It's Monday! What are you reading? #2

It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey.  Now Jen & Kellee fromTeach Mentor Texts have adapted this weekly meme to focus on Picture Books to Young Adult Books.

What I read last week:

Knit Your Bit: A World War I Story by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Steven Guarnaccia - reviewed

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin - to be reviewed

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys - to be reviewed

To Be Read this week:

You Can Do It! by Betsy Lewin (an I Can Read book)

War Dogs: Churchill and Rufus by Kathryn Siebert

The Terrible Thing that Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne

Siege and Storm (Book Two of The Grisha Trilogy) by Leigh Barduco (my review of Shadow and Bone Book One of The Grisha Trilogy here)

What are you reading this week?

Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood

I read Glory Be last summer during a very hazy, hot, and humid stretch of weather we were having.*  It was the perfect book  for the season - it, too, is loaded with heat and humidity, but not all of it is weather related.

Set in a place called Hanging Moss, Mississippi, Glory Be is a work of historical fiction set in 1964, a volatile time and place at the height of the Civil Rights Movement and much of it is drawn from the author's own recollections and experiences.  It was during the summer of 1964, called the Freedom Summer, that the Civil Rights Act was signed into law prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin.  It is also the summer when mostly white volunteers went to Mississippi to register black voters.

For Gloriana June Hemphill, or Glory, the summer of 1964 means a 12th birthday celebrated at her beloved Community Pool on July 4th.  But before the summer even gets going, things begin to change.  First, big sister Jesslyn, her best friend, in more interested in a boy now than in doing things with Glory.  And then Frankie, Glory's other best friend, tells her the pool is going to be closing for repairs, even though there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it.  Even Frankie is changing, but not in a very nice way.

No sooner said than done - the pool does indeed close before Glory's birthday party.   According to the new Civil Rights Law, the pool should now be integrated.  So rather than allowing blacks to swim in it, the town council closed it down under the guise of repair work.  But as summer goes on, no repairs are done.  And much to Glory's chagrin, it looks like the worst is coming out in Frankie and he may be following in his racist father's footsteps.

For something to do, Glory heads to the library, another favorite place.  There, librarian and friend Miss  Bloom introduces her to Laura Lampert, in Hanging Moss with her mother, a nurse running a Freedom Clinic and a Civil Rights worker.  Glory had never given much thought to things like segregation, she had always just accepted things as they were: thing such as different water fountains, different lunch counters, and ever different pools for blacks and whites.  But the closing of the white pool on the hottest day of the year, just days before her big party, and her friendship with Laura and Miss Bloom begins to bring the unfairness of separate and definitely not equal into her consciousness and action for Glory.  And along the way, she finds that there are all kinds of bumps in the roads and unexpected friends to help.

I really liked this well-researched, well-written novel.  The writing is lively and energetic, the characters are realistic and the story has real depth.  It is also one of my favorite kind of middle grade novels - the kind where the reader experiences the slow process of the main characters growth as a person, where there is no Eureka moment, but rather the steady unfolding of understanding, that coming-of -age process where they puzzle thing out for themselves and finally figure out.  For Glory, that process starts at the closed sign on the Community Pool and ends in the library.

In addition, Scattergood has done a wonderful job of portraying the time period she is writing about.  References to ducktail hair cuts, Elvis Presley, charm bracelets, Rock and Roll music and the Beatles are just some of the things that were so popular in the summer of '64 and add realistic flavor to this novel.

I have seen Glory Be and its heroine Glory,  frequently compared to To Kill a Mockingbird, and its heroine Scout, but I think it should be only to the extent that they are such well written examples of historical fiction with truly wonderful characters. To go beyond that is to rob each book and character of their own charming individuality.

There is a helpful Glory Be discussion guide available from Scholastic's Mother/Daughter Book Club 

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from Webster Branch of the NYPL

*FYI - I reread Glory Be during a recent cold snap in NY and enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad by David A. Adler

What better time to read this new biography of Harriet Tubman than during Black History Month.  I know there are lots of books about there about this courageous woman, but I found Adler's book so interesting that I read it in one sitting.

Tubman was born a slave in 19820, one of thirteen children who never even knew her date of birth.  Her own, Edward Brodsee wasn't a very successful man and often rented out or sold his slaves to raise needed money.  Harriet, or Minty as she was originally called, was herself rented out.  When Brodsee died, his slave should have been granted their freedom, but his wife, needing money, hired a lawyer to see if there was some way to get around this provision in her husband's will.

Hearing this, Minty and three of her brothers decided to run away with only the north star to guide them.  The night noises frightened her brothers, so they turned back.  Minty was the only one to make it to freedom that time.

And this was only the beginning of Harriet Tubman's life as a conductor on the Underground Railroad.  Altogether, Tubman made thirteen trips to guiding family and others to freedom under cover of darkness, in the face of danger and in bitter cold winter weather.  

Adler's book, Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad,  gives a very nice, broad look at this woman's incredible life, providing information about her birth and childhood on the Brodsee farm, her flight north, and her work as a spy and nurse wounded Union soldiers during the Civil War, among other things.

But Tubman's life isn't presented in a vacuum.  Adler gives a nice picture of the political, social and cultural events that influenced Tubman's actions throughout her life.  His narrative is supplemented with plenty of drawings and photographs, excerpts from newspapers of the time, and timeline of Tubman's life and lots of useful resources at the back of the book.

Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad is an excellent text for introducing young readers to the accomplishments of this brave woman as well as a wonderful overview of American history in the 19th century and the institution of slavery.  It is written in clear, lively language, so that the reader really gets a feel for the kind of person Tubman was, including some faults, which are often overlooked when writing about a heroic figure.

All in all, this is an excellent addition to the body of literature for children regarding Black History Month.

This book is recommended for readers age 10+

This book was borrowed from the NYPL

Nonfiction Monday is hosted this week by Roberta at Wrapped in Foil

What I Did for International Book Giving Day

Yestereday was International Book Giving Day - a day to celebrate books by giving a child a book.  So yesterday I packed up 5 boxes of books with some friends to send to a Long Island school whose library had been totally destroyed by Superstorm Sandy.

And then we packed up another 6 boxes of books to send to Project Cicero.  What is Project Cicero, you might ask?  I will let it speak for itself:

Project Cicero is an annual non-profit book drive designed to create – or supplement – school and classroom libraries for children in under-resourced New York City public schools. Since its inception in 2001, Project Cicero has distributed over 1,800,000 new and gently used books to 10,000 New York City classrooms and libraries, reaching an estimated 400,000 students. We receive donations from individuals and families from over 100 independent, public, and parochial schools each year, and have received generous contributions from many book publishers.

Project Cicero is a partnership of New York City parent and student volunteers, The New York Society Library, Vornado Realty Trust, and The New York Post, in association with Teach for America New York and the New York City Teaching Fellows.

Over 1,000 teachers from all over New York City are invited to make their selections at our event in early March each year. Hundreds of student, parent and teacher volunteers assist in all aspects of collecting and distributing the books.

On-line donations of new books may be made through this website by clicking on the “Wish List.” Books on the list are in great demand by participating teachers. Monetary donations are also welcome and may be made through this website by clicking “Contact Us.”

Project Cicero is named in honor of the Roman writer, statesman, orator and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero, who created extensive libraries in the first century, B.C. He shared his love of literature and learning, just as Project Cicero seeks to do.

Sadly, not one of us thought to bring a camera.

His Name was Raoul Wallenberg - an interview with Louise Borden

Louise Borden author of His Name
was Raoul Wallenberg

Today I am very pleased and honored to welcome Louise Borden to Randomly Reading and The Children's War.  Louise and her book His Name was Raoul Wallenberg have been named winner of the 2013 Sydney Taylor Book Award for Older Readers by the Association of Jewish Libraries.  The Sydney Taylor Book Awards are given annually to those outstanding works that authentically portray the Jewish experience.

First, may I say congratulations on being given this award for writing such a fine biography of a real World War II hero.

Louise, can you tell us what being awarded the 2013 Sydney Taylor Book Award means to you?

It's quite an honor and was totally unexpected.  But I'm thrilled to think that others felt that my research and writing about Raoul was worthy of this wonderful award.  Awards are not my focus when I'm alone at my desk typing away but I think this one means that those on the committee believe in me and in the importance of Raoul Wallenberg's life story.  It is quite affirming and something I will carry into the future on the tough days when I'm staring down at a blank page.  Winning this award will not make writing easier but I'll think of my encouragers, and of Sydney Taylor, cheering me on.

You have written on a variety of subjects, but you keep returning to stories about World War II in both fiction and non-fiction - The Little Ships, Across the Blue Pacific, The Greatest Skating Race, The Journey that Saved Curious George, and now His Name was Raoul Wallenberg.  Can you tell us what inspired you to write about Raoul Wallenberg?

I'd never heard of Raoul Wallenberg even though I studied history in college.  It wasn't until the 1980s that I read about him, and the mystery of his disappearance.  I was drawn to his character, his moral compass, his Swedish background, and his American education in architecture.  I'm not Jewish but I've read about the Holocaust and care deeply that we must always remember those who were lost and educate future generations.  I didn't know much about the events in Hungary until I started on my long path of research.  I hope that young readers will find Raoul Wallenberg's story and his actions (and those of other brave diplomats in Budapest) as compelling as I did.  Raoul and his colleagues are my life heroes.  What if they had stood by and done nothing during those dark days?

I know you have written books in free verse before, and it seems to be a form that is becoming more and more popular in both fiction and non-fiction.  Yet, when I read Raoul Wallenberg's story I was amazed at how much information you were able to convey without resorting to prose.  Can you tell us what prompted you to chose this form over prose?

All of my books are written in this style.  Sea Clocks and The Journey that Saved Curious George were subjects that also involved gathering a lot of complicated information and then making events and places and people accessible to today's young readers.  It took me two years to write the text about Raoul Wallenberg, shaping the structure and doing constant revision.  I wanted the power of his story to shine through and not have my readers get lost in dense paragraphs of dry writing.

I know historical fiction and non-fiction require a lot of research.  Could you tell us a little about the research process you used and any challenges you faced while writing His Name was Raoul Wallenberg?

His life is a complex story with an unknown ending, clouded by contradictions.  First I had to immerse myself in reading deeply and widely, sifting through inaccuracies that have been stated in various books  over the years.  I tried to use primary sources whenever possible.  Meeting with his family was very important, hearing their voices and recollections.  I went to Stockholm three times and Budapest twice - on my own nickel and perseverance.  That was a financial challenge!  The Wallenberg story was my "beautiful obsession".   You have to have a deep commitment to last through years of research.  I had three editors...so the book's structure changed and evolved.  I began these steps before Google was such a helpful presence to researchers.  Attending a Raoul Wallenberg Symposium in Budapest was also very helpful.  Andy Nagy helped me translate sections of some Hungarian books.  Gathering the photos was a challenge.  I think that this book contains more photos than any other book about Raoul Wallenberg.  I wanted kids to know what the players in the story looked like, and what the places looked like.  To them, World War II was lived in black and white...I want them to know that it was lived in color.

After reading His Name was Raoul Wallenberg, the thing that struck me the most was how you presented him as a real person and not just another distant historical figure.  For example, I love that you included information about Raoul's childhood and teen years.  The class picture you open with is priceless, as is the invitation to readers to also become a storyteller of his life.  As storytellers, what do you hope your young readers will take away from this book?

When I saw the school photo (that had never before appeared in a book), I knew that it was the key to finding the right place to begin such a complicated story.  Finding the right voice is always my quest.  I hoped that this photo (and that signature) would bring kids immediately into Raoul's life.   I try to choose the most essential details - the ones that will connect with kids.  I gathered these from interviews regarding his childhood and teen years.  I'm 63 years old.  Young readers have much longer lives ahead of them.  I want them to be inspired by this man and by his character and actions.  I want kids to know that they too can make a positive difference in the world.  I want them to find their own heroes.  And I want readers to remember Raoul Wallenberg and to carry his story into their own futures.  We are all storytellers - kids will remember a great story and I hope they will tell others and use its power for good in their own lives.

Raoul Wallenberg's Class Picture @1921

One of the topics of WW2 that I have always hoped to see a kids book about are the Jewish Partisans, like the Bielski Partisans.  That being said, what particular ideas set the writing process in motion for you?  Do you have a current writing project and is there any future project of a historical nature that you would like to write about?

I've had about 26 books published.  More are fiction than nonfiction.  But in most I tend to focus on ordinary characters who do extraordinary things.  Courage, friendship, helping others, heroes, changing the world in a wonderful way - you will find these in the pages of my books.  I write about people who inspire me.

The Greatest Skating Race was entirely fictional but rooted in an authentic setting.  I wanted to write about that part of the world in wartime.  I wrote the fictional The Little Ships because I found the event of the Dunkirk rescue so dramatic.  When a person or place or event calls to me in a deep way, that is when I embark on writing about it - either fictionally or via nonfiction.  Along the way, I have met amazing people, and through my books I have made lifelong friends in other countries.  I've just finished a fictional book set in Italy during WW2.  And I went to France last September to see some places I've been researching for two years - another WW2 story.  Both of these books are, again, about the courage of ordinary people.  Long ago in college my senior research project focused on the European Response to Hitler/Resistance movements in WW2 in France, Holland, Denmark and Germany.  I'm sure your interest in the Bielski Partisans is founded in part on their extraordinary courage.  World War 2 affected millions upon millions.  Each had their own individual story.  Perhaps that is why you and I both find this tragic time so compelling.
When I finish my work-in-progress French story, I have yet another idea I am pursuing via research.  I gather books, etc and they sit on the back of my writing stove.  Then when I'm ready, I start a project.  I intersperse my WW2 books with books for younger kids.  Kindergarten Luck is such a book, that will be published by Chronicle.  Baseball is...will be published by S&S next year.

Thank you so much, Louise, for taking the time to visit Randomly Reading and for all the insights you have given us into your writing process.  I wish you all the best in the future.

Please be sure to visit these other stops on the 2013 Sydney Taylor Book Award blog tour:

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Ann Redisch Stampler, author of The Wooden Sword
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Shelf-Employed 

Carol Liddiment, illustrator of The Wooden Sword
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Ann Koffsky’s Blog 

Doreen Rappaport, author of Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Teen Readers Category
At Bildungsroman

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Linda Glaser, author of Hannah’s Way
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At This Messy Life 

Adam Gustavson, illustrator of Hannah’s Way
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger ReadersCategory
At Here in HP 

Louise Borden, author of His Name was Raoul Wallenberg
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Randomly Reading 

Deborah Heiligman, author of Intentions
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At The Fourth Musketeer 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2013 

Sheri Sinykin, author of Zayde Comes to Live
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Read, Write, Repeat 

Kristina Swarner, illustrator of Zayde Comes to Live
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Reading and Writing

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Linda Leopold Strauss, author of The Elijah Door
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Pen and Pros 

Alexi Natchev, illustrator of The Elijah Door
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Madelyn Rosenberg’s Virtual Living Room 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2013

Blog Tour Wrap-Up at The Whole Megillah 

Visit The Association of Jewish Libraries blog and the official Sydney Taylor site

His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg: Courage, Rescue and Mystery During World War II by Louise Borden

In January, I was very pleased to learn that Louise Borden and her book His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg had been named winner of the 2013 Sydney Taylor Book Award for Older Readers by the Association of Jewish Libraries.  The Sydney Taylor Book Awards are given annually to those outstanding works that authentically portray the Jewish experience. 

Born into a relatively well-to-do family of bankers in Stockholm, Sweden in 1912, Raoul Wallenberg was always excited and curious about everything and his endeavors were encouraged and supported by his family.  At age 11, he traveled alone from Sweden to Turkey on the Orient Express to visit his grandfather, Gustaf Wallenberg, Sweden's minister to Turkey.  And at age 19, he left Sweden to attend college at the University of Michigan, majoring in architecture.  When he returned to Europe, Raoul spent time travelling and as he did, he began to hear stories from Jews who has escaped Hitler's Germany, stories about new laws, beatings and even murder inflicted on Jews by the Nazi government. 

Raoul had taken a job and was an excellent salesman, helped by his ability to speak different languages.   But pretty soon the world was at war.  As he watched country after country fall to Nazi occupation, he worried about Sweden's neutrality.  Denmark and Norway, close neighbor, had already fallen to the Nazis.  When roundups and deportations were announced in Denmark in 1943, Sweden gave permission for Danish Jews to enter the country, saved by the many Danish fisherman willing to sail them there.  Swedish freedom and neutrality remained intact.

Hungary was also a country with a large Jewish population, but it was not a neutral and in 1944, it, too, became a Nazi occupied country.  Roundups and deportations of Hungarian Jews began and many went to the Swedish embassy seeking visas to Sweden.  But the War Refugee Board in America wanted a neutral Swede to organize some relief for the Jews in Hungary.  Raoul Wallenberg, with his  many languages and skill as a salesman, was just the person they needed. 

Wallenberg devised a legal looking Protection Pass or Schutzpass that were like Swedish passports and protected the bearer from deportation. Wallenberg even created a single Schutzpass that protected whole families.  But the Schutzpass, which probably saved around 20,000 people, was only one way Wallenberg worked to help Hungarian Jews. 

Ironically, the man who worked tirelessly to save Jews, was picked up by the Soviet military in Hungary and on January 17, 1945, he was last seen being driven away in a Soviet car, and was never to be heard from again. 

The details of Wallenberg's life and the work he did saving Jews in Hungary are all nicely detailed in-depth in Borden's free verse biography of this incredible man.  His Name Was Raoul Wallenbergis beautifully put together, divided into 15 sections, each one chronicling a period of Wallenberg's life with a wealth of supporting photographs and other documents that give a comprehensive picture of his life as he grows and changes and even goes beyond his disappearance up to the present.   As you will discover when you read the Author's Note at the back, Borden had the privilege of working closely with his family over many years and so had much more personal insight into the real child and man that was Raoul Wallenberg than biographers are generally privy to.  And that shows throughout the book.

But His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg is more than just a biography, it is a shining example of one man who rose to the challenge at a very bleak time in history and who made a difference in the world, saving so many Hungarian Jews from certain death.  Borden has written a compelling book that is a fine addition to the whole body of Holocaust literature and anyone interested in the Jewish experience at that time.

Raoul Wallenberg was named Righteous Among The Nations by Yad Vashem in 1963 in Israel.

Come back tomorrow for an interview with Louise Borden.

This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was purchased for my personal library

You can find more information about Raoul Wallenberg at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, here

You can find more on Raoul Wallenberg and the plight of Hungarian Jews at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum here

Be sure to visit Louise Borden's website here

This review also appears on my other blog The Children's War

Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin

When my kiddo was around 10, she developed an interest in Chinese myths.  That interest grew and soon included food, culture and language.  So, one bitter cold Sunday, we took the subway down to Chinatown in NYC to see the Dragon Parade welcoming in the Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year.  What an exciting day that was - we ate dumplings, sticky rice cakes and drank lots of tea, watched the dragon wake up and just enjoyed the day out despite the 20°F temperature.  Next thing I knew, kiddo was finished with college, spoke fluent Mandarin and off to China.

The Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, is a real family celebration and nothing exemplifies that more that Grace Lin's Bringing in the New Year.  This sweet introduction to this holiday, aimed at preschoolers, is as colorful and cheerful as the celebrations themselves.

There are lots of traditions surrounding the New Year, and Lin gives a wonderful overview of these.  There is sweeping out the old year (similar to spring cleaning), hanging up the happiness poems and bringing in the lions to scare away the bad luck from the old year, all depicted in bright, happy colors, but with red predominating - red is the color of luck or good fortune.

I liked Bringing in the New Year a lot, except I wish Lin had included somewhere the meanings of the words she used for family members - Jie Jie means big sister, Mei Mei is little sister, Ba Ba means daddy.  Whenever I read this book to kids, they think they are Chinese names, not family designations, even though they are commonly used.  Other than that, this is a perfect beginner book for kids to start learning about and appreciating the Lunar New Year.

This book is recommended for readers age 3+
This book was purchased for my personal library

Oh yes, according to the Lunar calendar, this is the Year of the Snake, the Water Snake, to be exact.

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!

Fly High! The Story of Bessie Coleman by Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger, illustrated by Teresa Flavin

February is Black History Month and I thought I would begin the month with a look at the life of Bessie Coleman.  Bessie was the first female African American pilot AND the first African American to hold an international pilot license.   Those are certainly achievements that deserved to be honored and celebrated.

And that is precisely what Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger do in this picture book biography of Bessie.  Born in 1892, Bessie was the 10th child of 13, growing up in a small house in Waxahachie, Texas.  She was able to attend school, but only when there was no cotton to pick.  But Bessie learned her arithmetic well and was able to make sure her family wasn't cheated when the cotton was weighed.

But Bessie wanted more and when she was 23, she moved to Chicago, where her brother was a Pullman porter.  She took a job giving manicures at a barber shop and listened to all the talk among the men.  That's where she heard about French female pilots from the soldiers returning from the Great War.  They must be somebody, she thought and from than on, she worked hard to save money to go to France and learn to fly.

And she did just that.  In 1921, Bessie earned her international pilot license and began stunt flying all over the United States and even dreamed of opening her own flying school, but that was a dream not to be realized.  First, she was in a crash with laid her up for months.  Then one day, in 1926, while taking a very shabby plane out for a test run, she was killed along with her mechanic.  Bessie was only 34 years old.

Fly High! is an ideal Black History Month introductory biography for young readers.  It is written in free verse, in language that is simple and direct, but not condescending to the reader.   But most importantly, it is the story of one woman's courage and determination against all odds to realize her dream of flying.  And it is an inspirational story - education was a luxury back in the early part of the 20th century for many kids who had to earn money to help support their family, but Bessie persevered - walking miles and miles to school, when she could attend, and to pick up and return the laundry her mother did to earn money.

Accompanying the text and adding so much to the story of Bessie Coleman's story, are plenty of beautiful, timely, folk-art inspired gouache paintings in bright pastel shades by Teresa Flavin.  And like the text, they are simple and direct, bringing it altogether.

All unconventional dreams carry a risk and Bessie's dream of flying was no different.  But Bessie was a trail blazer and her untimely death in the prime of her life shouldn't detract from that.  She had an indomitable spirit was so admirable and that we should always celebrate and Borden, Kroeger and Flavin have done a commendable job showing why.

This book is recommended for readers 9+
This book was borrowed from Contee Cullen Branch of the NYPL

This is book 2 of my Non-Fiction Picture Book Challenge hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy

The 2013 Bank Street Children's Book Committee Awards

Well, this is award season and now that the Newbery's have been selected, I would like to announce the next most important awards (ahem! ahem!).  They are the 2013 Bank Street Children's Book Committee Awards.  Each year the committee awards three awards: one for outstanding fiction, one for outstanding poetry and one for outstanding non-fiction.

And the 2013 winners are:

2013 Josette Frank Award (Fiction) 
Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive,  goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.

2013 Flora Stieglizt Straus Award (Non-Fiction)
Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust by Doreen Rappaport

Twenty-one brilliantly detailed accounts illuminates the defiance of tens of thousands of Jews across eleven Nazi-occupied countries during Word War II. In answer to genocidal madness that was Hitler's Holocaust, the only response they could abide was resistance, and their greatest weapons were courage, ingenuity, the will to survive and the resolve to save others or to die trying.

2013 Claudia Lewis Award (Poetry)
National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry: 200 Poems with Photographs that Speak, Soar, and Roar! Edited by J. Patrick Lewis

Beautiful photography compliments and extends the 200 enchanting poems about animals written by some of your favorite poets, such as Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Carl Sandburg, our old favorite Anonymous, even Vita Sackville West (who knew!) and of course, our Children's Poet Laureate and editor of this lovely volume, J Patrick Lewis.

Congratulations to the winners!

Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough

It is August 1958. Cora Swift, 12, and her sister Mimi, 4, have just arrived at Bryers Guerdon from London to live with their Auntie Ida Eastfield at Guerdon Hall, a ramshackle estate that has been in their family for centuries.  Their mother is gone again, and their dad had no where else to send them until she returns home.  Where her mum is is a mystery to Cora.

But Auntie Ida doesn't want them living with her and immediately gives them a list of things they must never, ever do, odd things like always keep the doors locked and never open a window, never go into any rooms upstairs except the bedroom and the bathroom, never go behind the house, never ever go to the marshes when the tide is out, never dare to go to the old church nearby.  Of course, once Cora posts the letter Aunti Ida writes to her dad, the kids will be going back to London with him.

Luckily, Cora ad Mimi have already run into Roger and Pete, who live in the area and have become instant friends.  And of course, on the way to post the letter to their dad, the first thing they do is get waylaid with their new friends and go to the forbidden church.  But will playing in the graveyard that surrounds the church, Cora and Mimi both see a man who then disappears. Mimi says it is Old Peter, the man in the picture at Auntie Ida's that hangs near the bathroom.  That picture scared Mimi so much the day before she wet the bed in the night instead of going to the bathroom.  And Old Peter isn't the only one they see, there are specters of children in the graveyard, too.  But who are they? Why are they there?

It doesn't take Cora long to become curious about all the odd things that are going on and she starts searching for some answers.  And what she uncovers is a chilling story that has terrorized Bryers Guerdon for centuries and it involves the death of young children.  And now it looks like Mimi might be in danger.  Little by little, Cora and Roger uncover the secrets that villagers, and especially Auntie Ida, have held for years and which might help explain why Auntie Ida so vehemently does not want the two girls living with her and why Cora's mother disappears periodically.

It's hard not to give too much away about this book but Long Lankin is such a deliciously creepy book and it would spoil everything for future readers.  So I am going to stop here and hope I have tantalized you enough to want to read this really exciting novel.

Long Lankin is told from the point of view of three alternating voices, that of Cora, Roger and Auntie Ida.  The way be get different perspectives on the same events as well as background information that would not be known to the other narrators.  This way, they not only fill in gaps, but give historical background, especially Auntie Ida.  And this round robin of narrators adds to the buildup of tension that culminates in the denouement.  And what a denouement it is.

Long Lankin is a story is based on a rather sinister old 18th century English ballad. Barraclough has taken each of the two line verses and woven them into a rather Gothic-like story.  The ballad is included in to front of the book, so be sure to read it before you begin Long Lankin.

If you like a gripping mystery shrouded in Gothic tropes, Long Lankin is the book for you.

Long Lankin is book 1 of my 2013 YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge hosted by The Book Cellar