Welcome Home, Jellybean

by Marlene Fanta Shyer

Neil Oxley's older sister, Geraldine, is coming home for the first time. After spending most of her life in institutions for the retarded, she is finally going to live with her family and adapt to the "real world".

"Skillful juxtaposition of two seemingly incompatible elements--light humor and the serious theme of mental retardation . . . This is a notable piece".--School Library Journal.

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

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Kellie O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way I see this charming, lovely, endearing and at times,heart wrenching yet sweet, funny book is this: this is a book about love 💕.
All kinds of love, relationships and bonds. Love, relationships and bonds between parents, siblings, friends and neighbors. Some bonds are weakened and some bonds are strengthend.
When you read this book remember that it was written in 1978. We, thankfully don't use the term " mentally retarded " anymore! Geraldine (Gerrie as her family calls her) is a 13 yr old girl who spent her life in institutions because the doctors told her parents it was the best thing for the whole family. Well, Gerrie is finally coming home to her parents and 12 yr old brother,Neil!!! The story is told from Neils' point of view. Neil is incredibly mature for his age. Is this homecoming easy? Not at all! The author is very realistic in showing the struggles, hardships, challenges and changes that everyone has to learn to adapt to.
Her first night home is best summed up by this quote from Neil. " I tried not to think about how it would be to be Geraldine, how it would be to be spending the first night of my life with my own family instead of being one person in a room filled with rows of beds...."
The characters are fully developed and believable. You get to know them and care about them. Some in the family start to wonder if bringing Gerrie home was the best thing for her, most of all are the changes & challenges worth the effort of taking care of her? They clearly love her, but some decisions are harder to make then others. How does Neil feel? He says, " If everyone would just keep cool and give her a chance to fit in to the world, she'd be fine. If she didn't think people were waiting to jump all over her for making mistakes, and would maybe try harder to listen to her reindeer talk and wouldn't point at her in the street and run away from her in the park, she'd stop crashing her head into walls and pulling curtains off windows." I agree with Neil!!! 💖
I'm so glad that I had the chance to read this amazing book and highly recommend it to all!!
I really enjoyed this beautiful book and appreciate Marlene Fanta Shyer for not being afraid to write about the realistic struggles of life with people who have disabilities of all kinds!! A truly wonderful book! 💕

[7706lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welcome Home, Jellybean was a pretty good realistic fiction book. It focuses on the main character Neil and his struggle to adjust to his sister coming home. His sister has a mental illness and has lived in a hospital ever since they found out. So now his older sister can't do things that a one year old can. This is a very heartwarming book and I recommend it to readers who like reading books with themes like family conflicts, mental illness and adjusting. I really enjoyed the detailed dialogue of Gerrie even though it was jibberish because it brought her character to life more.

[Quirkyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

See my review on my book blog: http://quirkyreader.livejournal.com/1...

[Jaslyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the story from the perspective of Neil who is a young boy, whose older sister, Geraldine is brought home from a care facility for the mentally disabled. It goes through Neil's adjustment to having Gerri in his life, and from that we see also what it does to his parents but also what it does to Gerri.

I was a bit dubious about this book, until I started reading it. Though the idea that a child with a mental disability would be sent to a care facility to live full time is not so accurate today, the struggles a family can go through is very real. The frustration, the embarrassment, but then the pride when you see their improvement, the things they learn.

What I think could have been a bit better is if the story was a bit longer to see more about the rest of the family and their full development and acceptance of the life change. In it, we see the Dad leave because he can't deal with it, we see the Mum struggling, especially with the complaints from her neighbours in the apartment building, and we see Neil taking the first step to accepting his sister and feeling pride about her. But what about Mum and Dad? How do they change? What coping styles do they come up with? Do they come back together as a solid family unit? Do they get kicked out of their home on top of everything else?

This was still a good book, if you have any young kids, say about 10-12 who might be struggling, this may be a good book to read. It'd be something they can relate to and something that can help them adjust and change as situations need them to.

Read more on my blog.

[Wendy Darling · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Geebowie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book interesting. Attitudes towards those with development disabilities where different 34 years ago. The main thing bugged me about the book is that the parents seemed to take Geraldine home with out any knowledge of what they were doing. As is said above the situation of having a disabled child was different back then but there must have been someone the could have consulted that would offer some sort of help with a behavior program. Other than that the book was pretty good. I like how were where able to see Neil's conflicting emotions about his sister. the father sure was a jerk. Overall this book was okay.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter's English class read this; I had to read it to see what was so "boring." I thought it was pretty good, but I can't figure out if it's supposed to be set in 1978, the year it was published. That would mean that in 1965, they were still institutionalizing babies because they were retarded. Creepy. The brother in the story is sweet, but I wonder if he is realistic--he's patient with his 13-year-old sister whose mental age seems to be between 2 and 6.

[Erin]

Every year this book is mentioned to our 6th grade students, and I keep telling myself I need to read it. Yes, it is an older book (copyright 1978), and some of the terms are no longer used ("retarded"), but it still sounds like a good read.

Neil's slightly older sister Gerri has lived her life in institutions. Now that she is thirteen, her family is bringing her home. This is quite an adjustment for Neil and his parents.

I'm looking forward to getting more into this book.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a child, I checked this book out from my library several times, and returning to it now I understand why. It's got a great voice, the subject matter is gripping, and each chapter ends with a "but I never expected what would happen next!" type of cliffhanger. (Okay, that part got a bit silly.) The premise is dated, as nowadays a girl like Geraldine would almost certainly be raised within her family from the get-go. But the challenges she and her family undergo are timeless.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book about being differnt and not knowing really where you really belong. This is a story of a teenage boy and his special needs sister and how he is teaching things to her as well as he is learning life lessons from her. A good book for 5th graders and how to introduce special needs questions into the classroom.

[Michelle Lemaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I just found this book again! It's even the same edition I had and read dozens of times as a girl! I hope my girls want to read it too. I'm reading it again for old times' sake. Let's see if it holds the same thrill...

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book randomly in a library as a kid and it became my favorite. I read it over and over. I think I still have the first few lines memorized.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading this to my 6th grade language arts class and It's amazing how into the story they get. :)

[Emmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far it is a really good book and I defiantly recommend this amazing book. The message in this book is an amazing message that everybody should follow by everyday

[Stefanny Cachia · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book, Welcome Home, Jellybean by Marlene Fanta Shyer, Shyer describes the struggles of a young twelve year old boy, Neil Oxley. Neil, has a thirteen year old sister who is a special needs child. His sister Geraldine, or Gerri, lives at the Green Valley Regional Training Canter. She just recently learned how to use the bathroom, so Neil’s mom thought that it would be a good idea to bring her home. The Oxley family ended up having quite a bit of trouble with her. It actually all started the day that they brought Gerri home. Since they live on the sixth floor of the apartment, they needed to take the elevator. Of course Gerri had never taken an elevator in her life, so she was hesitant. When she finally walked in, she noticed that everyone was pressing a button so wanting to follow along, Gerri pressed a button which just so happened to be a special button, the emergency button. The elevator stopped and of course, Gerri along with everyone else started freaking out. A couple months later, Neil’s dad said that things were just too much for him and he left. Neil began to consider moving in with his dad, but ended up deciding to just stay at home with his mom and Gerri. Neil was feeling many mixed emotions. Things were already tough for him because he had moved from private school to a public school, so he didn’t have any friends. Bringing Gerri home just made things harder for everyone. Almost a year after Gerri came home, things began to become a little more “normal”. In this book, Shyer really puts a lot of description into the most suspenseful parts. This book is one of the best by far and is a must read.

[Kara Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neil Oxley doesn't really know his older sister at all, and neither do his parents because the only place that Gerri has ever lived is an institution. But for now their mother thinks that she is ready to come home.None of them truly understands what it will be like, but there is one thing that they do realize: living with Gerri will change their lives forever. The adventures and misadventures are heart warming and heart wrenching. Geraldine has a mixture of mental health issues that have kept her from learning, but the determination of Neil's mother and the ingenuity of Neil might just help Gerri learn a little more about fitting in.

I liked reading this book by Marlene Fanta Shyer. I liked how the author made me feel as though I was Neil. When he was nervous so was I. When he was sad and confused, I found myself with tears in my eyes and a heaviness in my stomach. I would like to read this book to my future class. I could use this book when we talk about families, friends, and patience. Many life lessons are to be learned when reading this book and I believe that children would really enjoy reading about Geri and her progress.

[CJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

My teacher, Mrs. Waiwood read this book to our class back in 1979 (She read aloud a chapter per day). While I didn't remember the story too well, I picked up the book out of nostalgia here in 2022 Pretty good.

[Jen Manning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neil's sister is being returned to the family after being institutionalized as a young infant. The adventures and misadventures are heart warming and heart wrenching. Geraldine has a mixture of mental health issues that have kept her from learning, but the determination of Neil's mother and the ingenuity of Neil might just help Gerri learn a little more about fitting in.

[Lauren Astle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was about a boy named Neil who had a sister, Gerri, who came back to live with the family after spending her life in an institution. This is an interesting story and had a bad ending. I wouldn't really recommend it and just grabbed it off the shelf one day.

[GraceWastheAnswer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't give this book, too high of a rating because I don't remember as much as I'd like to of it.

This is a very heartfelt story, of a family dealing with an autistic child. I would recommend this book to anyone.

[☠☼Serena☼☠ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice story. But rather short. Nice ending.

[Julian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read about a boy and his mentally challenged how just came home from a care center. I cried, it is a very depressing book, but still a good read. Loved it :D

[Tthzaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book many years ago but never had a chance to flick through pages and only yesterday i happened to read it. a good read though. why i never touched it before?

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

found this in the free book bin and thought it would be a quick and easy read. it was. i liked it. it was very real to life about how things can be with a special needs family member.

[Brenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book to show differences!!!

[TE · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the rare book I really loved as a child that wasn't an animal story! Neil Oxley is a typical "tween" boy, who seemingly has a great family life. His "perfect pitch" father is a stockbroker, who plays the piano and composes in his spare time, and life is good in their middle-class apartment building. Neil's family has a secret, however: his thirteen-year-old sister Geraldine (Gerri), a severely developmentally disabled girl who has lived nearly her entire life in an institution, where she has essentially been neglected such that she can't speak, or even feed herself. In fact, she doesn't even know what "real" food is, as she's been fed nothing but baby food all her life, but despite the challenges, her family (most especially Neil's mother) decides that she wants to bring her home to live with them.

Despite some visits to the institution, the family hasn't been aware of how serious Gerri's issues are, or how much care and supervision she's actually going to require. When frustrated, like an autistic child, she engages in self-harm by banging her head against a wall until it's swollen and black-and-blue. When she takes to doing it at the family home, the neighbors start to complain that she's keeping them up all night, which leads to even more conflict. As Gerri's never been exposed to a home environment, having her there seemingly results in one disaster after another, until it strains the family to the breaking point. I'm somewhat familiar with many of the issues presented, as both of my parents were special education teachers before they retired, primarily teaching autistic children, so many of the episodes described in the book are all too familiar.

Despite the seriousness of the subject matter, this book is a very good introduction to a younger audience what living with a profoundly disabled child may be like, for their friends, or even for those who actually do, validating their feelings and concerns, as the center of home life becomes Gerri and her many issues and problems. If children need to be taught empathy, stories like these, which are raw but realistic, are a good way to do it, as it's often difficult for their peers or even relatives to articulate their thoughts and feelings about facing similar challenges. It's a very real, and thought-provoking book for young adults, which I also enjoyed, having read again this week, as an adult. It would be a good one for group discussion, in fact.

[Jennifer McCallum · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The only picture left on the top of the piano now was Gerri’s, the one my mother had taken with the Polaroid and put in the white leather frame. It was standing on the piano all by itself. My father had left that one behind.”
Despite being dated this book is a wonderful read. It takes you on a journey of learning acceptance and allows you to watch how someone’s mindframe can be changed. This is very prevalent in today’s society, and thus could be used as a teaching point to help highlight the differences of everyone.
Due to the dated nature of this book I would suggest reading it with a year 6 class so that use of terms such as ‘retarded’ can be appropriately dealt with. Used as an insult even then it is obvious the pain this term can cause and needs to be dealt with maturely. Despite this, Welcome Home Jellybean could be used to create many written products. I would use it to create a non-fiction report on how those who were not neurotypical used to be treated and how this has changed over the years.
I think this text also has particularly good characterisation. After reading I can picture exactly how Ted’s face looks when he’s angry, and the way Geraldine walks. I would therefore use this as a demonstration to a class, asking the children to describe their own families in such detail. What story could they then create using their family members?
This book could also be a good opener for a PSHCE lesson. It opens up the idea that people want to act out when they get angry or upset and this could allow for an open conversation about how children could deal with these emotions, especially with a looming move to secondary school.
This book could also be used as a segway to thinking about the teeth and how we chew our food. Most of the children in most classrooms won’t have ever thought about how they chew, but it is a small fact often concentrated on at the start if the book to highlight Geraldine’s difference. Getting the children to think about this action will then enable them to move on and think about the different teeth we all have and their purposes.

[Melody Holloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

welcome home, jellybean is a touching heart, warming unforgettable book regarding sibling, love and a brothers acceptance, even though he is younger. The book has a particular focus on fathers are often perceived as the parent who cannot handle participation in the lives of their disabled children. Entire families are affected, educated, and enlightened by disability every day. These are the days when the R word is still used. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn how life used to be for and how the intellectually/developmentally disabled were sentenced to live in the majority of cases.
The book was written in 1988. Many of the terms, treatments, and institutional facts are outdated.

[Jeanette Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is highly recommended by me! It is a sweet family story about a young girl with a learning disability. She is in a school for people with needs in the beginning of the story and then taken back home to live with the family (mom, dad and younger brother). Geraldine begins to learn how to function outside of the institution because of her mom's and her younger brother's help. Dad is distant. Dad is frustrated and finally leaves. I found the story to be believable as told from the younger bother's point of view. The trials of having a family member with special needs is real and does put a strain on the family...but with love and patience these very special people can thieve. (Although this is written for young adults, I enjoyed it as an older adult)

[Vanessa Huber · Rating 4 out of 5]

es geht um ein behindertes/zurückgebliebenes mädchen das 13 jahre in einem art heim verbracht hat und jetzt nach hause zurück darf. der 12-jährige bruder erzählt vom alltag mit seiner schwester, es isg realitätsnah und trotzdem oder gerade deswegen sehr lustig und auch ein bisschen spannend.
mir hat das buch gut gefallen und ich würde es sogar nochmal lesen, weil es auch sehr kurz und sehr einfach geschrieben ist