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Title and Author of Newbery Book
Getting Near to Baby by Audrey Couloumbis
Plot of the Novel
For a long time, Willa Jo has lived happily with her father, mother, Noreen, sister, Little
Sister, and baby sister, Baby. Unfortunately, things begin to change when her father looses his
job and ultimately abandons his family. Although Noreen struggles to take care of three children
on her own, she manages to get through with some help from her neighbor and friend, Milly.
One day, the family decides to attend a little carnival that has come to town. Despite the hot
weather, everyone enjoys the carnival. Before they are ready to go home, Baby runs out of water
and juice to drink. Since everyone wants to stay at the carnival longer, the family looks for water
at the refreshment stands, but are unable to find any for sale. Eventually, a man with his own
personal bottle of water agrees to share a portion with Baby. By the end of the day, Baby has
started acting fussy. All night long, Noreen stays up with Baby, who has developed a fever. In
the morning, she sends Willa Jo to see if Milly can drive her to the hospital as Baby’s condition
has worsened; she believes that the water Baby drank was tainted, and caused her to become
sick. By the time Willa Jo returns, her mother tells her to go back and tell Milly that they no
longer need a ride to the hospital; Baby has died.
After Baby’s death, life seems to go by in a blur for Willa Jo and Little Sister; they are
mournful over the death of their sister and the affect it has taken on their mother. Shortly after
Baby’s death, Little Sister stops talking. Because of their grief, Noreen, Willa Jo, and Little
Sister’s daily routine starts to disintegrate. Instead of taking care of herself, Noreen continuously
paints pictures of Baby with angels. Willa Jo and Little Sister stay near their mother throughout
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the day and watch her paint, hoping that she will come back to them. Throughout this time
period, no one keeps up with the housework until Aunt Patty, Noreen’s sister, arrives. Upon her
arrival, Aunt Patty immediately begins to take control of the situation by having the girls help
her clean the house. Aunt Patty forces Noreen to eat better meals and sleep at regular hours. Near
the end of her visit, Aunt Patty decides to take Willa Jo and Little Sister to live with her until
Noreen is ready to take care of herself and her children again.
At Aunt Patty’s house, Willa Jo and Little Sister have a hard time dealing with their grief
and following their aunt’s numerous rules. Often, Willa Jo and Aunt Patty get into disagreements
because both of them like to act as leaders. On the first day living with Aunt Patty, the girls go
shopping with their aunt for new clothes. To the girls’ dismay, Aunt Patty chooses all of the new
clothes without any of their input, and as a result, the girls must wear outfits that closely mirror
the fashion style of their aunt, including ugly leather sandals and camp shorts. Not only does
Aunt Patty choose the girls’ new clothes, but she also tries to choose their friends. One day,
Willa Jo and Little Sister meet Liz and Isaac Fingers, whom they quickly befriend. Although
Little Sister still will not talk, Isaac eagerly learns her sign language system for counting, and in
return, he gives her a pet june bug. Willa Jo and Liz enjoy talking and reading magazines
together. Because the Fingers family has a low reputation in the town, Aunt Patty does not view
Liz and Isaac as appropriate playmates for her nieces. Several times, she tries to get her nieces to
play with other children, but none of these attempts work. Instead, they just lead to more tension
between Aunt Patty and Willa Jo. Without meaning to, Willa Jo often hurts Aunt Patty’s
feelings. Similarly, Aunt Patty unintentionally upholds rules and regulations that make it difficult
for Willa Jo to handle her grief. Eventually, the tensions build up to the point where neither
Willa Jo nor Aunt Patty can handle it anymore. Despite the conflict between Willa Jo and Aunt
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Patty, Willa Jo feels a special connection with her Uncle Hob. Willa Jo feels that she can trust
Uncle Hob, and often refers to him as a sweet man.
One night, Aunt Patty tells Willa Jo that she is fed up with her, leaving Willa Jo with a
sick feeling in her stomach. The next day, Willa Jo wakes up early and decides to sit on the roof
to watch the sun rise. Since she follows Willa Jo everywhere, Little Sister also decides to sit on
the roof. Eventually the neighbors start to gossip about the girls choosing to sit on the roof,
which embarrasses Aunt Patty. Although their aunt pleads for them to come down, Willa Jo and
Little Sister refuse, even when they start to get sun burnt. To entertain themselves, they play
ticktacktoe and count the shingles on the roof and neighboring roofs. Eventually Uncle Hob joins
the girls on the roof, bringing a picnic lunch with him. He talks with Willa Jo for a long time,
and tells her about how he felt when his grandmother died, and how long it took to move past his
grief. Willa Jo is able to relate to this story. Eventually Aunt Patty comes outside and is upset to
see Uncle Hob on the roof; she worries over what her neighbors will think. Indeed, a neighbor
shows up and tells Hob to tell her something that will prove that he’s feeling like himself. In
response, Uncle Hob decides to dance on roof. Aunt Patty realizes that she shouldn’t worry so
much about what the neighbors think, and decides to join the rest of her family on the roof. Once
on the roof, Aunt Patty informs her nieces that their mother is coming to see them will be
arriving shortly. In the midst of the rooftop conversation, Aunt Patty and Willa Jo apologize to
each other for their misunderstandings. Finally, after wondering all day, Aunt Patty asks Willa Jo
why she decided to climb onto the roof in the first place. Unable to explain, Willa Jo replies that
she wanted to see the sun rise, and afterwards, decided to stay; this answer does not seem to
satisfy Aunt Patty. To everyone’s surprise, Little Sister states simply, “We were getting near to
Baby” (Couloumbis, 1999, p. 208). Finally, Little Sister has found her voice again. Everyone
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realizes that although they were lost in sadness, they have managed to overcome their grief. At
the end of the novel, Noreen shows up and sees her family sitting on the roof. Aunt Patty
explains that they will come down after the sun sets because of the amazing view on top of the
roof.
Discussion of Main Characters
Willa Jo – Willa Jo is a twelve-year-old girl who struggles to deal with the grief that affects her
family after her baby sister dies. One morning, she chooses to sit on her Aunt’s roof after she
realizes that she can no longer handle her emotions on her own. Willa Jo narrates the story
through the use of flashbacks, which ultimately explain why she has chosen sit on the roof.
Little Sister – Little Sister is Willa Jo’s seven-year old sister. Although her real name is JoAnn,
it is only mentioned once in the story. After Baby dies, Little Sister stops talking, her way of
coping with the sadness she feels as she watches her family fall apart. Although she will not talk,
Little Sister does create a sign language system that she uses for counting and displaying
numbers. Often, she enjoys playing math related games with Willa Jo. Little Sister typically
follows Willa Jo around, allowing her to make most of their decisions and to talk for her when
necessary. Although Willa Jo acts as the leader, Little Sister is able to comfort her older sister in
a way that no one else can; the two sisters need each other and are inseparable.
Aunt Patty – Aunt Patty is the older sister of Noreen. When Noreen becomes depressed after her
baby’s death, Aunt Patty steps in with the hopes of fixing everything. Although Patty has good
intentions, she does not fully understand the emotions that her sister and nieces are going
through. When she decides to help, she immediately begins to make decisions for everyone
without taking the time to distinguish between what is actually best for them and what she thinks
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is best. However, Patty makes at least one decision that proves crucial to helping Noreen recover.
Aunt Patty decides to have Willa Jo and Little Sister live at her house for a while. During this
time period, Noreen is able to come to terms with her sorrow, and by the end of the novel is
ready to take care of herself and her girls again.
Uncle Hob – Uncle Hob is Aunt Patty’s husband. He is a man of few words and a high school
math teacher. Most of all, Uncle Hob enjoys simple past times, like completing crossword
puzzles and playing the guitar. Since he is easygoing and relaxed, Uncle Hob easily calms down
his wife, who often gets worked up over little incidents. Similarly, Uncle Hob is able to help
Willa Jo deal with her emotions and grief by listening to what she has to say. After listening to
Willa Jo, Uncle Hob tells her and Little Sister about how he was able to get through the sorrow
he felt after his grandmother died. Uncle Hob helps Willa Jo and Little Sister come to terms with
their emotions. He keeps the family together when they need each other the most.
Setting and Point of View
Overall, the setting of this novel proves somewhat vague. For instance, the narrator never
mentions a specific geographical location. Based on context clues, this story takes place in the
United State’s South since the characters speak with Southern accents. Additionally, the narrator
describes the weather as extremely hot, and at one point, the Baptist church is mentioned, a
denomination of Christianity prominently found in the South. Since the narrator does not
mention any specific dates or historical references, the novel qualifies as contemporary realistic
fiction. Throughout the novel, the point of view is a first person narrative by Willa Jo. She
observes the emotions that she and her family experience after the death of Baby. In order to tell
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her story, Will Jo relies on flash backs which explain why she has chosen to spend the day on the
roof.
References
Couloumbis, A. (1999). Getting Near to Baby. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons.