Hokey Pokey

All I can say is, wow.  I finished Hokey Pokey in about 24 hours because it was absolutely amazing!  Jerry Spinelli has out done himself again and I loved this book.  Spinelli uses metaphors, allegory, and beautiful language to create the world of Hokey Pokey where children rule and the only adult as far as the eye can see is the Hokey Pokey man who brings the children hokey pokeys or snowcones each day for lunch and has every flavor a child could dream up.

One morning, Jack wakes up and everything is different – his bike is gone, his friends are acting strange, and his worst enemy in the world, a girl, doesn’t seem so bad.  And then he hears it, a train whistle, except everyone knows that Hokey Pokey has train tracks… but never a train.  As Jack travels through his day, he begins to understand that it’s not necessarily that everything else is different, it’s that he is different.  Spinelli has woven a beautiful coming-of-age story that will definitely stay in mind for quite a while.  And I can only imagine, quite possibly that Hokey Pokey will be looked at for the Newbery Award next year (and yes I’m thinking about next year already! – the book was that good).

Check out Jerry Spinelli’s website for other amazing books (and check out his wife, Eileen Spinelli’s work also!)

Title: Hokey Pokey
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Publication: 2013