Full of Beans
This story is set during the Great Depression in Key West, Florida. Beans Curry, along with his pals Pork Chop, Kermit, and Too Bad, are desperate to make any money they can, both to help their families and to be able to buy a few delicacies for themselves, like a ticket to one of Shirley Temple’s movies. When Beans is told to babysit his little brother, Buddy, aged three, as usual, Beans comes up with a great idea to make the job a little easier. He puts Buddy in a wagon with his blanket and begins to pull him around. Soon, Buddy is fast asleep, the blanket covering him.
While Beans and Kermit are looking for tin cans to sell, with Buddy snoring softly in the background, they run across Johnny Cakes, a neighborhood crook. Johnny Cakes sees Buddy and is inspired – he’s just found a way to smuggle his illegal liquor to customers all over town. He makes Beans an offer he can’t refuse.
Beans loves being able to give his mother money for groceries and other things she needs; however, he is also plagued by guilt, knowing if his mom knew the source of his sudden wealth, she would be ashamed of him. Will Beans go over to the dark side completely or will his better nature prevail? Holm paints an accurate and fascinating picture of life for children in the ´30s. The slang of the times is sprinkled throughout the novel, adding authenticity. But it is the cleverness and pure-heartedness of Beans and his family that make this a funny, warm novel.
