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Shane W. Evans

Hope Anita Smith

The Way a Door Closes Hardcover – May 1, 2003

by Hope Anita Smith (Author), Shane W. Evans (Illustrator)

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My best friend, Preacher, is being just that. His sermon today is on fathers and I am his congregation.
“Dads are light. They have no roots.
One strong wind, and they’re gone.
Out of here. History.”

With a click, a bang, a whisper—or no noise at all. There are so many ways that a door can close, but it’s not just the closing; it’s the knowing. And thirteen-year-old CJ knows too much—about losing his father, about his family’s pain, and especially about what it means to hold things together when times are the toughest.

In this beautifully written and powerfully moving novel in poems, Hope Anita Smith tells the story of a young man’s struggle to accept a father who has walked out on his family. Here, in CJ’s words, is a portrait of hurt and healing, and finding the strength to open the door again. The Way a Door Closes is the winner of the 2004 Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe New Talent Award and the 2004 Bank Street - Claudia Lewis Award and is a 2004 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Reading age

8 - 12 years
Print length

52 pages
Language

English
Grade level

3 - 7
Lexile measure

NP
Dimensions

6.4 x 0.46 x 10.67 inches
Publisher

Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date

May 1, 2003
ISBN-10

080506477X
ISBN-13

978-0805064773
See all details

Hope Anita Smith
22
Hardcover
39 offers from $2.25

Hope Anita Smith
22
Hardcover
39 offers from $2.25

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8-In 34 compelling poems, readers are drawn into the thoughts and feelings of a 13-year-old African American as he tries to understand and cope with a parent's departure from the family. The first 12 poems describe the contentment C. J. feels about being a part of a close-knit family. With the 13th poem, "The Way a Door Closes," his father abruptly leaves home. "-And when he went out the door/he held on to the knob./The door closed with a/click./I felt all the air leave the room/and we were vacuum-sealed inside./-I can tell a lot by/the way a door closes." In carefully chosen, straightforward language, Smith conveys the boy's roller-coaster emotions with pinpoint accuracy. The results are poems that are heartbreaking, angry, and tender. Done in warm shades of mostly brown, blue, and gold, Evans's color spot and full-page paintings have a realistic, slightly sculptural appearance and are a perfect complement to the poems. Good poetry touches the heart, and this offering does just that.
Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. In the voice of a 13-year-old boy, a series of clear, lovely poems tells a contemporary family story, and Evans' strong, realistic paintings show the deep feelings and connections in an African American home. For a long time everything is blissfully happy. A family portrait shows Daddy, proud and strong ("He stands behind us / towering over us all. / One hand rests on my shoulder, / the other caresses my mother's"). Then Daddy loses his job, and one day he leaves and doesn't come back. The plain words and beautifully individualized pictures express the family anguish ("Brother's acting like a stranger / Eyes and words are full of anger"). In the poem "Prodigal Son," Daddy finally returns, and he can't find enough words to say how sorry he is. The first part is just too idyllic, with everything absolutely perfect; but after the shocking grief of abandonment, Daddy's return seems both hopeful and realistic. Readers will be deeply moved by the portrait of a rooted, extended family that makes it through hard times. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (May 1, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 52 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 080506477X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0805064773
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 12 years
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ NP
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.4 x 0.46 x 10.67 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,879,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5,009 in Children's Black & African American Story Books
- #5,185 in Stories in Verse
- #7,173 in Children's Parents Books

Customer Reviews:
15 ratings

About the authors

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Shane W. Evans
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Shane Evans is a creative force. He comfortably wears titles
that include artist, author, illustrator, musician, songwriter,
and founder of Dream Studio, a community art space in Kansas
City, Missouri, where he resides. He has more than 30 books
to his credit as an illustrator, including Olu's Dream, which he
also authored. Many of the books have been featured in the
media such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show,
Reading Rainbow, and Late Night with David Letterman. Five
of his books are scheduled for publication in 2010 including
"Chocolate Me" with actor Taye Diggs, "My Brother Charlie"
with actor Holly Robinson Peete, and "Black Jack," with
Coretta Scott King Award winning author Charles Smith. His
portfolio includes the "Shanna Show" (now a Disney animated
short along with the spinoff "Shane's Kindergarten
Countdown"). In addition, he has exhibited, lectured, and
developed art programs for youth in Burkina Faso, Botswana,
Brazil, China, France, Japan, Lesotho, and across the United
States. You can visit him online www.olusdream.com.
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Hope Anita Smith
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Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
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Amazon Customer

These Father Son Grooming Rituals Reek of Sexism (grandma was once beautiful physically ah well

Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2017

Verified Purchase

I purchased this book with the thought of reading it to my 9 year old son whose father is absent. I thought he could relate to the emotions these characters were expressing but I have no intention of reading this with my child after reading it myself. In all fairness there is a poem about cycle breaking that relates a scene where the boy runs away in anger but then thought of his mother & rushes home to hug her. She tells him that he broke a cycle because he came back. There are few others such as the poem about snow which lightly touches upon racism & correctly infers racism is at the heart of the struggles to find & keep work (nicely done) And the poems accurately conveyed some of the damage done when children's parents abandon them, particularly without any explanation, but there is Way too much colonized dysfunction promoted in these poems. The descriptions of the women throughout were sexist. There is heavy focus on the adult women's outward appearance. Why is physical beauty or the fading of it even mentioned in this rather short book? These Father Son Grooming Rituals Reek of Sexism (grandma was once beautiful physically ah well, even though she has lost her looks Father is sure to note.... the boy assures her she is still beautiful to him spider veins & all- A Very poor attempt to come across as loving & supportive towards women. WTF? Like I need my male son learning to objectify women! No Thanks! Also, there is an entire poem devoted to the little girl who is sobbing, begging & pleading with her father to let her join he & her brothers. She may have been mentioned elsewhere but if she was it was extremely brief, point being author chooses to relate a story in which the little girl is excluded & her sobs ignored. Senseless! Again, more displays of Patriarchal privilege & viewpoint that boys/men get to do things little girls don't. And again, why would I want to teach my male son to engage in that brutish insensitive Senseless behavior , Toxic Masculinity, when I can teach him to foster inclusiveness? (I struggle to think of Anything a little boy & dad would go do that would be inappropriate or dangerous for daughter to do) Back to the women, both the mother & the grandmother are educated & hard working women who have, in fact, even taken physical care of the man & been incredibly nurturing as well even when it's damn hard on them Yet throughout the book they are Mute & completely disempowered "the grandmother pretended not to notice", silently longing & pining for the man to return. After a time the father still hasn't come back & the mother gets dressed up to go out. She asks her son if he liked her dress. The young boy SCOLDS the mother for daring to put on the outfit accusing her of forgetting about his dad as though she is doing something wrong. Instead of prose about an empowered mother who takes that opportunity to promote healing & release the poem ends with the mother cowering to the son. The grand finale of this book is that Daddy walks back in the door, no one even knew he was coming. "Even before my brother & sister yell out his name, the muscles in my mother's hands stop working, and the plate she is drying goes crashing to the floor. My back is to the door, but I can't turn around. I am afraid this is a bad joke and the laugh will be on me. Grandmomma is not surprised. She knew what we all secretly hoped for. No one actually heard the door open but we all heard it close. And I breathe a sign of relief because I know Daddy is home to stay." Abandoning father suddenly now Great Savior! Men who abandon their children should not be idolized or let off the hook from all responsibility. Wreaking havoc on little children is a serious offense in my book so No way am I encouraging my child to think his life is ruined unless his dad does right by him. My son asked me about the book when he saw it & I plan to tell him all the reasons why it's not a good book to read so that he may be uplifted & know that he isn't doomed to anything and you do that by arming a child with information that allows them to move through pain & heal and to flourish in their own heart/life & the starting point of that is to share with them how irresponsible & damaging it is for a parent to do what that father in this story did to his children.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

C. Britton

YOOOO!

Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2019

Verified Purchase

This book exceeded my expectations for a novel in verse! The story moves (almost perfectly) as we enter the heart of a young man struggling to find peace in the midst of a family crisis. Anita's word choices were excellent. The use of metaphors, haiku, similes, and other writing forms were brilliant. I'm happy that she wrote a second book and wish there was a THIRD!

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J.4

Fine Narrative Poetry

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2010

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed this collection of poems that parallel the evolution of a boy's family (his father leaves). Aspects of it reminded me (somewhat) of Cisnero's The House on Mango Street. I would recommend this for any teachers looking to make poetry more student-friendly at the middle school and early high school levels.

2 people found this helpful

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ricky1818

enormously satisfying for all ages

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2008

Verified Purchase

i read this book several times, and with each reading i was drawn deeper and deeper into the rhythm of the words and the souls of the characters. it's a must-read for every age level. the author, hope smith, is a true blessing.

Helpful

Deda Berente

The Way a Door Closes

Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2014

Verified Purchase

I got this for my daughter for school and it cam quickly. The book was great. She used it in class and got an A.

Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2012

The Way a Door Closes is a perfect example of why novels in verse belong in our classroom libraries.

At a slim 52 pages, it manages to meet many of my students' needs. Its length is not intimidating to developing readers; if it weren't for the cover illustration of adolescent boys, it could be confused with a picture book. Throughout the book are moving illustrations by Shane W. Evans, which may assist readers who are struggling to paint mental pictures of the story.

While the writing is simple and the length is short, it covers a heavy topic: what happens to a family when the father leaves. Author Hope Anita Smith begins the book with a portrait of a happy family, with thirteen-year-old CJ's observations of his life with his two siblings, parents, and grandmother. When CJ's father loses his job, he withdraws and then one day does not return. Smith handles the subject delicately, showing the repercussions for the family. His mother tries to move on, his grandmother holds the family together, and CJ tries to take on the role of the "man of the house." It isn't easy, but CJ maintain his loyalty to his father and believes he will return. I loved the section entitled, "Diamond in the Rough":

Daddy has always spoken loud
of being black and being proud
of honest pay for a job well done,
a father's dream for his oldest son.
He gives me words, each one a gem,
words I wish someone had given him.

Smith treats the father with more generosity than he may deserve and it manages to be refreshing. Not all fathers who leave are gone forever. The Way a Door Closes does not delve into what the father's return means, but the sequel Keeping the Night Watch does.

The Way a Door Closes won the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe New Talent Award and deserved it. I was touched by the struggles of CJ and his family, and hope that it can provide hope or solace for boys in similar situations.

2 people found this helpful

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TeeDiva

I liked it

Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2006

This story is in the voice of 13 year-old C.J. as he tries to deal with the loss of his family. This book is recommended for grades 4 through 8 and thats really a good age target for this book. These poems give a clear, lovelyview of what C.J. is dealing with in his life. They tell a contemporary family story in an African American home. For a long time everything is blissfully happy. It shows what a family can go through, the ups and the downs that come with life. The plain words and beautifully individualized pictures express the family anguish. The poems are an account of the life and times of C.J.'s family. Readers can identfy with the struggle, ups, and downs of C.J.'s family. The results are poems that are heartbreaking, angry, and tender.

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The Way a Door Closes Hardcover – May 1, 2003

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Shane W. Evans

Hope Anita Smith

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