I Remember Papa

by Helen Ketteman, Greg Shed (Illustrator)

After saving his quarters to buy a baseball glove, Audie, a young farm boy, takes a memorable trip to town with his father, in a family story that celebrates a bygone era. Reprint.

32 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

About the author

author and mother of two grown sons. Texas, where she lived for 9 years, is one of her favorite places and several of her books are set there. She, her husband, and their two cats currently live in Sanibel Island, Florida--where plenty of armadillos live, too.

Reviews

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the books in this pile by my bed are there by the sweet serendipity of New Hartford Public Library's "discard" pile. Because they're ten cents, I buy them with my grandfather's Great Depression mentality that is his legacy. Someday, I think, I may have no books at all, and anything with printed words on a page may be useful for my classroom whether as a tool to teach grammar, sentence structure, personal narrative organization & style, etc. or even as a way to look at bad writing to see how it could be improved. Ten cents, what is there to lose?

Sometimes, I find something amazing and I experience conflicting feelings of pity for the library's poor choice in making something trash, but thrilled that it's now my treasure. I almost want to take this back and bring it their attention, "No, you see, this was a mistake!"
This is one of those. I can't believe it's mine for 10 cents.

A perfect example of a short personal narrative (what we teach to be a personal narrative in the middle school, anyway) about a country boy way back (seems like it could be the GD, but I'm really not sure) who saves his quarters for chores in a cigar box, saving up for a baseball glove. The conflict and its touching resolution choked me up and had me crying this Sunday morning.

"Discard" brands several pages, and I think I'm going to white each one out. I love it that much.


For teachers: Would make an excellent companion to Where the Red Fern Grows, A Day No Pigs Would Die, or f any elementary classroom to use for comparing and contrasting. The mother put coffee and sugar in the boy's cereal. The kid's ability to "go on a train ride" was the most exciting experience, they listen to the ball game on the radio and attend one, so comparing things like that to our modern society and customs would be a valuable experience (definitely enough details to explore and connect to). And finally, I'm going to use it for my personal narrative unit, and it wouldn't bother me at all if my students had read it twenty times at the elementary level, so HP teachers, go for it!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one brought tears to my eyes. A young boy learns the value of saving. He worked hard to help his father in the barn and with the horses, and his father gave him a quarter a week. He saved those quarters and when he traded them in for dollars, his father would say, "A man who saves is a careful man." The boy nods, but thinks "I wasn't saving to be careful. I was saving for a baseball glove." (I'm pretty sure his father suspected as much, and the value of the lesson is still there—save up for large purchases you really want that have value and meaning.)

He LOVES baseball and although money is tight, his father takes him on a train to the city when he has to buy new boots. The young boy takes his money with him in hopes of finally buying a glove. The father surprises his son by taking him to a game. On the course of the game, the boy realizes the money he had in his pocket is missing.

When they left the stadium, instead of going back for the father's boots, they go to the sports store. The father asks for the glove, saying that his son wanted to see it. The boy thought, "I knew he was going to teach me a lesson about being careful with my money." While the boy was looking at the glove, he looked up and saw his father paying the salesman for it. They did not go back for the boots, the father saying, "We have glue. You can help me repair them. They'll do for a while longer."

When they got home, they played catch until dark, then went in and glued Papa's boots. The boy surprised his father by sneaking downstairs at night and polishing the boots.

He wrote the cost of the glove on his cigar box, and instead of taking the quarters for his work, the boy asked his father to subtract the balance until his father was repaid.

I know this is a complete summary, but I have no other way to sum up or write a review about this book which moved me to tears. The simple lessons told through a story were the value of saving and repaying, of compassion, of obedience (there is a time the son obeys without knowing any reason why), of hard work, and family relationships. I could analyze this book to death, for the depth it has. I wish my children were young. This would be one to go in my collection.

[Ansley Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: This is a story of a father and son. Growing up, the little boy always wanted to go to a baseball game. His father encouraged him to save his money. So the son began to save his money and hide it away. One day his father surprised him with a train trip and some baseball game tickets. The young boy brought his savings in hope of buying a baseball glove. At the game, the boy lost his money. He began to panic and cry. To the son's surprise, the father was not upset. In fact, he ended up using his money to buy his son the baseball glove instead of buying boots for himself. At the end of the story, readers discover that the son had been saving up money to repay this father.

Themes: A theme in this book is fatherly love. This story demonstrates what selfless love looks like. Instead of being disappointed in his son, the father blesses the son with his dream gift. How beautiful?
As a reader, you can tell the son was moved by his father's act of love.

Star rating: 5 stars

Personal Response: I personally love this book for many reasons. One reason being that the father works his tail off to save money to take his son to a baseball game. I can only imagine that as a father, you want to provide the best experiences for your son. And this father sacrificed a lot in order to create a fun and memorable day for his son. Another reason I love this book is because the author walks us through a precious memory she has with her father. At the end of the book, the reader knows that the father is no longer alive and this story is a memory.

Recommendation: I would recommend this book because it opens the conversation about what selflessness looks like. It gives the teacher the chance to ask students if they have ever loved someone so much that they gave up what they wanted to give to someone else. This book is also a sweet story to read to children to show them what a healthy father/child relationship looks like.

[Cole W · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is about a boy named Audie, who a big baseball fan and has always wanted to attend a professional baseball game. His family did not have a lot of money, but when he helped his papa, he would be paid a quarter. One morning his dad woke up early to attend a reds game. Audie brought the money he saved to buy a glove and ended up losing the money at the game. His dad used the money that he was going to spend on his new boots for the glove. The book ends with the boy playing catch with his father. Overall, I think it’s a great book, especially for children with an interest in sports.
The themes are family and understanding. The book highlights how close the father and son are. Understanding comes in when the boy loses his money, and the father with the little money he has buys the son a glove. I would recommend it for 5th graders because it ends by saying the father is died and maybe unsuited for kids at a younger age.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so grateful that a friend recommended this book to me. It was the perfect thing to read on my anniversary as I was missing my companion. His favourite shirt stated proudly that baseball is life and he would have loved the way this story played out. I enjoyed reading at as my kids and I were remembering their Papa.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young boy goes to town with his dad, who desperately needs new work boots for his farm, after working chores to save enough money for a glove. A train ride, a bus ride, and a baseball game later; he discovers the dream of owning his own baseball glove might be over. A sweet story of one man's devotion to his boy, and vice versa, this book left me sighing as I closed it.

The author, Helen Ketteman, is listed as a suggested author for my middle son's summer reading. The writing is exceptional. In fact, I kept finding instances in the book that would serve as great teaching moments if I Remember Papa was used as a mentor text in my classroom. Her style reminds me of Patricia Polacco's. Impeccable.

[Vaden Ellwanger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: I Remember Papa is about a young boy who wants so badly to go to a baseball game and get a baseball glove. His family doesn't have much money, but his father surprises him with a train ride and two tickets to the baseball game. They first go to a shoe store where the father holds a pair of new work shoes until after the game. Then, they pass by a sports shop where Audie finds a glove he wants. Audie has been saving up his allowance for this glove. At the end of the game, Audie's money is no where to be found, and he gets so upset because he doesn't want to disappoint his father. They end up only buying the baseball glove and Audie saves up his allowance to repay his father for the glove.

Theme: The theme is overcoming disappointment and death of a family member.

Response: This story is so sweet because the reader gets to see the relationship of a father and son, and how even though they do not have much money they are able to make lasting memories. It is great to see how selfless the father is by buying the glove instead of the shoes that he needed and how the son was so thankful.

Recommend because: Children may relate to keepsakes from a loved one or having a parent pass away. It is good for children to see how they can and should be grateful for the items their parents give them. Teachers can ask children if they have a memory like this to share with the class.