The Way a Door Closes

by Smith, Hope Anita; Evans, Shane W.

• ISBN13: 9780805064773
• ISBN10: 080506477X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-05-01
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

Summary

With a click, a bang, a whisper-or no noise at all. There are so many ways that a door can close, but it's not just the closing; it's the knowing. And thirteen-year-old CJ knows too much-about losing his father, about his family's pain, and especially about what it means to hold things together when times are the toughest. In this beautifully written and powerfully moving novel in poems, Hope Anita Smith tells the story of a young man's struggle to accept a father who has walked out on his family. Here, in CJ's words, is a portrait of hurt and healing, and finding the strength to open the door again.

Author Biography

Hope Anita Smith didn’t want to just tell the story of a father who disappears: “I wanted this story to have a different ending, an ending that proves wrongs can be righted and it’s never too late to say ‘I’m sorry.’ ” A native of Akron, Ohio, Ms. Smith now lives in Los Angeles, California. This is her first book for young readers.

Shane W. Evans has illustrated several highly regarded books for children, including Down the Winding Road and Osceola: Memories of a Sharecropper’s Daughter, for which he received a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor. His artwork has been exhibited in Paris, Chicago, New York, and West Africa. A native of upstate New York, Mr. Evans currently lives in Kansas City, Missouri.

Table of Contents

Golden	3	(1)
Legacy	4	(1)
History Lessons	5	(1)
Interrogator Momma	6	(2)
The Whole World in His Hands	8	(2)
Twice Blessed	10	(2)
Audition	12	(1)
Diamond in the Rough	13	(1)
Close Your Eyes	14	(1)
Good White Things	15	(1)
The Dance	16	(2)
Job Hunt	18	(1)
The Way a Door Closes	19	(2)
Geography Lesson	21	(1)
Not Today	22	(2)
And One to Grow On	24	(1)
The Pull of the Moon	25	(1)
Photo Op	26	(1)
Little Man	27	(2)
The Power of One	29	(1)
Going, Going, Gone	30	(2)
Grandmomma's China Bowl	32	(1)
Telling Tales	33	(1)
Tell Me Something I Don't Know	34	(3)
Dream	37	(1)
When a Daddy Goes	38	(2)
Family Fire	40	(2)
Schoolyard Sermon	42	(2)
Winter Words	44	(2)
History Repeating (Almost)	46	(2)
Temp Job	48	(2)
Forgetfulness	50	(1)
Prodigal Son	51	(1)
Astronomy 101	52