Katherine Paterson has written another children’s novel worthy of awards: My Brigadista Year. The year is 1961, the location Cuba, and Fidel Castro has ca...Show more
Katherine Paterson has written another children’s novel worthy of awards: My Brigadista Year. The year is 1961, the location Cuba, and Fidel Castro has called for volunteers to teach fellow countrymen to read and write. Thirteen-year-old Lora, whose uncle died in the revolution, answers Fidel’s call. Despite parental opposition, Lora’s Abuela signs the waiver which gives Lora the opportunity she seeks.
As a member of the National Literacy Campaign, Lora travels to a teacher training camp on the coast. Then she is posted to the mountainous Cuban interior with other student teachers, to fulfill her commitment. The work is arduous, the life rugged. By day, Lora works the land, side by side with her host family. In the evening she teaches to the whole family and some neighbors. And at night she sleeps in a hammock in the kitchen. Although Lora is the teacher, she also learns from her students, and makes lifelong friends of them. She ultimately learns that she is able to effect change and make a difference in her world.
Because of the historical nature of the novel, at the end Paterson includes what drew her to the subject matter, some resources and a timeline of Cuban history.
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Katherine Paterson has written another children’s novel worthy of awards: My Brigadista Year. The year is 1961, the location Cuba, and Fidel Castro has ca...Show more
Katherine Paterson has written another children’s novel worthy of awards: My Brigadista Year. The year is 1961, the location Cuba, and Fidel Castro has called for volunteers to teach fellow countrymen to read and write. Thirteen-year-old Lora, whose uncle died in the revolution, answers Fidel’s call. Despite parental opposition, Lora’s Abuela signs the waiver which gives Lora the opportunity she seeks.
As a member of the National Literacy Campaign, Lora travels to a teacher training camp on the coast. Then she is posted to the mountainous Cuban interior with other student teachers, to fulfill her commitment. The work is arduous, the life rugged. By day, Lora works the land, side by side with her host family. In the evening she teaches to the whole family and some neighbors. And at night she sleeps in a hammock in the kitchen. Although Lora is the teacher, she also learns from her students, and makes lifelong friends of them. She ultimately learns that she is able to effect change and make a difference in her world.
Because of the historical nature of the novel, at the end Paterson includes what drew her to the subject matter, some resources and a timeline of Cuban history.
Show less
Approximately one year ago, I read an article about a “dying” town in France that was paying immigrants to come live there and revitalize it. The Dollar K...Show more
Approximately one year ago, I read an article about a “dying” town in France that was paying immigrants to come live there and revitalize it. The Dollar Kids by Jennifer Richard Jacobson is a middle-grade novel based on a similar premise: The town of Millville is offering fixer-up houses for one dollar to five families with at least three children. The locals want to ensure that their sports teams can continue to play, i.e., have enough players.
The comic drawing central character, twelve-year-old Lowen, isn’t interested in sports, but he’s desperate to leave behind the city of Flintlock with his grief and secret feelings of guilt. So, when his family agrees to make the move, he believes that all his troubles are behind him.
Unfortunately feelings are not so easily resolved and moving to a new place has its own set of problems. As it turns out, the house they receive is in need of numerous repairs and is located next to a funeral home, much to Lowen’s chagrin. The business that Lowen’s mother starts has difficulty attracting customers and many of the locals are less than welcoming.
In this moving story, (pun intended), join Lowen and the other Dollar Kids in their efforts to fit into small-town life, help their families succeed as entrepreneurs and handymen, and discover the true meaning of community.
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Approximately one year ago, I read an article about a “dying” town in France that was paying immigrants to come live there and revitalize it. The Dollar K...Show more
Approximately one year ago, I read an article about a “dying” town in France that was paying immigrants to come live there and revitalize it. The Dollar Kids by Jennifer Richard Jacobson is a middle-grade novel based on a similar premise: The town of Millville is offering fixer-up houses for one dollar to five families with at least three children. The locals want to ensure that their sports teams can continue to play, i.e., have enough players.
The comic drawing central character, twelve-year-old Lowen, isn’t interested in sports, but he’s desperate to leave behind the city of Flintlock with his grief and secret feelings of guilt. So, when his family agrees to make the move, he believes that all his troubles are behind him.
Unfortunately feelings are not so easily resolved and moving to a new place has its own set of problems. As it turns out, the house they receive is in need of numerous repairs and is located next to a funeral home, much to Lowen’s chagrin. The business that Lowen’s mother starts has difficulty attracting customers and many of the locals are less than welcoming.
In this moving story, (pun intended), join Lowen and the other Dollar Kids in their efforts to fit into small-town life, help their families succeed as entrepreneurs and handymen, and discover the true meaning of community.
Show less
Susin Nielsen’s middle-school novel No Fixed Address brings to the fore a hidden dilemma in modern society: homeless families. After Felix’s mom, Astrid, ...Show more
Susin Nielsen’s middle-school novel No Fixed Address brings to the fore a hidden dilemma in modern society: homeless families. After Felix’s mom, Astrid, first loses one of her jobs, then the other, the prospect of spending the summer in a van is, at first, regarded as a camping adventure. But when autumn comes to Vancouver, Canada and Astrid still doesn’t have a steady job, life becomes more precarious.
Sworn to secrecy by his mom, Felix finds it difficult to hide the circumstances of his life: no domicile, in the traditional sense, and the fact that lunch is a hit or miss affair. Then there is the issue of not having a bathroom close to hand, or a proper kitchen.
To make matters worse, Felix, at times, must assume the role of parent because his mother suffers from depression and has sub-standard social skills. Nonetheless, he loves his mother, their bond is strong, and she has imparted to him a wealth of knowledge gleaned from her own desultory education. This disparate knowledge allows Felix to participate on a game show which, if he wins, would permit him and his mother to become renters, once again.
Though Felix’s living arrangements are extraordinary, he is still a kid navigating the pre-teen world. So when things start going awry, will he find the courage to share his truth with his friends, and if so, will his friends stick by him?
Nielsen presents this tenuous existence with wit and compassion. So, open you heart and mind to this moving story of survival on the edge.
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Susin Nielsen’s middle-school novel No Fixed Address brings to the fore a hidden dilemma in modern society: homeless families. After Felix’s mom, Astrid, ...Show more
Susin Nielsen’s middle-school novel No Fixed Address brings to the fore a hidden dilemma in modern society: homeless families. After Felix’s mom, Astrid, first loses one of her jobs, then the other, the prospect of spending the summer in a van is, at first, regarded as a camping adventure. But when autumn comes to Vancouver, Canada and Astrid still doesn’t have a steady job, life becomes more precarious.
Sworn to secrecy by his mom, Felix finds it difficult to hide the circumstances of his life: no domicile, in the traditional sense, and the fact that lunch is a hit or miss affair. Then there is the issue of not having a bathroom close to hand, or a proper kitchen.
To make matters worse, Felix, at times, must assume the role of parent because his mother suffers from depression and has sub-standard social skills. Nonetheless, he loves his mother, their bond is strong, and she has imparted to him a wealth of knowledge gleaned from her own desultory education. This disparate knowledge allows Felix to participate on a game show which, if he wins, would permit him and his mother to become renters, once again.
Though Felix’s living arrangements are extraordinary, he is still a kid navigating the pre-teen world. So when things start going awry, will he find the courage to share his truth with his friends, and if so, will his friends stick by him?
Nielsen presents this tenuous existence with wit and compassion. So, open you heart and mind to this moving story of survival on the edge.
Show less
Set during the Vietnam War, Sheila O’Connor’s Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth brings to the fore a relatively recent period of civil discord. The protagonis...Show more
Set during the Vietnam War, Sheila O’Connor’s Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth brings to the fore a relatively recent period of civil discord. The protagonist, 11-year old Reenie Kelly, is a girl of action. She is protective of her two older brothers, especially Billy who may be required to become a soldier.
Her headstrong ways get her into trouble, but also enable her to establish an epistolary friendship with the neighborhood recluse, the titular Mr. Marsworth. To him, she is able to vent her frustrations, impart her fears, and share her successes, even if he admonishes her tendency for retaliation and her half-baked efforts to intercede on Billy’s behalf.
Join Reenie in her struggle to keep her family together, to make friends in a new town, and to discover the truth about Mr. Marsworth.
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Set during the Vietnam War, Sheila O’Connor’s Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth brings to the fore a relatively recent period of civil discord. The protagonis...Show more
Set during the Vietnam War, Sheila O’Connor’s Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth brings to the fore a relatively recent period of civil discord. The protagonist, 11-year old Reenie Kelly, is a girl of action. She is protective of her two older brothers, especially Billy who may be required to become a soldier.
Her headstrong ways get her into trouble, but also enable her to establish an epistolary friendship with the neighborhood recluse, the titular Mr. Marsworth. To him, she is able to vent her frustrations, impart her fears, and share her successes, even if he admonishes her tendency for retaliation and her half-baked efforts to intercede on Billy’s behalf.
Join Reenie in her struggle to keep her family together, to make friends in a new town, and to discover the truth about Mr. Marsworth.
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The Wolf Keepers by Elise Broach.
It is summertime and motherless Lizzie, the zookeeper’s daughter, is spending it bereft of her best friend. To make matt...Show more
The Wolf Keepers by Elise Broach.
It is summertime and motherless Lizzie, the zookeeper’s daughter, is spending it bereft of her best friend. To make matters worse, she has been tasked with a summer homework assignment: to keep a nature journal in the tradition of John Muir. Fortunately she comes to enjoy the endeavor because of the new wolf enclosure. She spends hours sketching them, observing them, and forging a tenuous connection with the dominant male wolf. Then suddenly, one by one, they start becoming mysteriously sick.
During one of Lizzie’s daily forays into the zoo, she encounters a boy stealing food from a family. Intrigued by his odd behavior and the fact that he tries to avoid her, she decides to discover more about him.
This middle grade novel is filled with mysteries, secrets, adventure (in Yosemite National Park), and friendship.
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The Wolf Keepers by Elise Broach.
It is summertime and motherless Lizzie, the zookeeper’s daughter, is spending it bereft of her best friend. To make matt...Show more
The Wolf Keepers by Elise Broach.
It is summertime and motherless Lizzie, the zookeeper’s daughter, is spending it bereft of her best friend. To make matters worse, she has been tasked with a summer homework assignment: to keep a nature journal in the tradition of John Muir. Fortunately she comes to enjoy the endeavor because of the new wolf enclosure. She spends hours sketching them, observing them, and forging a tenuous connection with the dominant male wolf. Then suddenly, one by one, they start becoming mysteriously sick.
During one of Lizzie’s daily forays into the zoo, she encounters a boy stealing food from a family. Intrigued by his odd behavior and the fact that he tries to avoid her, she decides to discover more about him.
This middle grade novel is filled with mysteries, secrets, adventure (in Yosemite National Park), and friendship.
Show less