House of Dreams: Kaline Klattermaster's Tree House by Haven Kimmel

Kaline Klattermaster is a boy who lives in two worlds. His inner world is a vivid, imaginative place where the boundaries are blurred, from his invisible bugle to a huge, multi-story tree house where he "lives" with his two powerful "brothers," Steve and Nicky, and their 100 puppies.

His real world is not so great. His meticulous father, who lines up objects in perfect symmetry and times his bath to the second, has gone somewhere for Alone Time, but where his mom doesn't tell. His mom, always a free spirit, seems a bit unhinged, knitting an afghan which is the size of the living room, leaving him in his bath for three hours, and disappearing into the attic in the middle of the night. Then there is school, where three huge bullies, whom he names Skracky, Devil Tooth, and Mr. Zero, shake him down for all his school supplies, his lunch, and even the pants from his school uniform (he wears two pairs daily, just in case). His teacher seems to be out of the room a lot, and the three scary guys terrorize the class in her absence.

Real life is almost unbearable at times, and Kaline survives only because of his ability to travel at ease between his two worlds. Kaline doesn't understand that others can't do the same. Here he is dealing with his father's world view:

He picked up the stuffed husky dog he slept with at night, Banjo, and held him tight. For sure Kaline loved Banjo, even though his dad had said Banjo "wasn't real." This "real" statement had caused Kaline to stare at his dad with disbelief. Could his father not see that Banjo COULD NOT GET ANY REALER? The dog was RIGHT THERE.

When he exhausts his initial school supplies and his savings to placate the school bullies and is down to his last pair of pants, Kaline turns to his imaginary brothers for help. Strangely, "Steve" suggests that he consult with his neighbor, the eccentric Mr. Osiris Putnaminski. Unsure of this advice, Kaline finally is forced by his rising anxiety to approach Osiris as he walks his dog, and unexpectedly, Mr. Putnaminski has some good counsel.

"What I've learned about bullies is that they are often stupid--forgive my unkindness--and they are often afraid. So sometimes it helps to use quite big words to confuse them. Make up the words if you have to.

I think you're much smarter than you give yourself credit for. But, honestly, Mr. Klattermaster? If I were you, I'd do the smartest thing of all: I'd tell my mother."

Kaline does. He stands up to the three thugs, and the timely intervention of his mother and the principal banishes the bullies from Kaline's outer world. Then Mr. Putnaminski takes him to see his elaborately hand-carved miniature model of his childhood hometown, complete with the train for which Osiris waited for his father's hoped for return from World War II; and the old man gives the boy a bit of wisdom on the separation between the inner life and outward reality:

"And did he? Did he come home?" asked Kaline.

"No, no, he didn't. Sometimes," he said, "I am tempted--now I say I am TEMPTED--to make a figure of him just stepping down out of that car. I could do it. I've been tempted to feel that, just for a moment."

"But you never."

Mr. P. shook his head. "No. It is better to be honest."

Haven Kimmel, author of the New York Times best seller A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland Indiana (Today Show Book Club #3) in his latest novel, Kaline Klattermaster's Tree House, has given us a unique insight into the rich, imaginative life of a unique and unforgettable character.