2 August 2024 THE TENTH MISTAKE OF HANK HOOPERMAN by Gennifer Choldenko, Penguin Random House/Alfred A. Knopf, June 2024, 320p., ISBN: 978-1-5247-1892-3

“Mother's gonna make all your nightmares come true.

Mother's gonna put all her fears into you.”

– Roger Waters and David Gilmore (1979)

“Mom went out last Wednesday. She said she’d be home early, but when I woke up the next morning, she wasn’t there. That was the day of the sixth-grade field trip. We were supposed to go to the Creativity Lab to build robots, design cars, and make flocks of birds fly by touching the wall. 

Mom filled out the permission slip, but forgot to sign, so I did it for her. I was all set to go, except what about Boo? 

If I’d had a phone, I would have called my teacher, Ms. LaFleur, and asked her. 

But since I didn’t, Boo and I watched cartoons until it was too late to go.

That was a week ago. A week is a long time to be without your mom.

During the day, we watch TV, make up games, and draw. But at night car lights flash across the dark living room, sirens wail, the clock in the kitchen tick-tick-ticks, and I think about the terrible things that could have happened to Mom.”

You know from the beginning of this powerful mystery and coming-of-age tale, that eleven-year-old Hank Hooperman is used to covering big-time for his mother’s erratic behavior. Their grandmother had apparently helped them to maintain a bit of stability. But now she is dead. And after a week without Mom, Hank has run out of coins-in-the-couch to buy a bit more food for himself and Boo.

On the verge of being evicted from their apartment, Hank makes a list (as his late grandmother had always instructed him to do). Choosing from his list of possible places to go, Hank ends up bussing himself and three-year-old Boo over to the home of Lou Ann Adler. They don’t know her, but she was their late grandmother’s best friend. 

Lou Ann’s the proprietor of a home childcare center. She takes them in. She knew their mom back when Hank’s mom and Lou Ann’s own kids were all teens. And Lou Ann had some sort of issues with Hank’s and Boo’s then-adolescent mom. It’s from this new home base that Hank has to cede his quasi-parental role and embark upon some semblance of a Lou Ann-enforced normal life, while having to continually wonder what has happened to their mother. 

So, what is their mother's deal and where did she go? That’s the question that permeates the story and drives the mystery. But it’s the unforgettable voice of tween Hank Hooperman that jumps this book way up to an absolute must have. A killer read for 9- through 14-year-olds,I am also strongly recommending that upper elementary teachers in search of a new and hot classroom read check this one out immediately. 

THE TENTH MISTAKE OF HANK HOOPERMAN an important book as well as a heck of a read. And, as a long-ago early childhood educator, it’s fun to note how the author slips in mentions of a number of important concepts we learn in child development classes relating to early childhood ages and stages. 

Definitely one of my Best of 2024 titles.

Richie Partington, MLIS 

Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com

https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/    

richiepartington@gmail.com