Perspective

In my lifetime I have lived through several wars, but my perspective is very different from that of my grandparents who lived through different wars.  I am accustomed to multiple points of view, there has always been dissent, it would be an anomaly for the country to be completed united in the war effort.  I have not had rations, or shortages, or victory gardens.

But Margaret, in Mary Downing Hahn's Stepping on the Cracks. has grown up with these things.  Her brother is off fighting the war and a blue star hangs in their window.  Margaret is cautious, careful, and shy.  Her best friend Elizabeth is exactly the opposite. Like Margaret, Elizabeth's brother is also fighting the war.  Both girls miss their brothers, but they are convinced that this war is necessary.  The Americans are the good guys and we had to fight the war to stop Hitler.  Everyone is happy to do their part, to give up new bikes at Christmas and to comply with rationing. Besides, at the end of the war both brothers will come back safe and sound.

But as time goes on, and as the girls interact more with Gordy (a boy in their class), they start to wonder if things are so simple.  In their neighborhood blue stars are changing to gold stars-some boys aren't coming home.  Yes, Hitler needs to be stopped, but is war really necessary?  Can any war be a good war?  Did all those boys really want to be soldiers?

I love that this book was able to transport me back to that 'simpler time' everyone always talks about, but it didn't just stay at simple.  Margaret and Elizabeth face hard issues.  Issues that we still face today when our country goes to war.  And it is a good reminder that the regular struggles of 6th grade still happen, even in wartime.

Serving on the homefront...that's kids stuff.  

Joy

Hope your holiday season is filled with joy and well stocked book shelves!

Exciting Opporunity

When I worked at summer camp my boss would often say, "I have an exciting opportunity for someone."  And we would all volunteer because exciting opportunity sounds like something...well, exciting.  Eventually we caught on that 'exciting opportunity' meant something like carting firewood from one end of the camp to the other or plunging a clogged toilet so we stopped volunteering.

But what if those 'exciting opportunities' had actually been exciting.   We probably would have kept volunteering, we may have even fought for those spots.  Well that's exactly what Reynie does when he sees an add in the paper, "are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?"  After a series of bizarre tests, including an offer to cheat, a test where the answers are hidden in other questions, and a maze,  Reynie is selected to go see Mr. Benedict.

And thus begins the adventure in Trenton Lee Stewart's  The Mysterious Benedict Society.  Reynie is not the only gifted child to have passed the test.  He is joined by George aka Sticky, Katie, and Constance.  Together they must find out whats behind the great emergency and uncover the hidden secrets of The Institute.

I have been wanting to read this book for quite awhile now so I was glad to see it on this years Reading Olympics list.  It was definitely worth the wait.  Not to mention it was the perfect book for a rainy Saturday.  A nice thick tome with quirky characters, a beautifully developed storyline, and just a hint of intrigue.

Resisting...that's kids stuff.  

Identical

I have always been fascinated by twins.  I often tease my husband that he is a terrible twin (he has a twin sister).  They don't look particularly alike, they didn't wear a ton of matching outfits, and they never had a secret twin language.  I imagine that identical twins would have done all of those things.  Maybe that's what you get when you grow up watching Mary Kate and Ashley (and yes, I know they're not identical).

But Missy and Claire are identical.  They're cousins and their parents just say it's a strong family resemblance.  But Missy and Claire have sleepovers every weekend.  They text each other constantly, and it feels like they can read each other's minds and sense their emotions.  Like they have some connection much deeper than cousins.  So when Missy gets a school project about hoaxes she decides to pass Claire off as her long lost identical twin. 

It starts as a hoax, a way to earn points in Science class but when the video is posted on the internet nobody can deny that Missy and Claire are identical.  It goes way beyond a family resemblance.  But how can that be?  The girls are cousins not twins.  Their birthdays are 8 weeks apart.  You can't fake a birthday. 

Thanks to the internet, the video spreads like wildfire.  And then something unexpected happens.  And that something changes everything.  I would love to tell you what it was but...spoilers! Caroline B. Cooney's three black swans has completely earned the label of 'thriller.'   

Uncovering a hoax...that's kids stuff. 

PS black swans: events that are hugely important, rare, and unpredictable, and explicable only after the fact.  

Muli bwanji

William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer wrote a book called The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.   I LOVED it.  I loved it so much I can't even think of something cute to say or a clever intro  I just want to rave about how much I LOVED this book.  SO much.  SO SO SOO much.  I really really really loved it.  And you should all read it. ASAP.

William grew up in a small village in Malawi. He and his friends love to build things.  William especially has a knack for taking things apart and seeing how they work.  He uses this knowledge to fix things.  Soon William and his friends are fixing radios for other villagers.  But then the famine comes.  Crops die and people are starving.  William's family no longer has the money to send him to school.

But William doesn't give up.  He reads all the science books he can from the local library.  And even though he's not in school anymore he doesn't give up on his dream of bringing electricity to his house.  Using mainly materials found in the junkyard, William is able to build a windmill.  That windmill brings power to his house.   And that's only the beginning.

This book is beautifully written, but it's made even better because this is a true story.  William actually did all of these things.  And I loved being transported back to Africa.  William's tribal language was very similar to what I was learning when in Africa.  Muli bwanji, nshima, the rhythm of the language, the quality of the interactions and the support of the tribe.  This book made me feel...I guess the closest word would be homesick.  I am thrilled that this is a Reading Olympic's book.  Everyone should read this book.

Powering your village...that's kids stuff. 

PS If you want to know more about William's achievements/see how you can help go to movingwindmills.org

Comme Ci, Comme Ca

I took four years of french.  Three years in high school and one in college.  Comme ci, comme ca (ok or so-so) is one of the few phrases that I remember.  To be fair, my teachers were excellent, I've just never been good with languages.

The fairies, excuse me, samll persons with wings in Ellen Booream's Small Persons With Wings speak multiple languages, French being one of them, so it seemed appropriate to dig up whatever remnants of my French knowledge were left floating around my brain.  And, I have to be honest, comme ci comme ca was the perfect expression to remember because, for me, this book was just so-so.

Mellie is 13 years old and has been teased at school ever since she told everyone that she had fairies living with her at home (which was true but who would actually believe that).  Add a little extra 'fluff' and you've got yourself the nickname Fairy Fat.  When her grandfather dies and her family moves to his inn it seems like the perfect opportunity to start over.

Until fairies take over the inn and Mellie finally learns why her family interacts with fairies when no one else does. It sounds exactly like the kind of book I would love.  But I didn't.  I actually found it quite hard to keep reading, I just never engaged with this book.  It didn't grab my attention and pull me into the story.  But it wasn't terrible...it was just...so-so.

Fairies...that's kids stuff.  

Helmet?

Growing up, my mom had one rule that was absolutely non-negotiable.  This rule applied not just to my brother and I but also to any neighborhood kid who came over.  The rule: You must always wear a helmet.  Doesn't matter if it's a skateboard, scooter, or bike; if you are riding something you will wear a helmet.  She would send my best friend back to her house to get a helmet if she came without one.

As a kid it was a little annoying, one more step between me and my bike; not to mention it was embarrassing when she sent my friends back home.  As a grown up (well more grown up than I was) I see the wisdom in her decision and I can recognize she made the right call. Barbara Park's Nick Harte Was Here only reinforces that.

You see Phoebe's brother, Mick Harte died because his bike skidded on a rock and he flew off hitting his head.  If he had been wearing a helmet, he would have lived.  This isn't a spoiler, you learn on page one that Mick has died.  As it says, "So this isn't the kind of book where you meet the main character and you get to like him real well and then he dies at the end."

This is a story of grief.  It's not an uplifting story or a fun read, but it's an important story.  The more I work middle schoolers the more I am convinced that they need a variety of rich texts and authentic stories to draw from.  No, it isn't a fun happy book.  But it's a good one.

Wearing your helmet...that's kids stuff.