Judy Delton (1931–2001)

This was another book that caught my eye while manually going through all the PZ7s (fiction) at my university library, looking for picture books and award-winning chapter books I had not already added to our LibraryThing account. I liked the old photo album feel of this wrap-around dust jacket, and the title--a phrase from the Catholic Act of Contrition in use when I was a child--hit home.

This was the only young adult novel by children's author Judy Delton, and I suspect it is somewhat show more autobiographical, at least for her childhood and youth. Delton was born in 1931, like the main character of this book, Tess, who attends Catholic school (including an all-girls high school and college, as did Delton) and later teaches at one - as did Delton.

Having been brought up Catholic myself, I could relate to some of this book--learning the catechism, First Communion and fasting, going to Confession every week (my least favorite part of Catholicism) and having to make up sins to tell the priest. However, when Tess marries a pen pal she barely knows to avoid being an old maid and "the near occasion of sin" (i.e. the temptation to give in to his pushing for sex), I could not relate. Her husband, Duane, is a mentally-abusive alcoholic (and sexaholic) who has trouble holding down a job and makes obscene phone calls to Tess' friends. I cheered when the pregnant Tess (and of course, according to Duane, being pregnant is Tess' fault) leaves Duane near the end of book and moves back in with her parents. The book ends abruptly with the birth of her daughter and no resolution on what happens to them or to Duane. Makes me wonder if Delton was planning a sequel, but poor sales of this book (published in 1984) squashed those plans.

In an interview with Authors and Artists for Young Adults, Delton said, "In the seventies, there was a lot of popular interest in tracing people's origins, so I decided to write about growing up Catholic in the forties....Because my characters are mostly me, emotionally, they usually go through what I do." (Delton wrote a lot of series books, including her humorous Kitty series on a girl growing up Catholic in the 30s and 40s). A note on the back inside of this book jacket says that in "1971...she found herself the sole support of her four children," implying that her own marriage ended in widowhood or divorce (I do hope her husband was not as awful as Duane).

Tess is more of a contemporary of my mother, as all the action takes place before 1952, and I grew up Catholic mostly post-Vatican II. Despite 12 years of Catholic schooling, I'm a somewhat-lapsed Catholic now, and I had difficulty relating to Tess' obsession with sin. Even with a proliferation of abstinent single young Christians today (who are marrying at what are, to me, appallingly young ages), I don't think this book would be of interest to most young adults nowadays.

© Amanda Pape - 2010 show less

There may be a few people scratching their head on why i gave this old and dated book a 5 star rating, but I did it for the way it makes me feel. I am a military brat. We would spend years not seeing family. This book reminds me of when you would show up at grams’ (grandmother to you) and she DIDN’T have all you favorite foods waiting. It was heartbreaking, until you discover that you can make it yourself. That is basically the story of this book, but with a bear and a rabbit. And let me show more tell you I was 28 before I realized why no one else's rice krispies treats tasted like grams. It's not always the ingredients, but sometimes the way it's made that makes all the difference. show less

I thought this book was very interesting for a few reasons. The plot of the book is impressive to me because there are not many children's books that address single parenthood, and far less that address job loss. The plot did this in a very comforting, realistic, and uncomplicated way. The main character is a little girl who experiences a great range of emotions and concerns when she learns her mother was fired, and I think that these represent valid reactions that children can engage with. show more The central message that the book addresses towards the end of the story is that children shouldn't feel that these situations are their fault or that they are responsible for taking on jobs of their own to help make things better. show less

This book is set in the winter time where a son seems to always be on his mother's last nerve. He even says that his mother hates him because it is the month of January. He always seems to be bothering her one way or another. She yells at him for having clay in the living room, playing "monsters" in the living room", making messy popcorn balls, and putting on his snow gear the wrong way. Once the mother realizes that spring is almost here, her mood changes. She wants to play games with him show more and make fun snacks with him too.

The weather definitely does affect our everyday mood and this book demonstrates this idea. The mother is always angry during January because of the weather but the boy knows that she will be happy when the spring time comes. I thought it was funny that the son could recognize that his mother was just about ready to have a mental breakdown. I think the book is kind of depressing because all the mother seems to do is yell at him. I was not sure if children want to read about getting yelled at by their mothers. I do not think I would have wanted to read about something like this. Will children understand the frustrations of being a parent? Or will the child only see the mother as being a cruel dictator during the cold month of January? The idea of the book is interesting but I do not know if I would have understood the book as a child like the author may have intended for me to understand it. show less