Eye of the Beholder

by Daniel Hayes

Overview

Tyler and Lymie are sick in bed and bored out of their minds. But while their hometown plans a festival for a famous local artist, and folks scramble to find his last known works of art, the boys hatch a clever plot.

Tyler and Limy create their own sculptures as a joke and discard them near the artist's studio. But when the sculptures are found and determined to be authentic, the art world is suddenly abuzz with news of the amazing discovery—and two boys with great imaginations are in a hilarious heap of trouble. . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780449002353
Publisher:	Random House Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/28/1998
Edition description:	1st Ballantine Edition
Pages:	186
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	720L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Daniel Hayes lives in Schaghticoke, New York, and teaches English at Troy High School. Eye of the Beholder is his second novel.

Editorial Reviews

Tyler and Lymie, the inseparable duo from The Trouble with Lemons , find themselves in an unsettling situation. With all of Wakefield preparing a celebration in honor of Badoglio, a renowned sculptor who lived in their town at the turn of the century, Lymie convinces his pal that they should make a few sculptures of their own--``If somebody like that Badoglio guy could make money sculpturing, why can't we?'' Tyler remains skeptical--``Be real, Lyme. You're almost flunking eighth grade art.'' Eventually the boy gives in, but he would never have guessed that nationally known art critics would consider their rock carvings genuine, nor could he have predicted the trouble that ensues. Although the story focuses on these impulsive youngsters' antics, Hayes also perceptively explores relationships among friends, family and community members with lifelike dialogue and telling narration. Readers will delight in these protagonists' sundry predicaments, all of which are resolved with ingenuity and imagination. Ages 11-up. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 6-8-- Tyler and Lymie, from The Trouble with Lemons (Godine, 1991), are back and ready for action. Trouble seems to follow these two 13-year-olds. As Wakefield prepares to celebrate the work of Badoglio, a famous local artist, the boys create nonserious sculpture of their own. When their art gets mistaken for early Badoglio, the boys learn that beauty and meaning truly are in the ``eye of the beholder.'' This breezy, lighthearted tale streams along, taking the boys from one slapstick adventure to the next. There are serious undertones, however, and they give the book added depth. Tyler makes fun of an unattractive girl until she unexpectedly helps him out of a frightening situation. He learns to look beyond her surface, just what the fancy art critics cannot do with the fake sculptures. His perspective has the fresh, natural voice of a young man who is bright but still lacking in judgment. Lymie, his comic foil, has more heart than brains but is always ready to take action. The humor is sometimes a little too cute, but the book should be popular. Hayes's episodic style and quick pace make him a sort of Ellen Conford for boys. --Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, County of Henrico Public Library, Richmond, VA

School Library Journal

First introduced in "The Trouble with Lemons" , eighth-grader Tyler McAlister and his crony, Lymie Lawrence, are up to their ears in trouble once more. It seems that a famous Italian sculptor had spent a few years in their town when he was young, and rumor has it that he threw two partially completed stone heads in the river. The town is planning a celebration of the artist, preceded by a dredging of the river in hopes of finding the "lost treasures." When Lymie finds some oval-shaped rocks, he confronts Tyler with them: "So if somebody like that Badoglio guy could make money sculpturing, why can't we?" The boys attack the rocks with power tools, but their stone heads turn out so bad that they chuck them in the river near Badoglio's former cottage as a prank, figuring, if they're dredged up, "everybody'll have a little laugh, and that'll be that." Little do the boys realize how the eye of the beholder sees "Art." The contortions and fancy dancing they go through trying to extricate themselves from the situation without embarrassing the town when the heads go on public display are downright hilarious, and the conclusion is just right. Once again Hayes portrays young teens honestly and realistically, with all their bravado and doubts.

Sally Estes