Mister Orange

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At the beginning of this junior novel, the reader meets young Linus Muller. Linus lives in New York City, and the country is in the middle of World War II. In Linus' family there is some upset, turmoil. His older brother, who he calls Albie, has signed up for the Army and is about to be sent to war. With this, there are many changes in Linus' family. Everyone passes their shoes down to the next child, each child inherits the job of the child previous, and room assignments change. When Linus' job changes he gets to become friends with an older gentleman who he calls Mr. Orange, due to the fact that from Linus' family shop, he orders only oranges. Through this story the reader follows Linus through his daily life and his delivery route, hearing from Albie through his letters, and through Linus' visits with his new friend Mr. Orange.

While unlike many other multicultural books, this novel, translated from Dutch, is set in the United States. However, through this novel, readers will learn about a famous Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, who came to the United States during the war to escape oppression. While this artist is not the main character it is from him that the reader sees the cultural markers from. This character will show readers his vision, and the reasons for his coming to the United States shows the reader a great deal of what was going on during that time period in other parts of the world.

This book was reviewed by both Booklist and School Library Journal. Excerpts of the reviews follow.

Booklist: "Several appended pages supply information on the artist, his work, and his years in New York. Children’s novels translated from other languages are rare in the U.S., but even more uncommon are those with an American setting. A Dutch writer whose Departure Time (2010) was a Batchelder Honor Book, Matti offers a compact middle-grade novel that is involving and informative. Written with clarity and simplicity, this accessible book features deftly drawn characters and a nuanced view of family life on the American home front, as well as insights into Mondrian’s personality and paintings. An original. Grades 4-6". --Carolyn Phelan

School Library Journal: This is Linus's coming-of-age story for the most part, but it also brings to light the life of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), who evolved the Neo-Plasticism style and was working on a painting known as Victory Boogie-Woogie during Linus's visits. An afterword offers factual information about the artist. The story is enough of an interest catcher for readers to explore further.-Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NYα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC

When working with this novel librarians can use this as a great novel to make connections to World War II that does not solely deal with the Holocaust. Students could do activities that relate to the art of Piet Mondrian, such as creating their own interpretations of this art. Students can also use this novel during a World War II unit to better understand the feelings of people around the world during the war.

Citation

Truus, M. (2012). Mister orange. Brooklyn, NY: Enchanted Lion Books.

Naomi Emory