Philbrick, Rodman. The mostly true adventures of Homer P. Figg. New York: The Blue Sky Press, 2009.
Lexile Level: 950L
Questions for the Author:
When I picked up this book, I did not realize at first what a serious emotional reaction I would have to the story within. The cover art has a cartoony look to it, and even the title is a bit humorous. I was touched by the love and loyalty that Homer and Harold had for each other. Though Homer was a liar, there was a childhood innocence about him that made the novel endearing to read. I felt the humor made this book relatable and I loved the fact that the hero, Homer, is by no means perfect. One of the funtions of children’s literature is to act as a mirror, and I think that humor helped make that true for me. My first question for Rodman Philbrick is:
- Why did you choose to use humor in a book with such a strong theme such as war?
One of my favorite chapters in the book is Quaker Talk, Chapter 9. I think it is brilliant how Philbrick teaches the reader about Quaker Friends without being didactic. In this way, as mentioned in the lecture, the literature acts as a window to another world experience. Homer muses that “there’s no rush about Jebediah. He waits like waiting is all he ever wanted to do. “ Jebediah says, “I was raised among the Society of Friends, the people thee call Quakers (Philbrick, p59). This is the type of detail that makes this book really come to life. My next question for Philbrick is:
- How did you decide the back story of your characters? Were you trying to make use them to educate your readers? Was your intention to inject humor through these supporting roles?
There are some graphic scenes of war near the end of the novel. Homer’s description of the soldiers having limbs amputated is positively nauseating. Yet, the story doesn’t linger around these details and is pushed forward constantly by the action. I felt the end of the book wrapped up quickly, and I was surprised at how fast the story went from the battlefield to the safety of Brewster’s guardianship. As I mentioned, I thought loyalty, family, brotherly love were all themes. To me, though, the main theme was that we can do great things for awful reasons, or awful things for great reasons. My final question for Philbrick:
- What is the main thing you want your reader to take from this book?
