Palmer LaRue hat den Tag gefürchtet, an dem er 10 Jahre alt wird. In seiner Stadt bekommen 10-Jährige beim jährlichen Familienfest der Stadt, dem Pigeon Day, wo 5.000 Tauben zu sehen sind, den Job als „Wringer“. aus Kisten befreit und in einem Wettbewerb um einen Scharfschützenpreis abgeschossen. Die Geschichte folgt Palmers Reise von einem Leben, das von Angst und der Sehnsucht getrieben wird, akzeptiert zu werden, zu einem Leben, in dem er das Selbstvertrauen gewinnt, für das einzustehen, woran er glaubt.
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Storyboard-Text
Favorite Scene in WRINGER by Jerry Spinelli
A turning point in the novel is when Palmer finally confesses his feelings to Dorothy. He has been dreading turning 10 since he was 5 and witnessed his first Family Fest. He was horrified by the shooting of the pigeons and the jobs of the wringers. Since then, he hasn't confided in anyone; his father won the shoot one year and his friends in the gang can't wait to be wringers. Dorothy is the only one who sees Palmer. She gives him simple and straightforward advice. Sometimes the best course of action is the simplest. Be true to yourself. However, that doesn't mean that it is easy to follow.
"Then don't." . . . "If you don't want to be a wringer, don't be a wringer."
"Tears filled his eyes. He let go. “I don’t want to be a wringer. But everybody else is a wringer when they’re ten, and I’m going to be ten in seventy-one days, and then I’m going to have to be a wringer too but I don’t want to. So what kind of a kid am I? Everybody wants to kill pigeons but me. What’s the matter with me?” He said it all. He said things he had been thinking and feeling for years."