The Man Who Loved Clowns

Overview

Delrita likes being invisible. If no one notices her, then no one willnotice her uncle Punky either. Punky is a grown man with a child's mind. Delrita loves him dearly and can't stand people making fun of his Down's syndrome. But when tragedy strikes, Delrita's quiet life--and Punky's--are disrupted forever. Can she finally learn to trust others, for her own sake and Punky's? This story captures the joy and sorrow that come when we open our hearts to love.

Editorial Reviews

In this potent debut, Wood displays a prodigious writing and storytelling talent. Delrita, 13, has recently moved to a small Missouri town with her parents and Punky, an uncle who has Down's syndrome. Delrita adores Punky, yet is also embarrassed by him. She easily accepts his childish ways at home, but avoids having visitors, and attending church in her new community causes the girl considerable anguish. Always a loner, Punky is befriended by the persistent Avanelle Shackleford ("a name that was almost bigger than she was"), a classmate who also has familial shame--and a fabulous older brother. When disaster tears Delrita's life apart, her new friends' support fortifies her as does Punky's enduring love. The skillfully crafted work, based on the author's memory of a brother who had Down's syndrome, is enriched by humorous touches and Delrita's involving, simply told narrative. This close-up view of a prevalent disease is more than a one-note novel: the author also artfully interweaves issues of loneliness, first romance and parental death. Both Delrita and Punky are complex, realistically drawn characters worthy of attention and admiration. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Author Information

Bio of June Rae Wood

June Rae Wood grew up in Versailles, Missouri, the second of eight children. The third child, Richard, was born with Down's syndrome. Ms. Wood recalls, "Richard was a happy-go-lucky little fellow, a natural comedian, but those were the 'Dark Ages,' when society didn't know how to deal with the disabled. Sometimes other kids made fun of Richard or were afraid of him, so we surrounded him with love and a fierce protectiveness." Many years later, Ms. Wood drew on the family's sometimes funny, sometimes painful experiences to break into the world of publishing. Throughout her childhood she was an avid reader, which laid the groundwork for her writing. While studying business education at Central Missouri State University she met a young airman, William A. Wood, on a blind date. She soon dropped out of school, married William, and took a job as a clerk-typist at the local air base. When their daughter, Samantha, was born four years later, Ms. Wood became a stay-at-home mom. Eventually, the family moved into a rural home near Windsor, Missouri. As Ms. Wood remembers, "I was alone all day and the silence was deafening, so I began to write." For three years, publishers rejected her short stories and a frequently re-written children's novel. However, after Richard died at age thirty-six, she wrote an article about how much her special brother had meant to her family and sold it immediately to Family Circle magazine. The story was later reprinted in Reader's Digest. As a result of those articles, Ms. Wood received mail from adults all over the United States who had been touched by Richard's life story. It occurred to Wood that perhaps she could touch children too, and she began work on The Man Who Loved Clowns, which was published in 1992. For that novel, she created "Punky," a man with Down's Syndrome, in hopes that kids might better understand people who are different. Ms. Wood's mail now comes mainly from young readers who love Punky almost as much as her family loved Richard. The Man Who Loved Clowns was awarded the 1995 Mark Twain Award in Missouri and the 1995 William Allen White Award in Kansas. Ms. Wood is the 1999 recipient of the Edgar Wolfe Literary Award which is presented by the Friends of the Library in Kansa City, KS. She and her husband were blessed with their first grandchild in 1998.

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Additional Info

Imprint

Penguin

Filesize

911.69 KB

Number of Pages

224

eBook ISBN

9781101072363

Awards

• Mark Twain Award
• William Allen White Children's Book Award