When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt

From the Publisher

Nothing ever happens in Toby’s small Texas town. Nothing much until this summer that’s full of big changes.
It’s tough for Toby when his mother leaves home to be a country singer. Toby takes it hard when his best friend Cal’s older brother goes off to fight in Vietnam. Now their sleepy town is about to get a jolt with the arrival of Zachary Beaver, billed as the fattest boy in the world. Toby is in for a summer unlike any other, a summer sure to change his life.

USA Today - Deirdre Donahue

This book packs more emotional power than 90% of the so called grown-up novels taking up precious space on bookshelves around the country. Kimberly Willis Hot's When Zachary Beaver Came to Town will resonate with readers.

Horn Book

In her own down-to-earth, people, smart way, Holt offers a gift...It is a lovely---at times even giddy---date with real life.

Publishers Weekly

When "the fattest boy in the world" rolls into Antler, Tex., in a trailer, 13-year-old Toby's perspective can't help but change. In a starred review of this National Book Award winner, PW praised the "well-developed characters, all fantastic and flawed in their own ways, [who] add plenty of spice." Ages 10-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Paula Rohrlick - KLIATT

To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, September 1999: The summer of Toby's 13th year is full of changes. It's 1971, and his best friend Cal's big brother has gone off to fight in Vietnam. Toby's mother has left too, gone to Nashville to pursue her dream of becoming a singing star. Toby has been left behind in the tiny town of Antler, Texas with his quiet postmaster Dad, who raises worms. Toby has a crush on pretty Scarlett, but she has eyes only for Juan. The big excitement in town is the arrival of a trailer containing the fattest boy in the world—Zachary Beaver, all 643 pounds of him. This tale of Toby and Cal's growing friendship with Zachary is full of humor as well as sadness as Toby learns to deal with loss. It's beautifully and sensitively related by Holt (author of My Louisiana Sky), who displays a finely tuned sense of place and time. A rich and satisfying read. KLIATT Codes: J*—Exceptional book, recommended for junior high school students. 1999, Random House, Dell, Laurel-Leaf, 227p.,

Library Journal

Gr 5-8-A humdrum Texas summer is transformed when Toby and Cal befriend a surly sideshow star, arguably "the fattest boy in the world." Holt deftly fleshes out her characters and expands their worldview beyond the borders of their small town. (Nov.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Holt reinvents the coming-of-age story, breathing life into a quirky cast of characters that inhabits the enervated town of Antler, Texas. It's said that nothing ever happens in Antler, so the arrival of a trailer decked out with Christmas lights is news. Soon the townsfolk are lining up to peek at Zachary Beaver, world's fattest boy. A master at finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, the author peoples her town with a quiet postmaster/worm-raising father, aspiring country-singer mother, watchful sheriff, eccentric judge, town historian Miss Myrtie Mae, flirt Scarlett, and, at the center of it all, sensitive narrator Toby Wilson and his sidekick, best friend Cal. In the lazy days of one summer, Toby makes a good friend, loses his mother to the Grand Ole Opry, dances under the moonlight with heartbroken Scarlett, and tries to toughen up after the death of Cal's brother, who's been serving in Vietnam. Toby is an unusually strong narrator—awkward, earnest, and conflicted—who feels bad about a lie or simple wrongdoing. He nudges the lingering, Sunday-drive of a plot forward until, in the end, the gawked-at carnival boy in the trailer proves a most unlikely means of redemption. The events of the story combined may seem no larger than a pebble underfoot, yet the characters tug at readers, gaining steadily their attention and affection. (Fiction. 10-14)

Product Details

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Reading Group Guide

1. The theme of friendship surrounds every character in this book, but the reader sees Toby's relationships more fully than the relationships of any other character. Examine Toby's friendships and discuss how they affect him. Define friendship; explain what it means to have friends and what character traits you value in your friends. What traits do you possess that make you a friend to others?

2. Toby's dad tells him, "You are a lucky person if you go through life and have one person need you." (p. 195) Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Give examples from the book and from your own life to support your belief about the validity of this statement.

3. People all over Texas pay two dollars to see Zachary, then make fun of him and ask him rude questions about how much he eats. Have you ever made fun of somebody or called him or her names? How did that make you feel? Has anybody ever made fun of you? How did it make you feel? Why do people make fun of others? What benefit do they derive from this? What is the Golden Rule, and how could it be applied to this situation?

4. Discuss the reasons it is so important to Zachary to be baptized. What are other religious or spiritual rituals? What do they have in common? Have you or has someone you know had the same feelings that Zachary has about a spiritual ritual?

5. Toby and Cal both suffer loss, but they handle it differently. What factors contribute to the way they deal with their grief? Do they go through the five supposedly normal stages of grief -- denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance? Have you or has someone you know lost someone important? Was the experience similar and did you share thesame emotions? How do you think you would handle what happened to Toby and Cal?

6. Cal and Toby have no way of knowing that coming face to face with Zachary will forever transform their lives. How does their encounter with Zachary help them decide what kind of friends and what kind of people they want to become?

7. Almost every character in the novel has a dream. Toby's mother wants to be a singer; Toby wants Scarlett to be his girlfriend; Cal wants to get out of Antler; and Zachary wants to be baptized. What other dreams do these characters have, and how are Cal and Toby affected when they help Zachary realize two of his dreams? What dreams do you have, and what are you doing to work toward their fulfillment?

8. Through Zachary's appearance in Antler, the author shows several ways people learn to live with and to like strangers. What are some of those ways? Have you ever had an encounter with a stranger that changed your life? How have you dealt with new kids at school or in church? Have you ever been the new kid? How were you treated?

9. Even though they are best friends, Toby and Cal keep secrets from each other. Toby writes a letter to Wayne, Cal's brother in Vietnam, and Cal is furious with Toby when he finds out. Cal knows that Zachary has never really traveled, and when Toby finds out that Cal knew this and didn't tell him, he is angry. Why do the boys keep secrets from each other? Is it ever all right to tell a secret? Does keeping secrets hurt other people?

10. When Toby and Cal first meet Zachary, they think he is rude, selfish, and not worth getting to know. What changes their perspective? Why are they willing to take risks to help Zachary? Does Zachary appreciate what Cal and Toby do for him? Have you ever changed your opinion about a person after getting to know him or her?

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