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Title: Manuel and the Lobsterman
Author: Cat Urbain
Narrator: Ramon de Campo
Format: Unabridged
Length: 5 hrs and 25 mins
Language: English
Release date: 11-11-11
Publisher: Recorded Books
Genres: Kids, Ages 8-10
Publisher's Summary:
A sleepy town on the coast of Maine is the last place where 13-year-old Manuel wants to spend his summer vacation. He'd give anything to be back in New Haven, with the greatest pizza in the world and a twelve-theater Cineplex around the corner from his house. So far the only thing that Manuel has found to do is watch Zeke, a cranky, old lobsterman, unload his boat, while a one-legged seagull perches nearby. But Manuel soon discovers that even sleepy New England towns can bring trouble.
Members Reviews:
Charming character
Manuel and the Lobsterman is a really sweet story about an urban Puerto Rican kid plopped down one summer in a Maine seacoast town. The incongruous milieu does not suit him. The town lacks necessary amenities such as Coca-Cola and video arcades, and the townspeople seem strangely uncommunicative. An initial brush with an intimidating preppy, a sailing instructor, cements Manuel's resolve to leave. Increasingly desperate schemes to raise money for a bus ticket out lead Manuel to apprentice himself to the cantankerous old skipper of a lobster boat.
Manuel's entered the adult world. This world is full of life and death risks, only one of which is survival on the sea. Adults arm themselves with loyalty and trust as weapons to address these risks. The author explains beautifully Manuel's growing understanding and mastery of these loyalty-trust relations.
The author herself lives in coastal New England, and she describes the buildings, streets, people, pace of life, and the overwhelming influence of the sea with a native's eye. Also impressive in her writing is how she understands so exactly how a 13-year old boy thinks!
My 10-year old son loved it, but Manuel and the Lobsterman is suitable for a range of ages through middle school. Also, the action scenes are exhilarating without being scary, and would appeal to younger children. The story never stops moving and will be a pleasure for adults reading along.
Manuel is Ideal for a Television Movie
I wish MANUEL AND THE LOBSTERMAN was around when I was 10 years old, for it is one of those rare stories that would have gotten me reading, when, like most boys, reading is the last thing I wanted to do. Like the now classic stories "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl, "Escape!" by Ben Bova, "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton, "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen, and "Stuart Little" by E.B. White, MANUEL THE LOBSTERMAN is yet another fine addition to that line-up of must-reads for young people -- especially boys -- and adults too who should be reading (or re-reading) these stories that grab you by the shirt collar and never let you forget the experience or the characters involved. And MANUEL needs to have top talent behind it to translate this vibrant and moving story into the made-for-television film it so richly deserves to be.
Must Read Summer Book
This is a great book for almost any age. The book is filled with action and it own type of excitement. The best part about this book is that is up-to-date with its gadgets and what kids use and like. For example, towards the middle of the book Manuel got his i-Pod taken away from a couple of the local kids up in Maine. I don't want to give away the book, but this is a must read summer book.
Luke Kostrzewski,
age 13
Real-life attitudes, good messages.
Good messages all around, without being preachy. Even a kinder way to cook lobsters. You really feel for Manuel, and worry for him.
