"Onion John"

"Onion John is an unusual man: a European immigrant who lives in a hut made of stone and furnished with bathtubs. He befriends young Andy Rusch, the only person in Serenity who can understand his speech. As Andy comes to know Onion John (so named because he grows the best onions in town, and eats them like apples), he finds that the man believes some odd things. In Onion John's world, friendly spirits live in the clouds, and evil spirits can be banished by smoking them out. His needs are few, since the townspeople are happy to give him castoff clothing after someone dies, and he earns a little money by doing odd jobs around Serenity. Andy and his friends are always happy to go along with whatever Onion John says."

I liked this book.  There were many things to be learned while reading this book. 

1.  Just because someone is different doesn't mean you can't be their friend.  Andy is the only one who can understand Onion John's garbled speech but that doesn't stop him and his buddies from befriending him.

2. Just because someone chooses to live a different lifestyle (no electricity for example) doesn't mean they are miserable and that you need to change them.  The Rotary club decides to combine their efforts and build John a modern house and help him out.  It terrifies him and he doesn't know how to work the appliances and he burns the house down.  He runs away, afraid they will rebuild the house and he will have to live in it. 

3.  Sometimes the things we want for ourselves aren't always what everyone else wants or needs.

4.  Little acts of kindness go a long way.  John has some strange superstitions and Andy and his friends go along with John and help him act them out.  Andy's Dad thinks this is a ridiculous waste of time and is angry with Andy for falling prey to Johns superstitions.  The joy John feels when Andy supports him is worth every minute they spent creating what seems like silly superstitions.