Missing May is a children's book, the recipient of the 1993 Newbery Medal. It was written by Cynthia Rylant, who has written over 100 children's books such as The Islander.
The novel is set in present-day West Virginia. The protagonist is Summer, an orphaned child who has been passed from one apathetic relative to another. At age six, she meets her Aunt May and Uncle Ob. The kindly old couple notices that, although Summer is not mistreated, she is virtually ignored by her caretakers and decide to take Summer home to their rickety trailer home in the hills of the Appalachian mountains. Summer thrives under their care, feeling that she finally has a home.
Six years after Summer moves in, Aunt May dies suddenly in the garden. Summer must cope with her own grief while worrying about Uncle Ob, who is overwhelmed by the thought of living without his beloved wife. Uncle Ob decides to try contacting May's spirit, after he experiences the sensation that she has tried to communicate with him. He is assisted in this endeavor by Cletus Underwood, a classmate of Summer's, who provides information on a supposed spirit medium of some renown. Summer views his ideas with some skepticism, but is willing to try anything that might alleviate her uncle's sorrow. The three take a roadtrip to meet with the medium, only to discover that she had recently died. Uncle Ob is initially crushed by this news, and Summer fears that this disappointment was the last blow to his will to live. However, on the return trip, Uncle Ob suddenly snaps out of his depression, deciding to continue living on for Summer's sake.
Charactersedit
Summer- A young girl who serves as the main character and narrator of the story. She was orphaned as a baby, and was passed from relative to relative, until being taken in permanently by her Aunt May and Uncle Ob, who provided her with a happy, love-filled home. Summer is distraught when May dies, but is even more worried about Uncle Ob.
Uncle Ob- Summer's uncle and May's husband. He sinks into an extreme depression once May dies, and Summer fears that he has given up on living. He eventually becomes convinced that May's spirit is still visiting them, and seeks out a way to contact her. He is an accomplished craftsman, who has carved dozens of whirligigs over the years.
Cletus- A classmate of Summer's, he is viewed as the strangest student at her school. He meets Uncle Ob by chance shortly after May's death, and the two quickly become friends. Although Summer is not fond of him, she tolerates his presence since Ob enjoys his company. She begins to look more kindly upon him as time goes on. He claims to have had a near-death experience as a child, which gives Ob hope of being able to contact May's spirit.
A review in Publishers Weekly described Summer as having a "direct, matter-of-fact voice occasionally laced with irony and wry humor", although the distance of the narrative from the grief of its main character was criticized.[2] The novel was described by Kirkus Reviews as "A beautifully written, life-affirming book".[2]
missing, children, book, recipient, 1993, newbery, medal, written, cynthia, rylant, written, over, children, books, such, islander, first, editionauthorcynthia, rylantcountryunited, stateslanguageenglishgenrechildren, novelpublisherorchard, bookspublication, d. Missing May is a children s book the recipient of the 1993 Newbery Medal It was written by Cynthia Rylant who has written over 100 children s books such as The Islander Missing MayFirst editionAuthorCynthia RylantCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenreChildren s novelPublisherOrchard BooksPublication date1992Media typePrint Hardback amp Paperback Pages98ISBN0 531 05996 0OCLC24066732LC ClassPZ7 R982 Mj 1992 Contents 1 Plot 2 Characters 3 Publication 4 Reception 5 References 6 External linksPlot editThe novel is set in present day West Virginia The protagonist is Summer an orphaned child who has been passed from one apathetic relative to another At age six she meets her Aunt May and Uncle Ob The kindly old couple notices that although Summer is not mistreated she is virtually ignored by her caretakers and decide to take Summer home to their rickety trailer home in the hills of the Appalachian mountains Summer thrives under their care feeling that she finally has a home Six years after Summer moves in Aunt May dies suddenly in the garden Summer must cope with her own grief while worrying about Uncle Ob who is overwhelmed by the thought of living without his beloved wife Uncle Ob decides to try contacting May s spirit after he experiences the sensation that she has tried to communicate with him He is assisted in this endeavor by Cletus Underwood a classmate of Summer s who provides information on a supposed spirit medium of some renown Summer views his ideas with some skepticism but is willing to try anything that might alleviate her uncle s sorrow The three take a roadtrip to meet with the medium only to discover that she had recently died Uncle Ob is initially crushed by this news and Summer fears that this disappointment was the last blow to his will to live However on the return trip Uncle Ob suddenly snaps out of his depression deciding to continue living on for Summer s sake Characters editSummer A young girl who serves as the main character and narrator of the story She was orphaned as a baby and was passed from relative to relative until being taken in permanently by her Aunt May and Uncle Ob who provided her with a happy love filled home Summer is distraught when May dies but is even more worried about Uncle Ob Uncle Ob Summer s uncle and May s husband He sinks into an extreme depression once May dies and Summer fears that he has given up on living He eventually becomes convinced that May s spirit is still visiting them and seeks out a way to contact her He is an accomplished craftsman who has carved dozens of whirligigs over the years Cletus A classmate of Summer s he is viewed as the strangest student at her school He meets Uncle Ob by chance shortly after May s death and the two quickly become friends Although Summer is not fond of him she tolerates his presence since Ob enjoys his company She begins to look more kindly upon him as time goes on He claims to have had a near death experience as a child which gives Ob hope of being able to contact May s spirit Publication editThe novel was published on March 1 1992 by Orchard Books 1 Reception editA review in Publishers Weekly described Summer as having a direct matter of fact voice occasionally laced with irony and wry humor although the distance of the narrative from the grief of its main character was criticized 2 The novel was described by Kirkus Reviews as A beautifully written life affirming book 2 References edit Missing May Kirkus Reviews May 19 2010 a b Missing May by Cynthia Rylant Publishers Weekly Retrieved 2024 02 07 External links editMissing May at the Internet Archive Awards Preceded byShiloh Newbery Medal recipient1993 Succeeded byThe Giver Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Missing May amp oldid 1204742147, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
