A Begonia for Miss Applebaum

by Paul Zindel

Other people might think Miss Applebaum eccentric, but to Zelda and Henry she's the most special teacher they've ever known. They buy her a gift when she retires, but meeting her means having to face up to more in life than they imagined.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade

156 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Paul Zindel was an American author, playwright and educator.

In 1964, he wrote The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, his first and most successful play. The play ran off-Broadway in 1970, and on Broadway in 1971. It won the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was also made into a 1972 movie by 20th Century Fox. Charlotte Zolotow, then a vice-president at Harper & Row (now Harper-Collins) contacted him to writing for her book label. Zindel wrote 39 books, all of them aimed at children or young adults. Many of these were set in his home town of Staten Island, New York. They tended to be semi-autobiographical, focusing on teenage misfits with abusive or neglectful parents. Despite the often dark subject matter of his books, which deal with loneliness, loss, and the effects of abuse, they are also filled with humor. Many of his novels have wacky titles, such as My Darling, My Hamburger, or Confessions of A Teenage Baboon.

The Pigman, first published in 1968, is widely taught in American schools, and also made it on to the list of most frequently banned books in America in the 1990s, because of what some deem offensive language.

Reviews

[Joann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in 8th grade when my teacher suggested this reading. I loved and cried reading it. I'd like to find this book to give to my kiddo to read. Because it made a big impact on my perspective on life.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is kind of like The Pigman, except with a woman. Good stuff. As usual, Zindel isn't condescending to his readers. I really, really appreciate him.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry and Zelda arrive at the beginning of the school year to find that their favorite teacher, Miss Applebaum, has retired. They decide to bring her a begonia, and soon learn that she is actually dying of cancer. But, Miss Applebaum has quite a few more things to teach them before she goes.
This novel is at times wacky and delightful, at times poignant and grave, and always quite genuine and believable. One wishes for her own Miss Applebaum to learn from.

[Jeroen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The start of the book wasn't the best in my opinion. there were a few jokes but the story was hard to understand. You were introduced to miss Applebaum; the main caracter. Although in the middle it were better and the storyline were also better to understand. When the storyline were better to understand, the book automatically nicer. The end was in my opinion the best of the book, because it were more and more exciting.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book for teens. It tells how two teens in New York City enjoyed spending time with their retired Biology teacher after she retired.

[Tracy Poff]

Henry and Zelda find that their favorite teacher, Miss Applebaum, has unexpectedly retired, and they decide to visit her and bring her a begonia. Miss Applebaum is overjoyed to see them, but they are dismayed to discover that she is sick--dying of cancer, in fact.

For the first part of the book, Henry and Zelda visit with Miss Applebaum, and she takes them to Central Park, where she feeds the homeless, and in all things she opens Henry and Zelda to the wonders of the world.

In the second part, Henry and Zelda convince Miss Applebaum to get a second opinion on her condition. She is admitted to a hospital and there she remains, growing sicker and weaker, until the end of the book. During this time, Henry and Zelda continue to visit her, and she conscripts them to fill in her work feeding the homeless.

At last, having had enough with the ineffective treatments, Miss Applebaum checks out of the hospital, and Henry and Zelda take her home, where, after asking Henry and Zelda to keep feeding her homeless friends through the winter, she dies. Following her final request, Henry and Zelda bury her in Central Park, near her favorite bench, by placing her body in a trench which was dug for a new pipe, and covering it so it would not be noticed before the trench was filled in.

The book is written in Henry's and Zelda's voices, the two alternating chapters (which, according to the introduction, they are writing on an Apple II during computer class). It is interesting and, for a YA book, unusually tragic. It is left open whether Henry and Zelda were really right to convince Miss Applebaum to leave her home and spend her final days in the hospital.

This review is also available on Barba Non DB.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry Ledniz and Zelda Einnab are distressed when their favorite science teacher, Miss Applebaum, retires suddenly. When they take her a begonia, Miss Applebaum meets them at the door wearing a bathrobe. She is obviously tired and having trouble breathing. Dr. Oblicheck comes, and Henry and Zelda see him stick a long needle into Miss Applebaum's chest. The treatment leaves her feeling better, and she invites them to spend next Saturday in Central Park. Before Saturday arrives, Zelda finds out that Miss Applebaum has terminal cancer. At Central Park, Henry and Zelda watch Miss Applebaum feed the homeless. She shows them her favorite haunts and Central Park's "roller coaster." After returning to Miss Applebaum's apartment, Bernice, Miss Applebaum's niece, arrives and orders her aunt to bed. She tells Henry and Zelda to let her aunt die in peace. Miss Applebaum assures Henry and Zelda that Bernice’s only real concern is Miss Applebaum’s estate. Ignoring Bernice's advice, the trio's next jaunt is to the Metropolitan Museum. Then, Henry and Zelda talk Miss Applebaum into seeing an oncologist who puts her in the hospital for treatment. Henry and Zelda soon realize that they’ve made a mistake. Miss Applebaum's cancer is so advanced that she’s destined to die in the hospital. Instead of leaving her to “die in peace,” they help her live for the time she has left.
©Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Victoria Sigsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this author when I was at school and there was a bookshop for a while. I found his novel, I Never Loved Your Mind and later went on to read My Darling, My Hamburger and Pardon Me, You're stepping on my Eyeball. Stuck for something to read I looked on the library catalogue and found this one. His novels are always slightly quirky, well written and have a dark side. This did not disappoint and actually tells you the ending at the beginning and then proceeds to tell the backstory. Beautifully written and while sad, is beautiful and hopeful. 5 out of 5.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, this story is wildly unbelievable. There's a zany science teacher, dying of cancer, and two best friends who are her former students and who learn a lot from her in their last months together. Just as in The Pigman, the male and female protagonists narrate alternate chapters, and one fills in what the other leaves out.

26/60 tbr box.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Paul Zindel's best works in my opinion. I enjoy how Henry and Zelda trade off narrating the chapters as John and Lorraine did in the two "Pigman" books.

I'm surprised that this never got made into a film. It would be worth viewing as well.

[Julianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book about two kids who build a relationship with their teacher, only to learn how to cope with very grown up problems.

[Isabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is so sweet and really funny

[chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I pulled this out of my school books the other day and read it in a day. It was pretty good for a teenager book. Of course I liked the teacher in it and that the kids had such respect for her.

[Jenny Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. It deals with death, friendship, and love with the right amount of humor and melancholy. It would be great for 4th-6th graders.

[Leigh Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

read this a very time ago. from memory this was the only one i did not like som much

[Kelly Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than Zindel's the Pigman! This young adult novel speaks to the impact great teachers can have on their students.

[Jamies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my battle of the books choices and I thought it was kind of weird. It was a good book but you have to read it to know what kind of weird and creepy I'm talking about here.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that has haunted me for years since I first read it. I HIGHLY recommend it

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sad, moving story. I would recommend it to everyone, however old you are.

[Jayne Bartrand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Endearing main characters, all three. Also loved the trip back in time to 1980s.

[Mona · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books, made me laugh made me cry. I love Paul Zindel!

[Jennifer Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really sweet book about two students who love their science teacher. It is a little dated, but it is a good read for any one who has ever had a special connection with a teacher.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

*spoilers*

The boredom and the requirement to stay inside during quarantine caused me to scour my house for some sort of entertainment. That’s when I came across the book, “A Begonia for Miss Applebaum” by Paul Zindel. Ultimately, choosing to read this book was not taken for granted. The beautifully interpreted story of the relationship between two students and their teacher persuaded me to turn every page. Henry and Zelda, friends who have two completely different personalities, stunningly become aware that their esteemed teacher, Miss Applebaum, is dying from an unmentioned sickness (supposedly cancer). Seconds after hearing of her condition, they spend a majority of their lives in her company.

First off, I just wanted to mention how the book is narrated. Two different perspectives. Since the two main characters vary in strengths, experiences, and beliefs, each person illustrating their thoughts on their newfound situation elevated the story. The fervent words made me feel like they were writing their unquenchable feelings as they came out. Not only this, but I vaguely recall a section in the book where Zelda became exceedingly upset when writing. As I turn the next page, Henry takes over the story line and explains that her emotions overpowered her (so she stopped writing). This specific instance made me feel more connected to the book even though I barely knew who these people were. Their raw emotions immediately spilling onto paper when being composed adds another aspect to the book’s presence. This illuminated the reality of inviolable interpersonal relationships and the inevitable death waiting for Miss Applebaum. Although highlighted as a children’s book, the narration contains topics that will challenge you emotionally and mentally.

Second off, I wanted to mention who the book surrounds, Miss Applebaum. On the surface, she is seen as the stereotypical mad science teacher that will always have some sort of cool thing to show you. However she is undoubtedly more than that. Her character. Knowing that she is dying, she never intends to worry Henry and Zelda about her sickness. She receives treatment secretly, does not plaster a downcast expression, and even on her deathbed, she consistently attempts to conceal her obviously declining health. She shows more concern to her students than her own health. Not only this, but with her last days impending, she chooses to take her students around for an uplifting tour of Central Park. However, she does this while handing food to those homeless in the park. Miss Applebaum seems like the literal definition of selfless. I could not get over it while reading this book. She is such a kind-hearted human being. Her character and overall personality is why she is my favorite character in the whole novel.

Reading “A Begonia for Miss Applebaum” compelled me to feel emotions of sorrow and surprisingly happiness due to the way how every character individually expressed their love for each other. Ultimately, with the connection between Zelda and Henry with Miss Applebaum and Applebaum’s ever-prevalent compassionate character, I could not give the book any less of a four out of five. If I had the option to give this a book a 4.5 out of 5, I most definitely would.

[Janis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss Alice Applebaum, the beloved and slightly eccentric science teacher of Henry Maxillian Ledwiz and Zelda, Einnob retires suddenly. They decide to take a begonias her apartment as a good bye gift. As an example of he eccentricity Henry writes that she once brought an embalmed cat to class for dissection because it is part of the New York City syllabus; however she had wrapped it in a gift box "so the class would know that this cat had given a present of its life in order for us to learn about cat anatomy." They soon realize that Miss Applebaum is terminally ll. They accompany her every Saturday during her last months to museums, Central Park, and her route through the city to bring food to the homeless. She continues to teach them in her unorthodox style how to look at events from many perspectives and understand the many facets of enjoying life. In the twenty-first century educational world with its emphasis on passing tests, I don't know if Miss Applebaum would survive; but reading this short book and her effect on her students and what they take away from her class make me realize that a few more Miss Applebaums in the classroom would be beneficial. No prescribed curriculum whose goal is a rubber stamp to a passing test grade inspires students as she did. Paul Zindel won the Pulitizer Prize for Drama for The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Margolds in 1971. He wrote 39 books. The Pigman was frequently challenged and banned. I think A Begonia for Miss Applebaum's ending has most likely earned it a spot on that challenged and banned list. Sigh!

[Nancy I · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how lucky Henry Maxillian Ledwiz and Zelda Einnob were to have had a science teacher like Miss Alice Applebaum. She made them want to learn and when they return to school after summer break and find that Miss Applebaum is no longer teaching, not only do they want to know why she has stopped, but they want to see her and so take her a begonia. They find her apartment filled with plants, books on all subjects, and various old scientific "stuff" such as a falling apart skeleton, old microscopes, all sorts of magnets. Miss Applebaum is thrilled to see them and hopes to see them again. Thus starts Henry & Zelda spending Saturdays with her, exploring New York City's Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum. They learn so much, but what troubles them most is learning that Miss Applebaum has late stage lung cancer. They want to make certain she gets the best treatment available. Henry and Zelda care so much for Miss Applebaum that they will do whatever she wants them to do in order to make her happy.
This is a great book for young adults, as it gives so much insight into living life, not just going through the motions of being alive. I was not familiar with the author, but when I learned he authored "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the Moon Marigolds" the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, I was surprised that I was not aware of him.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute book about two students who learn their favorite teacher is dying. I do question if some boundaries were crossed between the teacher and her students, but since she was no longer teaching and the fact that she was in the final weeks of her life, it can be forgiven. I do question about how checked out the parents were about the whereabouts of their children!

I had to look up what a homberg hat was and the meaning of pulchritudinous. (beautiful) I totally support using some vocabulary words when writing books for children, but these words are a bit pretentious in a book aimed at 10-12 year old readers.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good exploration of death, and what it means to make the most of life. I read this several times when I was young. I enjoyed the freshness of the characters then, now I see more meaning to the story. Also, now that I have been a tourist in NYC and explored there, reading this again was like a walk down memory lane. All the descriptions of Central Park and the areas around there, the Met Museum, etc. That was a lot of fun

[Nathan Marshall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jomama was going to have a long sausage tonight

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Students go to visit favorite teacher after they find out she’s not coming back. They find she’s dying and she takes them on adventures for life.

[D.L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.45 stars.