Wing Nut

by Mary Jane Auch

Twelve-year-old Grady Flood and his mom, Lila, have been on the road ever since Grady’s dad died seven years ago. When their old car breaks down, they find themselves stranded in rural Pennsylvania where Lila gets work as a cook and caretaker. There’s nothing out of the ordinary in that, unless you factor in her new boss. Old Charlie Fernwald, a skilled mechanic and bird enthusiast, is definitely out of the ordinary. In fact, if Grady’s not mistaken, Charlie is a certifiable “wing nut.” For the time being, Grady figures, he can help Charlie with his birds and maybe even learn how to fix a car engine. But before he can do either, something goes terribly wrong.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Contemporary, Fiction, Juvenile, Family

231 pages, Library Binding

Published April 9, 2009

About the author

Mary Jane Auch also writes as MJ Auch.

The thought of becoming a writer never occurred to MJ Auch as a child. Her only literary efforts in those days were the plays which she and her girlfriend, Noreen, wrote for their marionettes. They produced these extravaganzas in Noreen’s garage and organized the neighborhood boys into a sales force to sell tickets and refreshments.

Summer visits to both of MJ’s grandmothers led to her fascination with chickens. One grandmother had a small backyard flock and the other grandmother and two bachelor uncles had a large farm that supplied eggs to half of Long Island. MJ learned that a flock of chickens had almost the same range of personalities that could be found in a classroom, from the quiet, shy chicken to the big bully.

MJ loved books and read constantly. She wrote stories, drawn in comic book style with speech balloons for the dialog. Her interest in drawing continued through high school, and she went on to become an art major at Skidmore College. After graduation, MJ headed for New York City to seek fame and fortune, but after a year of designing prints for men's pajamas, she decided she wanted to do something more meaningful with her life. She enrolled in the Occupational Therapy program at Columbia University, which led to some wonderful years of working in a children's hospital near Hartford, Connecticut.

On a brief stop home to visit her parents before transferring to a new job in Denver, she met Herm Auch, a graphic artist and editorial cartoonist for the Rochester newspaper. It was love at first sight, and MJ never made it to Denver. They were married in 1967 and within a few years had produced a daughter, Katrin and a son, Ian. They moved from the city to a small farm, complete with chickens, ducks, and geese. Armed with a huge collection of Mother Earth News and absolutely no practical experience, they tackled farm life with gusto, gaining much comedy material for books MJ’s future books.

As the children grew older, MJ began to look for work in her original field of art. Like Jenna's mother in Mom Is Dating Weird Wayne, she had a brief stint as a “zit zapper” at a school picture factory. Then she started illustrating for Pennywhistle Press, a national children's newspaper, and this sparked her interest in illustrating children’s books.

In the summer of 1984, MJ took a week-long children's writing conference on Cape Cod. She tried to write a picture book manuscript to take to the conference, but instead found herself writing a middle-grade novel. When her instructor, Natalie Babbitt, told of starting out as an artist and finding she could paint better pictures with words, something clicked. MJ finally knew that she wanted to a writer.

She started sending manuscripts to publishers, writing four full-length novels before she sold the first one. Then she sold a second book to another publisher that same week. It had taken two years and thirteen rejections, but MJ had finally reached her goal!mShe continued writing books for older kids and abandoned her dream of illustrating for a while. Then, after nine books, she wrote and illustrated The Easter Egg Farm. This set in motion a series of picture books featuring poultry involved in the arts.

The Auchs have now become a family of artists. Their children are grown and pursuing art careers of their own. Kat, a graphic artist, is now working as Associate Art Director for Scrapbook Answers Magazine in San Francisco. Ian has been a graphic artist and 3-D animator and is now Assistant New Media Editor for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newspaper. Ian is also a metal artist and created the chicken-sized beauty parlor chair for [b:Beauty and the Beaks|1918127|Beaut

Reviews

[Shannon Hitchcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, the best middle grade novels tell a great story, teach me something that I knew very little about, and have an underlying theme. WING NUT by Mary Jane Auch did all of those things.

Twelve-year-old Grady Flood and his mom, Lila are homeless. When their car breaks down in rural Pennsylvania, Lila accepts a job cooking for an elderly widower.

Old Charlie Fernwald is a skilled mechanic and has a passion for birds, called purple martins. Charlie's home is like a magnet for the birds and they nest there every year on their flight from Brazil.

While working with Charlie, Grady makes a serious mistake. One that puts Charlie's purple martin colony at risk. How can he make it up to Charlie? And will Grady and Lila ever find a home?

[Melissa McShane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet, lovely story about people searching for a home--not just a physical place to settle, though that's very important to Grady and his mother Lila, but also the connection between people that makes anyplace home. The relationship between young Grady Flood and old Charlie Fernwald is simply charming, and I love the details about birdwatching and purple martins.

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book because the main character lost his dad 7 years ago just like me. Because Grady and his mom have no money they lose there house. They have to travel place to place because his mom needs to find work but she has little education. She is very good at cooking. They are living in a commune were Grady's mom cooks. The people at the commune use her car and don't take care of it. They decide to leave the commune in Kentucky and can only make it to Pennsylvania before there car brakes down. hey walk to a little town and finds a restaurant were a couple shows them a job to cook and clean for a man named Charlie. They live on a cottage on his property. Charlie's wife dies and he gets into these birds called purple martins. Grady gets a job helping Charlie to take care of the purple martins. He has to trap sparrows that eat the martins. He doesn't listen to Charlie and releases the sparrows. They destroy the eggs and kill some of he martins. Charlie finds out and tells Grady and his mom they have to leave. Then cold weather comes and the martins are starting to die. Grady and his mom helps save the birds. Charlie lets Grady and his mom stay. I loved this book!

[Madelyn Doran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing book. I absolutely loved how it's written and how the story unfolds. The characters were very well described. I got a perfect mental picture of how they acted. This is a truly remarkable book.

[Carmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the flow of the story, and the relationships formed through the characters.

[Ste Ven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was really realistic as if this story plot can actually happen. This book has a good moral of finding the best out of the worst situations as showed from actions of Lila, Grady's mom. Their teamwork and understanding is special. After Grady's dad died it has just been the two of them, and they've been through a lot. They have been continuously moving as they have never felt like a real home and have always been picked at and look down towards. On their last trip, they past by Charlie Fernward's house. He's a strange man but also has a big heart. And through their time spent each day with Charlie, they start to bond and trust the man. And now, they can truly call this place "home'

The title was unusual and my curiosity caused me to find out why it was chosen for this book. But the first thing i did was look at the back cover and read the description. It talks about Grady and his mom living in difficulty and how their dad died. Right from when i read that, i knew there would be reminisce of memories. That is a real good topic to write about because it can relate to anyone. I'm pretty sure someone has lost a loved on before and would possibly like to relate to the characters actions and behaviours like "i've felt like that before" or "i totally agree with his feelings".

Again, it's all about the conclusion. But instead of preparing the reader for the end like I Am Number Four, the end has a huge action and changes the whole story around. That cause me to completely surprised. As everything got better, things just flipped around and whole new situation now. Of course you gotta find out what happens!

This book is actually acceptable for all types of people so i don't really have a specific person that would like it. This book is so relative anyone can relate to it. I would say someone that lost a loved one and just couldn't move on with their life and forget about the bad and remember the good.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about the journey of a mother and son on their own trying to find a new home. After his dad died a twelve-year-old boy named, Grady Flood,is living a life that he and his mother hadn't wished for. They go out in look of a new home but their car breaks down and they have no choice but to take it to a mechanic to fix it. Meanwhile their car gets fixed, Grady's mother has to work three jobs and Grady feels as though he's no help to anyone around him. I like this book because it can relate to many teenagers and people that have a hard time after a loved one passes away. Everyone needs a little push sometimes and this book tells a story about a young boy and single mother can pull through the hard times to start a new life over. Things get hard but people manage to make it through by relying on eachother for instance like how Grady's mother works two jobs to get some money for Grady to feel like a normal young boy.

[Caden Severs]

Wing nut is a book about a mother (Lila) and son ( Grady) and their problems with people and money.. Grady and Lila are always on the move moving from town to town, and when they move they always just drive, never have a place in mind. Well the car they have is a piece of junk and is always getting worked on and fixed with ductape. It finally dies in a small town in pennslyvania. Lila finds a job as a cook at a restaurant and house keeper for an old man who's family wants him to start eating healthier and stop eating tv dinners all the time. The old man teaches Grady about space Martians and cars while they live there and they become pretty good friends. But their friendship comes to a question when Grady released one if his favorite Martians. Read the book to find out how it ends!! I highly recommend it

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very predictable, but a happy read. There were some surprises about what's really going on because the reader is kept in the dark until the moment of pressure release. It's good to not have all the answers, but then again, it makes the level of drama a bit much. I'm splitting hairs, though, it really was a good story.

I liked the analogy between the main character's life and the life of the birds he learned to care for. The funniest part of the book was at the same time we learn the reason for the title. I also enjoyed the mom's "fancy talk".

I would like my daughter to read this book so that she can get a little perspective on her life... she's never had a hard day in her life compared to this kid. I want her to notice also that hard work makes the best kind of people.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young widow, and her son Grady move from place to place to scrape out a living. When their car breaks down Lila finds a job with a cranky old man named Charlie as a cook. Grady becomes Charlie’s companion and learns about purple martins and auto mechanics. But Grady doesn’t understand why Charlie traps and kills the house sparrows that invade his property. He begins setting them free, and then discovers that they have tragically killed Charlie’s favorite purple martin named after his dead wife, Marie. Themes of family, friendship, loss, bullies, home school, purple martins and bird watching. Some witty humor and exchanges between Charlie and Grady.

[Augusta Scattergood]

I picked Wing Nut up from the display shelf of my local library's Florida Sunshine Reader Awards and from the beginning I was hooked. A kid, his mom, a hippie commune, an old man, his purple martins- such disparate elements weave into a story that is just plain fun to read. The developing relationship of 12-year-old Grady and what seems to be a grumpy old man is an important element that's never sentimental, often humorous. I just loved the writing, the story, the characters, the title- everything about this one.

Here's my blog entry about the book:
http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2009...

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since Grady's dad died, his mother and him have been traveling place from place. His mother would find a job and get a roof over their heads, but if she got angry at anyone they would leave. Now with a broken car the only job there is, is with an old man named Charlie.

Reasons I like this book-

Reason 1- Grady has a soft heart. He saved the house sparrows, but he didn't realize the trouble this would cause. I have a soft spot for all animals, except snakes.

Reason 2- The characters are very unique in their own way.

Reason 3- In the story, there are purple birds called martins that migrate to Brazil for winter and come to the U.S. in the warmer months.

[Sherrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

9th of 15 books to read this summer for the 6th to 8th grade SSYRA selections. Ever since his father died, Grady and his mom have been wanderers, never putting down roots. A broken down car forces them to stay in a small Pennsylvania town where Grady's mom finds work as a cook/caretaker for an elderly man. The man keeps purple martins (birds) and soon enlists Grady as his reluctant apprentice. This is a quick read, with interesting (if predictable) relationships.

[Min Chaiyapatranun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grady the main character has traveled to many places with his mom ever since his father died when he was very young. They managed to settle in with an old man named charlie who was very into birds and engines. Grady didn't like it there at first, but then as he started to fit in with Charlie he didn't want to leave anymore. Eventually something happened to Charlie's birds which nearly got Grady and his mother kicked out of his place. It was a good book.

[Henry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would compare this book to a value meal. Have you seen the commercial where the guy orders the burger value meal and the clerk behind the counter takes a regular burger and removes the lettuce, tomato, cheese, pickles, etc? It'll due in a pinch but lacks the extra something to make it filling. It was good, but could have been better

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short, sweet, innocent read. It kind of had that "Winn-Dixie" feel to it (only-child being raised by single parent because other parent died/ran off; kid and parent move to small town; kid befriends older person). It was definitely different from what I usually read, but it was nice... kind of refreshing.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading some books to use in the fall at school. This is a delightful tale of a 12 year old Grady, his Mom, and Old Charlie Fernwald. Also you learn fascinating information about purple martins throughout the book. Enjoyable-tender-real-engaging-and much to discuss!

[Sue Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grady and his mother move around from place to place after Grady's father's accident which caused his death. No place feels like home until they end up with Charlie. Grady learns a lot about birds, cars, and most importantly how to trust and care about somebody else.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad, sweet, and very bipolar. One minute, everyone is fine and then, BAM! Everyone is yelling and upset and Lila is threatening to leave Charlie and stuff. Then, about 5 pages later, they're all happy and nice. So wierd.

[Andria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was well written but the topic was not something that I was interested in reading about. I can think of the niche that would be interested in reading this book, those who want to read realistic fiction that is somewhat serious.

[Sandy Runions · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wing Nut is a great title. We need the screws and wing nuts to fix the car that quit at the edge of town. The old man is also crack about purple martins. Get it "wing" nut? Along with that is a great story of people trying to make it in the world.

[Oliver Eastwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. Captivating plot, excellent character development.. it was all there. The only thing stopping it from getting 5 stars is that it's written for a younger audience, so when I read it, it seems quite juvenile.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's a pretty sad book

[Hunter Spiffy_Amazing_Supurb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great book. It's a rollercoaster of differences and yet it all groups together in the end. I HIGHLY reccommed (SP) it.

[Proud Gaian · Rating 3 out of 5]

heart felt story about a boy and his mom trying to find a place in the world

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an amazing story! I loved it!

[Cws]

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[Shelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading to see if it would be good for my 10 year old...so far...hmmm....

[Terre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome look at intergenerational relationships and the valuable lessons we can learn from each other.

[Sitara · Rating 3 out of 5]

i THOUGHT THIS BOOK WAS GOING T BE REALLY GOOD BOOK. THE TRADGEDY WAS NOT VERY SEVERE AS I THOUGHT. THOUGH IT WAS A GOOD BOOK.