Jessie K. Bovey. In the book, Jessie’s main goal is to save up twenty dollars to buy her best friend Robert a pair glasses, who cannot do it himself since his family is living in poverty. A couple of “do-gooders” from the North comes down to help and publicize the state of Jessie’s town, but unintentionally, they cause conflict and many issues between the proud Southerners. This novel is set in a close-knit Southern United States community in the 1960s. The protagonist, Jessie, goes through quite a bit of character development, from an immature and impulsive young girl to a more controlled and considerate young lady. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a quick and stereotypical realistic fiction novel, a mostly feel-good book that carefully brushes over a few dark topics. It’s a pretty easy read, with only a couple hundred pages and a somewhat simple vocabulary. I would say that this book is a 3/5 because it’s a nice and casual story that anyone could read for enjoyment when they have spare time.
June 25, 2014
Wow! This book was a surprise! While it is juvenile fiction, it deals with big issues and contains some very grown-up details. The characters are exceptionally well developed. I absolutely fell in love with Jessie! Jessie is a straightforward young girl whose temper gets her in trouble. She tries hard to do the right thing but things just don't go as planned. She and Grandma butt heads because Jessie believes Grandma just doesn't understand her. Most importantly, Jessie wants to know who her dad is and can't understand why her mother refuses to talk about the past. I laughed, I cried, and I trembled with knots in my stomach. This book contains emotion and depth! Thank you, Shutta Crum for such an incredible story!
January 25, 2017
This is a historical fiction book about a girl named Jessica who has a lot on her mind. First, she wants to know who her dad is. She also wants to raise money for a new pair of glasses for her best friend Robert. Jessie needs to also figure out how to stay out of fistfights, and avoid hr annoying grandmother. When a volunteer in the presidents fight against poverty shows up in Jessie's town, and she sees a way to get money for Roberts glasses. The plan completely backfires. Jessie's problems seem to pile up faster than she can handle.
August 27, 2023
A beautifully written novel set in the 1960s in rural Kentucky. Although this is a middle grade novel it is not a simplistic story. It deals with some heavy subjects; abject poverty, prejudice, and abuse, centered around the President’s War on Poverty. The characters are all well drawn and relatable and situations believable. The main character, Jessie, is a quirky spitfire readers can’t help falling in love with. Recommended.
March 22, 2009
These lines spoke to me:'Finding your place in the world isn't easy. Sometimes you have to push out and clear a space you can claim for yourself. And sometimes, when you're not even thinking about it, a space just opens up and you walk in and meet the outside world that's come looking for you.'
July 2, 2012
12 yr old Jessie is fiercely proud & protective of herself & friends from the school bully. She doesn't have a father & wonders if the Dr. from Hiriam is her father. Jessie soon finds out that she is the spitting image of her Grandpa Henry who died before she was born.
November 15, 2012
This book was great. It was really interesting. My favorite part was in the end when Jessie and Grandma finally get along and Momma tells Jessie about her daddy and something's happen!!! I am not going to tell you will have to read this book! It is very good and highly recommend it!
September 26, 2009
this book really shows a great friendship. i LOVED this book!!!i recommend this book to everyone!!!
October 17, 2009
I think i'm going to abandon this book because it's really SLOW. And it's not getting any better, and im not too far on it yet, so i can start another one.
Read
November 25, 2010Some good emotion and character, but with too many plot pieces to line up in the end it felt like it had more than one climax.
December 5, 2011
My 8 year old daughter loved this book!
February 9, 2015
I thought that the book was good, but I felt that the author repeated herself a little bit with trying to get Robert glasses.
November 13, 2016
Sure to be a classic. I always difficult to put down. I read it every summer and get something new each time.
April 24, 2019
A coming-of-age story in a small Kentucky town, this deals with tough issues, but delicately. The reader gets to watch the protagonist's pugilistic ways slowly over time give way to more sophisticated methods of dealing with adversity. This is a rewarding book to read, and kids will appreciate it.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews