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The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis Paperback – January 4, 2011
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Nothing ever happens in Fayette, South Carolina. That's what Popeye thinks, anyway. His whole life, everything has just been boring, boring, boring. But things start to look up when the Jewells' Holiday Rambler makes a wrong turn and gets stuck in the mud, trapping Elvis and his five rowdy siblings in Fayette for who knows how long. Then things get even better when something curious comes floating down the creek―a series of boats with secret messages―and Popeye and Elvis set out on a small adventure. Who could possibly be sending the notes and what do they mean?
This title has Common Core connections.
- Reading age8 - 12 years
- Print length176 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade level3 - 2
- Lexile measure750L
- Dimensions5.2 x 0.45 x 7.55 inches
- Publication dateJanuary 4, 2011
- ISBN-100312659326
- ISBN-13978-0312659325
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“With humor and authenticity, this beguiling tale of summer friendship mines the small, jewellike adventures of a rural childhood.” ―STARRED, Publishers Weekly
“Elvis and Popeye's journey reminds readers to look for and enjoy the small treasures in their lives. Save a spot on your shelves for this small adventure with a grand heart.” ―STARRED, School Library Journal
“This small gem has the power to keep readers entranced.” ―Kirkus Reviews, STARRED
“O'Connor captures South Carolina speech patterns; she quietly paces the narrative, often placing short sentences in a vertical sequence for emphasis. Yes, sometimes the best gifts come in small packages.” ―The Horn Book
“The rich specificity of the experience should keep readers involved.” ―Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
“Interestingly offbeat characters, a clear narrative arc, and intriguing vocabulary . . . a satisfying read.” ―Booklist
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis
By Barbara O'ConnorSquare Fish
Copyright © 2011 Barbara O'ConnorAll right reserved.
ISBN: 9780312659325
Chapter 1
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Popeye opened his eye and looked up at the heart-shaped stain on the ceiling of his bedroom. Rusty water squeezed out of the hole in the peeling plaster and dropped onto the foot of his bed.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
It had been raining for over a week.
All day.
Every day.
The stain on the ceiling used to be a tiny circle. Popeye had watched it grow a little more each day.
He got out of bed and nudged Boo with his foot. The old dog lifted his head and looked up at Popeye, his sagging skin drooping down over his sad, watery eyes.
“Still raining,” Popeye said.
Boo’s big, heavy head flopped back down on the floor, and he let out a long, low dog groan.
Popeye padded across the cracked linoleum floor of the hallway and into the bathroom. He splashed water on his face and ran his wet fingers over his head. The stubble of his new summer buzz cut felt scratchy, like a cat’s tongue. His white scalp showed through his pale blond hair.
He examined his teeth in the mirror.
They looked clean.
He rubbed his good eye.
Then he rubbed his bad eye. The one that was always squinted shut thanks to his uncle Dooley.
Popeye hadn’t always been Popeye. Before he was three years old, he had been Henry.
But when he was three, his uncle Dooley had placed a small green crab apple on the fence post out back and turned to his girlfriend and said, “Watch this, Charlene.”
Then he had walked back twenty paces, like a gunslinger, taken aim with his Red Ryder BB gun, and pulled the trigger.
Dooley was not a very good aim.
Charlene was not impressed.
When the BB hit Henry square in the eye, she had screamed bloody murder and carried on so much that when Popeye’s grandmother, Velma, came running out of the house to see what all the fuss was about, she had thought it was Charlene who’d been shot in the eye.
Popeye had been Popeye ever since.
And Charlene was long gone. (Which hadn’t bothered Dooley one little bit ’cause there were plenty more where she came from.)
Popeye went up the hall to the kitchen, his bare feet stirring up little puffs of dust on the floor. Velma didn’t care much about keeping a clean house. She mainly cared about not cracking up.
“You get old, you crack up,” she told Popeye when she couldn’t find her reading glasses or opened the closet door and forgot why.
While Popeye made toast with powdered sugar on top, Velma sat at the kitchen table with her eyes closed, reciting the kings and queens of England in chronological order.
“Edward V, Richard III, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I . . .”
Popeye knew that when she got to the last one, Elizabeth II, she would probably start all over again.
“Egbert, Ethelwulf, Ethelbald, Ethelbert . . .”
Reciting the kings and queens of England in chronological order was exercising Velma’s brain and keeping her from cracking up.
But sometimes, Popeye worried that it wasn’t working.
This was a big worry.
Popeye needed Velma to not crack up because no one else in his family was very good at taking care of things.
Not his father, who lived up in Chattanooga and sold smoke-damaged rugs out of the back of a pickup truck.
Not his mother, who came and went but never told anybody where she came from or where she went to.
And definitely not his uncle Dooley, who lived in a rusty trailer in the backyard and sometimes worked at the meatpacking plant and sometimes sold aluminum siding and sometimes watched TV all day.
Popeye’s grandmother, Velma, was the only one good at taking care of things.
“Edward VIII, George VI, Elizabeth II.” Velma opened her eyes. Instead of starting all over again with Egbert, she shuffled over to the kitchen counter and poured herself a cup of coffee.
“Hey there, burrhead,” she said, running her hand over Popeye’s fuzzy buzz cut.
“Hey.”
“What’re you gonna do today?”
Popeye shrugged.
“This dern rain is driving me nuts,” she said, stirring a heaping spoonful of sugar into her coffee.
Popeye stared out at the muddy yard. A waterfall of rust-colored rainwater poured off the edge of the metal roof of the shed out back and made a river. The river snaked its way down the gravel driveway and into the drainage ditch that ran along the side of the road. The ditch was nearly overflowing. Every now and then, soda cans or plastic bags floated by in front of the house.
Boo ambled into the kitchen and ate a scrap of toast off the floor under the table, his tail wagging in slow motion.
Back . . .
And forth.
Back . . .
And forth.
Popeye licked powdered sugar off his fingers and went into the living room.
Dooley was stretched out on the couch, snoring one of those throat-gurgling kinds of snores. The smell of cigarettes hovered in the air around him and clung to the worn corduroy couch.
Popeye flopped into Velma’s big armchair. The metal tray table beside it was stacked with crossword puzzle magazines. Crossword puzzles were good brain exercises, too. Velma knew more words than anybody. She taught Popeye one new word every week. He wrote it on the patio with sidewalk chalk and studied it until it got smudged up by Dooley’s worn-out work boots or washed away by the rain.
This week’s word was vicissitude, but he hadn’t been able to write it on the patio yet because of the rain.
vicissitude: noun; a change of circumstances,
typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant
Popeye slouched down in the chair and slapped his bare foot on the floor.
Slap.
Slap.
He looked out the window, wishing that maybe some vicissitude would come along and make this dern rain stop. Even something unwelcome or unpleasant would probably be better than this.
He watched a fly land on Dooley’s big toe.
He wrote vicissitude with his finger on the flowered fabric of Velma’s chair.
He scooped saltine cracker crumbs off the coffee table and tossed them over to Boo, who had settled onto his raggedy quilt by the woodstove.
The hands of the clock over the couch jerked noisily.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Around and around.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Popeye was beginning to hate that clock. He was sick to high heaven of watching it turn minutes into hours and hours into days.
Every day the same.
So what if the rain stopped? Popeye thought.
It would still be boring.
It would always be boring in Fayette, South Carolina.
Every day would always be the same.
Popeye was certain about that.
But Popeye was wrong.
Because that very day, that day with the rain dripping out of the heart-shaped stain on the ceiling and that fly sitting there on Dooley’s big toe, things changed.
Elvis came to town.
Excerpted from The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis by Barbara O’Connor.
Copyright © 2009 by Barbara O’Connor.
Published in 2009 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.
All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright laws and reproduction is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce the material in any manner or medium must be secured from the Publisher.
Continues...
Excerpted from The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis by Barbara O'Connor Copyright © 2011 by Barbara O'Connor. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Product details
- Publisher : Square Fish; Reprint edition (January 4, 2011)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 176 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0312659326
- ISBN-13 : 978-0312659325
- Reading age : 8 - 12 years
- Lexile measure : 750L
- Grade level : 3 - 2
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.2 x 0.45 x 7.55 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #473,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #309 in Children's Country Life Books
- #8,158 in Children's Friendship Books
- #12,077 in Children's Action & Adventure Books (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
![Barbara O'Connor](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/amzn-author-media-prod/nbmkh7d4f57b2m3tn13v5eadag._SY600_.jpg)
Barbara O’Connor is the New York Times bestselling author of Wish and other award-winning novels for children, including Halfway to Harmony, How to Steal a Dog, The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis, and The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester. Drawing on her South Carolina roots, Barbara’s books are known for their strong Southern settings and quirky characters. In addition to six Parents Choice Awards, Barbara’s distinctions include School Library Journal Best Books, Kirkus Best Books, Bank Street College Best Books, and ALA Notables. She has had books nominated for children’s choice awards in 38 states. Barbara is a popular visiting author at schools and a frequent speaker at conferences around the country. She lives in Asheville, NC.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book's vocabulary helpful for students in 4th grade. They appreciate the guided vocabulary and colorful illustrations that bring the story to life. The book is described as a quick read with witty, funny, clever, and quirky characters that students can identify with.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers appreciate the book's vocabulary. They find the guided vocabulary helpful for students with difficult words found within the text. The students love Velma's word of the day and reading about adventures. The reading level is appropriate for their age, and it's a great way to keep one's mind sharp.
"...as I read this part of the book I was thinking this is a great way to keep one's mind sharp. Then I read Popeye's reaction. And it's perfect...." Read more
"...AS a teacher I loved how Connor introduces all those great vocabulary words...." Read more
"...This is a quick read and a sweet story. Elementary aged boys will especially like it." Read more
"...enjoy reading about the adventure, and the guided vocabulary help students with difficult words found within the text." Read more
Customers enjoy the story quality. They find the illustrations of Popeye and Elvis bring the story to life. Readers enjoy reading about adventures in a short, fast-paced read with no wasted words.
"...So go out and buy this book. It's a short story and a fast read and not a single word is wasted. And you'll enjoy re-visiting it for years to come." Read more
"I started my year off reading this wonderful story aloud to my fourth grade class...." Read more
"...This is a quick read and a sweet story. Elementary aged boys will especially like it." Read more
"...Animating the voices of Popeye abd Elvis really made the story come to life. 3-4 chapters a night and the kids are asleep!" Read more
Customers like the book's readability. They say it's a quick read and a sweet story.
"...So go out and buy this book. It's a short story and a fast read and not a single word is wasted. And you'll enjoy re-visiting it for years to come." Read more
"...This is a quick read and a sweet story. Elementary aged boys will especially like it." Read more
"...I enjoyed it - it's a quick read, well-written, and I'd recommend it to anyone!" Read more
Customers enjoy the book's wit. They find the characters funny, clever, and relatable. The writing style is described as wonderful and students can identify with the characters.
"...Barbara is witty, funny, clever, quirky and oh-so-human (see her Cafe Francais saga), so it is no wonder she can breathe life into witty, funny,..." Read more
"...They are wonderfully written and students everywhere can identify with their desires to have an adventure...." Read more
"...And characters are to be found in this book! Funny, quirky, smart kids and a few clueless adults...." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2013After I put my son to bed, I jump on the computer and check my email and catch up on the blogs I follow. One of those blogs is Barbara O'Connor's Greetings From Nowhere. Barbara is witty, funny, clever, quirky and oh-so-human (see her Cafe Francais saga), so it is no wonder she can breathe life into witty, funny, clever, quirky and oh-so-human characters.
In "Small Adventure", Velma recites the kings and queens of England in chronological order. As someone who just crossed the 40-year mark and is a new mom, as I read this part of the book I was thinking this is a great way to keep one's mind sharp. Then I read Popeye's reaction. And it's perfect. And not terribly complimentary. Not only can Barbara O'Connor create characters so real that you think you know them, she can draw you so entirely into a book that you forget it is just a story.
By the time I hit the Yoo-hoo boats, there was no retreating. No way I was putting this book down until I met everyone and I found out how this story ended. So go out and buy this book. It's a short story and a fast read and not a single word is wasted. And you'll enjoy re-visiting it for years to come.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2012I started my year off reading this wonderful story aloud to my fourth grade class. For any 4th grade teacher out there looking for a great book, this is it! The characters of Popeye, Elvis, Velma, and Starletta delighted my students. They are wonderfully written and students everywhere can identify with their desires to have an adventure. AS a teacher I loved how Connor introduces all those great vocabulary words. When we read about the wrath of Velma, hands shot up wanting to share their experiences with wrath: " My dad shows wrath when the Yankees beat the Red Sox!" My class had a great time brainstorming ideas for a sequel. I highly recommend this book.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2010Popeye lives in a small town with his grandmother and no-good-do-nothing uncle. Life is boring. Nothing happens. He longs for something to happen. One day, after a week of rain a trailer gets stuck in the mud. Living in the trailer is Elvis, his parents and a bunch of siblings. Elvis and Popeye become friends and find a boat made out of a Yoohoo carton floating on the creek. They decide they need to find out who made the boat and sent it down the creek. And so the adventure begins. Can they figure out the mystery before the trailer is dug out of the mud? This is a quick read and a sweet story. Elementary aged boys will especially like it.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2020forgrt trying to get kids to read this book. it works far better as a bedtine story for kids aged 8-12. Animating the voices of Popeye abd Elvis really made the story come to life. 3-4 chapters a night and the kids are asleep!
- Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2018This book is a great classroom novel. Students enjoy reading about the adventure, and the guided vocabulary help students with difficult words found within the text.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2019Loved this book. Repurchased more for classroom read aloud. Students loved Velma’s word of the day and reading about adventures.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2014This was a short book that came to - I felt - a very abrupt halt. I wanted to know more about the characters. And characters are to be found in this book! Funny, quirky, smart kids and a few clueless adults. I enjoyed it - it's a quick read, well-written, and I'd recommend it to anyone!
- Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2012My 8 year old son loved this book. He reviewed it for his 2nd Grade book report. It really captured his imagination.
Top reviews from other countries
- Janice HarfordReviewed in Canada on October 30, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Read Aloud
My students enjoyed the characters and the story. One student went out and bought her own copy - and she is resistant to reading!