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An Unlikely Friendship by Ann Rinaldi I just finished reading this book by my favorite historical novel author. Do you know who, as a young girl, knew she wanted to live in the White House someday? Do you know what it would be like to have to bite off heads of worms and eat them as punishment? Another young girl lived in this atmosphere but she grew up wanting to create gowns for the ladies in the White House. As adults, the paths of these two women crossed, making An Unlikely Friendship"a great story. (2007) [4/07] |
Junior Fiction Book Reviews |
Tomorrow, the River by Dianne E. Gray It is 1896 when fourteen-year-old Megan sets out on an adventure from Prairie Hill, Nebraska, to visit her sister's family who live on a river boat, the Oh My, that works the Mississippi River. First, she must take her first train ride where she finds she can't always mind her mother's many rules for traveling and where she meets an assortment of characters--one that comes to her mind often. Inserted newspaper articles let the reader in on events that Megan doesn't know about and adds to the story. Life on the river boat is much different than her life had been Prairie Hill. You must read Tomorrow, the River to find out how she survives, discovers her true passion and reconnects with that special someone. I like to see maps, glossaries, etc., in books I read and this book has a map of the river and a floor plan of the Oh My. This book was a Minnesota Book Award finalist. (2006) [4/07] |
Holding Up the Earth by Dianne E. Gray I liked Tomorrow, the River so much that I read another of her books, which has earned among other awards, a Willa Literary award, placed on a Kansas State Reading Circle Recommended Book list and a ALA Best Book for Young Adults list. The book is also recommended for mother/daughter reading groups. If anyone has read Together Apart by this author, let me know what you think about it. I haven't found a copy of it yet. In Holding Up the Earth Fourteen-year-old Hope's mother died in a car accident putting her in foster care eight years ago and it has been rough. And now she ends up at her latest foster mother's childhood home on a Nebraska farm which is not her cup of tea--she likes the hustle and bustle of the big city. But through hearing the stories of other girls who lived on this farm beginning in 1869, Hope begins to find her niche and she begins to put down roots and accepts her new family and new family. This book received the Willa Award 2001, the American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults 2001, the Oklahoma Library Association Sequoyah "Best of the Best" Award, and was a 2002-2003 Nebraska Golden Sower Nominee. (2000) [4/07] |
A Friend at Midnight by Caroline B. Cooney LIly gets through her parents divorce, her mother's remarriage, the new baby. But when her father pulls an unfavorgivable dirty trick on her little brother, Michael, Lily learns what hate is and she questions how God can let such a thing happen. Lily wonders about the sermon her pastor has taken from Luke 11:5-13 about, if asked, being a friend at midnight, and why it didn't work for her brother in his time of need--if God was paying attention. Lily's feelings and secrets almost destroy her family. She makes an astounding discovery at the conclusion of the story. (2006) [4/07] |
Letters from a Slave Boy by Mary E. Lyons Did you read Letters from a Slave Girl by this author? It's the story of Harriet, a slave, who spent seven years in her grandmother's attic to escape the cruelty of her owner. Her two children never knew she was in the same house they lived and she could only watch them from her hiding place. Now in this new novel, we have Harriet's son, Joseph, who also escapes slavery leaving North Carolina for New York City where he finds his mother. To buy his family's freedom he signs up on a whaling ship which gives him an experience but not much else. He then moves on to California and Australia to find his fortune. Both of these stories are based on real-life stories. The book gives a list of characters, background information, photographs of the time period, a short glossary, a suggested reading list. I like that! (2007) [4/07] |
Desperate Journey by Jim Murphy Maggie's family who work a boat on the Erie Canal in 1848 that does not make life an easy one. When Maggie's father and uncle are arrested for brawling and her mother becomes ill, it becomes the rsponsibility of Maggie and her brother to deliver a boatload of equipment by a deadline for the money the family needs to survive. There is a map showing the Erie Canal that was built because it was thought at the time a canal was cheaper than building a road--a piece of history I didn't know before I read this book. It was interesting to read how the canals work, the role of mules and the lifestyle of the canal community. (2006) [4/07] |
There are a lot of books out there--some are really, really good, some are ok and some are really bad. I'm hoping this page will help you pick a good book. I love talking books with other people, children and adults alike. Let me know what you think of the books on my list or tell me about a book you've read. * indicates my Library does not have the book. You can interlibrary borrow books, a great Library service that is easy, quick and free. |
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson I love stories based on fact about brave women that make me cry and so I wholeheartedly recommend this one. Hattie is orphaned and after spending her early years unhappily living with relatives, she receives a letter that informs her that an uncle she never knew has left her his homestead in Montana. Her future suddenly has hope as she travels west in 1917 at sixteen to her new independent life. Her struggle, strength and steadfastness, set against World War I issues, make a great story based on the experiences of the author's step-great-grandmother, Hattie Inez Brooks. If you would like to learn about your own family and state history, the author suggests visiting www.usgenweb.com. This book received a 2007 Newbery Honor award. (2006) [5/07] |
Rover by Jackie French Any story with a dog in it is sure to come to my house. Hekja, a fatherless poor girl is given the runt of a litter of pups that no one else in the village wants. He is given his True Name of Riki Snarfari which means Mighty Sailor or Rover who travels fast.When Vikings invade Hekja's village, she and her dog are kidnapped and travel the seas with Freydis, a fearless, brave Viking woman who bows to no man. Freydis searches for Vinland to colonize and to prove herself as a leader inspite of being a woman. It is known that Freydis Eriksdottir, the daughter of Erik the Red who discovered and founded Greenland, did make this voyage around 1002 AD. Did I google Vinland? Of course, I did! (2007) [5/07] |
Together Apart by Dianne E. Gray Blaming herself for the death of her two younger brothers during a fierce winter storm, Hannah must find peace within . Such a storm, labeled "The Big Blizzard" or "The School Children's Blizzard", did hit Nebraska and surrounding states on January 12, 1888, with hundreds of children attending school that day, being caught by the storm and losing their lives. This story is told by Hannah and her friend, Isaac, as they both struggle with making their way through life's bitter experiences. They are lucky enough to work for a wealthy widow with unpopular opinions about women rights and other social issures and lots of love. (2002) [5/07] |
Factory Girl by Barbara Greenwood The next time your mother asks you to take your washed, folded or hung clean laundry to your room and you moan and groan, I suggest you read this book. This is fictionalized story based on fact about the hardships Emily and her family face in the early 1900s when Emily's father leaves the family to find work out west. As a clipper girl in a sewing factory, working eleven hours a day, Emily makes $4 a week to support her family, living in squalor and hopeless conditions. Photographs and factual accounts of people and events are included describing the plight of child labor that we can't imagine today. (2007) [6/07] |
Maude March on the Run! by Audrey Couloumbis This sequel to The Misadventures of Maude March is in...or out, as the case may be (I will return the book to the library tomorrow, I promise). In both books, Maude appears to be a victim of circumstance, wrongly accused of being a bank robber, a killer, a rabble rouser. The outlaw and her little sister, Sallie, find refuge out West with Uncle Arlen when Mad Maude is caught and jailed with a bunch of other bad guys. Sallie helps her sister make a daring escape and they continue to try to clear Maude's name. (2007) [7/07] |
Firehorse by Diane Lee Wilson Do you like stories about young girls who are determined to follow their dreams against opposition of family and the times? Do you like stories about horses? Do you like stories based on true events? This is the book for you...and me. Rachel loves horses and her dream is to become a veterinary in a time when women were not educated or did not do "men's work". In the early days horses, who loved their job, were used as the power to move firefighting equipment and were acclaimed as heroes. This story is based on a deadly summer in 1872 in Boston which destroyed 775 buildings and an epidemic that killed a massive number of horses, that hindered the firefighting effort. (2007) [7/07] |
Cracker! by Cynthia Kadohata As I read this story,I kept thinking this author must have been a dog in another life! The story is about a dog, Cracker, who serves her country duriing the Vietnam War. She often wonders about her first owner, Will, who never came back to her and then she meets Rick. Cracker takes pride in her work with Rick and when she is separated from him, her loyalty to him and her determination to find him are so heartrending. While good records were not kept, Kadohata says at least 4,000 dogs served during the Vietnam War, credited with saving 10,000 human lives. About 1000 dogs died from combat or disease. At the end of the War, some 200 dogs were sent to other military bases with the rest euthanized or given to the South Vietnamese Army, their fate unknown. (2007) [9/07] A 2007-2008 Wyoming Indian Paintbrush Book Award Nominee |
Midnight Rider by Joan Hiatt Harlow Sometimes you just have to do it--even if it's 1775 and you're a girl. Hannah's life changes dramatically when her parents die and her aunt sells her as an indentured servant to the household of the British general, Thomas Gage, who is at war with the colonies during the American Revolutiion. When there is no one else, Hannah rises to the occasion with her horse, Promise, to warn her friends of a British march on her hometown. (2005) [9/07] A 2007-2008 Wyoming Indian Paintbrush Book Award Nominee |
The Rising Star of Rusty Nail by Lesley M. M. Blume Do you have have a passion and are willing to do anything to follow your dream? Well, Frannie plays the piano and she knows she's the best. But she also knows she headed nowhere in this one-traffic-light small town of Rusty Nail in Minnesota until she beats the odds and social backbiting by begging and working to convince a well-known pianist, new to the town, to give her a chance. Frannie must deal with her own issues while hearing this newcomer accused of being a communist during an era in American history in the 1950's when such accusations were often made, harming many people and families. (2007) [9/07] |
Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M. M. Blue I liked The Rising Star of Rusty Nail by Blume so much, I decided to read this title, as well. I started reading the book, thinking why involve a character like Cornelia--just tell the story of the Somerset sisters. But you need Cornelia to make the story complete. She is lonely. She doesn't have any friends, she never met her father, her mother, a renown pianist, is always away playing concerts or vacationing. And then Virginia Somerset moves in next door and Cornelia finds a friend, one who understands her and her love of words and who tells the best stories. |
Way Down Deep by Ruth White A child is discovered on the courthouse steps in the small town of Way Down Deep, West Virginia, in 1944. She tells them her name is "Woo-bee" and not much else. In time, Ruby loves Miss Arbutus who took her in, The Roost, the boardinghouse where she grew up, the town of characters who return her love but she always wonders where she came from and why she was abandoned. After a newcomer to the town drops a hint, Ruby does learn of her past. Then she must decide--can she go back to a family she doesn't know, can she leave Miss Arbutus and her friends, or can she successfully combine the past and present? (2007) [11/2007] |
Eulalia written by Brian Jacques, illustrated by David Elliot Mad (the Hon.) Maudie Mugsberry Tropple, a haremaid, is sent on a mission to find the next Badger Lord of Salamandastron. During her quest, she joins the forces of the Guosim to save Redwall from the evil Captain Viska Longtooth and his sea raiders and Gruntan Kurdly, leader of a huge horde of brownrats. Maudie, being a girl and all that, plays a big part in their defense with smart and clever moves and her mission is accomplished, as well. Good story! I would like to see an illustrated list of characters because I often spend time wondering about the characterictics of each animal. There is a fun cookbook if you wish you could try some of the dishes mentioned in the books, The Redwall Cookbook by Jacques (J641.5). Click here for the other titles in the Redwall Series. (2007) [12/07] |
Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan What a story! Maya's parents die and she is left in the care of her father's mother who blames Maya's mother for all of the sadness in her life. Maya is lonely and melancholy, living with her angry, cold and domineering grandmother. About all she knows is that her father loved to paint and her mother loved horses. The grandmother burned all of Maya's father's paintings and demands that Maya's mother's name is never mentioned. Then suddenly, Maya finds herself on her way to Wyoming to meet and live with her mother's family. Here she sees her father's art in a painting of horses for the first time and connects with her mother's love of horses, as her path crosses with Artemisia, a wild horse her mother once rode. (2007) [12/07] Go my Links page for more information about wild horses. |
Iron Thunder: The Battle Between the Monitor and the Merrimac by Avi I can't believe what you can learn when you just pick up a book because it's written by a favorite author. So when you think about the Civil War and the conflicts at sea, do you picture wood boats with sails? I did until I read this book. This is the story of two iron ships, the Monitor manned by the Union Navy, and the Merrimac, called the Virginia by some, manned by the Confederates. The Union is desperate to get the Monitor finished and into the water, leading the crew into the battle not knowing what this contraption will do or if it will even float. In the end, both sides claim victory of the battle but the Monitor, the smaller of the two ships with less crew and guns, accomplished what its captain wanted--to protect the Minnesota and its crew. I wonder if this ship could be a forerunner of a submarine since all that is above water is the turret with its two cannons, the pilothouse and floor (..or should I say "deck"?). The galley, living quarters and mechanics are under the waterline. There are pictures, a map and glossary included. (2007) [12/07] Go to my Did You Know... page for more information, pictures and, yes, even a vacation idea! |
The Ever-After Bird by Ann Rinaldi I have a few reservations about this story but Rinaldi is my most favorite author in historical fication and I love learning from her. CeCe is mistreated by her father who she believes blames her for the death of her mother at her birth. CeCe is 13 years old when her father dies in 1851 during the slavery unrest, and she is taken in by an uncle, the extreme oppposite of his brother by being kind and seemingly understanding. He immediately insists that she accompany him on a bird study trip with hopes of sighting a scarlet-ibis, the Ever-After Bird, which has special meaning to slaves. CeCe never understood her father's efforts to help slaves travel the Underground Railroad and now finds her uncle is involved in the same dangerous business during this trip to slave-holding plantations in the South. CeCe also learns her uncle often kills birds to paint pictures of them which she questions. In addition, she is asked to pretend that her uncle's assistance, Earline who is a rescued freed slave, is her maid as a slave during this trip. Earline's (questionable, in my opinion) disastrous decision and the trip in general exposes CeCe to many horrors of slavery. (2007) [12/07] |
The Legend of Thunderfoot by Bill Wallace Life can be the pits for you and me sometimes, but a roadrunner can have his issues, as well. Thunderfoot and his sister are turned out of their nest by their parents because it is time...it is the law. But what if you're not ready.? What if you're embarrassed by your name, even though you know your parents picked the only name they could? What if you were bitten by a rattlesnake and you are still alive but your feet are huge and clumsy and everyone laughs at you? Can you survive the humility?? Can you find true love? Can you be a hero? More important...can you become a legend? You will find out when you read this story by another of my most favorite authors. (2006) [1/08] |
Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury This is a good book for Boy Scouts! Dylan is looking forward to camping with his Hilo, Hawaii, scout troop in Halape that sits below a volcano until he learns a tough kid, Louie, has been invited to join them even though he is not a scout. He is also bothered by dogs he sees, especially when a Hawaiian cowboys tells stories about the Goddess Pele who appears as a dog to foretell trouble. And then in the middle of the night it happens, there is an 7.2 earthquake and a tsunami that injures and scatters everyone and Dylan and Louie must team-up and to save the other scouts, leaders and the cowboys. This event truly happened to the author's cousin in 1975. (2007) [1/08] |
Feathers by Jacquelline Woodson This book received its inspiration from a piece of poetry written by Emily Dickinson about hope. Frannie has many questions as she watches life around her. A new student to her class, nicknamed Jesus Boy, spurs Frannie to see people and events that surround her in new ways, developing an understanding that gives her peace. This story resonants with pearls of wisdom such as how each day holds moments of memory and some of them might be perfect and those will stay with us forever. This book would be a great choice for a group discussion. Woodson has received a Newbery Honor Award for 2008 for this book and received the same award in 2006 for another book, Show Way. (2007) [1/08] |
A Bear Named Trouble by Marion Dane Bauer * This story is based on a real bear who was named Trouble as he repeatedly broke into the Alaska Zoo. Apparently he was lonely and wanted to make friends with a bear who lived at the zoo. When Trouble was captured and offered a home by the Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth, MN, he traveled to the zoo free on a passenger airplane with 40,000 pounds of salmon. (2005) [1/08] |
A Dog's Life by Ann M. Martin From now on, when I see a dog that appears to be frightened, scrawny, unfriendly, I will remember this story which is the life story of a dog named Squirrel by her mother. Squirrel and her brother were born to a stray dog, not a way of life they would have chosen. Their mother takes very good of her babies but one day she disappears and now Squirrel must learn to survive in a mostly cruel and uncaring world filled with months of unbearable cold. The saddest, saddest part of this story is when a family adopts Squirrel, slowly forgets she is part of their family and inhumanely abandons her at the end of their summer vacation in such an unforgivable way. You must read this book to find out if Squirrel ever finds a better life. (2005) [3/08] A 2007-2008 Wyoming Indian Paintbrush Book Award Nominee |
The Redheaded Princess by Ann Rinaldi Elizabeth knew from and early age that she wanted to be Queen of England, even though things were stacked against that happening. Her father, Henry VIII, ordered her mother, Ann Boleyn, beheaded and Elizabeth was banned from court, living in poverty in spite of her station. She had a younger brother and older sister who were heirs to the crown. Being a female did not work for her either but she just kept imagining herself as Queen. With all the cruelty, turmoil, and treachery that is related in this story, the reader learns that life could be uncertain and unsafe for someone in Elizabeth's position, as well as others. Rinaldi has also written Nine Days a Queen about Jane Eyre who is plays a part in this story. (2008) [4/08] |