Hide this

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive by Dave Pelzer
Loading...

A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive

by Dave Pelzer

Series: Dave Pelzer (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations
3,026106884 (3.97)8
Loading...
won't like will probably not like will probably like will like will love

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

English (105)  Swedish (1)  All languages (106)
Showing 1-5 of 105 (next | show all)
An absolute must read, A Child Called "It", tells of the abuse and resilience of David Pelzer. As a very young child Pelzer lived a normal life; he, his parents, and his brothers were a typical family. They spent time together, laughed together, played together, and vacationed together. Then, suddenly, Pelzer's mother changed; she became monstrous and began beating Pelzer. She did not beat the other boys and Pelzer's father never tried to stop her. This is an extremely emotional part of the book, as I often found myself crying while reading. Pelzer was put through a series of torturous "games" by his mother, things no one should ever endure. Pelzer was forced to sleep in the cold garage, steal from his classmates or dog food to avoid starving, sit on the burning stovetop, and sit for hours almost completely submerged in a bath of cold water. While, understandably at times, the memoir is very hard to read, it is an inspirational reminder of what we should be thankful for, things we are lucky to not have to deal with.

Pelzer's story does turn for the better eventually, and after rooting for this poor, undeserving child the entire time, it is so rewarding to know he preserved. Pelzer, only a child at the time of the story, has more to teach than any adult I know. His memoir was inspirational, emotional and definitely recommended. ( )
  tsolinger | Nov 12, 2009 |
This is one of the most heartbreaking stories you'll ever read. That being said, it's also very hard to actually read it. The level of abuse that Dave Pelzer suffered at the hands of his mother is truly indescribable, and I truly admire the man he's become. I don't honestly know if I could be as well-adjusted, not to mention humble, forgiving, and anger-free, as this man is.

This is one book you'll truly remember forever. ( )
  GeniusJen | Oct 13, 2009 |
If you're going to go through with reading this book, I will go ahead and advise you to pick up a box of tissues while you're at it. This tear- jerker is an inspirational story about a young boy named David Pelzer who truly never gave up no matter how far he was down. David shares his stories of being beaten as a child and explains how he made it from one struggling day to the next. The craziest part is that it was only David who was getting hurt, and not his brothers. I recommend that everyone reads this book because it is truly a story of survival and even more, a tale full of inspiration. ( )
  amspicer | Sep 27, 2009 |
A Child called "It";; This book is about a boy named David Pelzer. He gets abused his whole life, Living one day at a time, seeing his brtohers not get touched and him the only one hurts. This boy is around 6 to 8 years old, and works like you have never seen anyone work before, he goes threw more stuff you imagane. Beaten every day, Second, Hour is his life.,, Book- Child Called It, By: Dave Pelzer. I chose to read this book. Because Its the only book I like and all my freinds told me to. This Book Is Really Great, I think anyone and everyone should read it. Everything is so wondeful, My favirote book by far!
  Tcb123 | Sep 24, 2009 |
It is just a shock to me how Dave was living a life like this! It dosen't make sence of how his mom abuses Dave, but not his other brothers. This book is just sooooo sad. It makes me cry when I can see what Dave's mom is doing to him. ( )
  fatouwane | Sep 22, 2009 |
Showing 1-5 of 105 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Series (with order)
Canonical Title
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my son Stephen, who, by the grace of God, has taught me the gift of love and joy through the eyes of a child. This book is also dedicated to the teachers and staff members of Thomas Edison Elementary School to include: Stephen E. Ziegler, Athena Konstan, Peter Hansen, Joyce Woodworth, Janice Woods, Betty Howell, and the School Nurse. To all of you, for your courage and for putting your careers on the line that fateful day, March 5, 1973. You saved my life.
First words
March 5, 1973, Daly City, California - I'm late.
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Canonical titleA Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive
Original publication date1993
SeriesDave Pelzer (1)
People/CharactersDavid "Dave" Pelzer, Peter Hansen, Stephen Joseph, Catherine Roerva, Ronald, Stan (show all 11)
Important placesDaly City, California, USA, Thomas Edison Elementary School, Daly City, California, USA
Awards and honorsNew York Times bestseller (Paperback Nonfiction, 1997), ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (2002.04 | Relationships: Friends and Families, 2002), ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (2010.02 | Hard Knock Life, 2010), The Telegraph's 110 Best Books: The Perfect Library (2008)
DedicationThis book is dedicated to my son Stephen, who, by the grace of God, has taught me the gift of love and joy through the eyes of a child. This book is also dedicated to the teachers and staff members of Thomas Edison Elementary... (show all)
First wordsMarch 5, 1973, Daly City, California - I'm late.
Last words(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
DescriptionThis is a tragic story about a boy named Dave and all of the abuse that he went through as a child.
Book description
This is a tragic story about a boy named Dave and all of the abuse that he went through as a child.

No descriptions found.

The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details.

Popular covers

 

Help/FAQs | About | Privacy/Terms | Blog | Contact | LibraryThing.com | APIs | WikiThing | Common Knowledge | 45,640,544 books!