Ida B...and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World

Hannigan, K.  (2005).  Ida B...and her plans to maximize fun, avoid disaster, and (possibly) save the world.  New York, NY:  Scholastic.

Phew.  That's a mouthful of a title, right?  Well, the book lives up to it's action packed name.  I have to admit, when I read the title of the book and listened to the librarian talk about it, I seriously doubted it could grab my attention.  I imagined adventures of a precocious little girl.  Big deal.  That didn't interest me.  But I picked it up anyway, figuring I would read it and comment about how much I disliked it.  However, as I was introduced to Ida B through each page and her story began to unfold, I was hooked.

 I too am an only child.  I grew up on a rural farm.  Cattle, pigs, rabbits and a dog were my nearest neighbors.  A creek was the halfway point to my nearest childhood playmate.  As I read about Ida B 'talking' to the babbling brook and listening to the trees in the family orchard, I was reminded of my own childhood.  Living in a rural area with few human friends close enough to visit, Ida B (and me too) became friends with everything around her.  Her life completely revolved around her ability to "have fun" and the interaction between her and her parents.  But like all of us, Ida B was eventually sent to school.  Big mistake!  She has a less than successful first attempt.  In her words, school is a "place of slow but sure body-cramping, mind-numbing, fun-killing torture."  After a short attempt at public school, Ida B is released from her indenture and becomes home-schooled.  During this part of her life, she cannot be more content.  She is allowed to learn and play and have fun.  But in her conversations with the trees, there is foreshadowing of trouble coming her way. 

All too soon, Ida B is faced with conflict:  conflict of self, nature and person.  Through her dialogue, Ida B lets us inside her mind and heart.  As she learns of her mother's cancer and the necessity of her return to public school, she faces fear, anger and confusion.  She's a kid and is unsure of how to deal with any of these emotions.  In her self description, she once refers to herself like a snake in the spring, needing to soak up some sun before she can move.  She further uses this simile when she describes the snake is sometimes lying on a road, letting us know how she fears the impending future.  She knows that her plans cannot come to fruition.  She begins school and has determined she will not like the school, the students or the teacher.  To add to her distress, her father informs her that they will sell off parts of their land and orchard to help pay for medical bills.  This is the last straw for Ida B.  She wages all out war:  against family, school and any possible friends.

 Ida B is somewhat unique in the fact that she is dealing with a parent who has cancer.  However, the troubles she encounters occurs for most all children at some point in their lives.  She faces a difference of opinion with her parents.  She encounters change.  She has to deal with learning to accept the changes and learning how to talk with people.  She also has to learn to say sorry.  Cancer is the root cause of the changes, but the end result is the same.  Change happens.  We can either bottle it up and force everyone away and live a very lonely life or we can talk and learn and feel our way through the changes.

The new realism present in this book is amazing.  It deals with the ugly topic of cancer and the effects it has on the people with the disease as well as those living around them.  Additionally, it lets us know that the parents are not perfect.  Her mom is sick and can no longer do all the things Ida B thinks she should be able to do.  Her father gets angry.  He is hurting too.  But it also reminds us that love is still there through all of the hurt.  And survival is much easier when you allow others in to your world.  Students from 4th to 6th grade would most likely benefit from this book, especially when dealing with a major change such as illness of a family member.  However, I also think it's a great choice for any students to help them understand what someone else might be going through.

While I was an adult when my father was diagnosed with cancer, I still had so many of the feelings that Ida B experienced.  Some would say that I should deal with it better because I was mature and experienced.  But, the hurt and anger and fear are all there, regardless of what age you are.  This book made you laugh at Ida B's outlandish comments, but it also touched a nerve deep inside that reminds us we are all some parent's child.