Product Description

When his folks host a Vietnamese family that has come to settle in their town, Harvey enjoys Americanizing twelve-year-old Tuan.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #609078 in Books
• Published on: 1991-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

About the Author

Jamie Gilson has written sixteen books, all of them about children, most of them about children in school. And the elementary school where she gets many of her ideas is Central, which all three Gilson children attended. While Tom and Anne are now lawyers and Matthew a photographer, their mother still goes to Central School classes, notebook in hand, looking for stories.

She describes Central's cafeteria in Do Bananas Chew Gum?, its Spit Pit in Thirteen Ways to Sink a Sub, and the contents of some of its fourth grade desks in Hobie Hanson, You're Weird. Central students have taught her how to sing "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells," how to chew a mint so it sparks in the dark, and how to play soccer on a field of mud.

She spent two weeks with the whole fifth grade class while, in a kind of total immersion, they studied the Western Movement. On the first day the boys and girls found out who they'd be married to for those two weeks. Then they took pioneer identities, joined a wagon train, chose supplies, decided whether to cross a rushing river at midnight, made pumpkin butter, dipped candles, and built mock fires with fake buffalo chips. They had a wonderful time--mostly. Jamie wrote a book about it: Wagon Train 911.

"It's true, though," she says, "that while Central is very special to me, every school is brimming with rich stories. I talk with children all over the country about my writing, and the one question they always ask is, 'Witt you put us in a book?' If I were there tong enough, I expect I could."

Jamie Gilson's professional life has always involved writing and communications. Formerly a teacher of junior high school speech and English, she was a staff writer and producer for Chicago Board of Education radio station WBEZ, a writer of Encyclopaedia Brittanica films, and continuity director for fine arts radio station WFMT. She was, for ten years, a monthly columnist for Chicago magazine.

Born in Beardstown, Illinois, Jamie Gilson spent her early years in small towns in Illinois and Missouri where her father worked as a flour miller. After graduating from Northwestern University School of Speech, she married Jerome Gilson, then a law student and now a trademark lawyer. They live within sight and sound of Lake Michigan in a suburb of Chicago.

Customer Reviews

Harvey Trumble and Tuan Nguyen, best friends forever!
When Tuan Nguyen and his family move from Vietnam to America, Harvey Trumble knows that him and Tuan will be best friends! Harvey teaches Tuan english, and how to use a fork, and things are going great, untill Harvey makes a choice for the worse. They get caught TPing the pig statue by the police. Tuan starts to think that maybe being Harvey's friend isn't a very good idea, and he befriends Quint, Harvey's enimey. I would tell you more, but i think you should read the book. I would reccomend it to kids who like books about friendship! Happy reading!
-Caitlin

-Cait

Hello, My Name Is Scrambled Eggs
Do you like books about young people meeting other people from other countries? Reading Jamie Gilson Hello, My Name Is Scrambled Eggs will help you do just that. The main character, Harvey, and his family had to bring a family from another country in their home. The family that had to live with Harvey and his family were a family from Vietnam. He was so happy to have someone of his own age living with him. Harvey had to bring him to his school, and there the boy would have to go to school everyday. The boy becomes a good friend with Harvey. Harvey would help the boy speak better English. What I enjoyed about the book was when Harvey would teach the boy about English on the computer. Another part of the book that I enjoyed was when Harvey started to become better friends with the boy and his family. I think someone should read this book if someone was interested in seeing how it is like to have someone from another country living with him or her and what they were going through. I also believe that if someone was to being someone into his or her home, that person should participate in the family's beliefs. The person should also participate in activities that the family enjoys. Harvey helped the boy very much to understand the English language. The boy would also participate in the activities that the Harvey's family had done with him. The boy liked where he lived as well as Harvey having a new friend living with him. I would also let someone from another country live with my family and I do understand what it would be like to live in a different place.

fried eggs
Hello my name is scrabbled eggs is about a Vietnamese family comes and lives with Harvey Trumble and his family. The Vietnamese family comes to America because they are trying to stay away from the Vietnam War. There is a kid Harvey's age in the family and his name is Tuan Nguyen. Some things in America are new to Tuan, like a hair dryer, Tuan thinks it's a gun. He also thinks that hot dogs are really made out of dogs. My favorite part in the book is when they T.P. they town pig (statue) and get caught and Tuan has to figure out if he still wants to be friends with Harvey or not. If you want to find out if he does read this book.