Module 6 Book Reviews: Historical Fiction

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

Taylor, Mildred D.  1976.  Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.  New York, NY:  The Dial Press.  ISBN:  0-8037-7473-7.

Slavery may have ended by the 1930's, but the mindset had not.  However, tell that to Cassie Logan - a spunky, independent girl whose mother is a teacher and whose father works for the railroad in order pay the taxes on their land.  In the span of one year, Cassie figures out exactly how unjust the world can be.  In a tangled web of events, Cassie is publicly humiliated by the airs of a white girl her own age, her mother is fired because a white man wants their land, and the night riders torture whomever they please.  When her mother takes Cassie and her brothers to visit one of the victims, the reality begins to set in.  With parents modeling honor and courage throughout the story, Cassie and her siblings are able to follow in their footsteps and try to help a black boy accused of murdering a white man in a terrifying climax.  Well-told, the reader and Cassie learn of life's atrocities together, bit by bit, in manageable occurances.  Never over-whelming, Taylor discreetly reveals the life of an oppressed people in a gripping and deeply truthful tale.    

Module 6 Book Reviews: Historical Fiction

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

O'Dell, Scott.  1960.  Island of the Blue Dolphins.  Ill. by Ted Lewin.  New York, NY:  Houghton Mifflin Company.  ISBN:  0-395-53680-4.

Karana is a character crafted from the history books - she was created based on the true, but sketchy, story of The Lost Woman of San Nicolas, who lived alone on a small island off the Pacific Coast during the mid-1800's (information included in the author's note).  Drawing from very few recorded details, O'Dell has imagined a compelling story that colors in the life and struggles of young Karana as she adapts to a new life without family or companions.  With quiet confidence she prepares for each day and each season with hope that the great ship and her people will return for her.  Through time she builds herself a new home, defeats the pack of wild dogs that killed her brother, and finds profound friendship in the bevy of animals that inhabit the island.  Told in first person, this poignant narration is free of self-pity or dramatics.  Karana simply and cleanly takes care of the business of surviving.  The strong element of triumph over trial will earn devoted readers for many years to come.      

Module 6 Book Reviews: Historical Fiction

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Choldenko, Gennifer.  2004.  Al Capone Does My Shirts.  New York, NY:  G.P. Putnam's Sons.  ISBN:  0-399-23861-1.

This novel by Gennifer Choldenko tackles all sorts of issues in just 215 pages.  Seventh grader Moose Flannigan deals with all the troubles of moving - losing old friends, making new ones, starting a new school, and learning his way around his new home - which happens to be the convict infested island, and penitentiary, of Alcatraz.  To complicate matters, Moose has an older sister named Natalie that requires much of his family's attention.  When given the job of watching Natalie, it means sacrificing his beloved game of baseball and his freedom.  Moose deals with feelings of anger towards Natalie, his parents, his friends, and then grows up a little when neighboring kids accept Natalie for who she is (undetermined at the time - but autistic by today's definition).  Trials and tribulations are the meat of this story - choosing right over wrong, growing into acceptance, and knowing when to speak up are threads throughout each chapter.  This book dazzles with mention of such notorious convicts as Al Capone, Scarface Al and Machine Gun Kelly - all permanent residents of Alcatraz.  A map of the island and closing author's note bring the story full-circle.  

Module 6 Book Reviews: Historical Fiction

The Earth Dragon Awakes by Lawrence Yep

Yep, Lawrence.  2006.  The Earth Dragon Wakes.  New York, NY:  HarperCollins.  ISBN:  0-06-027524-3.

Though slightly choppy and confusing through the first chapter, the wrinkles iron out by chapter two and Yep's readers are well on their way to experiencing a very real 1906 Californian earthquake.  The enormity and devastation of the earthquake is expertly conveyed through concise words that follow the path of two different children in two different parts of the city as their families struggle to escape the crushed city.  Expository text interjected between narrations explains the geology behind the boys' experiences during the difficult twelve day period in which a bustling San Francisco collapses into ashes and rubble.  The friendship between the two young, culturally opposite characters, Henry and Ah Sing, is the basis for this fast-paced story.  Yep provides an afterword, photographs, and reading suggestions to help the most curious readers develop a framework for the thoughts and actions consistent with the time period.  With short chapters and uncomplicated sentences revealing a perfect balance of fact and fiction, expect nothing less than a wonderful read-aloud.  

Module 5 Book Reviews: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

The Wright 3 by Blue Balliett

Bibliography

Balliett, Blue.  2006.  The Wright 3.  Ill. by Brett Helquist.  New York, NY:  Scholastic Press.  ISBN:  0-439-69367-5.

Tag along with three young super-sleuths - Petra, Calder, and Tommy - in the hunt for information that will help save Frank Lloyd Wright's innovative architectural artwork, the Robie House, built in 1910 and in danger of being cut into pieces and shipped to different museums.  Spurred on by an eccentric teacher, Ms. Hussey, who likens the segmention to murder, the Wright 3 take charge of their own personal investigation as an underlying mystery thickens.  Eerie coincidences abound, the house seems to move as if it were alive, and strangers haunt the night.  Can Petra's copy of The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells help them unlock the code Frank Lloyd Wright left behind, or will Calder's 3 dimensional math tools and Tommy's jade fish talisman reveal the answers behind the inexplicable?  This determined trio gets more than they bargained for in a suspenseful tale with some surprising twists.  Balliett includes a map, a note explaining Calder's pentominoes, a note about patterns hidden in the artwork, and a note detailing the true history behind the Robie House - marvelous extensions that make this puzzle even more thrilling.   

Module 5 Book Reviews: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan

Bibliography

Ryan, Pam Munoz.  2004.  Becoming Naomi Leon.  New York, NY:  Scholastic Press.  ISBN:  0-439-26969-5. 

Becoming Naomi Leon is the compelling story of a once content, and somewhat mousy, 5th grade girl's search for identity, pride and inner strength.  When Naomi's long-absent mother unexpectedly knocks on the door of Baby Beluga (the family's airstream trailer) and turns her sheltered life upside down, both the old and new questions are irrepressible.  Though Gram says it's best to leave the past in the past, Naomi's new friend Blanca believes that asking lots of questions gets lots of answers.   Naomi yearns for information concerning her distant father, in Oaxaca City, Mexico, and her incongruous mother, all the while dealing with long pent up feelings of rejection.  Through events beyond her control, Naomi is set on a difficult path that propels her into self-discovery.  By the end of her journey, each one of Naomi's names - Naomi Soledad Leon Outlaw - match a portion of her new-found identity and the puzzle pieces of her life have come together to form a complete picture.  Becoming "Naomi the Lion," she is the same on the outside, but now very different on the inside.  Munoz has woven a story of circumstances, cultures, family strength, and unconditional love into a heart-warming, and sometimes heart-wrenching, search for truth that unravels cleanly and assuredly.

Module 5 Book Reviews: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

Bibliography

Birdsall, Jeanne.  2005.  The Penderwicks.  Ill. by David Frankland.  New York, NY:  Alfred A. Knopf.  ISBN:  0-375-83143-6.  

Anything can happen in three weeks - if you spend them with the Penderwicks!  Birdsall has beautifully captured the innocence of summer, infused it with inevitable growing pains, then entangled it with a troupe of light-hearted sisters and host of other lively characters - both two-legged and four-legged.  The sisters' personalities are as varied as the flowers in Mrs. Tifton's extravagant gardens and entice troubles of all different sorts.  But to the Penderwicks, family trumps all else and their love for each other is refreshingly evident through and through.  With problems enough to keep the story moving and solutions enough to appease, the family tackles one last obstacle before heading home from Arundel Cottage - saving Jeffrey from the ills of his mother - the insufferable Mrs. Tifton.  Birdsall has conceived a laudable feel-good story full of summer's simple childhood pleasures and raucous family dynamics - a treat in every aspect!