Module 9: The Humming Room

The Humming Room 

by Ellen Potter

Citation:

Potter, E. (2012). The humming room. New York: Feiwel and Friends

Summary

The Humming Room is a story of a 12 year old orphan (Roo Fanshaw) who stays with a foster family for a short while until she goes to live with her father’s brother on Cough Rock Island. She is left to entertain herself, and is told not to go into certain areas. She makes friends with Violet, a girl that works for her Uncle. She starts to learn more about the house (former Children’s hospital) and her uncle. Roo also learns that her uncle had been married, but she died suddenly. Right after that all but one staff member was fired! It is rumored that her Uncle may have done it! Roo keeps hearing humming, but can’t figure out where it is coming from.

She meets a mysterious boy that “lives on the river.” His name is Jack. They become friends. Roo finds an abandoned garden. She starts to water it, trying to bring it back. Eventually she tells Jack about the garden and he helps in her effort to revive it.

Does she find out where the humming is coming from? Did her Uncle kill his wife? What will he say when he discovers that the abandoned garden has come back to life?

Impressions

Overall, this was a good story. It is a modern day “Secret Garden.” I could see boys and girls enjoying this mystery. She starts exploring the abandoned rooms and hears the humming, which adds to the mystery of where she is and what is going to happen. However, at the end once the “mystery is solved,” (the humming) it ends almost too quickly. It leaves several loose ends. Maybe that would leave room for a sequel? 

Professional Reviews

Gr 4-6--Roo, 12, witnesses her parents' murder and survives by hiding beneath the family's trailer home. A rather unlikable child, she's a thief and she bites. She is put in foster care, where she is teased mercilessly by the other children, until a relative can be found. Then a previously unknown uncle turns up. He is wealthy and reclusive and lives on an island. He travels a great deal, so he sends his assistant to fetch Roo. On the train ride to Maine, Ms. Valentine lays down the rules about Roo's new house, and the child immediately sets about breaking every one of them. She discovers a secret box underneath some floorboards. She hears a mysterious humming noise. She notices that a good portion of the home, which used to be a sanatorium for children, is boarded up. And, she wonders about a mysterious, homeless boy she notices on a nearby island. Soon, she's noticing other mysteries and inconsistencies and makes a big discovery, which she keeps a secret. Sound vaguely familiar? The cover states that the book was inspired by The Secret Garden. It so parallels its predecessor that it's really a modernized retelling that works on many levels--but not on others. It's shorter and more streamlined and quite suspenseful. Yet, could a child be so easily hidden away nowadays? Fans of the classic will delight in the similarities and differences. Readers who might be intimidated by the original will find Potter's telling more accessible.

School Library Journal

Kahn, B. (2012). The Humming Room [Review of book]. School Library Journal, 
       58(5), 116.

****************

Small, wild, and stubborn, 12-year-old Roo keeps her emotions close, and she prefers the constants of the natural world to the transience of people.When her drug dealer father and his girlfriend are killed, she is sent to live with an unknown uncle in his isolated, cold island home. There, Roo's explorations uncover mysteries - an intriguing boy with unique ties to the sea; an elusive humming sound; a long-dead, walled -off garden; and, surprisingly, a frail, petulant cousin named Phillip. Secrets unfold, as do revelations about the power of compassion, as well as how relationships - between past and present and people and nature - matter.As such connections are made, Roo finds a sense of belonging. Inspired by Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, this noteworthy novel stands wholly on its own, as Potter, with classic and contemporary storytelling flair, deftly interweaves fantasy, mystery, suspense, and realism. Beautifully wrought, eloquent prose combines with vivid setting details and diversely drawn characters to effectively portray themes of loneliness and grief. Roo is a memorable character - her experiences prove transformative in unexpected ways, and ultimately her complexities and growth ring true. Poignant without sentimentality, this is a compelling read that is certain to resonate - and linger - with young readers. - Sheiie Rosenfeid

The Booklist

Rosenfeld, S. (2012). The humming room [Review of book]. The Booklist, 
          108(11), 77.

Library Uses

Compare it to The Secret Garden or use it as a book talk and then talk about how it is like the Secret Garden.

Draw a picture of what they think the garden looked like, and then draw a picture of what their secret garden would look like.

Another idea would be to discuss characteristics of the characters.

References

Amazon. (2016). [Image of book cover]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Humming-Room-Ellen-Potter/dp/1250016665/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458940963&sr=8-1&keywords=humming+room

Kahn, B. (2012). The humming room [Review of book]. School Library Journal, 58(5), 116.

Potter, E. (2012). The humming room. New York: Feiwel and Friends

Rosenfeld, S. (2012). The humming room [Review of book]. The Booklist, 
             108(11), 77.