The Wonder Kid

by George Harrar, Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency

It’s 1954, a year when polio, known as the great crippler of children, terrified parents. Jesse’s mom won’t let him go to the playground or hang out with friends for fear that he will catch the disease—so Jesse stays home, making up his own games with his grandfather and dog, Gort.

No matter what Jesse does, he can’t seem to please his father, who wanted a basketball-baseball-football kind of son. Instead, Jesse spends his days drawing pictures, watching cowboy movies, and playing war with his army of metal soldiers.

Then polio strikes, paralyzing Jesse’s legs. With the help of an unlikely girlfriend, Jesse turns his imagination to creating comic strips, reinterpreting his life as The Wonder Kid, with the power to make things happen by thinking them.

In this strange summer of UFOs and fallout shelters and deadly hurricanes, Jesse discovers just how much he has in common with his father and what it really means to be a hero.

Genres: Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction

245 pages, Hardcover

First published April 24, 2006

About the author

I write fiction for middle grade readers through adults and hold the distinction of having had three novels published by three different publishers for three different age groups in a single year. REUNION AT RED PAINT BAY (Other Press) is my latest book, about a newspaper editor in Maine and his family who engage in a full-scale psychological battle with a stalker without even knowing it. The novel was adapted in 2018 as a French-language film titled "Examen de Conscience." My earlier book, THE SPINNING MAN (Penguin), was also released in 2018 as a film starring Guy Pearce, Minnie Driver and Pierce Brosnan. It is available On Demand and on DVD. A new paperback edition of my novel with a film-theme cover was reissued by Amazon. For YA readers I wrote NOT AS CRAZY AS I SEEM (Houghton Mifflin) about a 15-year-old coping with his OCD "tendencies." PARENTS WANTED (Milkweed),for middle-grade readers, is my semi-autobiographical story of a 12-year-old boy's struggle to fit in with his adoptive family. Of my 12 published short stories, "The 5:22" won the Carson McCullers Prize and was selected for Best American Short Stories, 1999.

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this for several reasons. First, I was born in 1956, and this takes place in 1954. It reminds me of when I was a little kid. The author refers to TV programs, comics, cereals, toys, and other period items that brought back the memories. He did an excellent job of bringing that period to life. Second, the family dynamics, and Jesse's relationship to each of his family members, was interesting and reminded me a little bit of my own relationship with my father. Third, the description of the polio scare reminded me of what my mother has told me about it. On the whole, this book takes you back in time to a period I kind of wouldn't mind experiencing again.

[babyhippoface · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is 1954 and the looming threat of polio brings 11-year-old Jesse’s outdoor summer plans to a screeching halt. His boredom from being cooped up is buffeted by drawing and reading comics and time spent with his ailing grandfather. Jesse’s father seems disappointed in and angry at him no matter what he does, and things only get worse when Gramps dies and Jess contracts polio. Encouragement from an unexpected source helps Jess find the strength to battle back against the potentially permanent effects of the disease. Jesse’s first-person voice paints a vivid portrait of American life in the 1950’s and reveals his conflicted feelings toward both his gruff father and a classmate’s friendship, and his grief at the loss of his beloved Gramps. A brief afterword gives additional information on the effects of polio and on Dr. Jonas Salk’s development of the first successful vaccine. Pair this with Peg Kehret’s Small Steps and a brief biography of Franklin Roosevelt for a unique Social Studies unit.

[Stef · Rating 4 out of 5]

Polio sounds like the scariest thing in the world, but to a kid it is just another monster in the dark. I dont care that the father/son thing got forced a bit, I loved all the characters.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My seven-year-old son picked this out. We read it over and almost 3 month period. The subject matter was a bit much for him, but we generally enjoyed it. There's a lot of history I didn't know much about, but the setting seemed very realistic.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who recommended this book to me? Thank you for the referral! Two things about this book appeal:
1. The boy is growing up during my era: the 50s. I loved counting familiar references to the culture: Green stamps! Ovaltine! The test pattern that comes on the TV at midnight!
2. The polio epidemic was for real. I remember visiting the hospital and seeing the children in the iron lungs (What happens inside the iron lung to help you breathe? I never knew but I was terrified. They are very loud.)

The theme is good. The boy struggles with finding a balance between various attitudes toward his disability: Feeling sorry for yourself. Denying the paralysis (who wants to be known as a cripple?) Fighting the paralysis to recover mobility. Accepting yourself as a person with paralysis and also with valuable talents and a future. Valid lessons--I highly recommend the book.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story about Jesse who contracts polio in 1954. He has to adjust to the death of his grandfather as well as his disability, and finds strength and confidence in a new friendship and his artistic talents. "Wonderboy" is the name of his comic strip, about a disabled boy with amazing abilities. I especially like the development of his relationship with his father, from alienation to greater understanding.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eleven year old boy with a sweet mom and a difficult dad...polio strikes, things aren't looking so good, but then an unexpected friend appears who helps him discover the "The Wonder Kid".

The fear of polio was huge when I was a kid. At school classmates just kind of disappeared for a long while then came back changed.

[Seth P · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book a 5 because I really liked the characters in it and I love to read adventures and this was a fantasy action adventure. There was a lot of things going on at once in this book and the kids were around my age and I really enjoyed reading this book because the kid found out he had polio and that he was paralized.

[Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice Stevenson got me on to this and, like her, I enjoyed memories from that era. I must have been some younger than the boy in the story as don't remember family being scared of polio. I do remember getting the oral vacine, of course.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

its really good but its also sorta sad. it has information about polio too!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Polio

[Graham Hedstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

It,s a funny story and it all builds up in the end.