Ola's Wake

By B.J. Stone

Book Overview

A tender novel about a young girl's growing awareness and acceptance of death, after the loss of her great-grandmother. ""I wished I could talk to Ola and get to know her. There she was, all laid out in her pretty pink bed, looking like she was asleep in her best clothes." When ten-year-old Josie's Great Granny Ola passes away, Josie and her mom travel from Texas to the Missouri Ozarks to pay their respects. But Josie wishes she didn't have to go--she'd never even met Ola, and she doesn't know how to feel or what to expect. At the wake, friends and family swap colorful tales about Ola--like the time she lost her berries to a bear, or the way she played her juice harp at the county fair. And of course, there were her famous fried apple pies. Over the next few days, Josie begins to feel special when she realizes that even though she never knew Great Granny Ola when she was alive, they share a lot in common--their stubbornness, their creativity, and most of all, their fiery spirit. This comforting and sensitive novel explores death in all its complexities, and celebrates the memories, storytelling, and family connections that unite young and old.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805061576
• ISBN13: 9780805061574
• Release Date: June 2000
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 100 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.8" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

UP POP A TATER!!!

I loved Ola'Wake as it brought me back in time to my own fond memories as a child. While reading with my two daughters, we laughed and cried feeling closer to one another as we related to characters in the story. B.J. Stone writes with so much feeling and enthusiam she touches each and everyone of us in our hearts. We arelooking forward to her next novel.

A visit to the Ozarks

Reading this book is like visiting my Aunt Ola in the Ozarks! It's all there...the sounds, the sights, the smells, the adventurous spirit. From the overnight trip up into the mountains, to the rusty milkcan by the cabin door, to the scent of my aunt's perfume and facial powder---this brief novel registers authentic. But its greatest strength is the way it conveys her joy of life, surprisingly, in a book named for her wake. One neat by-product, for young and old, is that this adventure motivates us to think of the meaning of death and life.

It was like living adventure through 10 year old Josie.

B.J. Stone did such a wonderful job keeping the story exciting and ending each chapter with intriguing thoughts that made me want to keep reading. I enjoyed the book so much! I cried and laughed at the descriptions, knowing and seeing and remembering so many things. What a deep-deep, dig into your heart and soul, moving thought B.J.'s ending phrase was! Everybody who reads it will be able to relate. I know I did....

Josie introduced to great-grandma, Ola, at Ola's Wake

Ten-year-old Josie never got to know her great-grandma, Ola, when Ola lived. Josie, who lives in Texas, is disconnected from extended family. Her father left to dodge the draft during the Vietnam war. Her grandmother died. All Josie has is her mother, whom she calls Ginny. When Ola dies, Josie and Ginny travel back to the Osarks in time for Ola's wake. This travel becomes a metaphorical, as well as actual, travel back in time for both mother and daughter. Josie learns much about herself, as she is introduced to her great-grandma, Ola, during this journey from past to future.