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The Cartoonist
By the author of the Newbery Medal-winning The Summer of the Swans
The only time Alfie feels at peace is when he's drawing pictures in his attic room, away from his unhappy family and the outside world. So when his mother makes other plans for the attic, Alfie barricades himself in.
9 black-and-white halftone illustrations.
The only time Alfie feels at peace is when he's drawing pictures in his attic room, away from his unhappy family and the outside world. So when his mother makes other plans for the attic, Alfie barricades himself in.
9 black-and-white halftone illustrations.
119 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
16 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
Betsy Byars
138 books157 followersBetsy Byars was an American author of children's books. She wrote over sixty books for young people. Her first novel was published in 1962. Her novel Summer of the Swans won the 1971 Newbery Medal. She also received a National Book Award for Young People's Literature for The Night Swimmers and an Edgar Award for Wanted ... Mud Blossom!!
Daughters Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers are also writers.
Daughters Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers are also writers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 3, 2018
Alfie's family home is very small and tilting to one side. His father has died, and his older brother has moved away. His mother and grandfather do the best they can, but there is very little Alfie can call his own, except for the attic. In the attic, Alfie can escape from the unhappy moments of his life by doing what he loves most: drawing cartoons. When Alfie's brother and his newly pregnant wife announce that they are coming back home to live with the family, his mother announces that she will be giving them the attic. Alfie, unable to face the loss of his private art studio, locks himself in the attic, refusing to leave until it is restored to him.
Betsy Byars writes some of the most believable - and honest - realistic fiction available for kids. This book is not about a happy child, but it is about a child many readers can relate to, even if their own situations vary a bit from his. Byars makes her readers really feel Alfie's indignation over his mother's clear favoring of his older brother, and hints about Alfie's dad's death and his grandfather's longing for the past help paint a perfect portrait of this family's particular dysfunctions and difficulties.
As is the case with many Byars books, this one ends on a note that feels a little bit unresolved. There is a resolution to Alfie's problem of losing the attic, but there is also a sense of defeat and an understanding that Alfie's life, even if he continues escaping into his cartoons, is not going to get any easier any time soon. At least one Goodreads reviewer seems to think this somewhat messy ending means the book is "horribly depressing" and has "no redeeming value," but I disagree. This story simply reflects the way things are sometimes, and, because its author is ever-respectful of the intelligence of young readers, she doesn't interpret the ending or use it as an opportunity to preach a moral. Rather, the interpretation of her message is left for readers to ponder themselves, and I'm sure there are as many impressions of the ending of this book as there are kids who have read it.
The Cartoonist was a quick, but deep read. Though it is short, I'd recommend it to kids in the upper elementary and middle school grades, as they are most likely to understand Alfie's longing for a place of his own and his nostalgia for a past life lost.
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
Betsy Byars writes some of the most believable - and honest - realistic fiction available for kids. This book is not about a happy child, but it is about a child many readers can relate to, even if their own situations vary a bit from his. Byars makes her readers really feel Alfie's indignation over his mother's clear favoring of his older brother, and hints about Alfie's dad's death and his grandfather's longing for the past help paint a perfect portrait of this family's particular dysfunctions and difficulties.
As is the case with many Byars books, this one ends on a note that feels a little bit unresolved. There is a resolution to Alfie's problem of losing the attic, but there is also a sense of defeat and an understanding that Alfie's life, even if he continues escaping into his cartoons, is not going to get any easier any time soon. At least one Goodreads reviewer seems to think this somewhat messy ending means the book is "horribly depressing" and has "no redeeming value," but I disagree. This story simply reflects the way things are sometimes, and, because its author is ever-respectful of the intelligence of young readers, she doesn't interpret the ending or use it as an opportunity to preach a moral. Rather, the interpretation of her message is left for readers to ponder themselves, and I'm sure there are as many impressions of the ending of this book as there are kids who have read it.
The Cartoonist was a quick, but deep read. Though it is short, I'd recommend it to kids in the upper elementary and middle school grades, as they are most likely to understand Alfie's longing for a place of his own and his nostalgia for a past life lost.
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
January 27, 2018
"All his life, it had seemed to him that things would go on as they were. If he was happy, he would always be happy. When he hurt, he could never see relief."
—The Cartoonist, P. 112
I have never read a Betsy Byars book I didn't like, but this one is special to me. I would place it up there with The Summer of the Swans. Betsy Byars crystalizes Alfie's actions—and the thoughts that drive those actions—with perfect clarity, while painting a vivid parallel picture of my own actions and thoughts. Her look into Alfie's life touches deeply, causing me to identify Alfie as not only a character in a good story, but a personal counterpart. Betsy Byars is a unique author.
—The Cartoonist, P. 112
I have never read a Betsy Byars book I didn't like, but this one is special to me. I would place it up there with The Summer of the Swans. Betsy Byars crystalizes Alfie's actions—and the thoughts that drive those actions—with perfect clarity, while painting a vivid parallel picture of my own actions and thoughts. Her look into Alfie's life touches deeply, causing me to identify Alfie as not only a character in a good story, but a personal counterpart. Betsy Byars is a unique author.
August 27, 2018
I didn't really like this book. It was really boring and I feel like there could have been a bit more to the story and characters. 2 stars...
May 12, 2017
Alfie’s family lives in a house that’s tilting to one side. A ball placed on the floor on one side of the house rolls to the other side, and when his mom needs to call his older brother, she goes next door to use the neighbor’s phone. Dinner is sloppy joes almost every evening, and Alfie shares a bedroom with his grandfather. Like this house he has lived in for eight months, his family lists threateningly to one side, perhaps one crisis from tipping.
Alfie finds his escape in cartoon strips, which he draws at a table in the attic. He’s been made fun of all his life for his inward-turned feet; he draws a cartoon about a boy who’s shunned by people but welcomed by pigeons. In another of his creations, a dog complains about how there are artificial coloring and artificial flavoring in everything. When Alfie shows one of his cartoons to his mother, she looks at it with no understanding. She doesn’t see humor in anything Alfie has ever done, but that time Alfie’s older brother stole some other kid’s car in high school and left it parked in someone else’s driveway? That was funny.
Everyone’s longing for something that’s not there anymore. Alfie’s mom misses his older brother, who lives in another town. His grandfather misses everything about the good old days. Alfie misses the junkyard his father owned before his recent death. His sister seems to miss the days when she believed things were going to get better some day.
The Cartoonist is part of a small Betsy Byars run of dreary, dark-ish, almost cynical books for young people I rather enjoyed in intermediate school. As a middle-aged man reading this again decades later, I see even more dysfunction than I recognized as an early teen, something I appreciate. Byars is neither preachy nor a Pollyanna. Her characters seem to pick up and move on, with seemingly little hope that things will get better, but maybe better prepared for the next discouraging event. Yeah, life’s like that sometimes.
Alfie finds his escape in cartoon strips, which he draws at a table in the attic. He’s been made fun of all his life for his inward-turned feet; he draws a cartoon about a boy who’s shunned by people but welcomed by pigeons. In another of his creations, a dog complains about how there are artificial coloring and artificial flavoring in everything. When Alfie shows one of his cartoons to his mother, she looks at it with no understanding. She doesn’t see humor in anything Alfie has ever done, but that time Alfie’s older brother stole some other kid’s car in high school and left it parked in someone else’s driveway? That was funny.
Everyone’s longing for something that’s not there anymore. Alfie’s mom misses his older brother, who lives in another town. His grandfather misses everything about the good old days. Alfie misses the junkyard his father owned before his recent death. His sister seems to miss the days when she believed things were going to get better some day.
The Cartoonist is part of a small Betsy Byars run of dreary, dark-ish, almost cynical books for young people I rather enjoyed in intermediate school. As a middle-aged man reading this again decades later, I see even more dysfunction than I recognized as an early teen, something I appreciate. Byars is neither preachy nor a Pollyanna. Her characters seem to pick up and move on, with seemingly little hope that things will get better, but maybe better prepared for the next discouraging event. Yeah, life’s like that sometimes.
February 27, 2007
Possibly my favorite kids' book -- and that says quite a bit. Definitely my favorite Betsy Byars, although I also highly recommend her The Night Swimmers and the Blossom books.
May 5, 2012
horribly depressing with little redeeming value
August 16, 2017
เป็นหนังสือที่ทำร้ายจิตใจเด็กๆ จังเลย
ตัวร้ายหลักในเรื่องนี้ก็คือแม่ของตัวเอกนี่เอง
เหมือนแม่ร้ายๆ ในละครไทย
สุดลำเอียง เอาของจากลูกคนอื่นๆ ไปให้ลูกคนโปรดของตัวเอง (ซึ่งเป็นลูกที่สุดแสนแย่)
ไม่เคยเข้าอกเข้าใจลูกๆ ไม่สนใจฟัง ไม่สนับสนุน
และไม่มีคุณธรรม สนับสนุนแต่ลูกคนที่ทำแต่สิ่งผิด
ตัวเอกไม่มีเพื่อนที่สนิทกันพอที่จะแบ่งปัน
หรือเข้าอกเข้าใจในงานอดิเรกของเขาเลย
อ่านแล้วอึดอัดจนแม้กระทั่งถึงตอนจบ .. ซึ่งแทบไม่ได้เยียวยาจิตใจเลย
ไม่ชอบเรื่องนี้อ่ะ
ตัวร้ายหลักในเรื่องนี้ก็คือแม่ของตัวเอกนี่เอง
เหมือนแม่ร้ายๆ ในละครไทย
สุดลำเอียง เอาของจากลูกคนอื่นๆ ไปให้ลูกคนโปรดของตัวเอง (ซึ่งเป็นลูกที่สุดแสนแย่)
ไม่เคยเข้าอกเข้าใจลูกๆ ไม่สนใจฟัง ไม่สนับสนุน
และไม่มีคุณธรรม สนับสนุนแต่ลูกคนที่ทำแต่สิ่งผิด
ตัวเอกไม่มีเพื่อนที่สนิทกันพอที่จะแบ่งปัน
หรือเข้าอกเข้าใจในงานอดิเรกของเขาเลย
อ่านแล้วอึดอัดจนแม้กระทั่งถึงตอนจบ .. ซึ่งแทบไม่ได้เยียวยาจิตใจเลย
ไม่ชอบเรื่องนี้อ่ะ
December 2, 2025
Harrowing glimpse into the imaginative escapes of a young creative who is trapped in an impoverished household and misunderstood by the larger world around him. I like to imagine he escapes and goes to art school, college, travels the world, etc. Like Tara Westover. Damn.
December 26, 2012
Here is the story of a one child protest movement conducted in a family attic by a gifted child who figures and computes in stories and peoples them with pictures and cartoons. Finding the challenges of the outside world and the trials of family life too cumbersome a cross to bear, Alfie creates a retreat into introversion and finds a land of adventure and peace in the cartoons he spills out of his head. But trouble comes to paradise in the form of an older brother who plans to move back home, and Alfie is served an eviction notice by the adults in the house.
How he resolves his brave last stand in his own personal Garden of Eden and triumphantly returns from the Land of Introversion becomes movie magic. True to the spirit of Ghandi, he makes his point without sacrificing anyone's dignity. Order is restored as Alfie finds salvation in a small step of growing up.
September 14, 2019
Ehh. Needed more of a plot line. I felt like rather than fixing his problem or even learning a lesson, Alfie sat in the attic for a day or so and the problem was solved for him, by people that didn't even know there was a problem! I just didn't get the point to be honest.
February 15, 2025
I don't really know what to make of this. On one hand, it's about a young cartoonist!
On the other... absolutely NO ONE in the book seems to like his art: Alfie's mother doesn't understand his comic (blaming the poor lighting in their house), his teacher (understandably) withholds any encouragement since he drew a comic during math class, and even his friend "Tree"* seems more annoyed that Alfie would rather "study"** than do anything with him.
The central conflict is between Alfie and reality, given he wants to spend all his time cartooning but reality wants him to at least spend some time not failing math, say. The second layer of conflict is between Alfie and his mother in particular, who seems a little too dependent on family in the wake of her husband's (Alfie's father's) death, and the fact that their relative poverty means they not only have to live with three generations under one roof (including "Pap," Alfie's ornery grandfather) but also with not a lot of relief from each other—hence Alfie's regular retreat into the attic, his sanctuary. The third act conflict is when Bubba, Alfie's older brother and his mother's golden child, is fired from his job and—at least in Alfie's mother's mind—is bringing his wife and child to move in with them, into the attic.
This last conflict actually resolves in a pseudo-deus ex machina, where , something I had actually expected to have happened before but couldn't comment on specifically without any information about whether the involved parties even existed. Even then, Alfie isn't satisfied (which his sister points out that he shouldn't be, since she wasn't after her similar experience regarding having Bubba play a central part in their mother's stomping on their feelings to prop up the Golden Child), and I honestly don't know what to make of the whole thing.
Recommended...? Like, it's weird for cartoon fans, since the only illustrations are on the cover, and having the cartoons described is like reading alt-text online (which is great for accessibility! but is inferior to actually SEEING what's able to be seen). I'm also not clear what exactly is the lesson here, other than maybe don't spend LITERALLY EVERY WAKING MOMENT on any single thing. It also vaguely has a feeling of "cartoons are childish, and Alfie totally should have joined Tree's competition" about it, which I dislike since a lot of the way I keep in touch with friends anymore is through cartoons and other easily shared media we like. The "team" Alfie's mother insists he will join that Alfie is dead-set against joining? Sure, that's a *topic* people can discuss later, but even for professional athletes, it will only carry them so far.
If that sounds like cheerleading for cartoons, then I'm guilty as charged, haha. My main thing is it really feels like Alfie is having his precious hobby dumped upon, and not just because he spends far too much time on it. Having literally nobody to share it with is discouraging, and I feel discouraged reading his plight.
*The book doesn't discuss Tree's real name, only that he got the nickname from his uncanny resemblance to a tree in a play. Fair enough.
**by which Alfie means studying the cartoons he wants to draw literally every waking moment
On the other... absolutely NO ONE in the book seems to like his art: Alfie's mother doesn't understand his comic (blaming the poor lighting in their house), his teacher (understandably) withholds any encouragement since he drew a comic during math class, and even his friend "Tree"* seems more annoyed that Alfie would rather "study"** than do anything with him.
The central conflict is between Alfie and reality, given he wants to spend all his time cartooning but reality wants him to at least spend some time not failing math, say. The second layer of conflict is between Alfie and his mother in particular, who seems a little too dependent on family in the wake of her husband's (Alfie's father's) death, and the fact that their relative poverty means they not only have to live with three generations under one roof (including "Pap," Alfie's ornery grandfather) but also with not a lot of relief from each other—hence Alfie's regular retreat into the attic, his sanctuary. The third act conflict is when Bubba, Alfie's older brother and his mother's golden child, is fired from his job and—at least in Alfie's mother's mind—is bringing his wife and child to move in with them, into the attic.
This last conflict actually resolves in a pseudo-deus ex machina, where , something I had actually expected to have happened before but couldn't comment on specifically without any information about whether the involved parties even existed. Even then, Alfie isn't satisfied (which his sister points out that he shouldn't be, since she wasn't after her similar experience regarding having Bubba play a central part in their mother's stomping on their feelings to prop up the Golden Child), and I honestly don't know what to make of the whole thing.
Recommended...? Like, it's weird for cartoon fans, since the only illustrations are on the cover, and having the cartoons described is like reading alt-text online (which is great for accessibility! but is inferior to actually SEEING what's able to be seen). I'm also not clear what exactly is the lesson here, other than maybe don't spend LITERALLY EVERY WAKING MOMENT on any single thing. It also vaguely has a feeling of "cartoons are childish, and Alfie totally should have joined Tree's competition" about it, which I dislike since a lot of the way I keep in touch with friends anymore is through cartoons and other easily shared media we like. The "team" Alfie's mother insists he will join that Alfie is dead-set against joining? Sure, that's a *topic* people can discuss later, but even for professional athletes, it will only carry them so far.
If that sounds like cheerleading for cartoons, then I'm guilty as charged, haha. My main thing is it really feels like Alfie is having his precious hobby dumped upon, and not just because he spends far too much time on it. Having literally nobody to share it with is discouraging, and I feel discouraged reading his plight.
*The book doesn't discuss Tree's real name, only that he got the nickname from his uncanny resemblance to a tree in a play. Fair enough.
**by which Alfie means studying the cartoons he wants to draw literally every waking moment
May 11, 2024
A downbeat exploration of emotional neglect and escapism. Byars is deft as a cartoonist herself in capturing Alfie’s circumstances: his drifting isolation from family and peers; his retreat into drawing and his nihilistic attic ascent. Not exactly a fun read, but affecting.
January 17, 2025
Alfie's escape from his cruddy family life - the attic, where he draws cartoons - is threatened when his brother may move back into the home.
I disliked "Summer of the Swans" by this author but thought this one was ok. I vaguely remember reading and liking this when I was a kid.
I disliked "Summer of the Swans" by this author but thought this one was ok. I vaguely remember reading and liking this when I was a kid.
Read
July 8, 2020Don’t really know how I feel about this book except that the story makes me feel sad.
August 12, 2023
More serious than I expected.
February 13, 2024
A wonderful coming of age story, about standing up for yourself and the fallibility of a parent.
October 26, 2025
Simply terrific. Great characters. Pap was surely the template for Abe Simpson!
August 3, 2011
This is a delightful novella with a lot of excellent symbolism. Alfie is a character I can relate with because I am also an artist. I can understand his desires to keep his talent hidden and dreams of becoming famous for it. It may be hard to understand his feelings if the reader doesn't have any artistic experience. Artists tend to be extremely emotional about their work and Alfie depicts this accurately. His ways of idealizing the situation into fantastic events in his head are also very similar to how many artists feel in a dire situation.
One huge beef I have with the story is Alfie's ignorant mother. I can't stand parents who are extremely ignorant. I understand there are mothers like Lily out there and I think parents should learn one very important thing from her: Don't be oblivious to your children!
That said, I believe all the characters are fairly realistic. But with Bubba it's almost nearly impossible to sympathize with him. The author gives nothing likable about his character, forcing the reader to believe that all he loves to do is cause problems. Alma, although nearly emotionless for most of the story, expresses herself well when explaining to Alfie why she hates their older brother. I loved the symbolism in the idea of her piggy bank being a globe, how it was literally her “world” at the time.
The well thought out allusions in the story also add to the intelligence of the novella. Simply put, this story's depth lies in its deep symbolism and references to other text. Without it, the story would be rather plain and not very informative.
At a first glance this story seems like something aimed at children but, in my honest opinion, I think it could apply to anyone at any age. With an open ending to Alfie's decision, it gives the reader a chance to deeply think about what his resolve could be.
Enjoyment: 5/5
Story Itself: 4/5
One huge beef I have with the story is Alfie's ignorant mother. I can't stand parents who are extremely ignorant. I understand there are mothers like Lily out there and I think parents should learn one very important thing from her: Don't be oblivious to your children!
That said, I believe all the characters are fairly realistic. But with Bubba it's almost nearly impossible to sympathize with him. The author gives nothing likable about his character, forcing the reader to believe that all he loves to do is cause problems. Alma, although nearly emotionless for most of the story, expresses herself well when explaining to Alfie why she hates their older brother. I loved the symbolism in the idea of her piggy bank being a globe, how it was literally her “world” at the time.
The well thought out allusions in the story also add to the intelligence of the novella. Simply put, this story's depth lies in its deep symbolism and references to other text. Without it, the story would be rather plain and not very informative.
At a first glance this story seems like something aimed at children but, in my honest opinion, I think it could apply to anyone at any age. With an open ending to Alfie's decision, it gives the reader a chance to deeply think about what his resolve could be.
Enjoyment: 5/5
Story Itself: 4/5
March 4, 2017
Betsy Byarsin "Antakaa mun olla" (WSOY, 1980) hyppäsi silmiini sarjakuvia harrastavan tuttavani Facebook-sivulla, jossa hän listasi elämänsä vaikuttavimpia lukukokemuksia. Päätin hankkia kirjan hyppysiini, sillä sarjakuvia intohimoisesti harrastavasta, ullakolleen lukkiutuvasta ja muiden kieroon katsomasta pojasta kertova nuortenromaani vaikutti ajatuksena aika mielenkiintoiselta.
Alfieta ei tunnu ymmärtävän oikein kukaan, puhuttiinpa sitten opettajista, kavereista tai perheenjäsenistä. Sarjakuvien piirtäminen toimii sentään eräänlaisena pakopaikkana, etenkin kun hän saa tehdä sitä omassa ullakkohuoneessaan, jonka kohtalo on kuitenkin nyt vaakalaudalla kun "valkoista roskaväkeä" edustavan perheen pikkurikoksiin syyllistynyt hulttiopoika on muuttamassa takaisin kotiin yhdessä vaimonsa kanssa. Niinpä Alfie linnoittautuu ullakolleen ja päättää olla palaamatta sieltä takaisin, läheistensä maanitteluista tai uhkailuista huolimatta.
Lyhyessä romaanissa ei tapahdu paljoakaan, vaan se tarjoaa lukialleen eräänlaisen välähdyksenomainen tuokiokuvan nuoren pojan elämästä. Loppuratkaisu jättää paljon auki ja jää oudolla tavalla vaivaamaan - tai pikemminkin kiehtomaan - mieltä; mitä oikein mahtaa tapahtua tämän kaiken jälkeen? Alfien tapauksessa jonkinlainen toivonkipinä pilkahtaa, vaikka muuten maailma näyttää yhtä masentavalta kuin ennenkin.
En mielestäni ollut lukenut kirjaa aiemmin, mutta näin jälkikäteen en ole asiasta aivan varma, sillä jotakin epämääräisen tuttua kirjassa ja etenkin Richard Cuffarin laatimassa kuvituksessa oli.
Alfieta ei tunnu ymmärtävän oikein kukaan, puhuttiinpa sitten opettajista, kavereista tai perheenjäsenistä. Sarjakuvien piirtäminen toimii sentään eräänlaisena pakopaikkana, etenkin kun hän saa tehdä sitä omassa ullakkohuoneessaan, jonka kohtalo on kuitenkin nyt vaakalaudalla kun "valkoista roskaväkeä" edustavan perheen pikkurikoksiin syyllistynyt hulttiopoika on muuttamassa takaisin kotiin yhdessä vaimonsa kanssa. Niinpä Alfie linnoittautuu ullakolleen ja päättää olla palaamatta sieltä takaisin, läheistensä maanitteluista tai uhkailuista huolimatta.
Lyhyessä romaanissa ei tapahdu paljoakaan, vaan se tarjoaa lukialleen eräänlaisen välähdyksenomainen tuokiokuvan nuoren pojan elämästä. Loppuratkaisu jättää paljon auki ja jää oudolla tavalla vaivaamaan - tai pikemminkin kiehtomaan - mieltä; mitä oikein mahtaa tapahtua tämän kaiken jälkeen? Alfien tapauksessa jonkinlainen toivonkipinä pilkahtaa, vaikka muuten maailma näyttää yhtä masentavalta kuin ennenkin.
En mielestäni ollut lukenut kirjaa aiemmin, mutta näin jälkikäteen en ole asiasta aivan varma, sillä jotakin epämääräisen tuttua kirjassa ja etenkin Richard Cuffarin laatimassa kuvituksessa oli.
January 21, 2010
Byars' books are always deep without being especially lyrical. The same goes for The Cartoonist, about a boy, Alfie, being raised in a depressing family who attempts to find comfort squirreled away in the attic drawing comic strips. When his older bullying brother threatens to return home with his newly pregnant wife, and take over the attic, Alfie goes a little catatonic and locks himself in the attic for days.
In the end, the brother ends up going to live with his wife's family, much to the consternation of Alfie's mother who'd always favored the brother. The end is bleak and depressing, because, as Alfie's sister points out, he ended up getting his attic back, but he didn't really win.
And you get the feeling that that's how it's gonna be for all of Alfie's life. Rarely things will go his way, but he'll never be triumphant over anything.
In the end, the brother ends up going to live with his wife's family, much to the consternation of Alfie's mother who'd always favored the brother. The end is bleak and depressing, because, as Alfie's sister points out, he ended up getting his attic back, but he didn't really win.
And you get the feeling that that's how it's gonna be for all of Alfie's life. Rarely things will go his way, but he'll never be triumphant over anything.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 31, 2012
I loved Byars' style as a younger reader because her books aren't all happiness and sunshine, and I still appreciate that now. Alfie loves drawing cartoons, but no one seems to understand why he does it. His friend makes fun of him for it, his teacher gets angry that he draws in class, and his mother never gets the jokes. He spends all his spare time drawing in his house's attic, with all his comic strips hanging from the rafters. When Alfie's older, trouble-making brother is going to move back home with his pregnant wife, the only place for them to live is the attic. But the attic is all Alfie has, and he knows he has to take a stand to keep what means the most to him.
June 17, 2019
Alfie's family is what some would call "dysfunctional" but others would call "normal". His father died some years ago, his mother gives all her attention and affection to her oldest son, who is a juvenile delinquent and a bully, his grandpa is grumpy, his sister is kind but is dealing with her own issues and doesn't have a lot of extra support to give to Alfie. Alfie retreats into drawing comics, where his creativity and wit shine through, but the adults around him don't appreciate or recognize his gifts.
August 13, 2009
This had to be one of my favorite childhood books, about a budding young artist who's "jerk" of a brother (who his mom adores and can do no wrong in her eyes) and his pregnant girlfriend plan to move back home into "his" attic/makeshift artist studio. He basically locks himself away up there in a sort of protest. I identified with Alfie so much, wanting to be an artist myself and having a house full of people with no privacy and no place of my own. Another cute book by Betsy Byars.
August 13, 2015
Not sure when I read this, but it was a couple years ago. I loved this book. I thought it was really good. Would recommend it, but I'm not sure if it's even still in print. My copy is a cancelled copy from the library.
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August 3, 2013I love the cartoon of the caterpillar eating the world. [3
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January 22, 2009JAR4-Bya
July 26, 2012
One of the first books I got so lost in that I lost track of myself as a separate human being.
August 12, 2012
Some good lessons in an interesting story.
April 6, 2008
This is one of the best books ever.
March 20, 2010
Ok so it's for 9-12 year olds, but it was the cutest little story that I've read in a while.
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