Short

Julia Marks's mother informs her that she will be auditioning for a summer production of The Wizard of Oz, along with her (more musically talented) little brother Randy. Both kids are cast as Munchkins - Julia is short for her age, but doesn't like to use the s-word - and Julia becomes invested in the production when she and Olive pair up for mirroring/shadowing exercises. Olive, Quincy, and Larry are short adults playing Munchkins; the cast is mixed professionals, college students, and amateurs, including the kids.

When Julia visits a neighbor to ask to cut some flowers for her scrapbook, she gets far more than she bargained for: Mrs. Chang is a former ballerina, choreographer, and costumer, and she agrees to make costumes for the show more show. She even waives a fee - as long as she can be one of the winged monkeys along with Julia and Olive.

With the guidance of Mrs. Chang, Olive, and director Shawn Barr, Julia begins to be more observant of the world around her and think more deeply about art.

See also: The Chance to Fly

Quotes

I decide I need to take care of the history of this summer myself. (36)

I know that the Beatles were a big-deal music group that changed the way people thought about getting haircuts. They sand songs that were pretty good because you can still listen to them today and not get angry. If you were born at a certain time, which was long, long ago, you had a favorite Beatle. (84-85)

There are times when adults act like being different is just the greatest thing, but then when you are, it feels like they're secretly disappointed. (101)

Nothing makes an adult happier than knowing a kid is looking something up without being told. (152)

I'm going to concentrate on seeing more of the world around me. (185)

When you are showing off, you stop thinking about other people. (188)

...there are always two things happening in any situation: What we see, and what we don't see.
But what we don't see we can feel - if we are paying attention. (254)

Mrs. Chang says that you are often judged in life before you're ready. (285)

Agent: Amy Berkower show less

Julia sounds so REAL. Her motivations and reactions to the adventure of a summer spent in the Oz of theater ring so true. Holly Goldberg Sloan writes one spot-on sentence after another and all of them are pitch perfect for middle grade. I don't know how she gets so MUCH great stuff into the story without feeling bogged down. A fun book, full of life, wit, and flying!

A few of my favorite quotes:
About her piano lessons:
"Once I figured out that Mrs. Sookram liked talking about music better than listening to me hit the wrong keys, the lessons were more under control."

After she tapes dog hair to a scrapbook page:
"It's really not very attractive."

Why she has no time for summer theater:
"'What about my summer? What about thinking about Ramon show more [pet dog] whenever I want, and writing letters to Kaylee and Piper?' I still haven't done any actual letter writing, but I did start a drawing and if it turns out to be any good I was going to send that."

After an inspiring speech by the theater director:
". . .I realize, some part of me--a big part on the inside--must want to be here, because right now _not_ being in the show feels like it would be terrible."
"That's when I decide that this is going to be the summer when the little people call the shots."

About Dad's family scrapbooks:
"This means that he gets to figure out what's important for us to remember."

One pet peeve: As an epidemiologist, I wish she wouldn't have highlighted the smoking of a role model character. show less

One of the things I regretted last summer was that I wasn't more in touch with the books selected for the Summer Reading program. So I decided as soon as the list was given to us that I would read as many books as I could so that I'd be better prepared for recommending them to our patrons. This is why I picked up Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan. The story is told through the eyes of Lydia, an 11-year old girl, who is super sensitive about her height...until she is chosen to be a Munchkin and Winged Monkey in her town's production of The Wizard of Oz where it suddenly becomes an advantage. She discovers that her height is just a small (no pun intended) part of her. She makes friends with a fellow cast member named Olive who is herself a show more dwarf as well as an older neighbor named Mrs. Chang who turns out to have many years of experience with the theater and costume making. My favorite part about this book was the main character, Lydia, who was absolutely hysterical.

An example from page 26-7 as she describes the director of the play she's performing in:
He is for sure older than my parents, who are old, because they are forty-two and forty-four. He might be super-super-super-old. Is he fifty-five? I have no idea.

Sloan totally gets the 'voice' of a child. They have zero concept of age (I've been told I'm 84 so I know from experience) and they also have zero reason to lie to you. Lydia is a well-rounded character who not only makes hilarious asides but also conveys depth of feeling.

When confronted with an awkward conversation about death:
My voice is small. I whisper, "Life is a cabaret." I don't even know what this means, but I heard Shawn Barr say it to Mrs. Chang a few days ago and they both laughed. It works, because she smiles. I'm guessing a cabaret is a kind of wine. I hope she'll have a tall glass. - pg 240

Overall, this was a delightful little read and I've been more than happy to recommend it to the children and parents at my library. If you're a fan of the theater or looking for a book full of heart (or both) well I think you've found your book match. ;-)

A/N: If you're triggered by repeated mentions of pet death then don't come near this book. It's not a spoiler to tell you this is a running theme throughout the book beginning in the first couple of pages. Grief is a large theme explored in this book but I didn't find it as compelling as the self-discovery/acceptance experienced by Lydia. show less

Julia is "not tall" and very literal-minded. She's grieving her dog, Ramon, who died, and wants to spend the summer not doing much else. But her mother convinces (= forces) her to tryout for a part in a local production of "The Wizard of Oz." Julia is NOT pleased, until she meets Olive, a woman with dwarfism who is confident and kind and fun. She becomes Julia's mentor along with Shawn Barr, the director of the play and Mrs. Chang, Julia's next-door neighbor who is much more than she seems. Foremost is the positive and strong relationships between youngsters and elders. As a youngster, most of my best friends were my elders, so I can relate to Julia's growth through her friendship's with adults. Short is full of humor and warmth, show more theater, and the straightforward narration of an observant young woman. I fell in love with Julia, Olive and Shawn Barr and their fantastical summer with the Wizard of Oz. show less

children's fiction; middle-grade and younger (Julia is maybe in 4th or 5th grade, but kids could probably identify her as young as 2nd or 3rd grade). Diversity notes: people with dwarfism; a good number of people with different skin colors and names reflecting non-white heritage. I loved spending time with these characters, almost read this in one sitting, and laughed aloud many times. I had great expectations for this book just from the name of the author (I would recommend anything by Holly Goldberg Sloan, even without having read it first), and was not disappointed in the least. Lots of laughs, tons of heart, a hefty dose of stage magic, and a very satisfying story.

Short, by Holly Goldberg Sloan, was an awesome book! When Julia, a shorter than average girl, looses her favorite dog Ramon, she doesn't know what she will do over the summer. She decides that she will never say the word ‘short’, she will scrapbook, and she will mourn over her loss. When her mom says that famous director, Sean Barr, is coming to direct a production of The Wizard of Oz, she doesn’t think that it is a good idea. She does try out though, and all of a sudden, she is at her first rehearsal as a munchkin! She meets Olive, a little person, and they become close friends, because they can relate with being short! She also meets Mrs. Chang who makes her munchkin costume. When Sean Barr falls and hurts himself, she visits show more him and he gives her some words of advice. He is back soon, and they prepare for opening night. Then, Sean Barr decides to have Olive and Julia be winged monkeys! Mrs. Chang says that she can help, but she wants to be a winged monkey as well! Then, there is drama with the guy who does the ropes with Olive, and the actress of Dorothy! Finally, the cast gets to perform on live stage. Can they do it?

Short was a very good book. I enjoyed it because it was told from Julia’s point of view and wasn’t told from the author’s point of view. I also liked it because Julia had gone through something hard, and was trying to get over it. I know exactly how she feels, so it was nice to relate. Lastly, I liked Short because Julia was a kid and she was interacting with adults and was noticing the things that they did and tried to act more like them. They acted as examples for her and she learned from them. Though Julia did act annoying throughout the book, I think that it was what made her, her. She stood out in my mind and was different from the rest of the cast. Short is a very good book and I would advise it! show less

Julia is very short for her age, but by the end of the summer run of The Wizard of Oz, she'll realize how big she is inside, where it counts. She hasn't ever thought of herself as a performer, but when the wonderful director of Oz casts her as a Munchkin, she begins to see herself in a new way. As Julia becomes friendly with the poised and wise Olive - one of the adults with dwarfism who've joined the production's motley crew of Munchkins - and with her deeply artistic neighbor, Mrs. Chang, Julia's own sense of self as an artist grows. Soon, she doesn't want to fade into the background and it's a good thing, because her director has more big plans for Julia!