"Water Wings" by Kristen Den Hartog - Overview of the book

Essay by babylove2112Junior High, 9th grade October 2007

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"Pearl wants a grandmother. What with a too busy mum and an absent dad, a gran would be just the thing - preferably warm and cuddly and understanding". In what ways did Gran fulfil Pearls needs?

Pearl is a lonely girl and has a guinea pig named Winston and Pearl talks to Winston as if he talks back to her, like when Winston is helping Pearl get her mum's bra off the roof. Pearly doesn't have many friends and her mum doesn't seem to pay much attention to her. Pearl talks to Winston because she is lonely. Pearl has a busy mum and her dad is not there. That is the main reason Pearl is so lonely. Pearls mum probably thinks that she is doing the right thing because she is working and making money for the family.

Pearl needs someone to talk to and understand her problems. Pearl has Winston but with Winston being a guinea pig he can't do the things a gran can do.

The gran Pearl wants has to be warm and cuddly and understand her and the way she feels. This is shown when she feels Winston doesn't answer back. Pearl realises at this moment that she really needs a gran. Winston and Pearl are best friends and Pearl thinks that the only one that will listen is Winston. With Winston being sick it breaks Pearls heart. Pearls mum doesn't know how close Winston and Pearl are so she doesn't know what's going on. Pearls writes a letter to her gran and she doesn't get a reply for a while and Pearl gets worried she wont come, or that she didn't get the letter until Pearls mum comes in and says Gran is coming down. Pearl was so happy, she has wanted this for so long and she thinks of what it will be like; gran sitting in her rocking chair, sipping tea, stroking pearls hair as her head rests on Gran's lap.

The day comes when pearl has to go meet her gran at the airport. She is so excited and she waits to see a little old lady with a kinda face come out of the arrival gate but never sees one, pearls gets interrupted by a ruckus of noise and turns around to see what it is, she sees and elderly but broad lady. Pearl thought to herself that she wouldn't want a gran like that she probably wouldn't even fit in a rocking chair. The lady came up to Pearl and said she was gran. Pearl was upset but tried not to show her emotion. This lady could never fulfil what gran needed. After Pearl being with gran and gran seeing Winston, gran was still her rough old self but she found a side to gran the was nice. This is shown when Gran holds Winston without burying him, and she gives Pearl advice to keep the best bits of him in her head.

Gran fulfilled pearls needs because she was being a warm and nice person. When gran is in hospital and Pearl and Mitch sneak in and gran asks them to take her to the lake, they do because it's what gran wants. When they take her in the water and let go they both lie on the water, with tears down their faces. Pearl thinks to her self about Winston and says "Winston meet Gran". And now in her mind not just Winston's best bits are in there Gran's are as well

By: Tess Hampl 8A