Nobody likes to think about kids being in the middle of war. Kids are a vulnerable population in the cross-fire of that adult insanity, and when they get wounded or killed, innocent lives have been taken. So, those of us lucky enough to live in peaceful countries try to raise our kids in a cotton-wool world where everyone is kind, and children are never in danger. Still, it’s good for kids to know about those who have been brave, even in the worst of times. That’s one reason to read and share Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars. Number the Stars documents the Danish Resistance’s effort to save the Jewish citizens of Denmark after Nazi Germany invaded their country. Officially, Denmark’s ruling government agreed to collaborate with the Nazi invaders; this allowed them to stay (nominally) in control so they could protect the citizens as much as possible. Unofficially, Danish citizens all over the country developed resistance cells to spy on and sabotage the invaders. After three years of fending off Resistance attacks, the Nazis decided to crack down Denmark. First, they took over Denmark’s government and policing authority; then they issued orders to deport all of Denmark’s Jews. In the…
Have you ever felt like a bunch of independent things were coming together to take you in a single direction? I have. Weird, isn’t it? Sometime this last fall, Amazon and the New York Times started mentioning “Wonder” as one of the middle-grade books of the moment. “Something special,” they said. Its blue-and-white cover was prominently displayed on the shelves of my local bookstore. Now, these entities know a fair amount about books but I don’t like being told what to read and bookstores always say they have something special when they want to grab more of my money. Then my sister (the teacher) insisted I had to read Wonder because of its narrative style By the time literary agents Jaida Temperly and Danielle Barthel cited Wonder as one of the stories middle-grade writers and readers should know, I was ready to surrender. I can resist a fair amount of hype but this felt more like directives from a superior force, pushing me toward the future. And they were right. Wonder is not just a book kids love reading right now, it’s one they will love to read for years. It’s a book many parents will love. It’s an absolute wonder…
Reynard “Rennie” Muldoon is. He’s one of those kids who does the crossword in ink, solves algebra problems in his head and tends to have few friends his own age. Well, the other kids think he’s strange. And he’s an orphan, to boot. So it’s good that he has a talent for Puzzles. A talent that could change his life. Rennie Muldoon is the central character in The Mysterious Benedict Society, one of those stories, like Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate events or James and the Giant Peach, that belong in the “Plucky Orphan” genre. Once again, kind and decent children are thrown onto the dubious mercies of the world with tasks that would defeat most adults. Once again there’s a picturesque, almost Dickensian quality to the narrative. The plus in this book (besides its marvellous story) is what makes Rennie Muldoon important. The tale is chock-full of puzzles. Rennie answers an ad for “Gifted Children looking for Special Opportunities” and is subjected to a series of tests that range from the usual time and speed math problems I never figured out to staged exams of his character and resourcefulness. By including the problems, the reader gets the fun…
My mom used to divide her library into sections. Lots of space was dedicated to fiction and the sturdiest shelves held her coffee-table sized books on the movies. But one special part of the library was devoted to chronicles of everyday life, virtually all of them written by women. Some also wrote Kid Lit. or humor like Jean Kerr and Judith Viorst while others wrote novels or plays but every book on that shelf was what I called a “Domestic Chronicle”; an account of everyday life. If those books sounded boring, they weren’t. All of them were clear-eyed observations on a fascinating, multi-faceted worlds. usually recorded with dry wit. These books had a remarkable effect on the reader. Novels might be read for excitement or entertainment and non-fiction for excitement or knowledge but domestic chronicles could appease the soul. So my question is, where are the books of this genre today? According to my mom, the best writer in this genre was Gladys Taber, author of the Stillmeadow series. In book after book, Ms. Taber recorded life at her New England farmhouse, Stillmeadow. She was not a farmer or a New England Yankee from birth so her stories deal with…
Have you ever seen an abused or neglected pet? A creature that nobody loved? They huddle at the corners of our towns and houses, too frightened to approach us for help. Have you watched them with their matted coats and terrified eyes, keeping their distance on unsteady feet? If you have, you’ve seen Ada Smith, the narrator of The War That Saved My Life. Of course Ada isn’t a dog or a horse; she’s a girl, somewhere around ten. Ada doesn’t know what age she is because she doesn’t know her birthday. Ada doesn’t know how to read, or write, or even walk very well. She has a club foot and is never allowed to leave her Mam’s one-room London flat. Ada’s only real connection to the world outside is her little brother, Jaime. When Mam says Jaime’s being sent to the country because Hitler is going to bomb London, Ada decides to follow her brother. In the process, she becomes one of the few English children who could thank Germany for starting a war. Over 800,000 children were evacuated from England’s city centers during “Operation Pied Piper“. Some of them were relocated overseas but the majority were resettled in…