By: Jonathan auxier
Genre: historical fiction, fantasy
Published: 2018
Publisher’s description
“It’s been five years since the Sweep disappeared. Orphaned and alone, Nan Sparrow had no other choice but to work for a ruthless chimney sweep named Wilkie Crudd. She spends her days sweeping out chimneys. The job is dangerous and thankless, but with her wits and will, Nan has managed to beat the deadly odds time and time again.
When Nan gets stuck in a chimney fire, she fears the end has come. Instead, she wakes to find herself unharmed in an abandoned attic. And she is not alone. Huddled in the corner is a mysterious creature—a golem—made from soot and ash.
Sweep is the story of a girl and her monster. Together, these two outcasts carve out a new life—saving each other in the process. Lyrically told by one of today’s most powerful storytellers, Sweep is a heartrending adventure about the everlasting gifts of friendship and wonder.”
Our Take
What’s not to love about this bittersweet story, that doesn’t shy away from tough topics?
Taking place in 19th century London, the streets are filled with poor and orphaned children, who often are left with no other option than to become chimney sweeps for dishonest and cruel bosses. The dangerous job left these children lacking basic necessities and care…Including young Nan Sparrow.
Most of the community turns a blind eye to this atrocity, with the exception of A few. These few become the sliver of hope that Nan, and those like her, needs.
The themes of courage, love and sacrifice sprinkled throughout this book left a lasting impression on our hearts, and we hope it will for you and yours, too.
Food to share
None of our meets are complete without delicious food to share with one another. in fact, i’m pretty sure the kids might riot if it were missing. well, maybe not riot, but there would be an indignant protest at the very least. Luckily, that wasn’t the case! Although, we don’t have many pictures to show for it. Sometimes we get so caught up in the fun that we forget.
We served “story soup”, or, as you might know it, alphabet soup. this ties into the special memory Nan has from before the sweep left her. When they were very hungry and had nothing to eat, he would feed them “story soup”. the sweep would tell nan story after story, and for a time it made her forget her hunger.
We also enjoyed ice cream together. this was fitting because of the ice cream that nan and Toby shared. Nan had never tasted anything so wonderful. sadly, Most sweeps lived all of their short lives never knowing the taste of ice cream. a good reminder that something as simple as a sweet treat should not be taken for granted!
- “story” soup
- Ice cream
- Fruit salad
- Asian Kale Salad
- Passion tea
- Mixed nuts with chocolate
Crafts
Preparing these Pocket sized Charlies for the kids was easy and fun. Before Nan knew what kind of creature Charlie actually was, she thought he was a lump of coal. She first noticed a mouth on Charlie, but we gave him googly eyes for personality. You can find how we did that here.
Discussion questions
the question of what super power you would choose was a fun one! some of our kid’s answers were to have the ability to teleport, fly, be fireproof, have telekinesis, and heal others.
- What was your favorite part of the story and why?
- if you had a special power, what would it be and why?
- Did you notice a correlation between names of the characters and their personalities? (Nan Sparrow – sparrow is like a bird that can fly away and be free/Wilkie Crudd – Crud is another name for something unpleasant)
Quotes
“Courage is feeling fear and facing it head on.”
“But if you’re always looking back, you might miss what’s in front of you.”
And even though they had eaten nothing, the girl still ended her day with a belly full of story – which sticks to the ribs even better than mutton…”
“you can’t have courage without fear anymore than you can have a ray of sunshine without the shadows.”