This engaging young adult book is about Henry, taking care
of his younger brother, and why Eugene needs garlic bread
for a school festival and doesn't have any. In New Jersey
the foods are varied and tasty, and the fourth-grade class
each year brings home-made local food for all to enjoy.
Henry brought special garlic bread made by their dad, but
Dad died of a heart attack last year and since uncle Billy
is delayed at work, and Mom's off on her early shift, there
is nobody to make GARLIC BREAD FOR EUGENE. Henry realises
that he can't let his kid brother down even though he
doesn't have the fresh ingredients and can't handle the
giant backyard grill. But that will mean missing out on
his perfect attendance prize....
Skipping school after delivering Eugene, Henry trails
around the barely-known neighbours and shopkeepers to buy
fresh-grown garlic and farm butter and seven loaves of
French bread. They all ask why he isn't in school, and then
they want to help. At school however young Eugene has to
explain to the teacher why he doesn't have any food yet,
and when the teacher understands that Henry is absent and
nobody knows where he is, it looks as though Henry will be
in real trouble.
The style is easy to read and little dilemmas crop up and
are resolved one by one. The lesson Michael Heath conveys
is to do one small step at a time and that way we can
accomplish something that looked big and complicated at the
outset. The community is an important aspect of this tale
and many people are involved in making GARLIC BREAD FOR
EUGENE. While the younger teens will be best suited to
this warm-hearted book adults may enjoy it too.
Michael Heath brings us the heartwarming and uplifting
story of Henry and Eugene, all wrapped up in the foil and
memory of their late father. Garlic Bread for Eugene
focuses on Henry’s courageous decision on the last day of
school to sacrifice his perfect attendance award to help
younger brother, Eugene, make garlic bread, Dad’s
specialty, for the school picnic. As Henry pedals away from
school and the bell rings, his epic journey begins. What
ingredients go into garlic bread? A little garlic, a pinch
of oregano, a dab of neighborly help—all buttered with
stories teaching Henry about his father, his neighborhood,
and himself. Henry learns that making decisions with
conviction in an effort to “do the right thing” holds
merit, and may be just what was needed to help his brother
and himself come to terms with the death of their father.
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