Old School Favorite Books: A pre- 1945 Roundup

Each month the Old School Kitlit Reading Challenge hosted by Katie at Read-At-Home-Mom has a different theme. For March, the theme is favorite books published before 1945. Of course, there are the usual favorites like The Secret Garden, The Wizard of Oz, Madeline, and some of the Betsy-Tacy books, but I thought I would share the nine books that left such an impression on me that I still think about them and have even given to my Kiddo to read.

Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates 

Mary Mapes Dodge, 1865

Living in Holland, the Brinker family, once middle class, is now quite poor because Mr. Brinker has been hurt in a fall from a dike and can't work. Hans, his mother and sister Gretel do their best to support the family. Hans has saved money to buy steel skates for himself and his sister so they can enter a race and try to win a pair beautiful silver skates. When Hans discovers a doctor who can help his father, he offers to pay for the risky surgery with the money he saved to buy the skates for the race. The doctor does the surgery for free, Hans buys skates for Gretel and himself, but in the end Hans lets a needier boy win the boy's race. Aside from learning a lot about Holland and Dutch culture, the most important thing I took away from this story is the importance of paying kindness forward. If you would like to read Hans Brinker, you can download it for free at Project Gutenberg

Little Women

Louisa May Alcott, 1868

My first memory of Little Women is seeing my sister crying while she was reading it and I knew I had to read it as soon as she finished. Set during the Civil War, it is the story of the four March sisters and their mother at home in New England while their is off fighting with the Union Army. Life is hard and food is scarce, but the family does what it can to get by. Life is made more pleasant when the sisters meet Laurie, grandson of their wealthy neighbor. Jo is my favorite character, probably because she has a quick temper, and so did I. She also speaks without thinking, as habit I still struggle with. But what I really took away from Little Women is the importance of family and their support, and that it might not be easy, but it is important to try to follow your dreams. You can also download Little Women for free on Project Gutenberg

Anne of Green Gables

L. M. Montgomery, 1908

This is the story of redheaded orphan Anne Shirley who is accidentally sent to siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. Marilla wants to send her back because they need a boy to help on their farm, but Matthew is smitten with Anne from the start. Anne has a vivid imagination, and like Jo March, she is impulsive and speaks without thinking. The book follows her adventures with best friend Diana Barry and nemesis Gilbert Blythe. My mother bought this for me when I was 10 and very ill, and it was quickly followed by the remaining five books about Anne Shirley, which I still have. Anne of Green Gables was my mom's favorite book when she was young, and it formed a real reading bond between us that lasted until her death in 1998, and I guess you could say that that bond is the most important thing I took away with me from this book. And to always be yourself, of course. Anne of Green Gables can also be found on Project Gutenberg

The Velveteen Rabbit: Or How Toys Become Real

Margery Williams, 1922

Originally cast aside in favor of newer, more modern toys, the Velveteen Rabbit is told by the old Skin Horse that toys only become real when they are loved by the children who own them. The Velveteen Rabbit is ignored until the boy who owns him gets ill and is given the toy to sleep with. From then on, the rabbit is the boy's favorite toy, going everywhere with him. But when the boy gets sick with scarlet fever, all his toys must be burned to contain the disease, including his beloved rabbit. Put into the garden with all the other toys to be burnt the next day, the rabbit sheds a real tear. The nursery fairy tells him he is real now and takes him to the forest to be with other rabbits. When I was young, I didn't really get this book, but later I realized that it is about how our relationships all help make us who we are and that they should be cultivated with care. The Velveteen Rabbit can also be downloaded from Project Gutenberg

The School at the Chalet

Elinor Brent-Dyer, 1925

My cousin, who lives in Wales, sent me this for my birthday one year and I've been hooked on the Chalet School series ever since. This first book tells how Madge Bethany, 24, decides to found a boarding school, in part to help her pay for the care her ill 12 year old sister Jo needs. She decides to open the school in the mountains of southern Austria instead of England for financial reasons, and before long she finds herself with a school full of students. The Chalet School books are pretty much full of the usual things that go one in a boarding school: classes, sports, friendships, quarrels, and unlike many series books, they don't feel like they are written in a time vacuum. The characters age, marry and have children of their own, providing Madge with an endless supply of students. In later books, the school deals with Nazis in Austria, escaping from them and finding a place in Wales to set up school. I loved these books, and desperately wanted to be sent to boarding school. Well, that didn't happen, but I did spend quite a few summers at sleep-away camp, which wasn't all that different.

The Blythe Girls: Helen, Margy, and Rose

Laura Lee Hope, 1925

When I was 10, my mother sent me to Michigan to help out on my aunt's farm. I wasn't very helpful, but I did discover a bunch of books in her attic. Among them, was the first volume of the Blythe Girls series. I loved this first book - three sisters, all still in their teens, who must move into a Manhattan apartment after their parents die. They get jobs, lose jobs, meet guys, and in general, just try to make it in the big city. There are 12 books in the series, and each one after the first, focuses on a problem of one of the sisters. The books were published by Grosset & Dunlap, as part of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, and as we now know, there was no such person as Laura Lee Hope. Instead, the real author of the Blythe Girls series, among other series books, was really named Elizabeth M. Duffield Ward. The Blythe Girls made me want to be independent, to live in Manhattan (I lived in Brooklyn) and to have an apartment there when I grew up and I did just that, living on East 7th Street in the East Village while I was in college and a few years after, and best of all, working and paying for it myself.

The Secret of the Old Clock

Carolyn Keene, 1930

This was the first Nancy Drew book I read, and I continued to read them in order, even though they take place in a time vacuum. Nancy is 18, lives with her lawyer father, Carson Drew, and housekeeper, Hannah Gruen. In this first book, Nancy investigates a lost will. After wealthy Josiah Crowley dies, Nancy is told by a relative that his will might be found in the family clock. Nancy decides to investigate this, hoping the will can help out some of his relatives, the Hoover sisters, who are really struggling financially. If Nancy and her chums Bess and George don't find the will, the snobby, already-wealthy Tophams will inherit everything. Nancy has to figure out a way to get into the Tophams summer home, find the clock and thwart a group of burglars. I read the revised version of The Secret of the Old Clock, not the one written in 1930. One drawback to the Nancy Drew books, which also came out of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, is the there are lots of stereotypes, but what makes them important is, once again, the image of a strong, intelligent and independent woman. Nancy wore frocks, had chums, and drove a roadster and I wanted to be just like her.

Cherry Ames, Student Nurse

Helen Wells, 1943

The United States is at war and young women are being encouraged to become nurses, which is exactly what 18 year old Cherry has decided to do, because "she wanted to do vital work, work that the world urgently needs" (pg. 5) and her decision is encouraged by her family's friend, Dr. Joseph Fortune. She begins her training at Spencer Hospital School of Nursing. She is a bundle of nerves, but soon meets her fellow nursing students, who will become her series-long friends. In her first year, Cherry figures out how to help a very sick child, and helps save the life of the mysterious patient in Room 3, the one the student nurses have been told to leave alone. Cherry, whose real name is Charity, is another of those strong, independent woman, but she is also a bit of a rebel and will question authority when she thinks it's necessary. My mom became a nurse for the same reasons that Cherry did and had hoped I would follow in her footsteps, but reading the Cherry Ames series was the closest I came to nursing. My calling was teaching. 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Betty Smith, 1943

I read this when I was 12 and absolutely loved it. I was a Brooklyn girl who loved to read just like the main character, Francie Nolan. It is a coming of age novel about a young, Irish American girl living in an apartment in Williamsburg, where her mother is the janitor. Francie's father is a romantic ne're-do-well alcoholic whose drinking impacts the whole family. I will never forget reading about Francie and her brother Neeley standing in the Christmas tree lot, waiting for midnight when the tree seller throws the leftover trees at the people too poor to buy them. Francie and Neeley catch the largest, heaviest tree and drag it home through the snowy streets and up to the apartment. It took a few years for me to realize the extent to which trees played a metaphorical role in this book. The story begins when Francie is 11 and continues to young adulthood. Francie's life is full of disappointments, but like the trees in the book, Francie grows into a strong, determined, and persistent young woman no matter what life throws at her.

These, then, are my pre-1945 Old School favorite books.  Do you have any favorites?

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is the original weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, but is now hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.  It's Monday! What are you reading? - from Picture Books to YA is a kidlit focused meme just like the original and is hosted weekly by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers .  The purpose is the same: to recap what you have read and/or reviewed and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. Twitter for #IMWAYR

Last week, I posted about all the great picture books I had read the week before. Well, this week, I focused on board book, a whole bunch of board books especially for baby. I begin with

Hair written and illustrated by Leslie Patricelli

Candlewick Press, 2017, 26 pages, age 3 months+

Leslie Patricelli's signature round-faced diaper-wearing baby is back to talk all about hair. Baby may only has that one curly strand, but it's important to take care of it, and baby shows young readers just what to do - comb it when it's messy, wash it when it get dirty. And now that baby's curly strand has grown too long, it's time for that first haircut. The airplane seat that baby sits in for a haircut might be nice, but will it hurt? Like all of Patricelli's baby books, this one is very funny, even as it reassures readers that getting a haircut is no big deal. Her bold acrylic illustrations are bright, the background of each page on in a different color, the foreground subjects are set off in thick blacks outlines. A great book for toddlers still facing that first haircut.

Nighty-Night written and illustrated by Leslie Patricelli

Candlewick Press, 2017, 26 pages, age 3 months+

If your littlest readers can't get enough of Leslie Patricelli's irrepressible baby, they are in luck. This time, it's all about going to bed. Baby's nighttime routine is simple. Once dinner is finished, it's time for baby to say good-night to the sun, hello to the moon, to kick off the diaper, do a little naked dance with mom and dad, and hop in to a bath. Then, it's tooth brushy, hair brushy time, followed by a nice bedtime story and a little bedtime song, kissy kissy with mom and day, and off to sleep. After all, tomorrow's another busy day for baby. If bedtime is a problem in your house, this may just be the book your baby needs. Nighty-Night is another welcomed addition to the Patricelli oeuvre of wonderful baby board books. 

Flora and the Chicks, a Counting Book 

written and illustrated by Molly Idle

Chronicle Books, 2017, 20 pages, age 2+

Flora is back, but this time in a board book for younger readers. It's time to collect eggs, but not the to eggs she finds the hen sitting on. As Flora watches, she sees the egg begin to crack and out come a baby chick. While she is admiring the first chick, another eggs begins to crack, in fact that happens 8 more time. By the end, instead of putting eggs in her bowl, she has 10 chicks. But this is a counting book, and by lifting the full-sized flaps, kids can learn to count to 10, counting the chicks as they multiply on each page. Except for the numbers and the words The End, this is a wordless book in Idle's signature Flora style. Flora's reactions are evident only in the body and facial expressions, which say so much. For collecting chicks, Flora is in red overalls, a yellow bandana and little ballet shoes. The adorable chicks range from bright yellow to orange to brown, each as cute as the other. A fun books for young readers and a nice Easter basket alternative to candy. 

Fly! written and illustrated by Xavier Deneux

Chronicle Books, 2017, 14 pages, age 3+

A bird alights on a tree after a long journey. It's spring and the bird decides to stay. Soon the tree has leaves and apples. Along comes another bird, who has also come from far away. Soon, the two birds are building an nest together, to shelter their eggs, which soon crack and out come two baby chicks. When they grow bigger, the baby birds are encouraged to fly aways on their own. Fly! is a nice cycle of life book for young readers. The illustrations are spare and it is an interactive book. Some of the die-cut characters, scenery, even the sun can be removed from one page and replaced on the facing page to make a new scene, inviting the reader to participate and speculate about what is happening and why. The removable parts of this books are done in thick cardboard with plenty of space for little finger to remove and replace them and they fit snuggly enough without being difficult to maneuver. 

Mommy Snuggles written and illustrated by Anne Gutman, 

and Georg Hallensleben

Chronicle Books, 2017, 14 pages, age 3months+

Animal mommies have all kinds of ways to hold their babies to keep them safe. Young readers will learn that a tiger carries her cub in her mouth, an otter's baby snuggles on mother otter's belly, koala's carry their young on their back, and humans hold their little ones in there arms. There are other animals to learn about in the kid-friendly book, that uses simple text and softly textured painterly illustrations. This is a nice book to read before a visit to the zoo, and a reassuring book to read at bedtime. And it pairs nicely with Daddy Dreams.

Daddy Dreams written and illustrated by Anne Gutman,

and Georg Hallensleben

Chronicle Books, 2017, 14 pages, age 3months+

How do animal daddy's sleep and dream? Young readers will discover that lions dream on their side, horses dream standing up, and bats dreams upside down. There are more animal daddies to discover in the sweet board book, but, kids will learn, no matter how these dad's sleep and dream, they always keep their babies by their side, safe and sound, just like human daddies do. Daddy Dreams is done in the same reassuring simple text and softy textured painterly illustrative style as Gutman and Hallensleben's other books. 

My Little Cities: New York

written by Jennifer Adams, pictures by Greg Pizzoli

Chronicle Books, 2017, 22 pages, age 3+

Young kids are traveling with their families more and more these days and here is a book that can help them prepare for a trip to my hometown, NYC. Adams has included all the fun spots, though I doubt many 3-4 year olds will find themselves taken to the theater. But all the hot spots are here, from the Empire State Building to the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Central Park, Yankee Stadium and Coney Island. It's a whirlwind visit, but oh, so worth it (well, I may be biased here). The humorous digital collage illustrations and the loosely rhyming simple text really capture the different moods of the city in a nice age appropriate way. A detailed description of each sight in included at the end of the book. Use this to plan a kid friendly trip or just to dream. 

My Little Cities: London

written by Jennifer Adams, pictures by Greg Pizzoli

Chronicle Books, 2017, 22 pages, age 3+ 

Just as she did with New York, Adams takes young readers on a kid friendly tour of London. From the Tower of London, to changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, to riding the London Eye (no, I passed on that myself - it's a height thing), it is a fun visit. Using the same format as her other book, the book is written in a nice simple rhyming text and the illustrations are digitally produced collages. It is a nice whirlwind tour but watch out for the pigeons - there are lots of them.

Both My Little Cities books will be available on April 11, 2017.

I also finished reading, with reviews to come soon:

That was my reading week. What are you reading?

Blog Tour: Brobarians written and illustrated by Lindsay Ward

Starting with a hand drawn-in-pencil-and-crayon map of Brobaria, that clearly shows the backyard territory divided between Iggy's Land and Otto's Land, young readers are plunged into the tale of two brothers, the mighty Brobarians, once at peace, now bitter enemies.

Sporting a mop belted to his head, an orange towel cape, and a diaper, Iggy the Brobarian is the younger of these two gladiator brothers. Older brother Otto the Big Brobarian prefers a blue towel cape, a viking hat complete with horns, and a t-shirt that says Tough Guy on it.

But what terrible thing caused these two Brobarians to turn against each other? A broken cookie jar and each blamed the other for the mishap. Now at war, younger Brobarian Iggy, master of a rattle-shaped sword, seized the great warrior Otto's plastic army. Consulting his advisors, a stuffie and the family dog, Otto waits for just the right moment to strike back at Iggy, not just stealing his most precious bottle, but drinking it all up - every last drop. The result is a true clash of the titans.

Will these two mighty warriors ever make up and restore peace in their realms? Or will it take the neutral arbitrator Mamabarian to bring them together in the a nice warm bubbly negotiating bath?

Brobarians is a really humorous, warmhearted look at sibling rivalry, a book any reader, young and old, who has a brother or sister can appreciate. I can remember drawing a crayon line down the center of the bedroom I shared with my sister and how much trouble we got in for doing that, and yes, we pointed the finger at each other, just as Otto and Iggy do.

So, Brobarians is really a true-to-life tale, (and probably also a tale as old a time). I found myself laughing out loud the first time I read it, but the real test was with the young readers I read it to who absolutely loved Otto and Iggy. I think it was not just the story about these two brothers that appealed to them, but also the boys vivid imaginative playing and especially their warrior costumes.

To add to the fun, author/illustrator Lindsay Ward's page-turning illustrations were done with cut paper, pencil and crayon giving them a rather playful feeling, as though created from a kid's point of view. My kids loved discovering and talking about the different toys the boys used that are found on each page.

Brobarians is a lot of fun and is a book that kids will want to hear again and again (and I know this for a fact), and might even prompt only children to declare, as one of my young readers did, "oh, man, I wish I had a brother."

A Bit About the Author:
Lindsay Ward would never have written this book if she hadn't stayed up late one night watching Conan the Barbarian. She finds the idea of baby barbarians to be very funny...and hopes you do too. Lindsay's recent books include Rosco vs. the Baby and The Importance of Being 3. Most days you can find her writing and sketching at home in Ohio with her family. Learn more about her at www.lindsaymward.com or on Twitter: @lindsaymward

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was sent to me by the publisher, Two Lions

The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz

After his cousin Miguel is beaten to death by a gang called the Alphas for refusing to join them, Jaime, 12, and Miguel’s sister Ángela, 15, receive a note from the gang instructing them to show up a a certain place in six days. Though the note doesn’t say it, both children know that they will meet the same fate as Miguel if they aren’t there.

The Alphas are a powerful gang of young people dealing in drugs and death, and even the drug addicted police chief is unable to do anything about their reign of terror in this small Guatemalan town.

Not wanting to lose more children to the gang, Jaime’s parents, together with Miguel’s parents decide to send them to live with Jaime’s older brother Tomás. Tomás has been legally living and working in New Mexico on a ranch. After gathering as much money together as they can, the two families say good-bye to their children one night as they climb into the back of a pickup truck that will smuggle them across the border into southern Mexico.

Arriving in Tapachula, Mexico, Jaime and Ángela realize they still have a long, dangerous journey ahead of them. They decide to take a bus from there to Arriaga, but even that proves to be an ordeal when corrupt immigration guards board it at a checkpoint not far from Tapachula. There, they watched a woman taken off the bus, while a guard tests Ángela's pronunciation to see if she sounds Guatemalan not Mexican.

Arriving in Arriaga, the cousins make their way over to a church that offers shelter to others who are also heading north, hoping to cross the border. The “priest’ at the church also helps runaways meet coyotes who will take them across the border for a price. From Arriaga, the cousins travel by train in a locked, airless freight car which takes them to the border of Mexico and New Mexico. Once again, they need to pay a coyote to take them across the border, finding work for a while to make the money to pay for the trip. Eventually, they do cross the Rio Bravo, only to find themselves in another refugee camp, awaiting Tomás’s arrival.

The Only Road is not an easy book to read despite being narrated by 12 year old Jaime, but he does humanize the plight of why Central American refugees are trying to get away from gang and drug infested towns for a better life. After Miguel’s death, it becomes clear that there are only three choices available for Jaime and Ángela are join the Alphas or be murdered by them, or runaway. I can’t imagine being put into the same position as their parents and having to make the decision to send them on a dangerous, iffy journey alone and so far away, with no guarantees they won’t be killed, or caught and sent home. 

Sneaking across the border becomes understandable when people find themselves in the kind of untenable situation that Jaime and Ángela's families faced and who had no recourse with the local governments that could not or would not protect the. In that respect, The Only Road shows how very vulnerable these young kids are to the people who will take advantage of them financially, with no compunction about leveling physical and sexual abuse on these desperate runaways. 

The Only Road is a very timely and poignant novel, especially with all the talk in Washington about building a southern border wall. It was inspired by real events, Jamie and Ángela's story reflecting the many young people trying to immigrate to the United States, a phenomena that has increased in recent years as gangs and gang violence has proliferated in Central America. One needs only to read the newspapers to understand what is happening.

There are lots of Spanish words used in this book and readers will find an in-depth Glossary in the back matter. There are also suggestions for Further Reading for All Ages, from picture books to YA, as well as Online Resources for more information. Diaz also includes a separate section of Further Reading for Teachers that may not be appropriate for children.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+ 
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? is the original weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, but is now hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.  It's Monday! What are you reading? - from Picture Books to YA is a kidlit focused meme just like the original and is hosted weekly by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers .  The purpose is the same: to recap what you have read and/or reviewed and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. Twitter for #IMWAYR

I love a good picture book, and last week, I had lots of exciting picture books adventures to read that I would like to share with everyone. First up is

A Bus called Heaven written and illustrated by Bob Graham

Candlewick Press, 2011, 2012, 42 pages, age 4+

When an abandoned bus with a hand painted sign that simply says Heaven on it is discovered in front of Stella's house, the whole neighborhood is abuzz with curiosity, including Stella. Loaded with trash and in desperate need of a good wash, Stella sees nothing but possibility. Soon, the bus is transformed to a little bit of heaven as everyone pitches in and fixes it up. And what a wonderful community center for these very diverse neighbors to gather in and spend time getting to know each other. Even the birds settle in, building nests in the old engine. It's all good until...the tow truck shows up and off goes Heaven to the junkyard. Will the concerted efforts of Stella's friends and neighbors be enough to save their community bus from a crushing fate?

I loved this book. Not only does it shows how one person can make a difference, but also how a united community with a shared interest can also effect change. The ink and watercolor illustrations add just the right amount of whimsy and young readers will find much to explore in them. Pair this with The Night Gardener by Terry and Eric Fan, another fable in which a young boy helps transform and unite his diverse neighborhood.

The Tree, a Fable written and illustrated by Neal Layton

Candlewick Press, 2017, 40 pages, age 4+

A large tree stands on land that has been bought by a couple, who plan to build their new home there. But first they must cut down the tree in order to do that. As they begin to saw the tree down, they have a big surprise - the tree is already a home to rabbits, owls, birds, and squirrels. Horrified that they almost displaced all these residents, the couple go home and redo their house plans. Kids are in for a big surprise when they discover the solution this nature-loving couple comes up with that will give everyone a home, thanks to the tree.

This is a really nice environmental/conservation fable, perfect for Earth Day programs on April 22, 2017, and it will be fun to see what the kid's think the couple's solution to their problem will be before reading the end of the book. Layton's illustrations are done in earth tones using a pen and ink wash. Though the illustrations have a somewhat humorous quality to them, they still capture all the excitement, surprise, fear, disappointment, and finally hope and happiness of all God's creatures here. There's a lesson to be learned here and it's a good one. 

Layton says that writing this book began with a feeling, and you can check out pictures of his writing process HERE

Rain by written and illustrated by Sam Usher

Templar Books, 2017, 40 pages, age 4+

Sam really wants to go out and play in the rain, there are raindrops to catch, puddles to splash in, adventures to have. But when he asks Grandpa if they can go out and play, Grandpa says to wait till the rain stops, But will is ever stop? Meanwhile, Grandpa sits and writes his important letter, over and over and over, trying to get it right. Until, finally, the rain stops and Grandpa's letter is finished. Did Sam and Grandpa miss all the fun of a rainy day? No siree bob, they did not. The rain just wasn't finished, after all.

You couldn't ask for a more perfect rainy day book. Every kid will relate to Sam's desire to get out of the house and have some fun. More than that, young readers will have some fun spotting Sam's stories and toys in his adventures when he finally gets out of the house. Fans of Sam Usher's Snow are already familiar with Sam and his Grandpa, and Usher follows the same story structure in Rain as in that book, and newcomers are sure to want more Sam and Grandpa after reading Rain. 

Usher's ink and watercolor illustrations reflect the wetness of the rain, the dryness of the house, and vividness of Sam's imagination.

Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury

Candlewick Press, 1996, 2017, 40 pages, age 4+

Poor duck! The lazy farmer just stays in bed all day long reading the newspaper (tabloids?)and eating boxes of candy. And to make matters worse, each time Duck does a chore, Farmer yells out "How's the work going?" All the hoeing, gardening, taking care of the other animals, ironing, washing dishes, cooking are really wearing Duck down. The other farm animals really like Duck, and so one day they come up with a plan for helping him out. And what a plan it is!

I love Farmer Duck. I remember reading it to my Kiddo when she was young and we had lots of discussions about it. Oxenbury's watercolor illustrations really communicate Duck's feelings and his weariness as he takes care of the farm despite the fact that all he ever utters is Quack. The slovenliness of the farmer and the empathy the other animals feel are also well represented mainly by facial expressions.  There is a true revolutionary spirit in this wonderful tale that seems to reflect today's world more than was intended, I'm sure. I was so happy to see this classic reissued for today's young readers. I know they will Quack along with duck every time it's read.

This week, I am reading The Warden's Daughter by Jerry Spinelli

What are you currently reading this week?

Blog Tour: Matylda, Bright & Tender by Holly McGhee

Sussy (short for Susquehanna) Reed and Guy Hose have been inseparable best friends since that day in Kindergarten when he showed her how to make a never-ending Mr. Potato Head. The two friends have done everything together ever since - with one exception. They have never been allowed to have a pet.

Now in fourth grade, Sussy and Guy manage to talk Mr. Reed into letting them get Guy's choice of a leopard gecko. They find the perfect one at Total Pets, a gecko that seems to have been as immediately attracted to Guy as he was to her. And he thinks she should be called Matylda "of the Ancient Face and Starfish Toes."

Although Matylda lives in a tank on top of Sussy's dresser, she seems to like Guy so much more than Sussy, much to Sussy's dismay. The friends even give Matylda a warrior history, in which she is victorious in battle and her master grants her one wish -  to be loved, a wish that is granted when Sussy and Guy find her in Total Pets.

Then one morning, Guy decides Matylda needs some vitamin D3. The two friends hop on their bikes and start riding, when a dog runs out and goes after Sussy on her bike. Guy gets off his bike to yell at the dog just as a car is coming down the street. Next thing Sussy knows is that her best friend is dead.

After the funeral, Sussy suddenly finds herself alone for the first time since Kindergarten. She begins to obsessively focus on Matylda, trying to figure out how to love Matylda the way Guy had, believing that if she does everything right, she could hold on to Guy.

When summer comes, Sussy isolates in her bedroom, every day dressing in the same red capri pants and sunflower shirt she wore the day of the accident, reliving it over and over and over. The only time she leaves the house is to go to Total Pets to buy something for Matylda, something that she hopes will convince Matylda that she loves her just like Guy had, and that will make Matylda love Sussy just as she had loved Guy, enabling Sussy to continue to hold on to him.

At Total Pets, she finds herself stealing food and toys for Matylda, egged on by the stealing girl's voice in her head. As each thing fails to do what she wants, Sussy returns to the store more frequently, until she realizes the store clerk, who had always been so friendly and helpful, is on to her and Sussy's world, as carefully constructed as the never-ending Potato Heads, comes flying apart. But it was a world constructed by Guy, and now, Sussy must find a way to construct her own world without him.

Sussy and Matylda are the central characters here, and both are believable. Sussy's first person narrative feels natural and realistic as she tries to navigate her new life without Guy while still not letting go of him. Her story is interspersed with memories of the two friends, giving the reader a real sense of what their friendship was like. As Sussy recalls more and more about Guy, the reader begins to realize that this was an uneven though dear relationship, with Sussy frequently letting Guy take the lead and acquiescing to his ideas - like insisting that they must get the vitamin D3 for Matylda.

The other characters, including Sussy's parents, Guy's mother, Mike from Total Pets are satellite characters, secondary to Sussy's struggle, much of which is experienced in her thoughts. These other characters don't need to be fleshed out, but they are needed to be there for support and love, which they all do well.

McGhee has written Sussy's grieving process with a mixture of anger, confusion, guilt, and magic thinking. Sussy begins to find herself so very tired from have to go on without Guy, suddenly not really knowing how to do things by herself. The world has lost all its color, and Sussy experiences everything around her as grey. It doesn't take long for her to endow Matylda with thoughts and feelings that a gecko is just not capable of having. The fact that Matylda would rest on the back of Guy's neck probably has more to do with hiding and warmth than with the love Sussy thinks the gecko has for him.

Matylda, Bright & Tender masterfully explores the very sad, very poignant grieving process of a child, and while Sussy's pain is palpable, McGhee has infused her story enough humor so that it doesn't overwhelm the reader. Sussy's story does end on a note of hope and new friends who will help her move on and discover who she is without Guy.

Matylda, Bright & Tender is a well-done, heartwarming, tender story, and one not to be missed.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was sent to me by the publisher, Candlewick Press

2016 Cybils MG Finalist: Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm

It's July 1934, and times are hard for the Curry family. Poppy's out of work and in New Jersey looking for a job, and mom is taking in laundry, so son Beans Curry does what he can to help out. But after sifting through garbage, collecting empty cans and expecting to get 10¢ for every twenty cans, he is cheated out of 5¢ by the wily Winky, who now claims he said 50 cans per 10¢. One thing that Beans knows for sure is that grown-ups lie and Winky is a good example of that. Angered, Beans is determined to find another way to help his family out. Luckily, "businessman" Johnny Cakes happens to be looking for Beans with a job proposition.

Turns out, Johnny Cakes is a rum runner, and Beans's job is to help him get the illegally gotten Cuban rum off ships in the middle of the night. All Beans has to do is set off the fire alarm to divert any possible attention from the docks. It job pays good money and Beans doesn't mind doing it, but after so many false alarms, the fire department stops responding to them.Which is too bad, since one night there is a real fire, destroying the house of one of Beans's best friends. Racked with guilt, Beans never confesses his part in the fire, but he does stop working for Johnny Cakes and turns his sights toward more positive work trying to assuage his guilt.

At the same time, the federal government has sent down some New Dealers to decide whether to simply evacuate Key West, or clean it up and turn it into a warm, sunny tourist attraction. As the transformation of Key West begins, and houses get painted, a playground gets built, and stray dogs are rounded up, Beans manages to find a way to help in the beautification of Key West rounding up his gang of friends to collect garbage and rake seaweed.

But perhaps Beans's real saving grace will be his uncanny ability to take care of babies, after all, he certainly has a way with them.

Jennifer Holm returns to depression-era Key West, Florida in this fun prequel to Turtle in Paradise. It's a place she is familiar with, since her family had lived there since the late 1800s. The story is told in the first person by Beans, who draws the reader right in the midst of the sights, sounds and smells of 1934 Key West.

I thought Beans was a wonderful character. He's got a great sense of humor, a deep sense of loyalty towards friends and family, and despite his brief foray into crime, he actually as a moral compass and conscience to go with it, and, amazingly, he never complains when he is asked to help out at home, no matter what is is asked to do.

I loved the historical references, the mention of movie stars and writers of the time - Ernest Hemingway is already a Key West resident, Robert Frost a visitor, and with money in his pocket, Beans escapes life for a little while at the local movie theater. As he tells readers, Shirley Temple is just beginning to make it big and he is sure she will be a star.

I thought it interesting that Holm mentions leprosy. Sitting in the dark theater at night, Beans notices a man who seems to vanish in thin air after each movie ends. It turns out that the man, named Murray, has leprosy, and can't go out during the day: "It's not safe...They'd send me to the leper hospital in Louisiana. Nobody ever comes back from that place." (pg 125) (as a middle grader, I had read a book called Miracle at Carville by Betty Martin. This is the hospital that Murray is referring to).

Since this novel is grounded in the real history of Key West during the Great Depression, Holm has included an extensive Author's Note, with a number of photographs, and there is even a list of Beans's Favorite Kid Actors and his friend's Pork Chop's Best Sayings.

All in all, Full of Beans is definitely full of fun.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was sent to my by the publisher, Random House BFYR

One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes

One of the most extraordinary results of the Great Migration was an explosion of African American artistic endeavors during the 1920s and 1930s, a period known as the Harlem Renaissance. Art, dance, music, poetry, all artistic and cultural forms flourished during this time and Harlem became a mecca for African American artists.

Calling on some of the great poets of the Harlem Renaissance, Nikki Grimes has created an anthology of poems as only she can. She has paired some of the best poems by masters as Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer and Countee Cullen with poems of her own, but she has taken the pairing one step further and used a poetic form called the Golden Shovel, a form created to honor poet Gwendolyn Brooks.

A poet using Golden Shovel takes one or more lines from a poem and places the chosen words vertically in the right hand column. These words from the original poem become the last words of each line of poetry in the new poem. Let me give you an example of Golden Shovel from One Last Word:
Storm Ending 
by Jean Toomer
Thunder blossoms gorgeously above our heads,
Great, hollow, bell-like flowers,
Rumbling in the wind,
Stretching clappers to strike our ears...
Full-lipped flowers
Bitten by the sun
Bleeding rain
Dripping rain like golden honey -
And the sweet earth flying from the thunder.

Using the highlighted words from Toomer's poem, Grimes created this poem:
Truth
by Nikki Grimes
The truth is, every day we rise is like thunder -
a clap of surprise. Could be echoes of trouble, or blossoms
of blessing. You never know what garish or gorgeously
disguised memories-to-be might rain down from above.
So, look up! Claim that cloud with the silver lining. Our
job, if you ask me, is to follow it. See where it heads.

Grimes begins this volume with an original poem of her own that asks the question so many young people of color must be asking themselves today: how does one stay strong in a world where fear and hate are right outside the door?  Each poem by the leading poets of the Harlem Renaissance is arranged somewhat thematically around this question, placed side by side with a contemporary poem by Grimes, all age appropriate and relevant to today young readers. And Grimes ends with another original poem that answers her opening question not with a pat answer but with a vision of hope. Two beautiful poems connected to each other by shared words across time and space.

One Last Word is a skillfully crafted homage to these great African American poets and the glory days of the Harlem Renaissance, a tribute to the heroes of poetry that influenced Nikki Grimes's development as a daring and original poet, who like her predecessors, is a voice and interpreter of her times.

Each poem has an accompanying illustration by some of today's best African American artists. Each illustration is done it the artists preferred medium and has a style of its own, giving the artwork the same sense of individuality that the poems.

Be sure to read both the front and back matter. There is short introduction to the Harlem Renaissance, as well as a more detailed description of the poetry form used and an Author's Note. Back matter includes biographies of the poets Grimes chose for this volume and the artists who contributed to it. Grimes has also included the sources she consulted to make One Last Word the incredible volume poetry it is.

This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

Amina's Voice by Hena Khan

Amina Khokar, a Pakistani American Muslim girl living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has just started sixth grade in middle school and already she is wishing she were back in elementary school. Everything feels different. To begin with, her best friend, Korean-born Soojin Park is about to become a citizen and is thinking about changing her Korean name for something more American. And no sooner has school begun, but Soojin begins to hang out with Emily. Emily had been friends with Julie, and the two of them used to make fun of Soojin and Amina in elementary school. While Soojin seems to accept Emily, Amina is have a lot of difficulty with her hanging around with them. It doesn't take long for a misunderstanding between Soojin and Amina to make them stop speaking.

To add to Amina's stress, she is told that her great uncle is coming for a three month visit from Pakistan, and Thaya Jaan is a very strict Muslim. What will he think of their American ways, and the music Amina loves to play on the piano? It doesn't take long to find out when Amina overhears a conversation between her father and uncle, who tells him that music is forbidden on Islam, and she should be focusing on memorizing Quran.

Meanwhile, older brother Mustafa has been acting up, his grades went way down in middle school and all he seems interested in is texting his friends or watching TV.Now in high school, Mustafa wants to try out for the basketball team, much to his parents chagrin. Mama and Baba have definite ideas about what their children's accomplishments should be and basketball isn't one of them.

But the Quran recitation competition to be held at their Islamic Center is exactly what Mama and Baba have in mind for Amina and Mustafa, and should please Thaya Jaan, who is quite knowledgeable of the Quran and willing to help his niece and nephew practice their Urdu pronunciation.

There's only one problem - Amina can't speak in public, she simply freezes up. Which is a shame, considering that she plays the piano so well, has perfect pitch, a beautiful singing voice and more than anything wants to perform in public.

Amina already has a lot on her plate but when vandals destroys her beloved Islamic Center, she learns to true meaning of family, friendship, and community. When the Park's Presbyterian church offers to hold the Quran competition and the Islamic Center's annual carnival, will Amina be able to find her voice and recite the surah (chapter) she had chosen from the Quran for the competition?

Amina's Voice is one of the first novels to come out of the new Simon & Schuster imprint Salaam Reads. I found it to be timely, interesting and a charming coming of age story. Khan has seamlessly incorporated aspects of Amina's life as a young Pakistani American Muslim girl living in a mostly white community. Her family is loving, supportive, and warm, though her brother a little rebellious, after all, he is a teen. Even the strict uncle is not an unmovable, judgmental force that one meets so often in novels where religion plays a major part in everyday life. He is actually quite warm and loving as well. All this makes the novel a very believable and very relatable story that readers who are not Muslim can also relate to, especially those who go to Sunday School in church where there were lots of family activities to bring people together (I still love a good potluck supper).

Khan has given Amina a really genuine voice, always reflective of her age, her circumstances, and her emotions. She is, however, a nicely flawed middle grader. Her problems don't just revolve around her religion, but also her friends and especially her difficulty in accepting Emily, and her jealousy when she sees Soojin and Emily growing closer and dealing with her feelings of being left out.

I can't recommend Amina's Voice highly enough and I can't wait to see what the future holds for the Salaam Reads imprint.

Amina's Voice will be available on March 14, 2017

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is a weekly event hosted by Shannon Messenger at Book Ramblings, and Plenty of Shenanigans

Unbound: A Novel in Verse by Ann E. Burg

Grace has been living in a slave cabin on a tobacco plantation all her life, but as soon as she turns 9, she is told she will be sent to live in the big house and serve the Master and Missus instead of remaining with her family and helping out in the garden and taking care of her two younger brothers. It also means not seeing her mother, her mother's husband, Uncle Jim, or her elderly Aunt Sara anymore. And all because her eyes are blue and her skin color is so light she could pass for white.

And even though she is told all the time to keep her eyes down and her mouth shut, Grace can't help but feel the injustice of the treatment of slaves by these cruel, selfish owners. Now working in the kitchen with another slave named Aunt Tempie, she begins to resent seeing her so compliant and intimated by the Master and Missus.  But it is also Aunt Tempie who eventually lets Grace sneak away to see her family on Saturday nights, at great risk to both of them.

When their other light-skinned slave, Jordon, runs away, it falls to Grace to now work in the kitchen and to serve the family at meals. Seeing more of the Missus only makes Grace's resentment of her increase, until finally she mutters something that is overheard. The Missus decides to teach Grace a lesson. Grace overhears her telling her husband that putting her mother and younger brothers on the auction block might finally teach Grace who she is and where she belongs.

Afraid that this is a real threat, Grace warns her family that it is time to run - immediately. It doesn't take long to get ready and leave in the dead of night. Nor does it take long before they hear the sound of a galloping horse, ridden by a paddyroller. After narrowly escaping this slave patroller, thanks to a trap made by the elusive OleGeorgeCooper, a severally scarred (from burns, beatings, and brandings by his master) runaway slave. OleGeorgeCooper has been living in the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia for years now and knows it well. He quickly leads Grace and her family to the cave that he has been living in, a safe place for them to rest, and plan their next move.

Throughout their stay with OleGeorgeCooper, Grace discovers that there is much going on among slaves that she has no idea about, and has never even noticed, and that people aren't necessarily who they seem to be, including Aunt Tempie, even though she watches everything so carefully.

Unbound is written entirely in Grace's voice, in lyrical verse that sounds very much like dialect and really captures the dichotomy slaves lived with everyday. On the one hand, Ann Burg shows how slaves were subject to the cruel whimsey of their owners as a way of keeping them under control and subservient, on the other hand, there is their "home' life away from the house and fields, where family members were the most important, most cherished part of their lives in the antebellum south. There is no question then that it is time to run, when it is decided to sell Grace's mother and brothers to teach her a lesson - Burg makes very clear this is not an empty threat.

Grace is a headstrong girl who is absolutely aware of the unfairness of slavery, and sometimes has a hard time keeping things to herself. And though she is afraid of the gators and snakes in the Big Swamp they must walk through to find freedom, she is more afraid of the power the master and missus have over their lives.

Although Grace's story is fiction, Burg write in her Author's Note that it is based on experiences of real people. I had expected Unbound to be a story about the Underground Railway, so I was surprised when the family found themselves in the Great Dismal Swamp. It turns out that this was a place where many fugitive slaves found refuge. These fugitives were called maroons, from the Spanish word cimarrón meaning wild or untamed. I was curious about the Great Dismal Swamp and found this map that gives one an idea of just how big it really is:

Unbound is historical fiction that tells an unusual story about slavery and escape and is a wonderful addition to this body of literature. I highly recommend it for all young readers.

Please Note - this is not for young readers, but I am including it for teachers and librarians: If you would like to know more about the slave narratives the Burg read in preparation for writing Unbound, the Library of Congress has a digital collection called Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938

This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was sent to me by the publisher, Scholastic Press