#25--The Captive by Joyce Hansen

Kofi is the beloved son of an Ashanti chief who has been betrayed by a beloved family slave, kidnapped, and sold into slavery in Massachusetts, post American Revolution--when slavery was illegal, but often tolerated.  Kofi does not understand what is happening.  All he wants is to get back to his family and village. He even tries to convince his captors that if they return him they will be richly rewarded.  Which, of course, they all laugh at and continue in their nefarious ways.

On the route to America, he befriends two other young boys on the ship: one, Tim, is a white indentured servant, and the other, Joseph, a black orphan who was born on the ship.  These three boys become inseparable and are eventually purchased together by a Puritan man and his wife.  While slavery is illegal in Massachusetts, white indentured servitude is not.  The man is not kind to any of the help on the farm, but especially not to the three boys.  The mistress gives all three boys lessons and Kofi especially eats it up.  Kofi eventually tries to explain to the mistress, thinking she is his friend, that he wants to go back to Africa to his family and village.  She is horrified and from then on holds him at a distance, demanding that the three boys pray for their salvation--even though there is never any explanation to the boys why they go to a long building once a week or the purpose behind the kneeling every night while the master drones one.

Kofi and his two friends eventually escape and end up on a boat belonging to Paul Cuffe, who happened to be a free black and the captain of the ship, as well as a Quaker.  The boys are taken to jail because though the master claims he has paid good money for Tim's contract, the boys claim ill-treatment and that Kofi is a kidnapped African and Joseph is an illegal slave.  In order to sort everything out, there is a trial.  Paul Cuffe has promised to take the boys under his wing and make them his apprentices in ship-building.  The boys are eventually awarded their freedom and go to live with Cuffe and his family.

In the epilogue, Kofi is an adult, married, and working tirelessly with Joseph and other Quakers to end slavery and to make life better for blacks in America.

This book is based on a journal from the late 1700s.  I was able to find out a little more information about Paul Cuffe but Kofi is a creation of the author's imagination, based on the journal.

This was a quick, easy read that I will recommend to students interested in this time period, or to teachers working on a history of slavery lesson/unit.

Happy Reading!!

#23--Wolf by the Ears by Ann Rinaldi

Over the years I have found Ann Rinaldi's books to be good historical reads about events or people that you don't always hear much about.  In the case of this title, the main character is Harriet Hemings, daughter of slave Sally Hemings and probably Thomas Jefferson.  In the book, Harriet and her siblings have all been raised as slaves but with light work loads.  They have also been educated and told that when they reach the age of 21 they would have their freedom.  Harriet is approaching her 21st birthday but is unsure if she wants to take her freedom.  She tells her brother Beverly that she loves the master (Jefferson) and doesn't want to leave him or Monticello.  Beverly finally convinces her by telling Harriet that Jefferson lists them, their two younger brothers and their mother in farm journals as just any other slave would be listed....that there is no written record anywhere in the house of what Sally was to Master Jefferson.  Harriet has help in planing her leaving from Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., Jefferson's son-in-law and the governor of Virginia at the time.  Randolph makes sure that Harriet has any and all training and education necessary for Harriet to pass--to live as a white woman.

Much of what I've read in Ann Rinaldi's books appears to be very close to factual.  In this case, Harriet was not freed in real life, but Jefferson never reported her as a runaway and never tried to coerce her into coming back to Monticello.  Reading something like this always makes me want to find out more about the people in the story and what happened to them in real life.

Happy Reading!!

#20--Soldier X by Don Wulffson

Have I ever told you that I love historical fiction?

Not only to I love the stories that are expected from history, but I love those unexpected gems that pop up every once in awhile (Code Name Verity and Between Shades of Gray, to name a few).

Soldier X has been in my book talk rotation for several years now, but I have never had the chance to read it--since it is usually off the shelf and I have yet to have a student come to me after reading this book and tell me they didn't like it.  So, I decided that I needed to read it this summer....and it just so happens that I had a copy of this book in my "books removed from the library, but I still want to read" pile (it was in ratty condition and unable to be repaired anymore, so I had taken it out of the collection), so I grabbed it for part of my vacation reading.

The book opens with an old man, Professor Erik Brandt, explaining that his student had often asked him about his prosthesis and other injuries...to which he replied that he received the injuries while fighting in World War II in the woods in Russia....but he never tells his students that he was fighting for the Germans.

Erik is 16 and a member of Hitler Youth when he is sent to the Eastern front in 1944.  Growing up in a bilingual household of German and Russian, the Germans plan to use his skills to help interrogate Russian prisoners.  (Erik's deceased father was German and his mother and maternal grandparents, who helped raise him, are Russian.)  During his first days of battle, most of his friends and platoon are decimated.  He is stuck in a trench, behind enemy lines, with a dead Russian soldier about his age.  In a split-second decision, Erik decides that his only chance at survival is to exchange clothing with the dead Russian and try to pass as a member of Russia's army.  Because of injuries sustained during the battle, Erik is taken to a Russian hospital, where he is thought to be a Russian soldier with amnesia and is given the name X.  At the hospital he falls in love with a young Russian nurse named Tamara.

Not only is X able to pass as a Russian soldier, he is able to make friends on this side of the war as well.

In some ways this book reminded me of Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front due to its easy ability to wipe away the romance of war and to simply demonstrate the vast evil of it.  This book would be a great way to introduce students to a different viewpoint of the war, as well as be a great discussion starter for loyalty and the justness of war.

I will definitely be keeping this one in my book talk rotation and use it to try to spark my reluctant readers!

Happy Reading!!

#18--The Cookcamp by Gary Paulsen

This was another one of the titles I grabbed for vacation from the "books removed from the library, but I still want to read" pile.  This story is about a little boy with no name who sent to the wilderness of Canada to live with his grandmother during World War II while his mother works in a factory and his father is off to war.  The little boy befriends the men who are building the road into the wilderness and his grandmother is their cook.  The little boy is happy here, but he misses his mother.  Eventually he goes back to his mother and doesn't see his grandmother again for many years.

This was a quick, easy read.  I like Paulsen's work, however, I have trouble connecting to characters who have no name, like the protagonist in this story.  I would say that this story is more geared for an elementary reader than for a middle school reader, but a middle school student could still get something from it.

Not my favorite of Paulsen's works, but still pretty solid.

Happy Reading!!

#9--Little White Duck: A Childhood in China by Na Liu and Andres Vera Martinez

Every once in a while I come across a book that I just have to read, for whatever reason.  This was one of those books.  The cover intrigued me; and I also couldn't tell for sure whether or not it should be included in the collection as fiction or nonfiction.  And the fact that it was told in beautiful pictures drew me in even further.

The author, Na Liu, tells stories about growing up in China during the time period immediately after Chairman Mao died (1976-1980).  The artwork, done by her husband, is gorgeous, especially the pictures that are meant to look like Chinese propaganda from the time period.  I felt like I was in China during this time period and it was brought to life for me.  The story is broken up into several chapters that tell a continuous story.  I would love to know more about Liu's life between the time period portrayed in this book and when she emmigrated to the US in 1999 as you don't often find stories of this time and place, written for children or teens. 

I must say that I'm pretty excited to get this title on the shelf soon!

Happy Reading!!

#38--The Exeter Blitz by David Rees

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/exeter-cathedral **

As I tend to dedicate much of my reading to historical fiction, I try to read about events that I don't always know much about.  Today's book is an example.  I have always heard about the Blitz occurring in London during WWII, and that there were other places that were bombed as well.  However, I was not aware that the Blitz was carried out far to the eastern side of London.  After the British destroyed the German port of Lubeck (of which there was very little point other than to try out new weapons), known for very little except its beauty and antiquity, Hitler was furious and then ordered the destruction of similar British cities: Norwich, Canterbury, York, Bath, and Exeter. 

The Exeter Blitz follows one fictional family as they experience and then survive the night of May 3-4, 1942.  The story is told from each family member's point of view at different times, which gives it a different feel.  I enjoyed learning about a specific event that I was not previously familiar with and this was a quick (128 pages), easy read.  This will be added to my list of recommendations when my students are looking for a WWII novel that is not specifically about the front or the Holocaust, so that they can get a sense of what it might have been like to live through an air raid as intensive as the bombing that destroyed much of Exeter, but, miraculously, left much of its famous cathedral in tact.

Happy Reading!!

**"Exeter Cathedral ." Exeter Cathedral. Sacred Destinations, 30 July 2010. Web. 09 Oct. 2012. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/exeter-cathedral.

#37--Deadly by Julie Chibbaro

A few years ago a friend introduced me to podcasts.....and I was hooked.  There are a number of ones I try to listen to regularly and most of them have to do with history---surprised, right?  One of my favorites is Stuff You Missed in History Class from How Stuff Works.  A while back there was one about Typhoid Mary (you can listen to the podcast by clicking on Mary's name), and I found it to be very interesting.  I had heard the name thrown around growing up, but I didn't know too much about her.  I enjoyed learning about her story and more about the nickname. 

Today's book, Deadly, takes a another look at Typhoid Mary's story, from the point of view of a young assistant working on the case for the Department of Health and Sanitation in New York City.  Prudence Galewski has left school to take a job as an assistant in a laboratory that is investigating a typhoid fever outbreak.  Prudence finally feels like she is doing something to help people since she was unable to save either her father from going to war or her brother from dying.  Along the way, Prudence learns many things, both about life and about herself.

As the story is told from Prudence's point of view, we only see Mary through her eyes, but we also get a glimpse of how the public viewed Mary and the case through newspaper articles and Prudence's comments about what others say and do regarding the case.  I felt that the story was presented very well and in a way that the audience might be able to grasp the idea of a healthy person being a carrier of a possibly deadly disease....I know that is something that I sometimes wonder how it could have happened/does happen.  Typhoid Mary is considered to be a medical mystery as there doesn't seem to be any evidence that she ever showed symptoms of typhoid.

This was a good read and I think I may have to add it to my list of books I book talk for my students!

Happy Reading!!

#33--Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

On one of the first teacher days back at school, my friend Kelly (also one of my LA teachers) came to me raving about the best book she read this summer....Between Shades of Gray (not that shades of gray!).  As it so happened, I had checked this title out over the summer and had not yet had a chance to read it.  So, on her recommendation, I pulled it out of the pile today and enjoyed some rays while reading.

On the night of June 14, 1941, 15-year-old Lina Vilkas, her mother Elena, and her younger brother Jonas are removed from their home in Lithuania by the Soviet secret police (NKVD) and deported to Siberia, for reasons Lina and Jonas don't know or understand.  As difficult as it is, she tries to mask her hatred for the Soviets.  The conditions are horrific, but Lina is determined to live, no matter what.  Lina must also hide the drawings she has made, depicting their ordeals and the people in the camps, both Lithuanians and the Soviet guards, as she could be executed if they are found.  Her art is how Lina hopes to communicate with others the truth of what happened to them in Siberia.  But will her hope keep them alive long enough?

There have been very few books written about this time period, so it is not a part of history that I was overly familiar with.  However, that makes me want to find out more about it, and more about the people who survived these horrors.  The author, Ruta Sepetys, is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee who was fortunate enough to escape through Germany and into refugee camps.  She wrote this story as a memorial to all those who perished, and for those who survived Stalin's Reign of Terror.  This is a story that I would definitely recommend to anyone who is a lover of history!

Happy Reading!!

#28--Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

It has been almost a month since my last post, but this title is definitely worth the wait!!

Code Name Verity is told in two parts, by two different characters.  The story opens in a prison in Nazi-occupied France where a British operative (she's Scottish, and you better not EVER call her English!) is being held.  The British operative is writing her story of how she came to be in France in exchange for more time alive.  The Nazis are expecting her to give up secret information about the Allies' plans to invade France, while she is weaving a narrative.  This operative goes by many names in the course of the book, some of which could give away part of the story, so I will just refer to her as Scottie (this is one of her nicknames in the book).

Scottie is from the upper, upper crust in Scotland, with royalty in her blood.  In the beginning of the war, she makes friends with a working-class girl, Maddie, and they soon become best friends, despite their differences.  Maddie is a pilot and a mechanic--on cars, motorcycles, airplanes, basically anything with an engine.  But she is working as a wireless operator since women haven't been called up to fly for the war effort yet.  Flying is what gives Maddie purpose.  Scottie is an invaluable asset because she speaks French and German, can think on her feet quickly, and likes to make up stories.  The two girls are first paired up to talk down a lost German pilot and get him safely to their English base.  Later, they are paired up in the drop that gets Scottie arrested.  (If I say much more here, I will give away some of the best parts of the plot, so I will stop.)

The two other minor supporting characters are the Gestapo officer, Hauptstrumfuhrer von Linden, and the female guard/interpreter, Anna Engel.  Neither of these characters are stock characters; both are rounded characters who have surprises in them that  you don't see coming. 

I was up until late last night/early this morning finishing this book, because I couldn't put it down.  I wanted to find out what happened at the end.  

There are lots of World War II and Holocaust books and books about men fighting and women at home, but this is the first book I've read about women being a part of the fighting and ferrying of planes, pilots and refugees and I hope to see more!

I was provided with a free galley copy of this title by NetGalley.  All statements are mine.  This book is now available for purchase, but in print and as an ebook.

I hope you find this one as enjoyable and not-put-downable as I did! 

Happy Reading!!

#19--The Shadow Children by Steven Schnur

My 8^th graders study The Diary of Anne Frank as part of their Language Arts class and several teachers typically require the students to read an additional book about the Holocaust as part of this unit.  One day last week this title was turned in by a student and I noticed that it had a fantasy genre sticker on it (I put genre stickers on all my fiction books so that the students—and I—have an easier time picking out a specific genre), and I was curious as to why I had put a fantasy sticker on a book that also has a Holocaust sticker on it.  So, before putting it back on the shelf, I grabbed it and quickly read it.  (It took me less than 40 minutes to get through, so it is a quick read--less than 100 pages.)

The story takes place several years after World War II is over, in a small French town, Mont Brulant.  Etienne is looking forward to spending the summer with his grandfather and this is the first year his parents will not be joining him.  Etienne is surprised to notice on the drive back to his grandfather’s home from the train station that the town is much quieter than he remembers.  They also pass a group of children begging on the side of the road, but his grandfather doesn’t notice them.

As the summer goes on and Etienne goes exploring, he comes across a group of children living and hiding in the woods, who run and hide when they hear a train coming.  Etienne knows that the closest train is miles away and the children couldn’t be seen from it.  He doesn’t understand what they are hiding from. 

When he mentions the children to his grandfather, Grand-pere brushes it off, but Madame Jaboter (who comes to clean and cook for Grand-pere) overhears Etienne and begs him to promise he won’t go back to the woods.  Eventually, Etienne learns who the children are and why they are hiding…they are the souls of the children the people of Mont Brulant tried to save from the Nazis, but were forced to hand them over. 

This was a different story than I was expecting, but thought it was pretty well done.  (It has a fantasy sticker because we use fantasy whenever there are ghosts or anything supernatural in the story.)

Now it is going back on the shelf for another student to read.

Happy Reading!

#14--A Gift of Two Silver Pistols by Nan Coleman

Happy St. Patty's Day!!  I don't know what the weather was like in your neck of the woods, but here it has been more like a late May day than the middle of March....but I'm definitely not complaining!!

This afternoon, in an effort to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather, I grabbed a chair and my kindle and headed out for some sunshine!  I recently downloaded a bunch of books for free onto my kindle, so I started with the one at the top of the list...today's book.  As I've demonstrated through a number of the books that I have thus far chosen to read, I'm a sucker for history, whether it is fiction or nonfiction. 

My first year as a librarian, I grabbed a book off the shelf that intrigued me...The Year of the Hangman by Gary Blackwood--about what life would have been like in the American colonies immediately after the Revolutionary War if we had lost.  It was a very interesting idea to me, and I have often wondered how things would have been different if certain events had been different: how different would the world be if Abraham Lincoln had not been assassinated?  if the Titanic hadn't sunk or the Hindenburg exploded? it the Archduke Ferdinand had not been assassinated?  And the questions go on. 

In today's book, Ainsley is 13 in 2011 and loves visiting her grandparents at their home in Charlottesville, VA, near the site where Thomas Jefferson grew up and near his home of Monticello.  Her grandfather has told her stories of her famous relative, Jack Jouett, who rode in the middle of the night on June 3, 1781, to warn Thomas Jefferson that British commander, Banastre Tarleton, was on his way to arrest as many important traitors to the crown as he could, including Jefferson specifically.  (An important side note--Ainsley's Uncle Myles is a professional ghost hunter.) 

On the night of June 3, the anniversary of Jack's ride, Ainsley decides that she wants to try to see a ghost for herself, and she wants to see Jack Jouett.  So, with some of her uncle's ghost-hunting equipment, she camps out down by the river where she and Uncle Myles have guessed that Jack crossed the river on his famous ride.  Not only does she get her wish and sees Jack, but he also sees her...and that sets a different set of events into motion.  With Ainsley in tow, Jack does not get to Monticello in time to warn Jefferson, who is then captured, along with Patrick Henry and Benjamin Harrison.  The men will be hanged for treason, as soon as Tarleton can get the gallows built. 

Ainsley and Jack (the only one who can see Ainsley), with the help of a local tavern owner, Barbara (who can also see Ainsley), they come up with a plan to help the prisoners and attempt to put time and history back in their proper places.

After doing some research about Jack Jouett, I discovered that he has been called "The Paul Revere of the South," and some have even claimed that his ride was more crucial than Revere's because of the stakes involved if Jeffereson, Henry and Harrison, major leaders of the revolution, are captured.  (Thanks wikipedia!)  As a result of his heroics, the Virginia state legislature awarded Jack Jouett two silver pistols and a sword-hence the title of the book.  This fact wasn't mentioned until the very end of the epilogue, which makes me question the title...there has to be a better title for this story out there, one that will make sense much earlier in the story.

Overall, it was a quick easy read that I enjoyed.  It is currently available in kindle format as well as in paperback...this title may be finding its way to the shelves of my school in the near future....

Happy Reading!!

#1--The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I've been wanting to read The Help ever since the book club at school read it last year.  Finally got a copy of it from my friend RuthAnn a few months ago and decided that it was high time I read it--since it seemed like everyone around me had read it (including my dad) and I hate going to see a movie for a book I haven't read yet.  I picked it up Monday after school and finished it Tuesday night, after midnight--couldn't put it down, even for sleep. 

The characters and relationships seemed so believable and authentic.  I would like to think I would have had the guts like Skeeter, had I lived in Mississippi during the early 1960s, but I'll never know for sure.  Having never read anything from the point of view from the help, this was an eye-opener. 

If you are one of the individuals waiting for the Cliffs Notes version to come out, don't wait....it was worth every single word!!

Happy Reading!