Chasing Freedom: The Life Journeys of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony Inspired by Historical Facts by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Michele Wood

Nikki Grimes has come up with a unique way to introduce young readers to two important women in American history in this historical fiction picture book for older readers.  She based her story in reality, at the 1904 Women's Suffrage Convention held in Rochester, NY (Grimes writes in the Author's Note that she could not discover when this convention was held and so she arbitrarily chose November).  Susan B Anthony was scheduled to speak and Harriet Tubman had planned on attending the convention, but ended up speaking about her life as a conductor on the Underground Railroad to the attendees after being introduced by Anthony.

Since there is no record of this meeting, Grimes has created an imagined meeting and conversation over tea at Anthony's home between the two women.  In alternating vignettes, each woman talks and reminisces about her life as am activists, recalling the dangers, the joys, the sorrows and the rewards.  Tubman tells Anthony about slavery and how she, once she freed herself, felt it was her duty to help others find freedom.

In between, Anthony tells Tubman about the family support she received that helped her learn to speak out for reform, especially for women, and about the dangers she also faced when speaking out or about unpopular topics.

Through their conversation, the reader begins to acquire a firm idea of what these two women accomplished, that will hopefully inspire young people to seek more in-depth information about them.  It is also interesting to hear them speaking about other well-known figures from their time, men like Frederick Douglas and John Brown.  There is just so much food for thought in this picture book, it will definitely take more than one reading to cull it all, but it is so worthwhile.

The acrylic and oil painted folk art style illustrations are so perfectly suited to the time period, done in a palette of rich colors from 19th century America and resembling a old handmade quilt.  Be sure to study each one closely.

The back matter shouldn't be ignored, either.  There are short biographies of each person mentioned in the book, additional notes, a useful biography and an Author's Note, all contributing additional information to the main part of the book.

I love that Grimes used an imaginary conversation to present so much information and to make the lives of these women stand out  in such an exciting way, making this a work that should not be missed.

And Grimes has also done an extensive Classroom Guide for teachers and homeschooling, which can be found HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 7+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

Blog Tour: Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty

It's 1899 and Serfina and her pa have lived in the basement  boiler room of the sprawling Biltmore estate, home to the Vanderbilt family in Asheville, North Carolina, for 12 years.  Pa's job there is to maintain the Dynamo, a machine that keeps the electricity running throughout the building.  No one there knows about Serafina, and she has learned to make herself unnoticeable in the presence of other people.  She is also the CRC, Chief Rat Catcher, and it is a job she's very good at.

One night, after catching two rats, Serafina hears footsteps that don't belong in the basement, followed by the cries of a young girl for help.  She finds the girl just in time to see a ghoulish looking man wrap the folds of his cloak around her and then…she simply disappears.  But when the man comes after her, Serafina goes into fight mode and succeeds in getting away, but not before biting him.  He may look like a ghoul, but he was definitely human.

The next morning Serafina decides she must go upstairs and tell someone what she saw during the night.  As she listens to the Vanderbilts and their guests, she is startled when someone asks if she is lost.   Braeden, 12, is the Vanderbilt's orphan nephew, living with them since his family was killed in a fire.  A loner like Serafina, he is, as always, accompanied by his doberman pincher, Gidean.

It doesn't take long for the two, such opposites in the surface but so alike underneath, to become friends and decide to work together to solve the mystery of the children missing from the Vanderbilt estate.  It turns out that the girl Serafina saw disappear the night before isn't the first one, nor will she be the last.

To make matters worst, someone has attacked the Dynamo, plunging Biltmore into darkness every night while Pa works long hours trying to fix it.  

As their investigation goes along, and more children disappear, Serafina, who has never disobeyed her Pa, finds herself needing to know more about who she is, who her mother is, and why they must live in the basement.  Knowing she is different, and not just because she has golden eyes, 4 toes on each foot and the shoulder bones don't connect, both she and the reader are in for some real surprises that I certainly didn't see coming.

Serfina begins to have a sense of urgency as she and Braeden work on solving the mystery of the missing children. realizing that the cloaked man is now after her new friend.  But why?  What does the Man in the Black Cloak want from the children he kidnaps and seems to consume?  I suspect the answer will surprise you as much as it did me.

With Serafina and the Black Cloak, Robert Beatty has written a coming-of-age novel that will give you more than a few spine-tingling moments, more that a few shivers and that will keep you reading right up to the very satisfying ending.  But it is also a story about courage, friendship, self-acceptance and trust.  Both Serafina and Braeden are compelling, straightforward, well developed characters.  The setting, the beautiful, palatial Biltmore estate, is as much a main character as the two friends, and Beatty has described it so well, that the reader will feel like they are as familiar with the house's interior as Serafina is.  Of course, the surrounding forest, which Serafina has been warned to stay away from by her Pa and which she has always felt drawn to, adds another layer of mystery to this wonderfully gripping story.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys speculative fiction, but if you're still not sure, I think this beautiful book trailer  may change your mind:

Now, meet the talented author who penned Serafina and the Black Cloak:

Robert Beatty lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina with his wife and three daughters, who help create and refine his stories. He loves to explore the grand Biltmore Estate and the darkened forest trails where his novels take place. Robert’s Disney Hyperion novel Serafina and the Black Cloak will go on sale July 14, 2015. He writes full-time now, but in his past lives, Robert was one of the early pioneers of cloud computing, the founder/CEO of Plex Systems, the co-founder of Beatty Robotics, and the chairman/CTO of Narrative Magazine. In 2007, he was named an Entrepreneur of the Year. Answering a question about the inspiration for his book, Robert said, “Serafina’s journey grew out of my desire to write a story about an unusual and heroic young girl for my three daughters.”

Serfina and the Black Cloak will be available June 14, 2015.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was sent to my by the publisher, Disney-Hyperion

Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley

When Grandpa Ephraim Tuttle was a young boy, he skipped school and, hearing the sounds of pipes and drums, he followed the music and found himself at a magical circus.  There, he saw many astounding things, but nothing compared to the wonderful round the world adventures the Man Who Bends Light sends him on.

But Ephraim was worried about his father, away fighting in a war, and just wants to see him again.  The Lightbender grants his wish and Ephraim is able to spend some time with his father once again.  As wonderful as seeing his dad is, Ephraim realizes that it is just an illusion and isn't real.

When the Lightbender talks to him after the show, Ephraim performs his own bit of magic - tying a knot he can make with his bootlace that even the great magician can't undo.  Realizing that this young boy understands the power and the limit of magic, he grants him a miracle, a miracle Ephraim has never used until now.

Fifth grader Micah Tuttle has listened to his Grandpa Ephraim's stories about his boyhood adventures at the centuries old Circus Mirandus all his life, but he never thought for one moment any of it was real.  At least not until Grandpa Ephraim becomes very ill.  Now on his deathbed, Grandpa Ephraim writes a letter to the Man Who Bends Light to call in that miracle he was promised - a letter sent via Ms. Chintzy, the grumbling parrot circus messenger.  Thinking the miracle may have something to do with Grandpa Ephraim's health, Micah decides he must figure out how to find Circus Mirandus and bring the Lightbender to his grandpa's bedside.

Of course, bringing the Lightbender home may be made more difficult because of the presence of magic-hating, Micah-disliking Great Aunt Gerturdis who has come to take care of Grandpa Ephraim, and who has virtually cut off Micah's contact with his grandpa.

Luckily, Micah has made a friend at school named Jenny Mendoza, a science-minded girl who has to be convinced that magic exists, but who is nevertheless totally impressed by Micah's own knot-tying skills that results in a very successful school project for the two of them.

Not sure how they would find the circus, one day Micah heard the call of the pipes and drums, he knows it is the same sound his Grandpa Ephraim had heard, because "the music that calls a person to magic is always the same."  Sure enough, Circus Mirandus has arrived.

But when the Lightbender refuses to honor his promise to Grandpa Ephraim, it is up to Micah to try to change his mind.  And along the way, Micah will uncover some family secrets that are tied to the circus, including the reason for Aunt Gertrudis's bitterness and her dislike of magic.

I don't like circuses at all and never read circus books, so how did I end up falling in love with Circus Mirandus.  Perhaps that's part of the magic of the novel.  I picked it up and didn't put it down till I had finished it and that almost never happens.  And the name - who could resist a title that translates into a circus to be amazed at.

I loved the whole premise of the story that sometimes the power of magic and illusion can eclipse the power of science and reality, but only if you believe in it.  And it's what makes Circus Mirandus so special, so magical.  To begin with, only those children who believe in magic can see it, and it caters to them.  It's purpose is "fighting to keep enchantment alive in the world" for the children.  And Cassie Beasley has succeeded in doing just that with this utterly enchanting novel.  And the story is only matched by her lovely, lyrical writing.

The characters are all well-fleshed out, their different personalities revealing where each has placed their  faith: Micah and Grandpa Ephraim have plaed their faith in magic, Jenny with her faith in verifiable facts and science, and Aunt Gertrudis with her faith in harsh reality.  Aunt Gertrudis will definitely conjured up memories of Miss Trunchbull from Roald Dahl's Matilda, acting as an outlet for all the reader's frustrations as Micah tries to help his grandpa, making it all that much easier to dislike her.

Circus Mirandus is an extraordinary coming of age debut novel about courage, faith, hope, family and friendship, but also about grief and loss.  It is a story not be to missed.
 
And, remember, when you hear drums and pipes, you know that the circus has come to town - just follow the music to find it.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an ARC received from the publisher

Summertime Books: A Day at the Beach

The salty wind

the sound of the sea

the sand and the sun

the waves and the spray 

a glistening, glittering

                          jewel of a day

From: Changes: A Child's First Poetry Collection by Charlotte Zolotow

Sourcebooks, 2015, 40 pages (age 3+

A Say at the Seashore by Kathryn and Bryon Jackson,

illustrated by Corinne Malvern

Little Golden Books, 1951/2010, 24 pages (3+)

 Maybe you remember this rhyming book as A Day at the Beach.  It's been reissued but the story stays the same.  Nancy and Timmy head off to the beach with they parents and puppy and spend a day at the shore digging, building sand castles, chasing crabs and just having some summertime fun.  It may feel a little dated now, but it is still a nice story for young kids.

Beach House by Deanna Caswell, illustrated by Amy June Bates

Chronicle Books, 2015, 32 pages (age 3+)

This is a real favorite now in my family.  We've spent years going to the Jersey shore on vacation and Beach House describes almost to a T just what it was like, right down to no beach till everything is unpacked.  Caswell has captured that wonderful beach feeling in her simple rhymes and I could almost smell the the salt air and feel the shore breeze as we read this beautifully illustrated picture book.

Beach Day by Karen Roosa, illustrated by Maggie Smith

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001, 40 pages (age 4+)

This is another favorite.  Roosa has also depicted a day at the beach.  Each activity is done in four line stanzas with an aaba rhyme scheme giving the readers the feeling of a pleasant, airy day by the shore.  The detailed watercolor (the perfect medium for a beach book) illustrations will make you want to head for the beach ASAP.  

Uh-Oh! by Shutta Crum, Illustrated by Patrice Barton

Random House, 2015, 32 pages (age 3+)

Two toddler friends, accompanied by their moms, head off to the beach in this almost wordless story.  The only word that appears in uh-oh.  But each uh-oh is followed by a new idea.  When the little girls glasses fall off, the kids pick them up and put them on the mound of sand they were building, turning it into a face.  You get the picture, I'm sure.  It's a nice book with a message along the lines of when you get lemons, make lemonade but for toddlers.

Beach written and illustrated by Elisha Cooper

Scholastic Press, 2006, 40 pages (3+)

Elisha Cooper takes the reader to the beach for the day in this wonderful book of observations.  He begins the day with a panoramic two page empty morning beach and ends with another panoramic two page empty evening beach, covering everything in between, from the beach rituals of people, adults and kids alike, to different kinds of waves, shells, and cloud formations.  Perfect for beach lovers and for those who have never experienced life at the ocean's edge.   

Hello Ocean/Hola Mar by Pam Muñoz Ryan, illustrated Mark Astrella

Charlesbridge, 2003, 32 pages (age 3+)

In this day at the beach book, Pam Muñoz Ryan explores the seashore through a young girl's five senses, all done in rhyme.  The illustrations capture the way the sun's rays can lighten color, giving them an classic sun-washed appearance.  With its focus on sight, sound, hearing, touch and smell, this is an ideal precursor to a young readers own seaside sensory explorations.  Best of all - t it is a dual language book in English and Spanish.

Wave written and illustrated by Suzy Lee

Chronicle Books, 2008, 40 pages (age 3+)

Have you ever watched kids approach the water's edge at the beach, running forward and backward with the ebb and flow of waves, timid but wanting to go in the water.  Well, Suzy Lee has captured those tentative moments perfectly in this wordless book.  Not only that, she has made good use of each page's gutter, using it to separate the sand on the left side from the ocean on the right.  But, will her shy little girl make to the right side of the page and into the water?

Flotsam conceived and illustrated by David Wiesner

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006, 40 pages (5+)

In this wordless book, a young boy, who loves to explore the beach, discovers an old camera that has washed up on shore.  Inside, he finds a role of film which he has developed.  Besides some imaginative underwater pictures, there is a photo of a girl holding a photo, which, on further investigation, is of another child holding a photo, and on and on.  What does the boy do?  Simple, heused the camera to  become part of the story himself.  This is one of my all time favorite books, in part, because of it so imaginative, and in part, because it shows kids that they are also always part of the story whenever they read a book.

At the Boardwalk by Kelly Ramsdell Fineman, illustrated by Monica Armiño

Tiger Tales, 2012, 32 pages (age 3+)

After a day at the beach, it's always fun to hit the boardwalk.  There are games, beach toys and sweet treats to be gotten, but it's also a nice place to blow some bubbles or go on rides.  Fineman depicts a day on the boardwalk with all its sights, sounds and smells in rhyming quatrains to the accompaniment of hazy, colorful realistic illustrations.

Roller Coaster written and illustrated by Marla Frazee

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006, 32 pages (age 3+)

I think most kids are fascinated by roller coasters and can't wait to ride them.  If they are still too young or too short, here is a book that manages to make the reader feel all the sensations of a roller coaster ride, from the anticipation while standing on line, to the coaster's slow steady climb up that first hill, and then down and around.  Frazee lets young readers know it's OK to change their mind at the last minute, but some people will ride again and again, if only by reading the fun book.

Feet Go to Sleep by Barbara Bottner, illustrated by Maggie Smith

Alfred A. Knopf, 2015, 32 pages (age 3+)

Fiona's had a tiring day playing with her cousins on the beach, but can't relax to go to sleep.  With her mother's help, she begins to relax her body one part at a time, beginning with her toes.  As she relaxes, she thinks about why that part of her body is tired from playing on the beach - for example, her toes from gripping her flip flops, her tummy for eating delicious strawberries.  By the end of the book, Fiona has relaxed herself to sleep.  

See You Next Year by Andrew Larsen, illustrated by Todd Stewart

Owlkids Books, 2015, 32 pages (age3+)

Everything good thing must come to an end, including summer vacation.  In this gentle story, a young girl narrates her family's beach vacation, from leaving their house to returning to it a week later.  The trip and the beach always have the same comforting sameness to them each year.  But this year, the girl makes a new friend at the beach, a boy who teaches her things like how to dive under the waves.  But a week goes by fast and soon it's time to go home, the kids promising each other they will be back next year.  I love the palette of colors Stewart chose for the illustrations.  They made me so nostalgic for my own youthful summer days at the beach.

I grew up only five miles from Coney Island.  When we were kids, we would ride our bikes to the beach whenever possible, packing our lunch in a shoebox that fit in the bike basket.  My dad taught me to swim in the ocean there and my only roller coaster experience was on the Cyclone there (five times, then never again).  Later, we began to spend summers on the Jersey shore, a few miles north of Cape May.  My Kiddo loves the beach as muich as I do, so naturally, I am always attracted to good beach books for kids, and we decided to pick a few favorites, some old, most new as we head off for another year of sun and fun.

Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge

After accidentally (?) falling in a pond known as the Grimmer while on vacation, Triss Crescent, 13, wakes up and immediately senses something is wrong.  Nothing, not even her family, are as familiar as they should be.  Her younger sister Penny, 11, suddenly seems to be afraid of her and beginning to hysterically yell that Triss isn't her sister, that she's a fake and an awful creature.  And Triss's memories, well, it feels as though each one isn't all there.  To top it all off, she is always ravenously hungry.

Her parents decide to cut the vacation short and return to London, hoping that will help Triss recover.  But while packing her belongings, Triss picks up her favorite doll Angelina.  As she wonders why she brought her on vacation, the doll begins to speak, outraged that Triss is there with Angelina's family and telling Triss she's not right.  In panic, Triss smashes Angelina china face and hides her in the closet.

If you think this is going to be a creepy doll story, it isn't and that's not a spoiler.  Cuckoo Song is more, so much more than simply that.  Back in London, things begin to happen more and more quickly.  First, her parents begin to notice changes in Triss, who is no longer their neat, clean, quiet, obedient daughter.  And Triss discovers changes in herself; that in the morning, she finds twigs and leaves in her bed with no idea how they got there; that when she cries, cobwebs, not tears, flow from her eyes,; that she can eat pretty much anything, but certain of her possessions are more satisfying than food; that all the pages in her diaries have ripped out and only the covers remain; that scissors are things to be dreadfully afraid of; and that in his bedroom turned sanctuary, mysterious letters appear in the desk drawer of her older brother.  Sebastian had been killed in the last days of World War I, so how could letters from him be arriving five years later?

But only when Triss discovers that she is not really Triss, does the real mystery begin.  Who is she, exactly?  And where is the real Triss?  To find out, she will need Penny's help; after all, everything that has happened since not-Triss was pulled out of the Grimmer instead of Triss, is because of Penny's hatred of her older sister.  Together they will have to discover the truth about the mysterious Mr. Grace and his scissors, what kind of dealings the Architect and Mr. Crescent had, and what a magical creature called the Shrike knows.

And since not-Triss has only a few days left to live, they will also need the help of Violet Parrish, Sebastian's fiancee now despised by his parents for her modern ways.  It's Violet who had a wartime job, and who now rides a motorcycle, dresses in pants, has bobbed hair and listens to jazz, who rejects all the pre-war traditionalism that the Crescents so wholeheartedly want to maintain.

Cuckoo Song is one of those deliciously written novels that is hard to talk about because it will result in too many spoilers.  But if you keep out the spoilers, it doesn't give the story the kind of justice it is due. Oddly enough, at the center of the story is the Great War.  It's the dividing line between certainty and uncertainty:

"Before the war, everybody had their rung on the ladder, and they didn't look much below or about it.  But now? Low and high died side by side in Flanders Fields, and looked much the same face down in the mud.  And the heroes who cam e back from hell didn't fancy tugging their forelocks as they starved on the streets.  And the women! Once, they kept to to their pretty little path and didn't step on the grass. But those who worked in the farms and factories during the war, have a taste for running their own lives now, haven't they?  So all their menfolk are panicking.  Frightened, Uncertain.  And all this doubt, this shaking up of the foundations, there was more of it in the cities" (Kindle loc. 2557)

This chaotic uncertainty is what Triss and Penny's parents want to stop.  As a civil engineer, Piers Crescent has made a terrible bargain to do that which results in keeping the sense of his son alive through the letters that arrive everyday.   Penny unwittingly unleashes events in to novel that could destroy this bargain simply because she hates her sister, not for any other reason.

This beautifully written novel has been called creepy, horrifying, frightening, but I would call it realistic, magical, imaginative and not to be missed.  It is a wonderful mystery that will take the reader on an unforgettable journey.  And will have you questioning your own ideas about what it means to be human.

This book is recommended for readers age 12+, but I would not hesitate to recommend it to readers age 10+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley