Growing up Simple: An Irreverent Look at Kids in the 1950s

by George Arnold, Liz Carpenter (Foreword by)

Foreword By Liz Carpenter Growing Up Simple is the tongue-in-cheek account of a voyage from kindergarten through high school, a pranksters determined to save the world from itself. It is the story of five young overachievers with the time and freedom to be hellishly creative while learning life's important lessons.

257 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[Sri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baca buku ini lama banget! Tapi sepertinya belum mengalahkan rekor waktuku membaca memoir Barbara Walters :D.
Lumayan bagus bukunya sehingga membuatku heran kenapa buku ini tidak populer?
Aku membeli buku ini di Gramedia di bagian buku-buku impor(bukan baru) yang dikasih label kuning, merah dsb sebagai penanda harga. Di halaman pertama ada tanda tangan "George Arnold", mungkinkah itu tanda tangan pengarangnya? Waa, ada bekas tangan pengarangnya di bukuku, yuhuu :D.
Isi bukunya tentang masa kecil hingga SMA-nya pak George Arnold (tahun 1950-an di Texas). Asyik sepertinya masa-masa itu. Masa tanpa tekanan. Sehingga anak-anak bebas melakukan keusilan-keusilan yang tidak membahayakan. Walaupun di balik keusilan itu sebenarnya ada misi untuk mempertanyakan kebiasaan-kebiasaan yang harus mereka patuhi, demi apa? Oh, cuma karena hal itu sudah dilakukan turun temurun.
Jadi, meskipun hidup anak-anak itu tanpa tekanan, meskipun kegiatan mereka sepertinya main-main saja, tapi pada dasarnya mereka PEDULI.
Bersamaan dengan waktuku menyelesaikan buku ini, aku sedang membaca juga Paper Towns. Kepedulian seperti itu yang ingin dirasakan oleh tokoh di dalam buku Paper Towns. Dia mempertanyakan, apakah hidup ini hanya seperti ini: waktu sekolah dijalani bagaimana caranya agar bisa kuliah, waktu kuliah dijalani bagaimana caranya agar bisa kerja layak, lalu waktu kerja dijalani agar bagaimana caranya supaya anak-anaknya bisa sekolah? Makanya dia jadi gemes sama temannya yang juga tetangganya yang sepertinya terlalu menikmati rutinitas. Weh weh, kok malah jadi mbahas Paper Town? Maaf, salah letak :P.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although George Arnold warns the reader at the beginning of his book that some of his tales are completely true and some are mostly made-up he has written a delightful book about growing up in Central Texas as an 'in-betweener' (those born between the Great Depression and the Baby Boom. 1939-1947). George and his friends were always looking to make a fast buck and their first job was the most lucrative of his childhood career; they were paid $10 for every 'healing' at tent revivals for pretending to be miraculously healed by the travelling preacher. When George had amassed nearly $1400 by the end of the summer he devised a plan to 'launder' his earnings into a legitimate bank account (no, his parents did not know of his 'job') by opening his own lawn care business. When he was a young teen, George and 2 of his friends began working at the local movie theater, the location of some of their more elaborate pranks. Suffice it to say that a group of church ladies watching a Billy Graham revival movie, 2 teen boys hanging their bare bottoms over the balcony while dropping 'Elgin Hot Gut' sausages into the crowd had me laughing out loud.
Growing up in the 50's was a simple pleasure for George and his pals and they seemed to make the most of it with good-humored pranks played with abundant enthusiasm. A fun book!

[Ciara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this as a 5th grader and it still remains as one of my favorites. It is an autobiography of the author growing up in Texas. I didn't grow up in the 1950's so I couldn't relate too much to the author but I still find myself laughing and thought the book was very entertaining. The writing really helped me visualize everything the author said and at times it felt like I was actually there. My favorite story is when the author and his friend would fake being hurt and then get “healed” in exchange for money. If I remember correctly, the author stuffed the money in his mattress and used it later on in the story. I also liked how the book had pictures of what the author was talking about throughout the story and that during the end of the book it showed a picture of him and his friends (at least I think they were his friends). I find that growing up back then was indeed very much simpler. Kids could just go wherever they pleased like they were adults. Even now as I am almost 18 I still can’t go anywhere with anybody. Overall a very funny and good book to pass the time with.

[Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot since I grew up in Texas in the fifties just as the author did and relived my own childhood through his story. I laughed at some of the same things I did and remembered a simpler time and a trusting time where you could walk to your friend's house after dark and never look over your shoulder. In the summers you stayed outside all day and played hard and fell asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow. A lost time...