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    Maurice's Room
    Maurice's Room
    Maurice's Room
    Ebook44 pages31 minutes

    Maurice's Room

    By Paula Fox

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    A hilarious tale from Newbery Medal winner Paula Fox: Maurice loves to collect things—but what happens when he collects too many things?
     
    Eight-year-old Maurice is a collector. It doesn’t matter how big or how small it is—if he likes something, he’ll bring it home with him. His newest addition is a dried octopus hanging by a string from the ceiling. There’s also a bottle of dead beetles, four painted turtles, and practical stuff like nails, screws, and wires.
     
    His parents have tried everything to persuade Maurice to get rid of the junk, giving him trumpet lessons and even a dog, but nothing can compare to the pleasure of discovering treasures in the nooks and crannies of New York City. Then one day, his parents tell him they have a surprise . . .
     
    A humorous and heartwarming story from Hans Christian Andersen Award–winning author Paula Fox, Maurice’s Room is perfect for kids of all ages marching to the beat of their own drums.
     
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Media
    Release dateJun 28, 2016
    ISBN9781504037440
    Maurice's Room
    Author

    Paula Fox

    Paula Fox’s novels include Desperate Characters, The Widow’s Children and Poor George. She is also a Newbery Award-winning children’s author. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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    3.5/5

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    • 4/5
      I read this in a Jr Great books anthology. There, sans illustrations & bound with other *L*iterature, it takes on weight. Maurice comes to represent the Uber-collector, his parents the Uber-clueless, etc. I bet as a little paperback it's more fun.

    Book preview

    Maurice's Room - Paula Fox

    1. THE COLLECTION

    Maurice’s room measured six long steps in one direction and five in the other. The distance from the floor to the ceiling was three times higher than Maurice. There was one window through which Maurice could see several other windows as well as a piece of the sky. From the middle of the ceiling dangled a long string, the kind used to tie up packages of laundry. Attached to the end of the string was a dried octopus. It was the newest addition to Maurice’s collection. When his mother or father walked into his room—which wasn’t often—the octopus swung back and forth a little in the draught.

    Maurice had used a ladder to climb up high enough to tack the string to the ceiling. The ladder was still leaning against the wall. Instead of returning it to Mr. Klenk, the janitor of his building, from whom he had borrowed it, Maurice was using the steps for shelves. Even though Maurice’s father, Mr. Henry, had put up a dozen shelves around the room for all of Maurice’s things, there still weren’t enough.

    Maurice knew how to walk around his room without stepping on anything, and so did his friend Jacob. But no one else did.

    As his mother and father often said to visitors, it was astonishing how much junk a person could find in one city block. His mother said Maurice kept their block clean because he brought up everything from the street to his room. His father said Maurice ought to get a salary from the Department of Sanitation because of all the work he was doing in cleaning up the city. At least once a month Mr. and Mrs. Henry talked about moving to the country. It would be better for Maurice, they said. But then they would decide to wait a little longer.

    Some visitors said that collections like Maurice’s showed that a child would become a great scientist. Many great scientists had collected junk when they were eight years old. Other visitors said Maurice would outgrow his collection and become interested in other things, such as money or armies. Some suggested to the Henrys that they ought to buy Maurice a dog, or send him to music school so that his time might be spent more

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