You know you’ve read a great book…
…because you’re sad to have it end,
…because it’s a contemporary story with heart,
…because it was set in the 1970s,
…because the theme of racial tension shows how far we haven’t progressed,
…because Armstrong & Charlie are two enduring characters,
…because it ends with a lot of ‘becauses’.
Armstrong Le Rois and Charlie Ross are just two kids trying to understand the world and themselves. They share the telling of the story in alternating narratives within each chapter. The only other voice we hear is from Mrs. Gaines and her hilarious and heartfelt school INCIDENT REPORTS.
These two sixth graders’ lives are thrown together as desegregation becomes an ever present part of the times in the 1970s. Back then (and in many school districts today) sixth grade was a part of elementary school and junior high was 7th, 8th, and 9th. For Armstrong & Charlie, it’s a year fraught with tension, fights, and understanding. For anyone reading their story, you’ll discover our differences aren’t so different. Laughter, friendship, family, and finding that first girl to kiss are embraced across all racial lines.
This is a book for all generations and one that will have staying power for years to come. Read it and embrace it.
A final caution (only because I’ve crossed this path before): MG books typically are clean of those bad words we tell our young ones not to say. Well, they say them here. This novel is a good one for fifth grade and up, but Armstrong & Charlie contains mild language some parents may find offensive. Just saying…
PUBLICATION DATE: 2017 PAGE COUNT: 304
FULL PLOT (From AMAZON) Charlie isn’t looking forward to sixth grade. If he starts sixth grade, chances are he’ll finish it. And when he does, he’ll grow older than the brother he recently lost. Armstrong isn’t looking forward to sixth grade, either. When his parents sign him up for Opportunity Busing to a white school in the Hollywood Hills, all he wants to know is “What time in the morning will my alarm clock have the opportunity to ring?” When these two land at the same desk, it’s the Rules Boy next to the Rebel, a boy who lost a brother elbow-to-elbow with a boy who longs for one.
From September to June, arms will wrestle, fists will fly, and bottles will spin. There’ll be Ho Hos spiked with hot sauce, sleepovers, boy talk about girls, and a little guidance from the stars.
Set in Los Angeles in the 1970s, Armstrong and Charlie is the hilarious, heartwarming tale of two boys from opposite worlds. Different, yet the same.
FIVE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT: ARMSTRONG & CHARLIE by Steven B. Frank
- Food is an ever present reminder of the times. My favorite: The way Ho-Hos, a chocolate cake with a creamy filling, is weaved into the story.
- If your reading is as interrupted as mine gets, it was nice to have natural break within each chapter. The chapters are various lengths but because each is set up with multiple subheadings for Charlie and Armstrong, you can pause at the end of one of these narratives instead of at a chapter’s end.
- The family swear jar filled with coins reminded me of my grandfather who charged a quarter if you said a mild bad word. One dollar for a real whopper.
- Mr. Kahlil was a secondary character—not a family member or teacher, but a neighbor to Armstrong. Every kid needs a mentor. Mr. Kahlil provided that for Armstrong.
- The uncomfortable moments are handled well (and there are many—we’re talking sixth grade boys here). Racial tension, girls, dominance in playground sports, and family issues all drive the story to its satisfying end.
FAVORITE LINES:
Glazed doughnuts. Fire Stix. Razzles. Pixy Stix. Wax bottles. Bazooka gum. Tootsie Pop Drops. Space Food Sticks. Candy necklaces. Licorice strings. SweeTarts and Appleheads. On Mondays and Fridays, at exactly four in the afternoon, the Helms man drives his big yellow truck, a bakery on wheels, into Laurel Canyon. He sells fresh bread, cookies, doughnuts, and candy. And when his whistle sounds, my hand somehow finds its way into my mom’s purse.
AUTHOR QUOTE (Read more at Steven’s WEBSITE:
I loved playing tennis. It gave me a special bond with my dad and, later, a solid bond with other kids my age. But sometimes when you’re pegged as the “athlete in the family,” nobody sees who else you might want to be. In my case, I was curious too about stories and science. But those identities were already taken.
I didn’t grow up to be a professional tennis player. I grew up to be a teacher. And then I grew up some more to be a writer.
It’s good to be grateful for the gifts you receive. But it can take a lifetime to unwrap the ones you already have.
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Make a comment if you have time. I enjoy reading all of them. Click on the comments link below.
Check the links to other Middle Grade novels over at Shannon Messenger’s Marvelous Middle Grade Monday post.
arrives in the U.S. from Africa with her mother and younger brother. She’s full of questions about the language, food, and strange customs we Americans don’t even think twice about.
house. Her Mom has piles of everything imaginable in every room in the house, except for Annabelle’s bedroom. She’s on a daily watch to make sure only her stuff is in there.
Nick Dashaway is about to turn 13 and is obsessed with his image. He’s not popular and wants to be in the worst way. His wish comes true and he’s thrown into a parallel world where all the same family, friends, and enemies are there but now he’s the richest and most famous kid in the world.
The next year came 
And this brings us to 
Carter assured me I’d have no problem with what was going on in this third installment, despite it being the first for me. He was right.
was a trilogy, why weren’t all the plot points neatly wrapped up on the final pages? I must have missed the memo because this is destined to be a five book series. Thank goodness.
have Rydr, who turns 13 part way through her ride from Palm Springs to Chicago on an Amtrak train. Her life has been full of disappointment and sadness. The train ride is exactly what she needs to bring new purpose and direction to a world she doesn’t understand
to the attic. Jed finds his in the form of a tunnel in the back of the dishwasher. The thought even had me looking past the dirty dishes of my own dishwasher. It’s good I had this story because it turns out my dishwasher is one of the boring models that only washes dishes.
