I love the writing of Clyde Robert Bulla. From the first time I picked up and read The Chalk Box Kid, I was enchanted by the sensitive ease of the stories that he has to tell, of the way that the tender caring inside all of his good characters (and even some of the bad) shows through like a watermark on every page. There's something really magical about reading any Clyde Robert Bulla book, but I have to say that Shoeshine Girl is arguably his magnum opus. We aren't given a lot of detail about ten-year-old Sarah Ida's life before the opening pages, which begin with her arrival via train at her Aunt Claudia's house. It seems that Sarah Ida's parents had a none too positive view of their daughter's overall attitude, and frequent clashes between Sarah Ida and her ill mother were making the family environment a growingly hostile one. Sarah Ida takes a diametrically opposed view to that of her parents about who's at fault in the situation, but what really matters now is that she's living with her aunt for the time being, and she has to find a way to make the best of it. Sarah Ida never could have dreamed of the changes that would come about in her mindset over the next several weeks, and to be honest, I as the reader was also caught off guard. I generally think that I have a pretty good handle on the type of material that will be covered in a Clyde Robert Bulla short novel, but Shoeshine Girl mixes it up by throwing a number of unexpected curves. Which characters will become major players and which will affect the narrative from a less direct perspective is hard to discern ahead of time, and in that kind of storytelling atmosphere, real surprises can happen. And when it comes to Sarah Ida and the community of friends that she eventually comes to see around her in her aunt's hometown, a surprise is almost always waiting just on the other side of the page.Shoeshine Girl addresses a number of emotional issues, most from the perspective of Sarah Ida. She feels unwanted and even abandoned by her parents, and oppressed by what she sees as the unreasonable behavioral demands of her Aunt Claudia. Regardless of what Sarah Ida might say, she wants to be close to people, but in a new town that is really only a temporary stop, she knows that there might not be much point in putting down roots. She wants to go home, but she's not enthusiastic about the idea of rejoining her parents; so, what's a girl to do who feels that she has already been deemed by the world to be unfit after only ten years of life? Where can she turn to when even her parents have hurt her? Given much freedom to do what she wishes, Sarah Ida finds herself an unlikely job as a shoeshine girl at a little stand in town. It's not a glamorous position and requires hard physical labor, but it offers Sarah Ida paid wages. However, most important, it is through her employment at the stand and her uncertain, slowly growing relationship with the owner, Mr. Winkler, that Sarah Ida first begins to glimpse the first burgeoning rays of what could be nothing but a light in the darkness, illuminating the tunnel from the other side. What follows is truly something of a mini miracle, changing the hearts of more than one person. It's remarkable how Clyde Robert Bulla is able to give us such a meaningful, substantial story in only eighty-four pages of large print, many of which are taken up by full-page illustrations. Shoeshine Girl is a wonder of writing, a demonstration that no matter how brief the storytelling, a good author who understands human emotion is never limited in his or her ability to touch us all with a marvelous tale. I would give three and a half stars to Shoeshine Girl, and I strongly considered rounding up that in-between rating to four stars.
Sarah Ida's father is away from home quite often, and Sarah and her mother don't get along very well. Sarah feels that her parents don't care because they don't pay any attention to her. However, when she starts running with the wrong crowd at school, they take notice. Sarah's parents decide that she should spend the summer with her Aunt Claudia in Palmville. Sarah resents her parents' decision and feels that they simply want to get rid of her. So, she goes to Palmville with a ready-made chip on her shoulder. Her resentment grows when Aunt Claudia refuses to give her any spending money. Sarah vows to get a job, and Aunt Claudia calls her bluff. To save face, Sarah gets a job with Al, the shoeshine man. Because of Al, Sarah resolves her frustration toward her parents and begins to feel a sense of self-worth. When Al is hit by a car, Sarah carries on the business by herself. Shoeshine Girl was originally published in 1975 so the book’s setting may be outdated, but the message is timeless. A child neglected by her parents turns to negative behavior for attention. The parents decide they can’t cope and send the child off to stay with a relative. The child finds a mentor and changes for the better. Bulla’s books are wonderfully accessible to elementary-age children. Thank heavens, there are still a few in-print!
Do You like book Shoeshine Girl (2004)?
Sarah Ida didn’t want to come to Palmville to live with her aunt. But then, she didn’t really want to stay with her parents. She doesn’t want anything or anyone except her freedom; her right to wear what she wants, do what she wants, and be friends with who she wants. But it seems like all of the adults in her world are determined to keep these things from her.And now, Aunt Claudia is refusing to give her any money. Wants to know what she’ll do with it. Bah! She’ll show her aunt. She’ll go and get a job and then Aunt Claudia will be sorry and give her the money. So she finds a job at Al’s Shoeshine Corner, shining shoes. But when she returns home that night, Aunt Claudia offers no resistance to Sarah Ida’s plans, actually says it may be a good idea!Sarah Ida doesn’t quite know what to do with this response. Should she keep working or should she quit? Maybe it would be interesting to work with Al, to see all of the different people, to earn money….Discussion.Relationships are complex in Sarah Ida’s world. In fact, dysfunctionality rules. Although Sarah Ida lives with her aunt during the entirety of the story, the circumstances of the story and Sarah Ida’s responses to them are all directed by her relationship – or lack of relationship – with her parents. Her parents are both very busy – too busy to spend really any time with Sarah Ida. Here is her version of the story.“Well-" Sarah Ida began. “For a long time nobody cared what I did. Nobody paid any attention. Then all at once everything changed. Mother asked a million questions about everything I did. And my clothes weren’t right, and my friends weren’t right. I couldn’t do this – I couldn’t do that.” [pg. 6]Sarah Ida’s responded to this hitherto unprecedented and critical attention by hardening her heart and rebelling, which is an understandable though inexcusable response. When someone who has no meaningful part in your life begins suddenly to micro-manage your life, it is, without a doubt, frustrating. But just because her parents had behaved wrongly gives Sarah Ida no excuse to respond with bad behavior herself.When Sarah Ida arrives in Palmville, Sarah Ida is hurt but resolute, prickly and tough. She refuses to soften. Her aunt can do nothing to change her or control her. After being caught finagling money from a young girl, Sarah Ida decides to get a job. She finds one with Al, and theirs is the only real relationship in the book. He lets her do her own thing, mostly, except where business is concerned. Then he corrects her manners.In the end, Sarah Ida must leave Palmville and return to her parents. At first, Sarah Ida point-blank refuses to go, but in the end relents. She derives comfort from her relationship with the Al and thinks she’s “ready” to see her parents again.We never know whether she is reconciled to her parents. We don’t really know how she feels towards them at the end of the story. Just that she’s leaving the life she’s come to love to go back to her parents because they think they need her. We have no reason to believe that their difficulties have actually been resolved. Or that their relationships will progress. There is no resolution.Sarah Ida excuses a friend’s theft by saying that "she wasn't stealing. She was just trying to see if she could get it out of the store. It was like – it was like a game.” [pg. 7]Conclusion. I did not find Shoeshine Girl to be what I would call ‘exemplary reading’ for children because it will only raise doubts in their minds concerning their relationship with their parents or reassure and foster any resentment they might already have.Visit The Blithering Bookster to read more reviews!www.blitheringbookster.com
—Laura Verret
Although a short book this is a powerful look at what makes "family", the relative importance of money, friendships and so much more. This is a deeply moving story that I would give to my highest readers in third grade simply because of its content. Every child should read this, especially as they are becoming their self centered selves. It will open eyes, and perhaps make them appreciate what they have versus always asking for that new shiny thing that a short while later has little significance.
—Kari
Despite a few dated elements this brief chapter book stands up pretty well for contemporary readers. 10-year-old Sarah Ida's parents send her to live with her aunt Claudia as a preventive measure after her friend gets caught shoplifting. Sarah Ida is angry and hurt, especially after her aunt tells her that she is not to have any allowance, as per Sarah Ida's mother. To her credit, Sarah Ida works out her own problem by getting a job at the corner shoeshine stand, and discovers some positive things about herself, after a few bumps in the road. As she earns the trust and friendship of Al, her boss, she shows integrity and courage in an emergency. This book has many good messages without being heavy-handed. 4th-6th grade.
—Phoebe
