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    Also Known As Harper
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    Also Known As Harper
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    Also Known As Harper
    Ebook182 pages2 hours

    Also Known As Harper

    By Ann Haywood Leal

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Harper Lee Morgan is an aspiring poet, which isn't surprising, seeing as how she's named after her mama's favorite writer, Harper Lee. And life is giving her a lot to write about just now. Daddy up and walked out, leaving them broke. Then Harper's family gets evicted.

    With Mama scrambling to find work, Harper has to skip school to care for her little brother, Hemingway. Their lives have been turned upside down, which Harper could just about handle—if it wasn't for the writing contest at school. If only she could get up on that stage and read her poems out loud . . .

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateMay 26, 2009
    ISBN9781429935715
    Unavailable
    Also Known As Harper
    Author

    Ann Haywood Leal

    Ann Haywood Leal is an elementary school teacher and the author of Also Known As Harper and A Finders-Keepers Place. She has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and enjoys spending time with her husband, Andy, and daughters, Jessica and Holly. She lives and writes in Waterford, Connecticut.

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    Reviews for Also Known As Harper

    3.5/5

    66 ratings12 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This book contains mature subject matter and is not recommended for young or sensitive readers. In her eleven years of living, Harper Lee has faced many obstacles that range from domestic issues to financial problems. Her father is verbally abusive to her and her mother. He is an alcoholic that leaves his family which has the mother struggling to make ends meet. At times, Harper assumes the role of her father by being the protector of her little brother Hemingway. Through all her burdens, she finds solace in her poetry. Harper Lee is a tough individual that is quite mature for her age whom many would appreciate because of the insurmountable troubles which Harper is faced with that puts her dreams in jeopardy. Great story
    • 5/5
      Harper Lee Morgan loves words. It's a love she inherited from her mama, a lady so in love with To Kill a Mockingbird that she's read it at least 36 times and named her firstborn child after its author. Yes, Harper loves words, and she's certain that she's going to win her school's poetry contest. The only problem is that she and her mama and her little brother Hemingway have been evicted from their house, so getting to school has become a problem. But Harper's determined to get to school for the poetry reading, just as determined as she is to rid herself of any memory of her whiskey-soaked daddy who told her that her words weren't worth anything.This is a compelling story about a spunky girl who's determined to beat the odds. It really opened my eyes to what homeless children might go through. Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      When Harper, her mother and brother Hemingway are kicked out of their rental home for being behind on rent, it is Harper's poetry writing and the chance to share them at a school poetry contest that keeps her head up in challenging times. They live in a motel for a few days and, when her mother loses a housekeeping job, they move into an abandoned drive-in movie concession stand. At the motel, Harper meets an older woman named Dorothy and Lorraine, a girl muted by tragedy. These two understand where Harper is coming from and their empathy helps open her heart in a hopeful way.
    • 3/5
      Even though I feel like I read this book before, it is a very well done version of a story that resonates with many children. The poetry throughout the book is very good.
    • 4/5
      This book reminded me a lot of The Boxcar Children stories. I always enjoyed those stories because the children lived in a traincar and were roughing it as it were. I always wanted to live like that. This book is like that. Where the families live in a tent city, and kids have to take care of themselves. This is however slightly unrealistic to me. I kind of think it was glamorized, like everything always works out in the end, all you need is love and family. This may be true, but I think that it made the idea of being homeless something to strive for. I guess it's good to make your situation better if you are stuck in that situation, but there was little or no communication between the children and the mother. The mother was leaving her kids to find work, and though it was necessary, I would hope that the school would have noticed what was going on. The ending was not what I expected. I didn't think that the old lady would end up leaving her money to this family, simply because she had so much of it. So I could see sharing this book with my students, but only as a read aloud, and probably only a small group of students. I know I have a large group living in poverty, but I still feel that this book promotes too much independance by the children and fanticizes the idea of being homeless. Maybe some kids need that if they are in that situation, but I can't think of a lesson to promote this book. I really feel it is best for older students, perhaps to get an understanding of those living in poverty. Overall, I liked the book, it was well written, though I felt it was more for an adult.
    • 4/5
      This protagonist captured my heart: a young poet who struggles against poverty and an alcoholic father who abandons the family.
    • 4/5
      These days, a kid’s book with a character who has a mom and dad and a sibling or two where everyone is functional and getting along and pretty happy…does anyone even write books like that? (Of course, some might say it’s because there are no families like that.) Also Known as Harper has a main character, Harper, with lots of problems. Dad has gone. Just like that. Her brother, Hemingway (see what inspires Mom?) waits for Dad every day to return. Mom is having trouble paying rent and keeping her job. Harper is missing school even though she wants desperately to enter the poetry writing contest. Lots of troubles.It’s Harper’s writing that keeps her going and introduces her to people who can help her along, too.
    • 3/5
      Fifth grader Harper Lee Morgan is named after her mother’s favorite author, and Harper knows that the poems that she writes are good. However, circumstances beyond her control must take precedence. When they suddenly lose their home, it is up to Harper to watch her younger brother, Hemingway, while their mother tries to find extra jobs to make some money and be able to find a real home. Harper is devastated that her family situation will prevent her from being able to read her poems at her school’s poetry competition, but with help from unexpected places—new friends and old enemies—Harper realizes that poetry can be performed in any environment.ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER is an easy and gentle read that introduces young readers to the delicate issue of homelessness through the eyes of a thoroughly appealing protagonist.The occasionally whimsical and melodramatic plot is anchored by Harper Lee, whose passions, vulnerabilities, and narration contain ageless appeal. She is a very well realized character, and approaches the events in her life with objectivity and fluidity: she is healthily skeptical of some scenarios, but is willing to admit that she was wrong and has a lot to learn. Her interactions with her younger brother are adorable; in fact, the sense of familial strength in ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER will make you want to give your siblings, parents, or children a big hug for just existing.Some of the supporting characters, however, are not believable as Harper Lee, and their characterization can seem repetitive and excessive, such as the wheelchair lady’s oft-noted ability to understand Harper better than she understands herself. The resolution is hasty and therefore not as satisfying as it could be, and as I noted earlier, there is a strain of fantastical unbelievability that runs throughout the story. A lot of the situations that Harper, her brother, and her friends stumble upon feel contrived, which is unfortunate, as it detracts from the poignancy of Harper and her family’s predicament.ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER has its amateuristic flaws, but its intentions are clear and good: it illustrates the power of essential relationships to sustain one through the worst situations. As a result, it may be a good book for adults and children to read separately and discuss together.
    • 5/5
      Fifth grade is tough enough without taking on the problem at home. Harper Lee Morgan is no stranger to problems at home. Her father who drinks too much has left the family. This has forced her mother to try to find extra work. It doesn’t matter how hard she has tried, their landlady want all of the back rent or wants them out. To make matters worse the landlady lives next door and her snotty daughter, Winnie Rae is one of Harper’s classmates. She seems determined to put Harper down as often as possible. On the day Harper learns about the poetry contest her world comes crashing down. It seems that her family must continue to pay for her father’s mistakes. Homeless, Harper, her mother and younger brother must find a way to survive. The lessons she will learn and the people she will meet will strengthen her in ways she would never expect..Ann Leal took the reader on the bumpy ride with Harper and her family. I found myself so angry at Winnie Rae’s family that I actually thought about what should be done to them. The lessons in this book were not thrown in your face yet they were there and I believe that anyone who reads this book will see them. This is definitely a book to be recommended.
    • 4/5
      Writing poetry helps fifth-grader Harper Lee Morgan cope with her father's absence, being evicted, and having to skip school to care for her brother while their mother works, and things look even brighter after she befriends a mute girl and a kindly disabled woman.
    • 5/5
      I honestly couldn't put this one down. I took it to work with me one day and decided to read for just one minute while I was turning on my computer.... and about fifteen minutes later realized it was time to hit crl+alt+delete. It's a coming-of-age novel set in the south that sort of reminds me of a cross between Dorothy Allison and Fannie Flagg. It's got that colorful southern setting and has those great original characters with real life problems, but it's not as tragic as Allison's novels nor is it as funny as Flagg's. It strikes this great middle of the road chord - and I DO NOT mean that in a negative way. I love that no one in the story is either totally good or totally bad - I just hate it when stories are written that way... it's (usually) so unrealistic. And yes, I get that sometimes it's a metaphor, but I don't like being hit over the head with metaphors and I don't think kids do either. Ok, off my soapbox - sorry. I also loved the poetry scattered throughout the book - it's a good way to introduce it. I like that although it was a good ending it wasn't a "too perfect" ending. Anyway, this novel was great and I'm recommending it all middle school girls that I know - and I think it could even still be good for high school girls looking for an easy read. Big Thumbs Up!
    • 5/5
      Okay so first of all this cover is amazing! Most covers usually just have the title and author listed on them, but this cover actually incorporates it into the picture by having it being writing on the box. I also really like the fact that they don't show the girls face because I like being able to picture Harper for myself. I may even have to buy a finished copy since the arc has a different cover. ;)Second, I absolutely LOVED this book, it was sooo good. I was able to easily connect with all of the characters, even some of the not so nice ones and the ones that did not appear for very long. For instance Winnie Rae Early, even though she is a bratty little girl you kinda end up feeling for her anyway because she is only human and they have many different layers.I find it truly amazing that there are so many life circumstances that are dealt with within this book such as alcoholism, divorce, poverty, homelessness, and death. It would make a great book to be used in a classroom because it does deal with all these circumstances and shows that even homeless people deserve to be treated with respect because it may not always be their fault.I would definitely recommend Also Known as Harper to everyone. But I think that people who have lived through some tough times or had an exceptionally hard childhood would really enjoy reading this book.