Hardcover
from $1.26

Paperback
from $1.36

To see product details, add this item to your cart. You can always remove it later.

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Shipper / Seller

Amazon.com

Returns

30-day refund / replacement

Payment

Secure transaction

Gift options

Available at checkout

Available at checkout This item is a gift. Change

To see product details, add this item to your cart. You can always remove it later.

Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also include "From the library of" labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys, dvds, etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service. Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also include "From the library of" labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys, dvds, etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service. See less

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Ships from and sold by Zoom Books Company.

Add to List

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (101) from $1.36 + $3.99 shipping

Image Unavailable
Image not available for
Color:

Follow the author

Vince Vawter

Paperboy

by Vince Vawter (Author) Format: Paperback

(1,513)

Book 1 of 3: Paperboy

Teachers' pick

See all formats and editions

Purchase options and add-ons

*"Reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird." —Booklist, Starred

"An unforgettable boy and his unforgettable story. I loved it!" —ROB BUYEA, author of Because of Mr. Terupt and Mr. Terupt Falls Again

This Newbery Honor winner is perfect for fans of To Kill a Mockingbird, The King’s Speech, and The Help. A boy who stutters comes of age in the segregated South, during the summer that changes his life.

Little Man throws the meanest fastball in town. But talking is a whole different ball game. He can barely say a word without stuttering—not even his own name. So when he takes over his best friend’s paper route for the month of July, he’s not exactly looking forward to interacting with the customers. But it’s the neighborhood junkman, a bully and thief, who stirs up real trouble in Little Man’s life.

A Newbery Honor Award Winner
An ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book
An IRA Children’s and Young Adults’ Choice
An IRA Teachers’ Choice
A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year
A National Parenting Publications Award Honor Book
A BookPage Best Children’s Book
An ABC New Voices Pick
A Junior Library Guild Selection
An ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Recording
An ALA-YALSA Amazing Audiobook
A Mississippi Magnolia State Award List Selection

“[Vawter’s] characterization of Little Man feels deeply authentic, with . . . his fierce desire to be ‘somebody instead of just a kid who couldn’t talk right.’” —The Washington Post

“Paperboy offers a penetrating look at both the mystery and the daily frustrations of stuttering. People of all ages will appreciate this positive and universal story.” —Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation of America

*“[A] tense, memorable story.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred

“An engaging and heartfelt presentation that never whitewashes the difficult time and situation as Little Man comes of age.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Vawter portrays a protagonist so true to a disability that one cannot help but empathize with the difficult world of a stutterer.” —School Library Journal

Report an issue with this product or seller

Reading age

10+ years, from customers
Book 1 of 3

Paperboy
Print length

240 pages
Language

English
Grade level

5 - 6
Dimensions

5.24 x 0.55 x 7.64 inches
Publisher

Yearling
Publication date

December 23, 2014
ISBN-10

030793151X
ISBN-13

978-0307931511

See all details

This item: Paperboy

$6.89

Get it as soon as Tuesday, Aug 25

In Stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Island of the Blue Dolphins

$7.82

Get it as soon as Tuesday, Aug 25

In Stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Holes

$6.99

Get it as soon as Tuesday, Aug 25

In Stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Total price: $00

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Try again!

Details

Added to Cart

Choose items to buy together.

It's Like This, Cat: A Newbery Award Winner
Emily Cheney Neville

Paperback
Teachers' pick
$6.39
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Aug 25
FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon
Moon Over Manifest: (Newbery Medal Winner)
Clare Vanderpool

Paperback
Teachers' pick
$5.84
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Aug 25
FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon
The War that Saved My Life: (Newbery Honor Award Winner)
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Paperback
Teachers' pick
$6.25
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Aug 25
FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon
When You Reach Me: (Newbery Medal Winner) (Yearling Newbery)
Rebecca Stead

Paperback
Teachers' pick
$4.88
Get it as soon as Wednesday, Sep 2
FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon
The Boys in the Boat (Young Readers Adaptation): The True Story of an American Team's Epic Journey to Win Gold at the 1936 Olympics
Daniel James Brown

Mass Market Paperback
#1 Best Seller
$8.53
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Aug 25
FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon
The Paperboy (Caldecott Honor Book)
Dav Pilkey

Paperback
Teachers' pick
$6.64
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Aug 25
FREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by Amazon

Editorial Reviews

Review

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, March 18, 2013:
“[A] tense, memorable story.”

Starred Review, Booklist, April 15, 2013:
“The well-crafted characters, the hot Southern summer, and the coming-of-age events are reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird… This paper boy is a fighter and his hope fortifies and satisfies in equal measure.”

"An unforgettable boy and his unforgettable story. I loved it."—Rob Buyea, author of Because of Mr. Terupt and Mr. Terupt Falls Again

"Paperboy offers a penetrating look at both the mystery and the daily frustrations of stuttering. People of all ages will appreciate this positive and universal story as I did, but it will be particularly meaningful to anyone who has ever struggled with stuttering."—Jane Fraser, president of The Stuttering Foundation of America

"[A] compelling first-person narrative." —The Washington Post

"A memorable coming-of-age novel." —School Library Journal

“In a compelling climax, he, still stuttering, proudly announces his real name; the moment is as eloquent as his story.” —The Horn Book

About the Author

VINCE VAWTER, a native of Memphis, retired after a forty-year career in newspapers, most recently as the president and publisher of the Evansville Courier & Press in Indiana. Paperboy is his first novel.

I’m typing about the stabbing for a good reason. I can’t talk.

Without stuttering.

Plus I promised Mam I would never tell what happened to my yellow-handle knife. Mam might say that typing is cheating but I need to see the words on paper to make sure everything happened the way my brain remembers it. I trust words on paper a lot more than words in the air.

The funny way I talk is not so much like fat pigs in cartoons as I just get stuck on a sound and try to push the word out. Sometimes it comes out after a little pushing but other times I turn red in the face and lose my breath and get dizzy circles going around in my head. There’s not much I can do about it except think of another word or keep on pushing.

The lady my parents hired to show me how to talk is teaching me to use a trick she calls Gentle Air which means letting out a little of my breath before getting stuck on a word. So when I feel like I’m going to have trouble saying a word I try to sneak up on it by making a hissing noise.

s-s-s-s.

When you’re eleven years old it’s better to be called a snake than a retard.

Some days if I’ve gotten stuck on a bunch of words at school I’ll come home and put a piece of notebook paper in the typewriter that someone from my father’s office brought to our house a long time ago and forgot to take back. The same one I’m typing these words on now. I peck out the words that gave me the most trouble for the day. My hands know where the letters are and I don’t have to think up different tricks to help me push out a word.

I like the sound the typewriter key makes when it smacks the black ribbon because it’s always the same. I never know what kinds of sounds are going to come out of my mouth. If anything happens to come out at all.

Just so you know. I hate commas. I leave them out of my typing any time I think I can get away with it. My composition teacher said a comma meant it was time for a pause. I pause all the time when I’m trying to talk whether I want to or not. Humongous pauses. I would rather type a gazillion ands than one little comma.

I type so much in my room that the white letters are wearing off the typewriter keys. But the key with the comma on it looks brand-new and it can stay that way if you ask me.

L

Mam came to Memphis from Mississippi when I was five to live with us and help take care of me and one thing’s for sure. I wouldn’t have made it this far without her.

Mam’s real name is Miss Nellie Avent. My mother told me to call her Miss Nellie but that didn’t work for me because of the n sound coming after the m sound. Mam was as close as I could come to saying her name and she allowed as how that suited her fine.

She said that we made a good pair because she couldn’t write very well and I had the best handwriting she had ever seen for a little man. That’s what she called me from the first day that she came to live with us. Little Man.

Mam is my best friend in all the world except when it comes to playing ball and then Rat takes over. His real name is Art.

He had it written in easy-to-read letters on his catcher’s mitt on the first day of third grade but I had to nickname him Rat because the a sound wasn’t going to come out of my mouth that day without giving me a bunch of trouble. He allowed as how Rat was okay with him and that made me like him from the start. He didn’t even look like a rat but he understood quicker than most kids that Rat was the best I could do on his name because of the easy r sound. Mam calls him Mr. Rat which always cracks me up.

My stuttering probably makes me the best nicknamer in Memphis.

One of my hard baseball throws busted Rat in the mouth on the last day of sixth grade. That’s the reason I told him I would handle his paper route for July so he could visit his grandparents on their farm outside Memphis. I didn’t much want to take on the route but I thought I owed it to Rat for busting his lip. Rat says I show off too much with my hard throws and I guess he’s right and I needed to pay for it.

The paper route was where I met all the new people in my life and where all the bad stuff happened. And some good stuff too. At least I think it was good. I’m still trying to figure all of it out and I’m hoping that putting the words on paper will help.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yearling
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 23, 2014
Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 030793151X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0307931511
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 10+ years, from customers
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.24 x 0.55 x 7.64 inches
Book 1 of 3 ‏ : ‎ Paperboy
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 5 - 6
Best Sellers Rank: #83,475 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #96 in Children's 1900s American Historical Fiction
- #330 in Children's Parents Books
- #715 in Children's Self-Esteem Books
Customer Reviews:
(1,513)

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Vince Vawter

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Vince Vawter, a retired newspaper editor and publisher, is the author of the "Boy Series" — Paperboy, Copyboy and Manboy.

Paperboy, a 2014 Newbery Honor Book was published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Copyboy was published by Capstone Editions in 2018.

Manboy, published by the independent Woodlot Press, continues the story of Victor Vollmer as a 21-year-old working at his newspaper job in Memphis. The story takes place in four days against the backdrop of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in April 1968. Memorable characters from both Paperboy and Copyboy are reunited during this final book of the trilogy.

The first book in the series, Paperboy (Delacorte Press, a Penguin Random House imprint, 2013) tells of Victor’s life in the summer of 1959 when he was 11 years old and took on a friend’s newspaper route that put his life in danger. The novel was awarded the prestigious Newbery Honor Award and has been published in 17 languages.

Copyboy (Capstone Editions, 2018) follows Victor on a mandated quest at the age of 17 to find the mouth of the Mississippi River. He finds himself plucked from the Gulf of Mexico by a young Cajun woman and then must outrun 1965s Hurricane Betsy with her. The book was a Junior Library Guild selection, won the Whippoorwill Award and has been published in five languages.

Vawter considers his books autobiographical novels and suitable for all ages. Readers of the three books will see the boy mature on his journey as a person who stutters.

The writer lives with his wife on a small farm in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee.

Related books

Page 1 of 1Start Over

Image Unavailable

Follow the author