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The Magic Mirror by Zetta Elliott. Illustrations by Paul Melecky. Rosetta Press, 2014. Review copy. Kamara suffers from the mean words of a boy at school until her Gramma comforts her and shows her the ancient mirror kept in a back bedroom of her old house. Kamara willingly cleans Gramma's mirror and discovers a magical storytelling window into her own family history. Generations of brave,
Release date: August 26, 2014
When a strange boy shows up at 11-year old Ellie's house, he looks a lot like Ellie's grandfather, a scientist who's obsessed with immortality. But could it really be Grandpa Melvin? The reader needs to suspend his or her disbelief in this quirky new realistic fiction/fantasy mash-up from award-winning children's novelist Jennifer Holm, as Ellie and her friend from school try to help the suddenly teen-aged Melvin recover his newest invention from the lab--one that has made him young again. But Melvin has a lot of other problems to cope with--from doing his homework to dealing with his daughter who is now acting as his parent!
Holm mixes in lots of information about real scientists, and it's nice to see a novel in which the main character is fascinated by science and is a female. Ellie realizes that the great achievements of science, like those of Marie Curie and Robert Oppenheimer, can have their negative aspects as well, and the novel sensitively delves into these serious issues as well as whether immortality would be a good thing or not while maintaining a sense of humor in this appealing middle-grade novel. Back matter includes recommended resources on science and famous scientists mentioned in the novel that are appropriate for middle-grade readers.
Highly recommended!
Recommended for ages 7-10.
My 18-year old son is an accomplished magician, and started to get into magic around the age of eight--and if you talk to professional magicians, you'll find most of them because interested in magic at around that age. Because of this, I am always intrigued by new children's books featuring kid magicians, particularly those featuring "regular kids", i.e. not of the Harry Potter variety.
The Vanishing Coin is the first volume of a promising new series for those just getting into chapter books (i.e. of the Magic Treehouse/Junie B. Jones difficulty level). This book features an awkward fourth grader named Mike, who seems to suffer from ADHD (but no talk about meds in this book). His parents have made him quit soccer so he can focus more on school work, but staying on task is an endless struggle for him. Is there anything that he's good at?
When he and his neighbor Nora (who's annoyingly good at everything) discover a dusty old magic store, complete with a colorful owner (shades of Bruce Coville's Magic Shop series), Mike feels an instant connection--and discovers that he's really good at magic tricks. Will this help him fit in in 4th grade and even deal with the school bully?
Because the book is co-written by a magician, Mike Lane, it includes directions to do actual magic tricks discussed in the book--i.e. the reader can learn tricks right along with Mike. This is very appealing for young readers--combining the best of a chapter book and a to-do-magic book. The book is abundantly illustrated with appealing cartoon-style drawings by illustrator Eric Wight, author and illustrator of the Frankie Pickle series. The first in a series, The Vanishing Coin should be appealing to both boys and girls, particularly those who identify with a character trying to find his place in the world and feel "special."
Volume 2, The Incredible Twisting Arm, is already available as well. I'd love to see a great website to go along with this series, featuring links to sites of appropriate magicians, magic tricks, magic history, etc.
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| Author Sandy Brehl |
I am delighted to participate in the blog tour for an exciting new historical fiction novel for middle-grade readers,
Odin's Promise: A Novel of Norway, by author
Sandy Brehl. Sandy kindly consented to answer a number of questions about her book for this blog.
Q: World War II continues to supply inspiration for movies, television, adult books, and children's books, with no signs that interest in the war is abating as it becomes part of the more distant past for today's young people. How would you explain the continued fascination with this conflict?A: It’s true that WWII has a sustained interest among young readers and their families, too. I would have thought with our many recent years of war that it would not be the case. Despite our war-weary society, World War II seems to hold a unique place in the hearts of even the youngest. Perhaps it’s seen as that one war when, despite graphic horrors and destruction, loss of lives, and even documented atrocities, good really overcame evil. It was also followed by world-unifying efforts, like support for refugees, restoration of cities, and the creation of the United Nations. Even if young people aren’t aware of those aspects, they seem to understand that WWII has an aura of decency and validity that so many other conflicts lack.The unequivocal ruthlessness of Hitler, Japan, and Mussolini versus a world united not only in self-defense but in the name of freedom makes it a sort of “poster child” for what a “good war” would be. Few before or since have had such a clear mission.
Q: What inspires you to write historical fiction for young people? A: First, I enjoy reading historical fiction, for all ages. In this case specific stories I heard about the war years while visiting Norway took root in my mind and wouldn’t let go. The research that ensued made me eager to discover and tell this story. I write contemporary middle grade novels, too, and picture book texts, but several historical fiction stories have sprouted “seedlings” in my mind from stories my parents, grandparents, and even local characters have shared. I’ve begun to trust that a time will come when each will grow to harvest when the time is right.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about why you decided to set a story in Norway at this time and how you researched this difficult time in their history?
A: First, I’m not Norwegian. A good friend is the daughter of a Norwegian immigrant, though, and she invited me to travel with her to her father’s home village. On that first trip I fell in love with the country- the people, the landscape, the values, the lifestyle. We stayed with her family on that visit and another. I experienced such genuine hospitality, good humor,generosity, and national pride of the purest type that I felt at home there immediately. Pictures and stories they shared focused on their family before, during, and after the war years. One particular story of resistance seemed like a book waiting to be written. Despite my best efforts over several decades, that story couldn’t seem to find its footing. Revisions, critiques, and shifts in genre, target audience, or focus weren’t enough to bring success. My readings and research into that era continued until I finally found one work by a Norwegian scholar, Stokker. It featured journal entries from the war years, including some by children Mari’s age. That’s when those earlier readings, writings, and research found their way into Mari and her family. The story incorporates many documented details of underground resistance, but the characters are all fictional.
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| Photo of coastal Bergen,Norway--the village where the book takes place is on the other side of the mountains |
Q: What made you decide to put a dog, Odin, at the center of your novel?
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| Norwegian Elkhound |
A: I’ve had dogs most of my life, and while I was in Norway I saw how much dogs are integral members of families there. When I began to imagine Mari’s role in her family as a shy youngest child, it was the most natural thing in the world for her to have a companion dog. I knew her story and circumstances would require her to grow and change, to discover her strengths and define herself as an individual. Odin and his loyalty to the family played an essential part in that process. I never had an elkhound, but the more I learned about the breed, its intelligence and courage, and its role as a national breed, the more certain I was that Odin was the best friend Mari could ever have.
Q: I especially liked the way your novel does not portray the Nazis as black and white or 100% evil. Was it important to you to show that some of the Nazi soldiers may have been young men not very different from the Norwegian young men of the village of Ytre Arna, where Odin's Promise is set?
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| Ytre Arna, mid-20th century (from the collection of Knut Naevdal and the Ytre Arna Historielag (Museum) |
A: Although I didn’t write this to convey a “message”, it was very important to me to avoid stereotyping any of the characters. That includes the villagers who cooperated with the Nazi occupiers. We can’t always choose the circumstances of our lives, yet we can make conscious choices about how we deal with them. The hard truth is that those choices are seldom clear-cut, black-and-white, yes-or-no. Mari’s journey involves her growing recognition of this challenging truth.
Q: With the adoption of the Common Core, do you think that historical fiction will become more popular as a genre?A: I hope so, just as I hope quality literature becomes a more central part of every subject. My concern is less with the standards than with the emphasis on high-stakes testing. When testing drives the curriculum, all too often school districts adopt various packaged materials, many of which are produced by the testing publishers themselves. Authentic, engaging, rich literature (novels, non-fiction, picture books) should be used in every subject area, and historical fiction can play a major role in helping young people not just learn to read, but to love reading.
Q: In addition to publishing this novel, you blog about picture books at Unpacking the Power of Picture Books. Can you share with us a little about your work with picture books?A: I spent nearly forty years as an elementary teacher, working in classrooms and with special needs students, from pre-school to middle grade. Whenever someone hears you are a teacher they ask, “What do you teach?” At the risk of sounding like a smart-mouth I would always answer “Kids!” then quickly explain that I regularly changed grade levels, subjects, and focus groups because I loved working with kids at all the different stages of their young lives. At every age or grade it’s the child I teach, not the subject. These changes allowed me to read, share, and explore a wide array of children’s literature. I loved helping established readers rediscover the depth and richness of picture books, those “baby books” they thought they had outgrown. I was writing throughout those years, mainly in summer. That included academic articles on ways picture books work for all ages to improve literacy and comprehension. When I retired a few years ago it was to read, write, and teach, but this time to teach adults instead of kids. I teach professional development workshops for teachers, childcare workers, and librarians on the power of picture books to develop the highest quality readers and thinkers. I also do presentations on this topic for reading conferences.Many of the titles I share in those workshops are non-fiction and historical fiction.
Q: Can you share with us what books are on your nightstand or e-reader?A: I always have a half-dozen or more picture books in a stack, to add reviews on Goodreads or use them for my blogs. That stack turns over every week or so, but as I write this it includes:
God Got A Dog, by Cynthia Rylant and Marla Frazee;
Nest, by Jorey Hurley;
Founding Mothers, by Cokie Roberts with illustrations by Diane Goode;
Ezra Jack Keats:A Biography with Illustrations, by Dean Engel and Florence B. Freedman;
A Dance Like Starlight, by Christy Dempsey and Floyd Cooper, and
A Home For Mr. Emerson, by Barbara Kerley and illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham. In the MG category I just finished:
From Norvelt to Nowhere by Jack Gantos and
Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman. Now reading, or waiting in the stack, are:
The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg,
Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord;
Seven Stories Up, by Laurel Snyder,
Sure Signs of Crazy, by Karen Harrington,
Slob, by Ellen Potter, and
A Snicker of Magic.
Thanks so much, Sandy, for your thoughtful responses!
The Jewish holiday, Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, begins on Monday night, April 28. In honor of the millions who perished, as well as those who survived, I wanted to share with my readers an interview with author
Maryann Macdonald of
Odette's Secrets (
reviewed here at the Fourth Musketeer last month). This novel tells the story of a young French girl who was hidden during the Nazi occupation, and thus survived the Holocaust. Thanks so much, Maryann, for visiting my blog today.
Q: There are so many books, even for young readers, that deal with World War II, particularly the European side of the conflict. Yet there are still so many stories to tell, with more books coming out every year. Please tell us how you discovered the true story of Odette, and why you considered it important to tell her story to young readers.
A: When I learned that 86% of French Jewish children survived the Holocaust by going into hiding, I was astonished. How had these children managed to reinvent themselves so successfully, I wondered? And how had it affected them? Then, by chance, I found "Doors to Madame Marie," a memoir by Odette Meyers at the American Library in Paris. I was so touched by Odette's story of her experience as a hidden child in France. I especially loved her description of the struggles she went through with all the necessary deception that was required to stay successfully hidden, and the affect this had on her developing identity. I had never seen a book that told this particular story about WWII, and I wanted to create a children's book about it for today's readers. Although Odette had passed away some years earlier, I learned that her son Daniel was alive and living in Paris. I called him and we met. He told me he that his mother had often told her story in schools, churches and synagogues, and he was sure that she would want it to live on. So I began the process of trying to recreate Odette's story for today's young readers.  |
| Right above the door is Odette's Paris apartment |
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| Odette and Mama (photographer and family later deported) |
Q: Why did you decide to tell this particular story in free verse, rather than a more conventional prose style?
A: My first draft of Odette's Secrets was in third person. I wanted the story to be as accurate as possible, but I felt this version was too dry. Then I remembered that Odette loved poetry, and even thought its beauty helped her to survive her ordeal. She grew up to become a professor of literature, and wrote poetry of her own. So I set about telling Odette's story in first person, in blank verse, to access more accurately Odette's childhood voice. I wanted the book to seem as though Odette herself was telling her story to children. This turned the book into fiction, but nearly every single recorded detail is true. |
| Odette's godmother, Madame Marie |
Q: Many of your many prior books for young people are picture books rather than novels. Did you ever consider telling Odette's story in a picture book format?
A: I have written many picture books, but also one other middle grade novel and quite a few chapter books. My latest effort is a young adult novel. At first I thought Odette's Secrets might be a picture book, but there was just too much story to tell. It is now slotted in for 10-14 year-old's, but I have heard from readers as young as 8. One of my oldest readers was himself a hidden child. He wrote to me to say he thought I had captured the experience quite accurately.
Q: In the current publishing climate, with the wild success of the Wimpy Kid series, dystopian novels like Hunger Games, and the continued popularity of fantasy series in the Harry Potter style, do you have any advice on how librarians, parents, and teachers can encourage children to explore historical fiction like Odette's Secrets?
A: I have developed a teacher's guide for "Odette's Secrets," which is downloadable on my website, www.maryannmacdonald.com. It offers many ways to draw readers into the book. Obviously, linking the story with the history curriculum, with Holocaust Remembrance Day, and with National Poetry Month might help. Not every book suits every reader, but Odette's Secrets has found many appreciative readers. Fans of this genre can discover other great WWII books I've enjoyed, from picture books on up, on the "Odette's Secrets" FB page.
Q: Can you share with us five children's books that made a big impact on you as a young person?
A: Like so many young girls of my time, I fell in love with the Little House Books, especially "Little House on the Prairie." Now that I think of it, that series has some similarities with Odette's Secrets: adventure, family closeness, life-threatening danger. I read every book in our local library on pioneer life, too. But I also loved books about England, especially "The Secret Garden," "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," and "Mary Poppins." I think my love of English children's literature was partly responsible for the fact that when I grew up, I went to live in England for 23 years. And again, like so many girls of yesterday and today, I loved Nancy Drew. My granddaughter loves her, too.
Q: What books are currently on your nightstand? (or in your e-reader, if you prefer your books in that format?)
A: I just read "The Hare with the Amber Eyes" with my book group. I enjoyed that in paperback, but I LOVE my Kindle, too, and take it everywhere. Now I live in New York City, so I get a lot of reading done on the subway, so take my Kindle everywhere in my handbag. I'm reading "The Unlikely Pilgrimmage of Harold Fry" by British writer Rachel Joyce on it right now. I also listen to books on my I-Pod while walking in Central Park and while cooking. My latest cooking favorite is "The Hobbit" by Tolkein and my latest walking favorite is "City of Thieves," by David Benioff, about the siege of Leningrad. Background reading gets fitted in at the library and just before bedtime.
Recommended for ages 8-12.Beloved British author Shirley Hughes is best known for her delightful picture books about preschooler
Alfie and his toddler sister Annie Rose. In 2012, at the ripe age of 84, she published in Great Britain her first children's novel,
Hero on a Bicycle, which was published in 2013 by Candlewick here in the U.S.
Set in Florence in 1944, this novel centers around thirteen-year old Paolo. He hates the Nazis but feels powerless--he's stuck between being a child and being old enough to be useful. Paolo lives with his mother, Rosemary, an English woman who married an Italian, and his teenaged sister Constanza, a pretty girl who catches the attention of the Nazi officers stationed in town. Seeking a few thrills, Paolo rides his bicycle around town in the dark--past curfew. But when he runs into a group of partisans--Italian resistance fighters--he becomes their messenger. Soon his family is intimately involved, taking in downed Allied pilots, whom the resistance is trying to get to safety at the Allied lines. Soon Paolo and his family are literally on the front lines of the conflict, and Paolo will get his chance to play the hero--sooner than he may have expected.
This is a slim novel (at 213 pages) that is a good choice for younger readers who are interested in World War II. While providing plenty of suspense and a sense of danger, Hughes does not include any graphic violence in the novel that would be unsuitable for younger middle-grade readers. Most of the novels for young people about World War II seem to involve the Holocaust or Jewish issues in some way; this novel provides a different perspective, as it focuses on the partisans and the Allied soldiers to fought to free Italy from the Nazi occupiers.
Recommended for ages 9-12.
Release date: March 25, 2014
Award-winning Australian author
Sonya Hartnett returns to World War II in her latest historical novel for middle grade readers.
The Children of the King blends a paranormal ghost story with historical fiction; it takes place in England at the beginning of the Second World War, and the novel begins with the young and somewhat spoiled Cecily and her older brother Jemmy moving from their comfortable upper-class existence in London to the equally comfortable country home of their uncle, to be safe from bombs that are expected to soon begin falling on London. Their father, who appears to be someone important to the war effort, is left behind in London. Unlike other child evacuees, they are fortunate to be with their mother while other evacuees are taken in by total strangers. Cecily begs her mother for them to take in an evacuee too, and she chooses a young girl close to her own age named May. Cecily expects the younger May to be her little pet, obeying her in everything.
May, however, has a mind of her own, and soon is off exploring the countryside, where she discovers the ruins of an old castle. The castle is inhabited by two young brothers, dressed in fancy, old-fashioned clothes--are they evacuees who have run away from their new home? Or could they be something more amazing--and be somehow connected with the story that Uncle Peregrine tells them (and the reader) in bits and pieces? This story is the history of Richard III and the nephews he imprisoned in the Tower of London. The young princes' story is interwoven with that of the three modern children, all of whom are coping with the war in their own way. Hartnett does not spare the reader from some very vivid descriptions of the London bombings, which are contrasted with the peaceful existence in the countryside.
This is a beautiful and touching war story, with a ghost story woven in for good measure. As you might expect, the two stories intersect in a magical way toward the end of the novel (no spoilers). An afterword with some more information about the young princes in the tower and the London Blitz might have been a good addition, to provide some historical facts and context to go with the uncle's tales.
What better day for book trailers than a Saturday?
Books for middle graders and younger YA readers can be so enjoyable! The fun and adventure of life is still there, too soon to be replaced by the grit, horror and pain of aliens, vampires, classmates and just plain life. MG books often handle life’s complexities in a humorous or light-hearted manner. They relate to the younger readers and give them plenty of confidence in one’s abilities to find success.
Lenore Look has been writing the Alvin Ho books for a few years now. While I couldn’t find a trailer for her most recent book, Alvin Ho: allergic to babies, burglars and other bumps in the night (Schwartz and Wade Books) you will get a good introduction to Alvin in this trailer.
Mira in the present tense (Whitman Press) was written bySita Brahmachari, author of Artichoke Hearts. Although her issues are a little more intense than Alvin’s, she still has that confidence of youth on her side.
Filed under:
Saturday Trailers Tagged:
book trailers,
Lenore Look,
middle grades,
Sita Brahmachari 
Recommended for ages 8-12.
Award-winning author
Kimberly Newton Fusco really knows how to create strong female characters that stay with you long after you've finished her book. In her most recent book,
Beholding Bee, she weaves an especially magical and moving story that's perfect for middle-grade readers.
As the novel opens, we meet 11-year old Bee, who lives with a traveling carnival. It's 1942, and Bee's parents, carnival workers, were killed when she was four and she's been raised by a kindly young woman, Pauline. Bee fills her days chopping onions and helping at the carnival's hot dog cart. She has to deal with teasing about a prominent birthmark on her face, although her guardian Pauline suggests it's a precious diamond. In fact, the carnival owner only seems to be keeping Bee so that he can use her in his "freak show" when she's a little older. But when Bee's two best friends leave the carnival, Bee decides it's time to find a real home, and takes to the road with a stray dog as unwanted as she is and a small piglet.
Bee is taken in by two mysterious but kindly old women, Mrs. Swift and Mrs. Potter, who live in an old home that seems straight out of a fairy tale. Their clothes seem to come from another era, and curiously only Bee is able to see these women she calls her "aunts." For the first time, Bee goes to school, where she must cope with cruel bullying. Although she's put in a special education class where she clearly does not belong, at school she makes her first friend her own age. Gradually, Bee learns that there are people who care about her, and she learns to accept herself for who she is.
This is a lovely, lyrical, story filled with what Bookpage called "real magic"--"created by love and conjured up by need." Kimberly Newton Fusco manages to fuse magic and realism, love and cruelty, loneliness and hope into another novel that's a treasure for middle-grade readers (and adults who love to share books with children!)
Every Monday the Kidlit blogosphere hosts a round up of posts about children's and young adult nonficiton books. Today I am hosting with links from all over. If you have a post up leave a comment and put your unique URL in Mr. Linky below. Then come back later in the day or tomorrow to visit all the blogs.
My contribution is a recommendation of the book Hand in Hand; Ten Black men Who
The True Story of the Triple Nickles, American's First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone. Candlewick Press, 2013. (Review copy). Excellent nonfiction reading for grades 5 and up. During WWII America's first black paratrooper unit, the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, nicknamed the "Triple Nickles", was lead by First Sargent Walter Morris. Stone's fascinating book tells the story
Home Court by Amar'e Stoudemire. Scholastic, 2012. I bought this paperback for my fourth grade son. He loves all kinds of sports but is especially interested in skateboarding and basketball. Both of these sports are featured in an interesting combination of passions in the main character in Stoudemire's opening book of the series. "STAT" (standing tall and talented) is well written and fun to
by Louise Erdrich. Harper, 2012. (review copy for the Cybils Middle Grade Fiction list). This is the fourth book in Erdrich's Birchbark House series. I have enjoyed the entire series, including Birchbark House, The Game of Silence, and The Porcupine Year. The stories cover 100 years in the life of an Ojibwe family living in Minnesota in the 19th century. In Chickadee we meet twin boys who are
by Harvey Croze.Chicago Review Press, 2006. (review copy from IPG). I am enjoying this engaging, fascinating, factual book on the continent of Africa. It is full of colorful photos, maps, diagrams, artwork and detailed information on a wide variety of aspects of life in Africa. There are 19 features hands-on activities that children can complete with some help from an adult. All in all it is a
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| American cover |
Release date: January 22, 2013Recommended for ages 9-14.
Few foreign books for children wind up translated into English, perhaps not surprisingly given the plethora of titles published each year by American and English-speaking authors from Canada, England, Australia, and other countries. Often the ones that do make it for release in the U.S. are special titles, and that's the case with the new historical novel
Mister Orange by Dutch author
Truus Matti. This title is especially unusual because, although written originally in Dutch and first published in the Netherlands, the book takes place in New York City during World War II and the protagonist is a young American boy, Linus, whose brother has shipped off to fight on the European front.
Mr. Orange, as adults might guess who see the American cover (the Dutch cover looks completely different, as is often the case), is none other than the famous Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, who has moved to New York to escape the repressive political environment in Europe. With Linus' older brother off at the war, Linus inherits his grocery delivery route, and, unable to remember his customer's foreign name, dubs him Mr. Orange because of his twice monthly delivery of a box of oranges. The two strike up an unusual friendship, as Mr. Orange shares with Linus his unusual perspective on life. We learn, for example, how he attempted to capture in his work the raw energy of both boogie-woogie music and New York.
At home, Linus' family anxiously awaits word from Linus' brother Alfie, and each letter is eagerly devoured. At first, the war seems like something out of his brother's beloved super-hero comic books, with his brother the hero, until Linus reads part of a despairing letter that his parents tried to keep from him. As the real horrors of war hit home, Linus grows and changes as well. Can imaginary heroes like Mister Superspeed do any good in a world filled with so much uncertainty and horrors? Perhaps Mr. Orange can help Linus make sense of it all.
Back matter includes information on Piet Mondrian and his life in New York City in the 1940's. Also included are additional resources for reading, watching on the Internet, and where to find Mondrian's paintings in museums around the United States.
This is an top-notch historical novel that should appeal to boys as well as girls. It's filled with characters that young people can easily identify with, and also provides interdisciplinary content on World War II, the home front, and art. It can be effectively paired with a book on Mondrian or further exploration of the artist's works on the Internet in order to fully appreciate the mental images of his apartment and working style described in the book.
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| Dutch edition of Mister Orange |
Truss' first novel,
Departure Time, was a 2011 Batchelder Honor Book and I won't be surprised if this book is also recognized by that committee which awards honors to the most outstanding books originally published in a language other than English and then translated and published in the U.S.
Recommended for ages 8-12.Debut author
Stephanie J. Blake has written an appealing middle-grade novel about a heroine with an unusual name: Freedom Jane McKenzie. It's 1959, and Freedom is a tomboy through and through. She'd rather be playing marbles with the boys than engaging in more lady-like pursuits like tea parties and playing with Barbies. She dreams of winning the annual marble competition at the Autumn Jubilee, but it's not clear her mother will even let her enter, since her mom thinks marbles aren't proper for young girls. It's not easy growing up, particularly when your best friend (a boy, of course) doesn't want to have anything to do with you anymore, since he's getting teased for being friends with a girl. And on top of everything, your parents are constantly arguing over your dad's drinking. With her mother pregnant, Freedom has to take on plenty of chores at home, but still finds time to befriend the scary old lady who's their neighbor. Mrs. Zierk soon turns out to be the one person who has time to listen to Freedom, and soon is teaching her piano and jam-making.
Will Freedom become the Marble Queen, or will she have to give up her marbles and become a different person now that she's growing older?
This is a well-written story for 8-12 year olds; told with a humorous voice in the first person, the novel offers us an engaging heroine, a girl with plenty of spunk who we'd like living in our neighborhood. The author provides plenty of historical details about the era, including the building of bomb shelters, the novelty of television, having sundaes at the dime store, and the introduction of Barbie, among others, to give the book an authentic feel for the era. She also recreates effectively the pace of life at that period, when children roamed around their neighborhoods during the summer and after school without their parents fearing for their safety.
Freedom is a character I'd like to hear more from in the future.
by Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams, illustrated by Shadra Strickland. Turner, 2012. (Advance Review Copy). This is a fun twist on the fairy princess story. B. B. Bright, Princess of Light, is living on Bee Isle, floating in "Bright World" between "Other World" and "Raven World", where her parents used to be King and Queen until they got killed in a war. B. B. is cared for by three
by Christopher Paul Curtis. Wendy Lamb Books, 2012. (Library copy). If you are as much a fan of Christopher Paul Curtis as I am, you are going to enjoy this book. Deza, the main character in this book, is a 12 year old girl. She had a cameo appearance in Bud, Not Buddy, Curtis' 2000 award winner, when she met Bud in a hobo camp and struck up a brief friendship. In this volume she is the
Recommended for ages 9 and up.
Author
Gwenyth Swain brings stories of Ellis Island vividly to life through text and photographs in the beautifully rendered
Hope and Tears: Ellis Island Voices. She uses poetry, monologues, and dialogues combined with a selection of archival photographs to help us imagine Ellis Island at various stages of its existence, beginning in the late 1500's with a poem by a native Lenni Lenape boy.
Prose introductions provide background on each period of Ellis Island's history, from the processing of its first immigrant in 1892 to its busiest period in the early 20th century and beyond. In moving free verse, Swain chronicles all aspects of Ellis Island's life, from the arrivals, complete with their hopes and dreams, to the dreaded inspections, in which families could be separated and detained in hospital's on the island or even sent back if they were deemed "likely to become public charges." She doesn't forget the various workers on the island, from the nurses and aid workers to the clerks, cooks, and Salvation Army volunteers, who are pictured handing out doughnuts to hungry immigrants.
In the 1920's, when Congress put limits on immigration, Ellis Island became a place mostly used for deportation rather than immigration, and eventually was abandoned after 1954. But in the preparation for the nation's bicentennial, interest in Ellis Island as an important historical landmark surged, and in 1990, after many years of renovation and fundraising, the island reopened as an immigration museum. Additional poems mark this more recent period of Ellis Island's history as well, ending with a poem from a National Park Service employee, who remarks about the many visitors:
...maybe they feel what I feel./The sense that,/after all these years,/spirits live here,/along with all their hopes and tears.
This book would be perfect for a class performance as part of a unit on family history and immigration. There are many parts for boys and girls and only simple costumes--or no costumes at all--would be required.
Back matter includes source notes, a bibliography which includes websites, films, books, articles, and interviews, an index, and suggestions for going further in exploring the themes of this book.
Swain's website will also offer an extensive teacher's guide (available soon).
by Sally M. Walker, illustrated by Sean Qualls. HarperCollins Children's, 2012. (review copy) In the author's note at the end of this lovely middle grade picture book Sally Walker tell of how she first learned the real life story of Henry "Box" Brown's 1849 escape from slavery. She was a choir member and music lover, and was fascinated to later learn that Henry was a member of his church choir.
Lost in the Tunnel of Time by Sharon M. Draper. Aladdin, 2011. This middle grade adventure book is one in a series by Draper focusing on four high spirited boys living in Cincinnati. They've have been friends since first grade. In this story they are 10 years old and excited to go on a field trip to the Ohio River with their classmates and teacher Mrs. Powell. They are delighted to discover she
Freddie Ramos Springs into Action by Jacqueline Jules, art by Miguel Benitez. Albert Whitman, 2012. Freddie Ramos is a boy superhero. He has purple sneakers with "zapato power". When he is walking they are just like normal sneakers, but when he runs they ZOOM across the playground or down the street in a puff of smoke. The smoke can be a problem when grownups complain about it. The speed can be
I recently chose Chris Riddell's chapter book Ottoline and the Yellow Cat off the library shelves because of its whimsical cover (It's true! I judge!) and was delighted to see its setting was "Big City."
Ottoline Brown lives in Apartment 243 of the Pepperpot Building. Her parents are traveling the world and collecting interesting things (though they do keep in touch via postcards and sage tidbits of advice), and so Ottoline spends her days with the unusual Mr. Monroe. Mr. Monroe will probably remind the reader of Cousin It. One day, Ottoline notices a rash of burglaries around the city. Being a very good thinker, she sets out to solve them (with Mr. Monroe's help, of course). Along the way she encounters some shady feline and canine characters, but with a detailed and clever plan she sets a trap to catch the (ahem) cat burglar.
Chris Riddell crafts Ottoline's tale through a clever combination of text and intricate and amusing line drawings. Immediately I was put in mind of Eloise, but the narration of Ottoline's story relies much more on the drawings than Eloise's. The city setting is crucial to the story and adds the requisite air of mystery. There are plenty of intriguing, yet whimsical cityscapes, especially when Ottoline sets out at night, when her long shadow is dwarfed by towering buildings. A thieves' den in and old warehouse presents a quirky take on a hideaway you might see in an old 40s film noir, but a resident chihuahua named Fifi Fiesta Funny Face III, keeps us firmly in the world of children's books.
My sons and I really enjoyed Ottoline and the Yellow Cat as a read aloud, but it could easily be enjoyed by any child on his own, as long as they take plenty of time to examine the drawings.
Recommended.
Big Kid says: "Ottoline! Ottoline! Ottoline!"
Little Kid says: "Ottoline! Ottoline! Ottoline!"
(This was the chant they shouted every night when it was time for our read aloud.
Want More?
Visit the author's website.
Read more reviews at Charlotte's Library, books4yourkids or Kids Read.
There are more Ottoline books: Ottoline Goes to School and Ottoline at Sea.
Watch this you tube video of Chris Riddell drawing Ottoline:
Recommended for ages 8-12.
In her newest book, award-winning author
Margarita Engle turns to her own family history for inspiration. Set in 1912, this novel in verse brings to life the story of Engle's grandmother, Fefa, who grew up in Cuba afflicted by "word-blindness," the term used at that time for dyslexia. She struggles every time she is handed a book to read:
I know that the words
want to trick me.
The letters will jumble
and spill off the page,
leaping and hopping,
jumping far away,
like slimy
bullfrogs.
Her mother refuses to accept "the hissing doctor's verdict," and gives her daughter a book--a blank diary, or is it "an ordinary/schoolbook/filled with frog-slippery/tricky letters/that know how to leap/and escape?"
She tries to patiently write in her blank book each night, her "wild diary," and wonders how reading can look so easy, yet be so impossible? Will her wild book "ever seem tame?" She struggles on with her reading, reading slowly to sound out the words. What good can come of this word blindness? In a surprising twist, Fefa's careful powers of observation with the written word will end up helping to save her family from danger.
Engle's spare verse captures so eloquently 11 year old Fefa's frustration and yet fascination with words, reading, and writing, as well as the Cuba of yesteryear, a time when bandits roam the land, kidnapping children and holding them for ransom. The pages of the book are nearly as blank as the pages in Fefa's wild book, with the narrative told with few words but memorable poetic images. Fefa lives in the countryside on a farm, where her many sisters and brothers tease her and on her Sunday outings to town she strolls around the plaza with her cousin, while "girls just daydream/and smile." With a mama who loves poetry, words are a part of their every day family life, with her mother reading poetry out loud, and fairy tales filling Fefa's head. The poems are full of tiny details of the family's life in Cuba, such as making jewelry out of reeds from the river, and roasting a whole pig in a pit for a feast.
While this story deals with a serious learning disability, there is hope in the end for Fefa. This would be an excellent choice to read out loud with a child, which would allow the reader to hear the beauty of the verses and to discuss the story as well.
Recommended for ages 8-12.
Illustrator
Eugene Yelchin's first novel,
Breaking Stalin's Nose, is a brilliantly conceived expose of the horrors of life in Stalin's Russia, seen through the eyes of a very naive young boy. And since the book was recently recognized with a Newbery Honor, it is likely to make it onto the shelves of school and public libraries around the country.
Ten-year old Sasha has been dreaming of being a Soviet Young Pioneer ever since he can remember, and he can recite all the Young Pioneer laws by heart. He loves Comrade Stalin like a revered grandfather, but when the long-anticipated ceremony to be inducted into the Young Pioneers is finally to take place, everything seems to go wrong. When his father is taken away by the police, arrested as an enemy of the people, Sasha slowly begins to wonder if everything he has learned about Stalin and the Soviet state is a lie.
With its naive, optimistic narrator, this book reminded me very much of Morris Gleitzman's
Once, John Boyne's
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Jerry Spinelli's
Milkweed. Like the heroes in those novels, Sasha's naivete manages to be somehow funny and heartbreaking at the same time. Through his eyes, we see the incongruity of the Soviet propaganda and the realities of life in a society where even children were encouraged to inform on their parents.
Although there are many novels for children about World War II, there are few about Stalin's Russia, and this book definitely fills a gap in the literature.
Despite the sophisticated subject matter, the simplicity of the language in the book is suitable for children in elementary school, and would work well as discussion for a book club as well. Yelchin provided the dramatic graphite black and white illustrations for the book as well as the text.
An author's note provides some background on Stalin's reign of terror, and, paradoxically, how few people of Yelchin's generation (he grew up in the Soviet Union in the 1960's) were aware of the scale of Stalin's crimes, which were carried out in secrecy. There is also an excellent
website for the book, which allows users to click on various images to learn more about Stalin, Sasha's dad, the Young Pioneers, Sasha's school, Lubyanka Prison, and other topics dealt with in this slim but powerful book.
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This sounds like a fabulous book! Can't wait to read it. Thanks for the review.
Sounds wonderful for my 5th grader! Thanks for your great review!
Hope this one will be a great read. Thanks for the share!!
This sounds like a fabulous book! Your ability to share Information is a talent and very appreciated.
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