Buddy by M.H. Herlong

This is the story of Tyrone Elijah Roberts, who everyone calls "Li'l T", and his dog Buddy. On the surface it seems as if this will be another endearing tale of a boy and his dog, which on its own would be a great story. But halfway through the book it becomes so much more than that.

The story begins when Li'l T's family hits a stray dog with their car. Li'l T has always wanted a dog but his family, which lives in a poor section of New Orleans, cannot afford one. Due to the accident, the dog must have one of its legs amputated and Li'l T knows immediately that this is the dog he's always wanted. His family is not so easily convinced, especially since the state of the dog's physical health is unclear and there is no money to feed and care for him.

Li'l T convinces his father that he will raise all the money to pay for Buddy's upkeep by mowing neighbor's lawns and the family agrees to take him home. Soon after, the foreshadowing of Hurricane Katrina begins. Even as news coverage of the impending storm starts, residents of New Orleans are either disbelieving of the danger or unable to find a place to go. Li'l T's family is one of the lucky ones. They leave to stay with an aunt in Mississippi but are forced to leave Buddy behind, locked in an upstairs bathroom, thinking that they will be returning in just a couple of days.

When Lil T's family realizes the scope of the storm and that their house has been destroyed they believe that Buddy has most likely perished. Li'l T is devastated, even when his parents surprise him with the gift of a brand new puppy for Christmas. When the reverend from their neighborhood sees a television special on pets rescued from Hurricane Katrina, he spots a three legged dog who looks just like Buddy, living in California. The entire church bands together to find Li'l T a way to get to California and bring his dog home. Things don't turn out exactly as Li'l T expects and he meets someone who might just need Buddy even more than he does.

This is an incredible, multi-faceted story with themes of family and community running through it while highlighting the struggle that so many families faced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.  Li'l T grows as a person as he struggles between his desire for a pet to love and doing what he knows is right for his family and community. These are not easy choices for him and he is often conflicted as to whether to do the right thing or satisfy his personal needs. In the end, with the help of his family, his good character triumphs. This is a great book for animal lovers and those interested in family stories and historical novels. 2012.

P. Sassoon

Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad by Monica Edinger

Africa Is My Home

When Sarah Magru Kinnson was nine years old, her father pawned her to work as a servant for another man in their village, because he had debts he couldn't pay. It was only supposed to be until the harvest came in and her father could pay off his debt, but slave traders saw her and offered more money than her father could ever hope to pay. So, Magulu, or Sarah as she became known later, ended up as one of the three captured children on a slave ship bound for Cuba. There they were sold and ended up on the infamous ship, Amistad, bound for the United States.

The captured Africans didn't know what was going to happen to them and the sailors indicated that they intended to eat them. The adult males on the ship staged a successful revolt and ended up in charge of the ship. They tried to force the surviving crew to sail them back to Africa, but the captain sailed the ship back to towards the U.S. every night, in hopes of being rescued. Eventually, that happened and the ship was brought to Connecticut and the Africans were held at the New Haven jail until a trial could be held and their fate decided.

This process took several years, as the trial progressed from the court in New Haven all the way to the Supreme Court. During this time, Sarah and her companions, Kagne and Teme, were educated and dressed like Americans. Sarah also converted to Christianity while she was in New England.

When the Supreme Court upheld the lower court decisions that the seizure of the Africans was unlawful and that they were to be returned to Africa, there was no money for ship to return them. As they waited for funds to be raised, the three children continued their education.

The author of this historical fiction book performed extensive research and relied heavily on the Sarah's letters, which have been preserved by the Tulane University Amistad Research Center. Her interest was piqued when she first visited an Amistad exhibit and discovered that there were children aboard the infamous ship. She was also intrigued because the captives were from Sierra Leone, where she had been a Peace Corps volunteer.

Like the author, I didn't know that there were children aboard the Amistad. I found this fictionalized version of Sarah's life fascinating as I contemplated all she endured and striking contrast between the life she left, the life that was forced upon her and the life she chose, once she was an adult. The book is short, 64 pages, and there are numerous beautiful, colorful illustrations. This would be a good choice for anyone interested in the subject of the Amistad or the history of the slave trade. It would also be a good choice for a reluctant reader who has an historical fiction assignment.      2013

Renee Rauch

Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus

Shadow on the Mountain

If someone asked you to risk your life, and the lives of your family, to do what was right, would you do it?  This exciting novel, based on real events, describes the adventures of a teen boy, Espen, and his friends in Norway during World War II who did just that.  Faced with the occupation of Norway by the Nazis, many Norwegians reacted with defiance and rebellion.  The rebellion could take many forms -- from subtle clothing messages (wearing red, the color of Norway, or putting a paper clip on your clothes to show you were bound together) to outright espionage and spying. 

Espen starts out by doing small acts of daring, such as distributing illegal newspapers, but performs more and more complicated tasks for the Norwegian resistance movement.  The work is so dangerous that he can tell no one about it, not even his family, for fear that they may be tortured or imprisoned.  And even his former friends cannot all be trusted -- some have decided to join the German side.

Shadow on the Mountain is obviously well-researched, with many true events written into the story.  But more than that, it is also well-written.  You really get a sense of what it was like to live in Norway during that period, with the food shortages and cold and the fear.  But you also feel the tremendous spirit of the Norwegian people as you share Espen's exciting adventures.  This book will be a great choice for anyone who enjoys adventure stories, historical fiction, or just a great read.  2012

M. Adams

Jefferson's Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

 Jefferson's Sons

Jefferson’s Sons is an interesting, sometimes disturbing, novel told from the point of view of three slave children on Thomas Jefferson’s estate, two of whom are Jefferson’s sons. The author did extensive research, and in this story she imagines how life may have been for the children of the slave Sally Hemings. Well written and engaging, the story covers twenty years as it describes growing up on the Monticello estate as the secret children of Thomas Jefferson.

Told in the first-person voice of each of the three narrators, Jefferson’s Sons manages to convey the complexity of emotions the children feel as they grow up and realize their complicated situation. Drawn to Jefferson as a father and yet repelled by his status as a slave-owner, Beverly and Madison face difficult decisions as to what to think and what to do as they get older. Their friend Peter also grows up as a slave at Monticello, and faces his own difficult future.

This book does not shy away from dealing with the topic of Sally Heming’s relationship with Jefferson – she goes up to his house each night – making it appropriate for children who would understand that concept. However, for children ready for life’s nuances, this book gives a fascinating look at the lives of the slaves, and of Jefferson’s family at the great house. Historical notes at the end of the book tell what is thought to have happened to the people in the book after it ends. The author’s meticulous research and excellent writing style combine to make this book a story you will remember long after you finish reading it. 2011

M. Adams

A Storm Called Katrina, by Myron Uhlberg. Illustrated by Colin Bootman

A Storm Called Katrina

Bootman's watercolor illustrations and Uhlberg's first-person fictional account is of a ten year-old boy and his parents who are displaced by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

The child describes what he sees, and goes through; his observations of the things his parents, and other adults say and do affects how he feels.

This picture book is a moving and well-crafted story, intended for elementary school-aged children.

2011.

Then by Morris Gleitzman

Then

"Then", tells the story of Felix, a 10 year old Jewish boy in Nazi occupied Poland. Felix escapes from a train headed to a Nazi death camp and befriends Zelda, a little girl whose Nazi parents have been killed by the Polish resistance. Together they struggle for survival, sleeping in the woods and witnessing all manner of horrors that they barely manage to escape themselves. They are taken in by a reluctant good samaritan named Genia, who hides them on her farm, until she too meets a gruesome fate at the hands of the Nazis.

Although there is much written about this horrific period of history, this book tells Felix's story in such a straightforward, unsentimental way, that it gives readers a unique perspective on this much told story. There are however, graphic descriptions of violence, which would make this book most appropriate for 6th grade and older.

This book is the sequel to Gleitzman's other book about Felix, titled, "Once" and another in the series titled, "Now", is due to be published. 2010.

P.Sassoon,

Dad, Jackie, and Me, by Myron Uhlberg. Illustrated by Colin Bootman.

Dad, Jackie, and Me

Set in 1947 in Brooklyn, when the great Dodger Jackie Robinson was still being discriminated against, a young boy and his deaf father strengthen their relationship when they get caught up in the excitement of Dodger baseball. The discrimination the father experiences does not hinder his zest for life. The story culminates with a personal touch from the great first baseman. The watercolor illustrations and the endpapers showing actual newspaper articles and photos from the sports pages help the reader imagine life in the 1940's.

Black Radishes, by Susan Lynn Meyer

Black Radishes

Living in Paris in 1941 is not easy, and is downright dangerous if you are Jewish. Gustave and his parents flee the city and drive south to Saint-Georges, a small town where they plan to stay until they can leave Europe and sail to America. Their hopes of being safe in this town are dashed when they are forced to register as Jews, and realize that there is much anti-Semitism among the French as well as the Germans. Food is very scarce, and Gustave's father is forced to barter for almost everything that they need. Crossing the border to do this is fraught with danger. Gustave himself is involved in a suspenseful bicycle trip to help a member of the French Resistance.

The tension is palpable throughout this novel. The heartbreak and terror that so many families lived with on a daily basis are brought to life in small and large ways. Their courage was extraordinary. 2010.

M. Cooney

Ruth and the Green Book, by Calvin Alexander Ramsey. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper.

Did you ever hear of the The Negro Motorist Green Book by Victor Green? Well, neither did I, until I read this book. Did you know that as late as the 1960's, African-Americans travelling in the southern states would not be served in most restaurants, were not allowed to stay in hotels, and could not use restrooms in many gas stations? This fiction story tells of a family traveling from Chicago to Alabama to visit Grandma. On their way, the family is confronted with the Jim Crow laws in the South which forbade blacks and whites from mixing. Luckily for Ruth and her family, an actual person named Victor H. Green wrote The Negro Motorist Green Book, which listed places where African-Americans were welcome to stay overnight, eat, shop, get a haircut, or use the rest rooms. This story is an excellent history lesson, while at the same time showing how people helped each other out during these trying times. Floyd Cooper's soft illustrations accurately portray the towns and cars of the time.

The last page of this softly illustrated book gives a factual history of the Negro Motorist Green Book and explains that the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 outlawed these practices .

2010

C. Buchanan

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly

This truly engaging story takes place right at the dawn of the 20th century, with 12-year-old Calpurnia (Callie Vee) and her 6 brothers living on an affluent estate on their family farm in Texas. Callie is a lover of all things outdoors; animals, plants, the lakefront; and writes down all that she observes in her special notebook. The only one in her family who fosters her love of nature is her remote grandfather, who fancies himself an amateur scientist. When her grandfather realizes that Callie alone, of all her siblings, shares his scientific curiosity, a bond forms between them that is beneficial to them both. For Callie, it allows her to escape the drudgery of the girlish duties of cooking, sewing and piano playing. For her grandfather, it allows him to show affection to his granddaughter, something that he has not allowed himself to do with his other grandchildren.

The tension rises, as Callie and grandfather discover a new species of plant on their property, while at the same time Callie's mother realizes that her daughter is not growing up to be the proper young lady that she believes she should be.

Callie's struggle to be true to herself, while at the same time fulfilling the expectations of her family and society are told with both poignancy and humor, making this a delightful period read.

P. Sassoon

Alchemy and Meggy Swann, by Karen Cushman

Meggy Swann, unloved and largely ignored by her mother who runs an alehouse in rural Elizabethan England, was born crippled and waddles with the aid of sticks, rather than walking. Anyone with a deformity in this time period is considered cursed by the devil and Meggy has been the object of taunting and tormenting in her village. The only love that Meggy has felt has been from her grandmother, now deceased, and her pet goose, Louise, who also suffers from a deformity that prevents her from flying. The abuse that she has suffered has made Meggy ornery, feisty and rather unfriendly, but she has developed a strong sense of right and wrong and is very courageous.

Meggy travels to London to become apprentice to her father, an alchemist, when he sends for her to replace his apprentice, Roger, who is leaving to become an actor. He is disappointed both that she is a girl and that she is crippled, so he ignores her until she is able to make herself useful: washing vessels, scrubbing pots and working the bellows to keep the fire hot, as he attempts to turn other metals into gold.

Meggy experiences much the same kind of taunting and rejection from many Londoners that she experienced in her village. However, for the first time in her life, Meggy meets people who accept her for herself. She develops strong friendships with Roger, her father's former apprentice, members of his acting company, a printer and his family and a cooper and his young son.

When Meggy overhears her father planning to sell arsenic to men who plan to poison the baron, in order to finance his continued search for the alchemy formula, she is frantic to stop the murder and save her father from being accused in the plot. She has to call on all of her courage and her new friendships to try and foil the plan.

In Meggy, Karen Cushman has created another memorable female character in an historical fiction novel. Her writing puts the reader right in London, in the mid-16th century, with its narrow dark streets, cobblestones and smelly gutters. A rich cast of characters populates the book, from those who love Meggy to those who ignore, despise or fear her.

2010
R. Rauch

Ninth Ward, by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Twelve year-old Lanesha, who has no parents, is being cared for, and loved, by a kind woman in her nineties in New Orleans' Ninth Ward in 2005. As Hurricane Katrina approaches, they have no way of fleeing, and must ride out the storm, and the subsequent levey breaches.

Lanesha has to find all her courage and intuition to get through the ordeal, which she does--with the help of her friend TaShon, who has been separated from his parents, and with the guidance of her mother's ghost.

The novel is a page-turner, with emotional depth and beauty. Recommended. 2010.

K. Muhm

Ruby's Wish, by Shirin Yim Bridges

In China during the 19th century, Grandfather has a household of many wives and many children. Ruby, his spunky little granddaughter named for the color she loves, writes a poem describing how the girls in the family are not treated as well as the boys. As we learn about the Chinese family structure and household traditions, we also see how Ruby's great desire to go to university comes true. Her determination and her loving relationship with her Grandfather make her wish come true. In a surprise ending we see a photograph of the author's grandmother on whom Ruby's character is based. The appealing illustrations, which are unclutted and accented in bright red, complement the story. While learning a little about Chinese history, the reader is gently presented with the timely topics of women's equality and the value of education.
2002
C. Buchanan