According to 13-year-old Toby Wilson, nothing ever happens in Antler, Texas, so when a man in a trailer suddenly shows up in the Dairy Maid parking lot, charging $2.00 admission to see the “fattest boy in the world,” the townspeople line up. At six-hundred-pounds, Zachary Beaver is used to having people stare at him. “Might as well get paid for it,” he remarks sullenly. The longer Zachary stays in Antler, the better Toby and his friend, Cal, get to know him, until he no longer seems like a curiosity to them at all. And in truth, both Toby and Cal are trying to take their minds off of trouble at home: Toby’s mother has left the family, reportedly to seek her fortune as a country singer, while Cal’s favorite brother is serving on the front lines in Vietnam. In fact, a lot is going on in Antler, Texas. Sometimes it just takes a stranger coming to town to point things out. Kimberly Willis Holt, who excels at writing about life in a small Southern town, creates as strong a sense of time and place as one can get, without going there in person. (Age 11-14)

National Book Award Winner

The red words painted on the trailer caused quite a buzz around town and before an hour was up, half of Antler was standing in line with two dollars clutched in hand to see the fattest boy in the world.

Toby Wilson is having the toughest summer of his life. It's the summer his mother leaves for good; the summer his best friend's brother returns from Vietnam in a coffin. And the summer that Zachary Beaver, the fattest boy in the world, arrives in their sleepy Texas town. While it's a summer filled with heartache of every kind, it's also a summer of new friendships gained and old friendships renewed. And it's Zachary Beaver who turns the town of Antler upside down and leaves everyone, especially Toby, changed forever.

With understated elegance, Kimberly Willis Holt tells a compelling coming-of-age story about a thirteen-year-old boy struggling to find himself in an imperfect world. At turns passionate and humorous, this extraordinary novel deals sensitively and candidly with obesity, war, and the true power of friendship.

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town is the winner of the 1999 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. This title has Common Core connections.