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    Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me
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    Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me
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    Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me
    Ebook133 pages2 hours

    Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me

    By Nan Marino

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    A tender story about a tough-as-nails girl forced to take one small step towards understanding during the summer of 1969.

    "Muscle Man McGinty is a squirrelly runt, a lying snake, and a pitiful excuse for a ten-year old......the problem is that no one knows it but me. In the entire town of Massapequa Park, only I can see him for what he really is. A phony."

    Tamara Ann Simpson is determined to expose Muscle Man McGinty, a foster boy new to her neighborhood, for the liar that she knows he is. Muscle Man tells the other kids his uncle is Neil Armstrong and he even has the audacity to challenge the entire block to a kickball game. So, why is Tamara the only one who can see through this kid?

    It's the summer of 1969 and things are changing in Tamara's little town of Massapequa, Long Island, and in the world. Perhaps Tamara can take one small step towards a bit of compassion and understanding.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateMay 12, 2009
    ISBN9781466803114
    Author

    Nan Marino

    Nan Marino grew up in Massapequa, New York, the same town as Jerry Seinfeld, the Baldwin brothers, and the musical group, The Stray Cats. Nan spent her childhood daydreaming in oak trees and on top of garage roofs. She did come down to earth for an occasional game of kickball. A librarian with degrees in library science and educational technology, Nan lives at the Jersey shore, with her husband and a very energetic dog.

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    Reviews for Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me

    4.5/5

    16 ratings18 reviews

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    • 3/5
      It's the summer of 1969 and the world is getting ready to watch Neil Armstrong walk on the moon but it will take more than "one giant step" for Tamara to understand the new boy in the neighborhood, Muscle Man McGinty.
    • 5/5
      It’s summer, so all the kids are out of school and running around the neighborhood. Their days are filled with kickball and ice cream. Unfortunately Tammy just isn’t happy. Her best friend moved away and a boy has moved into her old house. Tammy nicknames him “Muscle Man” and hates hearing all his lies; even worse, no one else, even the adults, calls Muscle Man out on the lies. As summer stretches on and the realities of Vietnam hit home, things change even more for Tammy and the neighborhood. The story culminates with the moon landing and an understanding between Tammy and her nemesis.Nan Marino has crafted a fabulously funny, yet heart-breaking story. The characters were easy to connect with and very realistic. Although intended for a preteen audience, Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle will appeal to all ages. Hopefully it’ll inspire the kids who read it to find out more about the historical events in the book.
    • 5/5
      I was fortunate to receive a copy of Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle And Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino from Roaring Brook Press. This is a sweet, funny story set in upstate New York just before the moon landing, focusing on a group of neighborhood children who have their own hierarchy and rules. Tammy, the narrator, can't stand the newcomer to the neighborhood, a scrawny boy she mockingly dubs "Muscle Man." He tells outrageous lies, the most recent of which is that Neil Armstrong is his uncle. The other children let his lies slide, which infuriates Tammy, who continues to pick on Muscle Man. It gradually dawned on me that Tammy is a bully, and the reason I didn't notice immediately is that Marino draws her so sympathetically. She's grieving for her best friend who moved without a forwarding address, and she resents Muscle Man as the newcomer. Muscle Man responds to Tammy's mean comments with kindness that only angers Tammy further. The impending moon landing, Woodstock, and the Vietnam War hover mostly in the background (with the exception of a touching subplot involving a neighbor whose son is serving). I found myself utterly swept up in the naive world of these children in the summer of 1969, and hoping that Tammy and Muscle Man would find solace in friendship with each other. This is the perfect book for teaching children how to understand another person's point of view and that everyone has his own problems, and I recommend it to adults and children alike.
    • 4/5
      This touching story will have you sidling up to your Kleenex box. It’s a short and ultimately sweet story about coping with loss, narrated by ten-year-old Tamara Ann Simpson, or Tammy.It’s the summer after fifth grade for Tammy, in 1969, the same summer that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Tammy’s best friend, Kebsie Grobser, moved away a month and a half ago, and now a new foster kid has taken her place across the street, a scrawny boy her age that Tammy contemptuously calls Muscle Man McGinty. He is constantly bragging and exaggerating, even claiming that astronaut Neil Armstrong is his uncle!The kids on the block all play kickball together, and through this medium, get to know each other’s mettle. Tammy is dead-set against the new boy fitting in; to her, he is usurping Kebsie’s place, and she blames him for Kebsie being gone. When she pushes McGinty into challenging the whole kickball team to a game, she doesn’t understand why the rest of the kids are so nice to him.The story ends on July 20, 1969, the night Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. A lot of other big steps are taken that summer too by Tammy, as she learns all about friendship and forgiveness and the fact that what people say isn’t always what they mean.The kids’ behavior seems age-appropriate. Their struggles with social rules and emotions and understanding how the word works strike me as just right. There are some aspects of the story a child of today might not get, like the War in Vietnam, without a little help from adults. And the bullying, rejection, loss and acceptance might provide great opportunities for parental guidance. Recommended as a good joint reading project for children and parents.
    • 5/5
      (Advance Reader's Edition)Set in the summer of 1969, in a fictional neighborhood of Massapequa Park, NY, Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me is the story of young Tamara Ann Simpson, Muscle Man McGinty, the "squirrelly runt, ... lying snake, and ... pitiful excuse for a ten-year-old," and all the other colorful inhabitants of Ramble Street.It's not only Muscle's Man's tall tales that have Tammy in a snit. Her best friend, Kebsie Grobsers, has moved away without a trace, and Kebsie's room in Mrs. Kutchner's foster home is being occupied by none other than that wormy liar, Douglas, "Muscle Man" McGinty! Tamara can't figure out why the other neighborhood kids are cutting Muscle Man so much slack! Does anyone really believe that he's training for the 1972 Munich Olympics? That Neil Armstrong is his uncle?!A rough-and-tumble girl who would rather play kickball than read, Tammy is no stranger to trouble and is grounded as often as not. Her mother, Shirley, is obsessed with soap operas,...a bunch of ladies are sitting in a hospital room, telling theone in the bed that no one will notice her injury, even thoughshe is wrapped up like a mummy with bandages and gauze."Why do you think they're telling her that?" asks Shirley."Because they're the stupidest group of ladiesto walk the planet?"It's probably wrong, but it's my best guess.Her dad, Marshall, is obsessed with how early he has to get up to catch the train to work, working "for the man," as Tammy's college-aged brother puts it.The Apollo 11 moon landing, the Vietnam War, the Miracle Mets, and Woodstock provide the backdrop for a story that is ultimately about Tammy, who finally learns to see past herself.Nan Marino succeeds in creating a microcosm of the turbulent summer of 1969 within the confines of Ramble Street and its inhabitants.Neil Armstrong is My Uncle is at times funny, at times touching, and always heartfelt. Kids will relate to Muscle Man's unflappable optimism and Tammy's candor (she can be a bit of a liar herself!)"What are you doing up there?""Nothing, Daddy."...I'm suddenly grateful that my parents are stair shoutersand not face yellers like Big Danny's mom and dad. For now,my garage roof secret is safe.Parents may enjoy reliving their own summer of '69.In full disclosure, I must admit that I work in the same library system as the author; however, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting her yet.Nan Marino's book is due out on May 12, 2009.
    • 4/5
      Can you believe him. Muscle Man McGinty has some nerve. He just moved onto our street and he already thinks he's better than the rest of us. He challenged us to a game of kickball, everyone against him. I'm gonna prove that kid is a liar. Tamara is upset for so many reasons. Muscle Man McGinty moved in to her best friends old house, he lies, and she knows he is up to no good, but no one will believe her. Mixed in is the first moon walk by Neil Armstrong and the effects of the Vietnam War on this close nit community.
    • 3/5
      Narrated by Emily Bauer. As the world is on the verge of seeing men land on the moon, Tamara is enjoying summer kickball games on Ramble Street with the other kids...everyone that is except a new boy she's dubbed Muscle Man McGinty. She's fed up with his tall tales (see the book's title) and wants to prove him for the liar he is. When he willingly takes on all the kids in a kickball game, Tamara knows this is the big opportunity for him to finally admit he's a loser. Actually, more life-experienced eyes will realize Tamara is really the clueless one on the street; everyone else is aware that Muscle Man is recently orphaned. It's Muscle Man who tries to help Tamara when she's missing her best friend who moved away unexpectedly. On the night of the moonwalk, Tamara finally finds her way to be friends with Muscle Man. Emily Bauer voices Tamara as a bubbly and cheerful, if oblivious young girl.
    • 5/5
      Tamara Simpson is having a rough summer. Her best friend, Kebsie, was a foster child living with the woman across the street and she’s moved back in with her mother. A new boy, Douglas, has moved in – Tamara calls him Muscle Man because he’s so scrawny. Tamara resents Muscle Man because he’s taken Kebsie’s place and he tells lies that no one else seems to notice. Among other things, he claims to be training for the Olympic swimming team and says that Neil Armstrong is his uncle. When he challenges the whole neighborhood to a kick ball game, Tamara won’t give him an inch and can’t understand why everyone one else will.When Tamara’s brother’s best friend, Vinnie, is killed in Vietnam, she discovers something about Douglas that makes her re-think her attitude and understand everyone else’s.Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino is a middle grade reader, but I loved it. The story line is great, so it kept my interest throughout. I think the author captured the feelings of being 12 years old – you’re beginning to feel grown up, yet there’s still so much of the world you don’t understand. Tamara’s feelings of confusion are so typical at that age. Tamara had a strong sense of right and wrong and just couldn’t understand why no one else seemed to. This is a great book to share with a young reader.This book also made me remember where I was when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, almost 40 years ago. I was about the same age as Tamara is in the book and my father drug me out of bed because he didn’t want me to miss history in the making. I grumbled at the time, but I’m very glad I witnessed it now.
    • 5/5
      A terrific historical/realistic fiction from the early 1970’s, before we had the computer/information explosion thrust upon us, and another great story written by a librarian! Set in the summer of 1969, when Jack Lalane, TV, letter writing, and Vietnam were on America’s radar. Readers get to experience the Apollo moonwalk as well as learn some hard facts of life along with 12 year old, Tammy Simpson, who “lost” her BF, some 45 days, to be with her mother. Muscle Man is the new foster kid next door, that just can’t seem to tell the truth, and Tammy is determined to expose all of his lies.
    • 4/5
      It's the summer of 1969 and the whole world is waiting to watch Neil Armstrong take the first steps on the moon. Tamara is gritting her teeth and dealing with Douglas "Muscle Man" McGinty, the wimpy new foster kid who's replaced Tamara's best friend Kebsie down the street. He thinks he's so great, but Tamara can see straight through his lies. He's not training for the Olympics. And Neil Armstrong is not his uncle, no matter what the wormy kid says. Why can't Muscle Man go away and send Kebsie back? Why can't everything go back to the way it was before? Oooh, an unreliable narrator. Maybe even an unlikeable narrator, but definitely one I could sympathize with. Though the novel is short, Tamara speaks volumes in what she doesn't say. I feel like I'm still uncovering layers as I go over the novel in my head.
    • 4/5
      Growing up on Long Island, these were the neighborhoods we all longed for. Dads went off to work at Grumman while moms swapped recipes over tea. For us kids, all that really mattered was the ice cream man, hanging out on the front lawn and an afternoon game of kickball. As I hunt for a home here on Long Island, it is a neighborhood like this one that I search for. Welcome to Massapequa Park during the summer of '69.Tamara, a spunky 10-year-old with no filter between her thoughts and her mouth, spends most of her summer days with the kids in the neighborhood. All, but her best friend who recently moved away. All, including the biggest liar she has ever come into contact with - "Muscle Man" McGinty. This scrawny new kid on the block gets under Tamara's skin in every way a fellow 10-year-old can, starting with moving into her best friend's old house. And if that isn't bad enough, everyone else in the neighborhood seems to think he's just swell. He's making friends and getting free ice cream all over the place with his nice guy act. But she's not buying it. A few too many fibs followed by bragging about his kickball capabilities finally sends Tamara over the edge.She embarks on a mission to uncover just what this McGinty kid is all about. But what she discovers is a lesson many of us learn time and time again. That maybe, just maybe, people are the way they are for a reason. That things aren't always what they seem. That there are life experiences that often push us forward. Tamara learns a lot more about compassion, loneliness and suburbia survival than she may have intended.Intertwined with the historical elements of one of America's most significant and determining summers, this book will have readers give a few chuckles while holding their hands over their hearts in both heartache and patriotism.Though this story took place in the late 1960's, I found myself reminiscing about my own childhood just a few towns away in the 1980's (insert Brian Adams' "Summer of '69 here) on Long Island. They had the Apollo, we had the Challenger. Family never returning from Vietnam, friends going off to Iran. That personal connection that a reader finds through setting can make a story come alive like no other. And it her debut novel, librarian Nan Marino nailed it.(Gr.4-7)
    • 4/5
      What a funny and heartwarming read! I enjoyed this one, though I didn't find its characters to be totally sympathetic at times. However, the writing is strong as is the dialogue of the characters and I really enjoyed spending time with this family. A great one for middle school students!
    • 5/5
      What a delightful book! While the world watches Neil Armstrong take his first step on the moon in 1969, the town of Massapequa Park grieves the loss of a young 18 year old man who will never return. When Tamara's brother's best friend Vinnie dies in the battlefield of Viet Nam, she learns to look at life differently. A few months earlier, Douglas McGinty moved to town, residing in a home of a lovely woman who takes in foster children. Tamara's best friend was a foster child in this home, and she despises Douglas knowing he can never taken the place of her beloved friend.Tough, insecure and ready to doubt everyone, she makes fun of this scrawny boy, whom she calls Muscle Man McGinty. Similar to the character of Dill in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Muscle man tends to brag and exaggerate, leaving Tamara hopping mad. A foster child, Muscle Man always tries to smile and be happy. As the story unfolds, Tamara learns that he recently lost both parents. Her recent loss of a friend who moved away and never told her, allows her to gradually relate to Muscle Man and his loss.This is a wonderful story of small-town Americana in the late 1960's. It was a time when children safely played kick ball and waited for the Mr. Softee truck to deliver ice cream. While in the nation larger events are unfolding. Highly recommended!
    • 4/5
      Reason for Reading: Obviously enough, a title like that makes you like twice plus the historical setting of the moon landing caught my eye and the book looked like an interesting change of pace for me. Comments: Tamara Ann Simpson's best friend has moved and now in her house lives a ten-year-old boy who is always smiling and is a skinny runt so she's nicknamed him Muscle Man; only problem is he loves the name. In fact, he never seems to get any of the sarcastic comments she throws his way, he's always smiling and being nice to her. But the real thing that bothers her is why nobody can see through his lies? Neil Armstrong is his uncle? He's training for the next Olympics? But when he says he can beat the whole kickball team singlehandedly, Tamara thinks this is her chance to prove to everyone he's just a wormy liar.This is a wonderful little book. Tamara is not exactly a bully, but she is the one in her gang of friends who has the mouth and calls things as she sees them without thinking about someone's feelings first. Tamara does not have a happy life at home and when her best friend moves away quite suddenly it hits her hard and she experiences a loss like she's never felt before. But there is something about Muscle Man that she doesn't know and if she'd stop being so selfish for a minute she'd realize she is the only one who is not seeing Muscle Man for who he really is. So Tamara learns one of those hard lessons of life.There are lots of fun childhood moments as the neighbourhood children gather together each day and play on the street in a way that is really not seen much anymore these days. There are also poignant moments such as when the reality of the Vietnam War comes to the street. Tamara's character is well-defined, a feisty, hard-headed yet lonely and neglected child that the reader sympathises with. Wonderfully written and a quick read. This is a little book that packs a big punch! A good read. Recommended.
    • 5/5
      Tamara Ann Simpson lives in the small town of Massapequa, New York.It's 1969 and all of the kids in this small suburban town all know each other well and meet up for daily kickball games.Tamara is hurting.She is missing her best friend who has moved away suddenly and her big brother who has gone away to college.She recognizes the limitations of her distant parents.All of her anger is directed towards a new kid, Douglas, who she nicknames Muscle Man McGinty.Muscle Man McGinty tells "whoopers" - lies that cannot possibly be true and Tamara doesn't understand why no one else is bothered by this stretching of the truth.Many of the details of the sixties are captured in this book - from Jack LaLane on televison to drinking Tang .Bigger events like the Vietnam War and man's first walk on the moon also drive the storyline.In the end, though, this is a story about loneliness and the need to connect with others. Tamara, learns a bit of sympathy and compassion and she receives a fair doze from others as well.Parents who remember this time, will enjoy this book along with their kids.
    • 4/5
      A completely different subject, but this story gave me the feeling of "The Miracles of Jamie" by Ray Bradbury - I felt again exactly what it was like to be 10, with a gang of friends, and unwavering rules for life. While the world is fully occupied with the Vietnam war and the moon mission, Tamara is tormented by the sudden departure of her best friend, and the irritating new kid who's taken her place.I think a kid could who hates historical fiction could read this without having the time period intrude. I'd even try it with baseball fans.
    • 4/5
      Nan Marino’s Neil Armstrong is My Uncle & Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me is an easy read but not a simple one. Written from the first-person perspective of a girl living in the suburbs in 1969, this book tackles difficult issues through equally complex characters. From the first page, it becomes clear that ten-year-old Tamara Ann Simpson is not your typical heroine. In fact, she is pretty despicable. The sweet and wimpy, Muscle Man McGinty, makes an unlikely archenemy. As the new foster child on the block, he wins the hearts and sympathies of neighbors young and old. Even if Muscle Man does have the tendency to exaggerate, everyone seems to like him. Why can’t Tammy make them see what she sees? To her, Muscle Man McGinty is nothing but a no-good liar, and she is out to prove it. Throughout this narrative of the conflict between Tammy and Muscle Man, Marino intersperses era-specific references to hippies, fondue, and the frontier of space travel. She also addresses the severity of the Vietnam War. When tragedy strikes Tammy’s block, Marino approaches difficult issues in an honest way. Through the unflinching perspective of Tammy, the reader gains a depth of insight that is both rare and valuable in children’s literature. This was a tumultuous time in American history, characterized by both celebration and horror. Like the year, 1969, Tammy represents to the reader that nothing is ever as simple as good or evil.
    • 5/5
      What an excellent offering for young adults! This slim book should be an easy read for the 8-10 crowd, and offers some important life lessons about loss and dreams and rushing to judgment. In this first person account, Tamara speaks with a clear and wonderful voice that really captures the petulant anger and confusion of a young girl whose best friend moved away without advance notice or a forwarding address. I enjoyed this novel and recommend teachers consider it for possible inclusion in a school curriculum. Highly recommended!