Tunes for Bears to Dance To
Robert Cormier
 Henry’s family moves to a new town to run away from the memories of their recently passed son, Eddie, who was hit by a car in which the driver instantly drove away, never to be seen again. Henry’s father is traumatized by Eddie's death and becomes very quiet and no longer works, while Henry's mother works long hours in order to support their family. Another problem Henry faces is that there is no stone to mark Eddie's grave. Henry also contributes to his family by working at a grocery store for a man named Mr. Hairston, a deceptive old man who makes rude comments about the townsfolk that would walk by his store. He is a perfectionist, which is why he insults many people, including his wife and daughter. He appears to have a special liking to Henry. Every day, Henry watches a curious old man leave the 'crazy house' near his apartment and disappear down the street. Henry follows him one day to an art center, where he meets him in person and learns his name is Mr. Levine and he is a holocaust survivor who lost his family to the SS. He goes to the art center every day to carve out a model of his old hometown town. One day, Henry tells Mr. Hairston about Mr. Levine, who becomes strangely interested. Later, Henry asks Mr. Hairston if he can somehow find him a good gravestone to put over Eddie's grave, which he, surprisingly, agrees to buy for him. However, Mr. Hairston one day tells Henry that he'll be fired at the end of the week for no reason. Further into the week, Mr. Hairston tells Henry that he'll let him keep the job and the sculpture at one condition: destroy Mr. Levine's model village. He also said he had close relationships with Henry's principal and his mother's boss and threatens to have his mother fired and his school reputation collapse if he was not to do what Mr. Hairston wants. The reward, if Henry was to destroy the replica village would be: raise his mom's pay, let him keep his job, and give him the grave sculpture. Not knowing what he should do, he stays at the art center overnight just in case and was about to destroy the village with a mallet. Henry decides not to smash it, but a rat startles him and he drops the tool on the village, destroying part of it. On his way home, Mr. Hairston waits for him somewhere on the street and explains why he wanted the village destroyed: "Because he's a Jew" and to torment Henry by taking away his title of 'good boy'. Henry then says that he does not want the rewards Mr. Hairston offers. A few weeks afterwards, Henry and his family move back to the town they lived in previously.