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Essentially, a journal about books written for children and young adults about World War II.
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| Front Cover of Mister Orange |
Racing along New York City streets one March 1945 day, Linus Muller stops to catch his breath when his attention is suddenly arrested by a familiar face on a poster. Noting the address on the poster, Linus changes course and sets off for it instead.
Flashback to September 1943: Linus is 12 years old and has just inherited his older brother's shoes and his job delivering groceries for his parent's shop. In fact, with six kids and a war on, everything is a hand me down, except for Linus's older brother Albie, who is off to war now that he is old enough to enlist. Linus has also inherited Albie's bed and has been made caretaker of Albie's superhero comic books collection, a love they shared, as well as Albie drawing of his own superhero Mr. Superspeed, with whom Linus keeps a running conversation while he makes his deliveries.
As Linus begins his life as a delivery boy, he meets all the customers and quickly learns their quirky ways, like Mrs. DeWinter who always has another task waiting for Linus to do when he brings her groceries. His job takes him all over the Upper East Side of Manhattan, an area Linus knows like the back of his hand. Late in the afternoon, on his first day, his mother hands Linus a crate of oranges and tells him to deliver them to 15 East 59th Street. Little did Linus know this would be his most interesting monthly delivery.
Living there is an elderly painter with a difficult to remember name and a studio that has stark white walls, except for the groups of brightly colored squares and rectangles here and there. Linus started called the painter Mister Orange and it turns out that Mr. Orange had recently arrived from Nazi-occupied Holland to escape Hitler's oppressive control on the arts.
Meanwhile, brother Albie is still excited to go to war and ships out to Italy as soon as basic training is over. At first, Albie's letters are still filled with enthusiastic descriptions about being a new recruit and the friends he has made. From Italy, he asks Linus to play a rather harmless practical joke on a friend's mother for her birthday and leave a card from her son at the same time. Linus carries out his mission with stealth, but then Albie's next letter is more somber and sad, as he reports his friend has fallen in battle.
Linus understands how it feels to lose a friend. It appears that he is losing his best friend to an older boy who dislikes Linus as much as Linus dislikes him.
And so his visits to Mr. Orange become a bright spot in his life and it is there that the two talk about life. Angry at the reality of war that Albie describes, Linus decides that comics and superheroes are imaginary escapes from all the horrors in life and rejects them completely. Now he doesn't even have the voice of Mr. Superspeed to accompany him. But as Mr. Orange talks to him about his painting and even teaches him how to dance the boogie woogie, he also tells Linus about the importance of imagination, especially during wartime: "If imagination were as harmless as you think...then the Nazis couldn't be so scared of it." (pg 122) All the while, Mr. Orange works on his latest painting, a freedom he would not have had if he has remained in Europe.
Can Mister Orange help Linus through this difficult time?
Originally written in Dutch and skillfully translated by Laura Watkinson,
Mister Orange is itself a wonderful historical fiction work of imagination that skillfully portrays the daily hustle and bustle of life in one New York City neighborhood during WW2 as Linus makes his deliveries. I grew up in Brooklyn and Manhattan at a time when Mom and Pop grocery stores were still common (my brother's first job was delivering groceries), and if you had a fight with your best friend, you just went over to their house to make up - just the way Linus does - very simple, very easy. So I know that this and more of
Mister Orange is pretty spot on. And so is the Action Comic that Linus buys for Albie - November 1943 No. 66. Matti has done her research well.
But the friendship between Mister Orange and Linus would be unusual, though maybe not impossible. In a way, however, it is a nice example of how even a short lived friendship can impact our lives, in this case from September 1943 to February 1944.
Mister Orange is a nice coming-of-age story that unfolds slowly and steadily, but should still engage young readers, though probably not everyone. Linus is a thoughtful, introspective, observant boy who really loves life, at least until reality comes knocking and he finds his world terribly shaken.
I put
Mister Orange on hold at the library based only on the cover and knowing it was a WW2 story because I loved the cover of the American edition. Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) is one of my favorite abstract painters, so as soon as I saw the cover, I knew he would be in the story somewhere, someway. Jenni Desmond, the illustrator of
Mister Orange, has really captured both the motion of the city as Linus travels around and the sense of movement that Mondrian's painting reflect, so that it becomes such a wonderful mixture of Linus's life, and Mondrian's painting, which is as it should be. I found myself going over it again and again after I finished reading the book.
In the back on the book is a section called Mister Mondrian. This FYI section describes his life and the paintings he did while live in New York City. The painting that he was working on during Linus's visit was his never completed
Victory Boogie Woogie, see here:
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| Victory Boogie Woogie by Piet Mondrian |
Mondrian's studio had an immediate, deep impact on Linus and helped him realize hope for the future. Here, though, are photos of that studio, almost exactly as Linus describes them (right down to the orange crates):
(click the images to enlarge them)
There are some who think this book would not appeal to young readers, but I think they will enjoy reading about Linus and his life, and the person who helped him work things out for himself.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from the Webster Branch of the NYPL
There was just no way a chocoholic such a myself could pass on reading a book called
My Chocolate Year. And I am glad I did.
It is September 1945, the war is over and Dorrie Meyers is starting fifth grade. And the best part is that her best friend Sunny Shapiro is in her class and their teacher is the very popular Miss Fitzgerald. Popular because each year, Miss Fitzgerald has a Sweet Semester, in which each student thinks up a dessert to make, writes an essay about it and in January they all bring in their entries and a prize goes out to one winner dessert and one winning essay.
Dorrie loves chocolate passionately and is very excited about Sweet Semester, except for one problem - she has no idea how to make anything, let alone a prize winning dessert. And this year is a special Sweet Semester because not only will family members be invited, but the winners will also get their pictures in the
Chicago Daily News. In addition, since there are now so many orphans in Europe as a result of the war, the class will has a donation jar set up to collect money to send to a charity which cares for the orphans.
The subject of orphans soon hits home for Dorrie. Her grandparents had all migrated to America, but there were still relatives who had remained in Lithuania. No one knew what happened to them after war. Since they were Jewish the worst was feared and Dorrie's mother has been making inquires to find them. Then, one November morning, good news arrives. Victor Dubin, son of Dorrie's Aunt Mina and Uncle Joseph and grandson of Dorrie's Bubbie, was found living in a Displaced Persons camp. No sooner found, than arrangements begin to be made to bring Victor to America. Sadly, no other family members survived.
Victor, now an orphan, and orphan jar in school get Dorrie to thinking about the Margaret O'Brien and the movie
Journey for Margaret, about a young girl orphaned during the London Blitz. How, Dorrie wonders, did she play such a convincing orphan? So she writes a letter to the actress to ask.
Meanwhile, Dorrie and Sunny experiment with different possibilities for Sweet Semester. The first idea, Chocolate Covered Gum, dissolves into a chocolaty mess. Their chocolate covered nuts and raisins clusters taste delicious, but was that all chocolate in them? Oh, and when you add flour to brownies using the electric mixer, it is much easier if you turn the mixer off.
It is really beginning to look like Dorrie isn't going to win that Sweet Semester competition despite the fact that both her mother and Buddie are excellent bakers. She just doesn't seem to have a natural instinct for baking. She really needs a miracle...could that miracle come in the form of both real and movie orphans?
This is a lovely story about the strength and importance of family. It is told in Dorrie's voice and even though it is not written as a diary, it reads like on. The book follows the year though all the Jewish holidays, starting with Rosh Hashanah and Dorrie explains the story and Jewish customs for celebrating each holiday for the benefit of readers who may not be familiar with them. She also talks about the war and it's effect on her family, and when Victor comes, we hear his story in detail, but not so much detail that it would be too much for the targeted age of intended readers. This is a book, after all, that is written for kids who are beginning to learn about the Holocaust.
Now, the 12 recipes. Not all are real recipes, but some are and they are made from scratch. My 10 year old budding chef liked that idea, since she is a cooking purist. We actually make Dorrie's Sweet Semester entry, which was so good that when I went to take a picture, they were all gone. Lesson learned - don't leave good tasting stuff unattended with kids in the house and without telling them hands off.
This book is recommended for readers age 8+
This book was purchased for my personal library
Weekend Cooking is a weekly event hosted by
Beth Fish Reads
Not long ago I reviewed a book by John Boyne on my blog
Randomly Reading called
The Terrible Thing that Happened to Barnaby Brocket. This was a really good fantasy novel about a boy who floats and must be weighed down to stay on the ground. Barnaby has a dog named Capt. W.E. Johns, which caused me to laugh when I read that. There is no explanation why that is the dog's name, but I (and others, I am sure) know exactly who Johns is.
Captain W.E. Johns was a very prolific writer with 169 books to his credit. But he is probably best known for two of his series books: 96 'Biggles' books for boys and 11 'Worrals' books for girls. Worrals, or Joan Worralson, flies for the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, part of the RAF. I reviewed
Worrals of the W.A.A.F in 2011. Biggles, or James Bigglesworth, learned to fly in World War I and continued flying right into World War II and beyond.
Biggles Defies the Swastika (#22 in the series and written in 1941), begins in April 1940. A Major with the RAF, Biggles has been doing some work in Oslo when he wakes up one morning to discover that the Nazis have invaded Norway. Fortunately, Biggles has false identity papers naming him as Sven Hendrik, allowing him to pass as a Norwegian who supports the Nazis until he can get to his plane and out of Norway. Arriving at the aerodome in Boda on a stolen Nazi motorcycle, Biggles finds it is under Nazi control now. Somehow, Biggles fools the Germans into thinking he is a quisling who speaks fluent German and is made a
leutnant on the spot by the German commandant there. Now under a safe cover, Biggles gets himself to the Swedish border on a his stolen motorcycle and crosses over to safety.
But not for long. At the British Consul, he is told to return to Norway to do some ntelligence spying and that his friends and fellow fliers Ginger and Algy will contact him as soon as possible. Back in Norway, he hears that the Germans are looking for a British pilot named Bigglesworth who was spotted in Oslo and wanted by the Germans. Luckily, as Sven Hendrik, Biggles is ordered to look for himself and given a Gestapo pass that will allow him freedom to get around without question.
Biggles soon discovers that his old nemesis Oberleutnant Erich von Stalhein is in Norway and is desperate to capture him. Biggles calls Gestapo headquarters and tells them he has information that Bigglesworth is in Narvik and he is on his way there. But along the way, he runs into some captured British sailors. He tells them he's really a British pilot and concocts a plan for them to tell their captors that they saw Bigglesworth escape. In Narvik, Biggles finds other British POWs, including his old friend Algy, who was sent over to help him. He manages to free all the prisoners, but is then ordered back to Boda Aerodome to be questioned by von Stalhein.
Before that can happen, Biggles is ordered to Stavanger airfield by the British to gather intelligence about Nazi defenses there and then to go to Fjord 21, where he runs into his other old friend Ginger. It is time to get out of Norway now that they have the needed intelligence, but Biggles refuse to go with Algy. Meanwhile, Algy, after being freed at Narvik has returned to Boda to find Biggles.
Biggles returns to Boda, finds Algy and they make their way to Fjord 21, Ginger in his plane and escape, only to find that the Fjord is now occupied by Nazis and that Ginger is missing. But not for long. Ginger tries to rescue Biggles and Algy, but things go wrong and Algy is again captured by the Nazis. Biggles, with the help of his Gestapo pass, learns that the British warships are sailing right into a trap. He can do nothing about it though because of growing suspicion about who he really is. He accepts a ride in a water plane back to Boda and von Stalhein, because he has no choice. During the flight, Biggles overtakes the pilot. Flying low enough for the German to jump into the water, Biggles orders him out, but not before telling him they must get together after the war and have dinner together (yes, he really did say that).
***SPOILER ALERT***
Now flying a German plane, Biggles is attacked by none other than Ginger. But then Ginger is attacked by a German plane and goes down. Luckily, Biggles is able to rescue Ginger, tells him about the trap the British warships are heading into and has Ginger drop him off to find Algy. Ginger delivers his warning, sets off to find Biggles and Algy, but is captured by the Germans. Meanwhile, Bigglesand Algy are also captured by von Stalhein at Boda. But when Ginger arrives with his German captor, the three of them manage to overpower him, steal a German plane and fly safely off to England and further adventures - lots of them!
All this action/adventure tokes place in only a few days. The back and forth between Oslo, Boda and Stavanger were a bit like watching a ping pong games with airplanes, but I never got confused, in part because of the simplicity of the writing. It is not great literature, is sometimes politically incorrect and everyone smokes, but Johns seems to have understood his young readers. There is just action, constant movement, and a feeling of being in control, something young readers probably found comforting in wartime Britain.
If you are going to read them for the first time, don't take them too seriously, just have some fun, after all, they feel a bit campy nowadays. And I thought the rivalry between Biggles and von Stalhein had shades of the later rivalry between Snoopy and the Red Baron. I did, however, learn that anti aircraft flak was refered to as archie, as in 'you will probably run into lots of archie when you fly a German Dornier over Britain.'
While I have read most of the Worrals books, I seem to only have
Biggle Defies the Swastika - but I have two copies of it, somehow. And both smell like they just came out of my gram's attic. Luckily, since Biggles is still somewhat popular, now editions of his books have become available recently, for your reading pleasure.
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| Johns with his novels |
Biggles has has lots of influence on people's lives. Here are some examples:
A Life of Biggles by Hilary Mantal
I Longed to Fly with Biggles by John Crace
Good Eggs and Malted Milk: Has Biggles Stood the Test of Time by Giles Foden
More information on Biggles and his creator Captain W. E. Johns can be found
Collecting Books and Magazines (a great site for all kinds of information about kids books from the past.
This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was purchased for my personal library
This is book 3 of my 2013 Pre-1960 Classic Children's Books Reading Challenge hosted by
Turning the Pages
Imagine surviving 1 ghetto, 10 concentration camps and 2 death marches. Well, here is the story of a boy who did just that.
At 10 years old, Yanek Gruener's life means friends, school and most importantly, being surrounded by loving relatives all living in the center of Krakow, Poland. But his relatives know that soon something is going to happen - after all, they are Jews in a Europe that Hitler wants to make "Jew free." Sure enough, only six days after the German invasion of Poland, Nazi soldiers march into Krakow, and not long after that, one after another rights, privileges, pleasures, food and freedom are denied its Jewish citizens, until, in 1942, when Yanek is 12, the Nazis begin building the wall that will become the Krakow Ghetto and Yanek soon finds himself living there along with thousands of other displaced Jews.
In the ghetto, Yanek and his father prove to be very resourceful in order to survive. When roundups start, to avoid be sent "to the east" and an unknown future, Yanek finds an abandoned pigeon coop on the roof of their building where the family takes up residence. To feed his family, Yanek's father manages to get bread under very dangerous circumstances. And, most telling of all, despite the danger after the Nazis forbide Jews to practice their religion, his father gets together a
minyan (a quorum of 10
bar mitvahed men) late one night for Yanek's very unusual secret
bar mitvah.
The ghetto proves to be only the beginning of Yanek's journey through a system of concentration camps, where survival sometimes depends of cunning, sometimes on luck, always knowing that your life is in the hands of sadistic Nazis, some of whom like to kill Jews for sport.
By the time Yanek is sent from the ghetto to the first of ten concentration camps, he has lost his family in a roundup and deportation heading "east" but finds his Uncle Moshe at Plaszów Concentration Camp. You may remember Plaszów from
Schindler's List, the camp run by the very, very cruel SS Commander Amon Goeth. It is here that Yanek's Uncle Moshe teaches him survival skills that will serve him well at each camp he is sent to. As a result, Yanek's resolve to survive almost never falters, even when he comes very close to dying.
Prisoner B-3087 (B for Birkenau) is based on the life of the real Yanek/Jack Gruener. It is told in a simple, straightforward manner, narrated in the first person by the fictional Yanek, but the voice of the actual Gruener comes through clearly, giving it a sense of authenticity. Yanek never, no matter how badly he is treated, gives into feeling victimized, which is amazing, but may also account for his strong will to survive. Yanek's descriptions of certain things that he either witnesses or that were done to him are sometimes a bit hard to read, but never gratuitous and not including them would sanitize Nazi cruelty to every degree.
The narration skillfully balances these cruel, sadistic acts against the Jews with some real heartwarming moments, like the night of Yanek's secret
bar mitvah, a kindness Yanek was to repay in Birkenau two years later when he is the first to volunteer to be part of a
minyan for another 13 year old boy's forbidden
bar mitvah, even though getting caught would mean certain death.
After I read
Prisoner B-3087, I felt compelled to do two things. First, I had to make an outline of the places and events in Yanek Gruener's life as he was sent from camp to camp, sometimes in cattle cars, sometimes on foot in freezing weather. Second, I would have liked a map to get a real sense not just of where Yanek was at each part of his life under the Nazis, but also the distances he traveled. I think these would give a real appreciation of his survival. But since they didn't include map, and others might fell as I do, I found this one at the
Jewish Virtual Library and modified it a bit to reflect Yanek's experience:
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| Click to enlarge |
Prisoner B-3087 is a book that really must be read to be fully appreciated. Yanek/Jack Gruener's story is incredible, haunting, compelling, heart wrenching, rewarding and not to be missed (and you will find out how Yanek became Jack).
This book is recommended for readers age 11+
This book was received as an E-ARC from
Net Galley
Imagine you are a German Jew who managed to escape Hitler's Germany during the war. Now, the war is over, but you have been asked to return to Germany by the United States Army to assess what the German children living in that now decimated country need to live a better life. After all that happened to Jews in Germany, could you have done it? It would indeed take a strong, caring, forgiving person to embark on such a task, but that is exactly what Jella Lepmaan did.
As Jella traveled through Germany in an army jeep, she saw that the children needed so much - clothing, food, homes, warmth. But they also wanted books. She spoke to the General at army headquarters where she was stationed about an exhibition of children's books from around the world. The General agreed this was a good idea and, night after night, Jella wrote to publishers to ask for books donations for the exhibition. She called her letters doves of peace. And, amazingly, even after what Hitler had done to the world, publishers around the world did respond.
The books were great, but were for an exhibition, not for the children who wanted them. So, Jella decided to translate
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf into German. Then she had it printed - 30,000 copies on newsprint and a few days before Christmas, they were handed out to Germany's children.
That was just the beginning. By 1949, Jella's first children's book exhibition had grown into the International Youth Library in Munich. This research library still exists today and still collects children's books from around the world.
Sydelle Pearl's
Books for Children of the World: The Story of Jella Lepman is a beautifully written homage to a very courageous woman and the library she founded. Lepman believed that just as her letters were doves of peace, books were messengers of peace and the idea of peace is a clear message in her work. Pearl is herself a librarian and it is easy to see that she believes in the power of books.
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Giving out newsprint copies of The Story of
Ferdinand to children in Germany |
Illustrations add so much to a book and those of Danlyn Iantorno are no exception. These bold, colorful realistic illustrations, which appear to have been rendered in oil paint, capture both the bold spirit of Jella Lepman and the varied emotions of the children. I also thought that the tones of the colors used reminded of picture books and readers from the late 1940s and 1950s reflecting the
Zeitgeist of that particular time.
Be sure to read the Author's Note at the end of the book for more information about Jella Lepman and the International Youth Library. There is list of selected sources as well, should you be inclined to explore Lepman and the library further.
Bear in mind that this is a historical biography and not really a picture for young readers.
This book is recommended for readers age 8+
This book was provided to me by the publisher.
There is a wonderfully informative lesson plan based on Books for Children of the World: The Story of Jella Lepman which, though produced in 2011, is nevertheless still very useful and can be found
here.
Nonfiction Monday is hosted this week by Wendie at
Wendie's Wanderings
Once the United States entered WWII, the inevitable was bound to happen - American G.I.s who were stationed in England before deploying to combat areas would meet, date and fall in love with English girls. And sometimes they got married.
Welcome to America, Champ! is the story of this very thing and what happens next, all told from the point of view of a young boy named Thomas.
Thomas begins his story in 1944, telling us about his mother marrying Jack Ricker, a US serviceman stationed in England. It is one of the few happy occasions during Thomas's experience of war. Before Jack, things were pretty sad for Thomas and his family, even though their village hadn't been bombed like other places in England. His mother friends all put together their rations to make a cake for the bride and groom and there is lots of dancing at the small reception, but Thomas has lots of questions for his new dad about some day living in America, which his dad is happy to answer. And he promises to teach Thomas how to play baseball with a stick once they are all together in the US.
But soon after Jack is sent off to war. And eventually Thomas has a new baby brother named Ronnie.
One day, the church bells start ringing all over England to announce that the war is finally over. But Jack is sent directly back to the states, with no time to visit his wife and sons. The family waits until the finally get a letter from the army - be ready to sail to America in two weeks.
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| Sailing to America |
Pretty soon, Thomas, Ronnie and their mom are on the Queen Mary, sailing across the Atlantic to a
a new life. Excited but apprehensive, Thomas reads the answers his dad had given him to all his questions over and over again to reassure himself that things will be work out. And he spends lots time exploring the ship with his new friend Lucy, who is going to America for the same reason as Thomas. Thomas and Lucy are both still rather homesick and anxious, but when they finally see the Statue of Liberty early one morning, Lucy's homesickness get the better of her and she begins to cry.
But maybe Thomas has just the thing to help Lucy with her fears and to help himself at the same time.
Welcome to America, Champ! is one of those very well written, well done picture books for older readers that are being published more and more lately. I think these are perfect classroom books and offer a way of introducing different historical events to kids in first, second and third grades without overwhelming them with facts and figures.
I personally found this book to be very interesting for two reasons: first, because my best friend's grandmother was a war bride from England and because my dad had also immigrated here from Wales. We both used love listening to their stories about leaving Britain and coming here. And
Welcome to America, Champ! is, after all, a story about immigrating to a new country and what that means to a child - getting to know a new dad, a new school, new friends, new way of life at the same time as leaving behind your old home, old friends, old school and your family. Thomas's apprehension about these issues makes this a perfect read aloud for any child who is about to or has just dealt with a an event that has changed their lives.
Doris Ettlinger's beautifully rendered realistic watercolor illustrations complement and support this heartwarming story throughout, giving us a real sense of not just of Thomas's life but also his feelings and emotions.
My second reason for finding
Welcome to America, Champ! is that I was fortunate enough to have sailed from Southampton to New York on the Queen Mary just before she was retired and I was old enough to remember it. The Queen Mary was a lovely old ship and being on her was like stepping back in time (or at least that is what my memory tells me).
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| Queen Mary entering New York harbor |
Be sure to read the Author's Note at the end of Welcome to America, Champ! for more information about war brides.
FYI: The Queen Mary, converted from a warship to a floating nursery, arrived in New York Harbor on February 10, 1946 with the first of the war brides and their children, all of whom were greeted by an army band playing Brahms' "Lullabye." On board were 1,666 brides and 688 children. What a day that must have been!
This book is recommended for readers age 6+
This book was purchased for my personal library.
That is quite a title, isn't it. I know I did a double take when I first saw it. So, what kind of a kid would say she hates the Holocaust? Meet Lauren Yanofsky. Lauren is entering her junior year of high school, has a big crush on Jesse, a boy she has known most of her life, and is finding her best friend drifting away.
Oh, yes, and Lauren has also decided not to be Jewish anymore. Lauren had always felt that her religion was full of persecution in the Bible and history. Then, three years ago, she found out that her grandmother had eleven relatives who all perished in the Holocaust. "Who needed all that misery? Why would anyone want to belong to a religion that was all about loss, grief, and persecution?" she asked herself. (pg13)
Lauren even managed to convince her parents, with the help of a hunger strike, to let her leave the Hebrew School she was attending in favor of public school. But try as she might, Lauren just can't get away from Judaism and the Holocaust. Her father is a Holocaust scholar at the University and he and her mother continually try to tempt Lauren back to her faith by joining a Jewish youth group, going a Taglit birth right trip to Israel and/or other religion-based activities. Lauren wants none of it, however.
As school begins, Lauren finds herself sitting beside her crush, Jesse, and her best friend, Brooke. Things go well and it looks like Jesse may be more attracted to Lauren that just as a friend, and it also seems that Brooke is really supportive of this. But Brooke has more than one surprise in store Lauren. where Jesse is concerned. As the days pass, and their other two friends Chloe and Em become involved with the school production of
Grease, and Brooke begins to drift off at lunchtime to hang outside with the Smokers, particularly with one named Chantel, Lauren finds herself alone in the lunchroom with her own thoughts.
One night, after getting together with Brooke, Chole and Em for pizza (just like the old days, Lauren thinks), they end the evening at the park, watching the boys from school, including Jesse, playing Nazi war games with water guns and paper armbands with Swastikas drawn on them. The worse part is that everyone seems to think this is OK, except for Lauren.
When Lauren finds a lost Nazi armband after the boys finish playing their Nazi war game again, she finds herself in a dilemma: she knows the game is a form of anti-Semitism and that's unacceptable. And she knows the right thing to do would be to turn them in at school, but Jesse is one of the players. Now, Lauren must confront herself, her beliefs and her own ideas about the Holocaust and Judaism, again.
Narrated in the first person by Lauren,
Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust is a realistic look at a teenager coming to grips with who she is as a person. It is a coming of age novel that catches Lauren right in the transitional moment of time when she must make the choice about which way her moral compass is going to go. And at the center of that choice is the Holocaust. Reporting the boys, including Jesse, would mean taking a big risk, possibly losing friends, embracing her religion and accepting responsibility for her actions. Not reporting them would make Lauren as guilty of anti-Semitism as her friends, of betraying her religion, its culture and most importantly, the 11 relatives and all the other people who perished in the Holocaust. Lauren has a true moral dilemma to grapple with, but does get some surprising help along the way.
Lieberman has peopled her novel with all kinds of realistic characters, just the kind you would find in any high school, like the Perfects and the Smokers. Lauren and her friends drink a little, curse a little, make out some and in general behave just like most teens do when adults are not around. Besides moral choices, Lauren also deals with ordinary things like taming her very frizzy hair each morning even though her straightener is usually defeated by the damp weather. She also has a younger brother Zach, who is studying to make his
Bar Mitzvah, but whose sensory integration issues are making that difficult for him. Without sinking into the stereotypical, the characters are all familiar to us but have their own individual quirks.
Though sometimes predictable,
Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust is also written with lots of humor, at times a bit on the snarky side, some sentiment, and teen drama. And if I say anymore about
Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust, I will have to include a spoiler warning. I would suggest reading it for yourself, after all
Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust will be available on April 1, 2013.
This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was sent to me by the publisher
Well,
Bloggiesta 2013 is over. I hope everyone had a great weekend and accomplished all their goals. I accomplished almost all of mind, but the weekend was cut short by a Sunday afternoon at the theater and then dinner. But I am at the finish line so let's see what's what.
This is my original list and my finished tasks are crossed off.
1- Write reviews for the books I have already read and the pile is getting higher.
I did all but one review.
2- Back up my blog.
Now I need to remember to back up both my blogs more frequently.
I did lots of work on this blog - made drop down menus for labels and blog archive, created an archives page, and changed the whole look because the background I was using wouldn't always let me respond to comments, among other things.
4- Participate in the following challenges:
Organizing Reviews hosted by Lauren at Lose Time Reading using Excel, something I need a lot. I don't have Excel, so I am going to try to do it on Google Docs.
I did manage to make this work in Google Docs, so I was very pleased. I even used a color coding system the way Lauren shows on here mini-challenge.
I didn't get far enough with this to say I completed it, so it is still a work in progress.
Google Reader Replacement Options hosted by Jenn from The Picky Girl. I have already tried Bloglovin', Feedly and The Old Reader, but still haven't made up my mind about which I like best.
For the moment, I am sticking with Bloglovin' Feedly was OK, but there were almost 38,000 subscriptions ahead of me and after a few hours, very few of those were done. There was also a note saying that in the future there would be a charge. The Old Reader was also OK, but in the end I preferred Bloglovin'
Thank you again to all the hosts of the mini-challenges and especially to Suey from
It's All About Books and Danielle fromThere's A Book for organizing and hosting Bloggiesta.
Yes, it is that time of the year! A time when you can take a weekend and work on your blog. This year
Bloggiesta is once again being hosted by Suey from
It's All About Books and Danielle from
There's A Book Here is a great big Muchas Gracias to both of you for organizing and hosting this year's Bloggiesta.
Bloggiesta runs from Friday, March 22 to Sunday, March 24th so break out the chips and salsa and get yourself up to the Starting Line:
I have been waiting for Bloggiesta to do some work on The Children's War, so here is my To-Do List:
1- Write reviews for the books I have already read and the pile is getting higher.
2- Back up my blog.
4- Participate in the following challenges:
Organizing Reviews hosted by Lauren at Lose Time Reading using Excel, something I need a lot. I don't have Excel, so I am going to try to do it on Google Docs.
Google Reader Replacement Options hosted by Jenn from The Picky Girl. I have already tried Bloglovin', Feedly and The Old Reader, but still haven't made up my mind about which I like best.
Happy Bloggiesta and see you Sunday!
It is sometimes a serendipitous world. Now sooner did I write about plane spotting in December, than I started reading a book about an 11 year old girl who really wants to be a plane spotter. Alice Calder has memorized all the plane silhouettes on her plane spotting cards, has a brand new log book and a pair of binoculars. All she is missing is her mother's permission. But when her mom figures out that Alice has been plane spotting out the window one cold night in December 1942 in Providence, Rhode Island, she takes away her plane spotting equipment. Now how will anyone be able to recognize her as the important spotter she fancies herself as?
Alice wants to do something more for the war than just writing to her Uncle David (almost) everyday. So the next day, after school, she heads over to the Red Cross, where she can fold bandages for wounded soldiers. On her way, she envisions herself being introduced on the radio as a real patriot for her bandage folding. Though is it satisfying enough work, Alice still dreams of being a plane spotting heroine.
Then, as she and her Gramps are preparing a bomb shelter at home, Alice talks him into letting her use her grandmother's opera glasses (if it's OK with mom) and hits on the idea of joining the plane spotters in the Ground Observation Corps. But when she asks Mr. Parker, the head of the corps, about joining, he tells her she is too young. Taking pity on her, he gives Alice an old Ground Observer's manual that is still serviceable.
 |
| Civil Air Patrol |
One day, after dancing class, Alice runs in her old friend (and crush) Jimmy Brownell, 16. Over cokes, he tells her he has joined the Civil Air Patrol her and will be training to get a pilot's license. In CAP, he will fly his dad's plane over the coast looking for enemy submarines.
Sure enough, Jimmy gets his license and begins flying and Alice flies with him, at least in her imagination. Meanwhile, with hard won permission to plane spot, Alice does her patriotic duty spotting and keeping a meticulous log book. But then, one cold winter night, a phone call comes, saying that Jimmy's plane was lost over the sea because of a nor'easter and it doesn't look good. Upset, Alice passes out and spends a number of days in bed, seriously ill.
When she recovers, she is told that Jimmy had been found alive, but in pretty bad condition. And to her chagrin, Alice discovers that binoculars and log book have been take away once again. And that would seem to be the end of Alice's spotting days. Or is it? There is a big surprise in store for Alice and her meticulous log book.
Alice at the Home Front is a story that really demonstrates the desire of young people in WWII to do something, anything to help the war effort. The war wasn't something far away on unimaginable battlefields to them. They felt the effect of it wherever they lived. Rationing, bomb shelters, air raid sirens and blackout were the kinds of things that brought it all home for them every day. Tarantino has given the reader a picture into what it was all about for them through Alice.
 |
| Plane Spotting Cards |
Plane spotting was a big very big thing for kids and there were all kinds of ways to learn plane identification, including playing cards with images on them It was something they could do right in their own backyard and maybe feel a little more empowered than they actually were. And naturally, kids could get pretty competitive about who could identify and/or spot the greatest number of different planes. And I suspect that lots of kids, like Alice, had Walter Mitty-like dreams be being a hero/heroine. And it is part of what made
Alice at the Home Front such a realistic novel.
This is a heart-warming story with lots of humorous bits, lots of slang and some pretty serious stuff, too. I loved that she wanted to be a plane spotter, and really was dedicated to it, even at the risk of falling out the window. The most amazing part of the novel was that a 16-year-old boy was allowed to fly a plane alone the way Jimmy did, but it certainly demonstrates how different times were back then.
This book was recommended for readers age 9+
This book was purchased for my personal library.
Be sure to visit the
National Museum of the Civil Air Patrol where you can see an extensive online exhibit of the role CAP played in World War II.
On September 1, 1939, Operation Pied Piper commenced and thousands of children were evacuated from London to the English countryside to keep them safe from the war that was just beginning.
Among the evacuees to Little Weinwold is William Beech, 8, left in the care of Tom Oakley, a widower and a rather crusty loner. William is much to small for his age, frightened of everything and covered in black and blue bruises. Inside he duffel, Tom find a belt with a large buckle and instructions to use it on William whenever he sees fit. Appalled by what he sees that first day, Mr. Tom, as he tells William to call him, begins to soften towards the boy, taking him out and buying him some appropriate clothing and boots, feeding him well and doctoring the bruises.
As William's body heals, he comes out of his frightened shell and even develops a fondness for Mr. Tom's dog Sammy. But William has a bed-wetting problem that continues despite everything. Soon William meets Zach, another evacuee, and they become best friends. And other kids begin to join in on their fun. And it turns out that William is quite a talented artist, receiving some art supplies from Mr. Tom for his ninth birthday. Things go well until school starts.
It turns out that William cannot read, that in London his teachers ignored him and the other students taunted him. When all his friends to into their proper class, William is put in with the younger kids who are just beginning school. Mr. Tom begins to teach him to read and by the end of the term, William has conquered not just reading but his bed-wetting problem as well.
Life for William, Mr. Tom and Sammy the dog has evolved into a comfortable, happy companionship and Mr. Tom has even begun to participate in village activities again, something he hasn't done in forty years after the death of his wife and new baby son, also named William. But one day a letter arrives from William's mother, asking for her son to come home for a visit.
And it is with very heavy hearts that Mr. Tom and William say good-bye at the train. William is laden with all kinds of lovely, friendly gifts for his mother as he leave and promises to write to Mr. Tom as soon as he can. When weeks go by and not letter arrives, Mr. Tom and Sammy take the train to London to find out if things are going well for William, arriving just at the Blitz begins.
And yes, he does find him - locked in a closet, tied up to a pipe in it and holding a baby who turns out to be his illegitimate sister. Traumatized and blaming himself for the baby's death, William is taken to a hospital. Mr. Tom keeps watch and makes himself useful when people injured by the bombing are brought in. After a few days, however, he is told that William is going to be transferred to a home where he will be given psychiatric treatment.
Not agreeing that this is the best thing for William, Mr. Tom resorts to something desperate. Will the two ever make it back to Little Weinwold or is this the end of things for Mr. Tom and William?
Good Night, Mr. Tom is Michelle Magorian's first novel. It was written in 1981 and hasn't lost any of its appeal nor does it have a dated feeling. It is probably her most well-known work, particularly since it has been made into a television movie (ITV in the UK, Masterpiece Theater in the US, and with John Thaw, a favorite) and a play.
I have read
Good Night, Mr. Tom a few times and never get tired of it. The writing is elegant, and Magorian has great talent in fleshing out her characters so that they are believable and well-developed. And the same can be said for her settings, actually.
Magorian also has a way of presenting difficult issues without getting too graphic or going overboard. In this novel alone, there are issues of abuse, bullying, anti-Semitism, skewed religious beliefs, the death of children and suicide. These are dreadful things, and yet not presented in such a way that they will disturb young readers, but enough is said to make this book appeal to an adult reader as well. And in the end, it is a novel of healing, hope, love and trust, and these are the issues that predominate, even without a really pat ending.
If you haven't read
Good Night, Mr. Tom, be warned - it is a tearjerker, but oh, so worth it. But there is much in the story that will make you chuckle, especially William's very outgoing friend Zack, whom I haven't mentioned much even though he is a good part of the book and who makes me smile just thinking about him.
This old favorite is worthy of a first read if you haven't already read it, or worthy of another read if you have read it before.
This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was purchased for my personal library
Sometimes, when you read a debut novel that also wins a Newbery, your expectations for next novel by the same author are way too high. That was exactly what I was thinking when I picked up Navigating Early at the library and I must say I was very pleasantly surprised when I began reading and realized that I was not to be disappointed.
The book begins just after World War II has ended in Europe and 13 year old Jackie Baker's father, a Navy captain, has returned home to Kansas, not because of the end of fighting, but to bury his wife. Not knowing what to do with their son Jackie, he enrolls him in the Morton Hill Academy for Boys, a boarding school in Maine.
Not happy about this and somewhat of a misfit in the school, Jackie discovers a boy living in the janitor's workshop instead of the dormitory. Early Auden, that strangest of boys, as Jackie describes him, is also a misfit, a boy who uses rituals to organize and navigate the world. He also has an extraordinary ability for mathematics. Numbers, Early tells Jackie, tell a story, specifically a story about Pi, that most mysterious of numbers: "The numbers have colors - blues of the ocean and sky, green grass, a bright-yellow sun. The numbers have texture and landscape - mountains and waves and sand and storms. And words - about Pi and about his journey. The numbers tell a story." (pg 66)
Early and Jackie becomes friends. And it turns out that Early, like Jackie, has suffered a loss of someone important to him. Fisher Auden, a hero and a rowing legend at Morton Hill, was Early's older brother who went to war right after graduation. But after a dangerous mission, Fisher is declared Missing in Action, presumed Dead. Early, however, is convinced that Fisher is hiding in the Maine woods and has decided to find him during a school break.
Jackie, disappointed that his father couldn't come to get him for the break, decides to join Early on his quest along the Appalachian Trail to find Fisher.
And what a quest it is. It is a story about how Jack, Early and Pi lost heir direction in life and how they tried to navigate their way back to it. And along the way, they meet all kinds of strange people, like the pirates searching for treasure, a Norwegian still pining for his first love, a 100 year old woman stilling waiting for her son to come home. As the boys travel along the Appalachian Trail, Early narrates his story about Pi's journey in an attempt to earn the name Polaris which his mother had given him.
And as the boys travel along, there are lots of coincidences, lots of twists and turns in Navigating Early, but never a dull moment. In the most enchanting language, Vanderpool weaves a taut, complex, entertaining story. I found myself anxious to get back to Jack and Early whenever I put the book down and, like Jack, I wanted to hear more and more of Pi's story.
Whenever a book is set in or after WWII, I ask myself why that time period. The war impacted everyone in some way or other. It brought Jackie's father home before it was over. But more importantly, it showed how lost some people were when it was over. Jackie's father knew the Navy, how the operate, organize, control his ship. But in Kansas, after his wife's death, he was faced with an inability to navigate his world there. And this led to his inability to guide Jack, who without mother and father, also has difficulty navigating the world. Fisher was also a lost soul because of the war, and Early completely lost his way of navigating the world when Fisher went missing. And so while Navigating Early is about navigating, it is also about finding your direction again, just as Pi must. Some many had to grapple with that after the war.
A lot of people have used the words autistic or Asperger's to describe Early. Yet, it is not for us to diagnose him and to her credit, Vanderpool does not label Early either, but merely has Jackie call him "that strangest of boys" which would be more apropos for the time.
This is a wonderful novel, and I think it is not to be missed.
This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was borrowed from the Webster Branch of the NYPL
Of course, after reading
Saving Zasha, we all wondered where she really came from and who was the German soldier she was with. Well, Randi Barrow has written a prequel that pretty much answers those two questions.
Finding Zasha begins with the September 1941 Siege of Leningrad. When German soldiers surround the city and cut off all supply lines, life becomes more difficult for everyone living in Leningrad, including Ivan, 12, and his mother, a factory worker. There is never enough food or heat and people are dying of starvation all over the city.
When her apartment is hit by a bomb, an elderly neighbor, called Auntie by everyone, moves in with them and begins to teach Ivan how to survive under siege, lesson she learned in WWI. As winter comes on, and the blockade holds, the three survive on the cans of beans Auntie had hidden away. Then one day, Ivan's mother announces that her job is moving to the Ural Mountains for safety and she must go with it - but without Ivan.
It is decided that Ivan will go live with his Uncle Boris and Auntie will live with her sister-in-law, Galina, as soon as the ice road across the frozen miles long Lake Ladoga can hold the weight of transport trucks and they can leave Leningrad. In January, the ice is finally thick enough and Ivan and Auntie set out on their journey. When no one meets them on the other side of the lake, they are fortunate enough to be offered a ride by a friendly sleigh owner.
At last, they arrive at Galina's home and Ivan settles in there for a few days before going on to Uncle Boris. He meets Polina, a girl about his age, who seems to know every nook and cranny of the area. It turns out that Polina, along with Galina and now Auntie, are working as partisans under the leadership of Petr, and along with other villagers. This is right up Ivan's alley and he too joins the partisans, staying at Galina's instead of traveling on to Uncle Boris.
Not long after this, the Germans arrive. Ivan has been playing his concertina for Auntie and Galina's pleasure and as the Germans roll in, their commander, Major Axel Recht, comes to the door to listen to Ivan play. With him are two German Shepard puppies. And when Commander Recht leaves, he takes Ivan with him.
Now, basically imprisoned in the makeshift Nazi headquarters, it is Ivan's hope to discover useful information he pass on the the partisans. Luckily, the cruel animal trainer who is to teach the puppies to hate and kill Russians, gets news that his son has been injured in fighting, and leaves immediately to be by his side. Ivan convinces the commander that he has experience training dogs and can do the job. And of course, Ivan begins to plot how he can get the puppies, Zasha and Thor, away from Recht's cruelty. This won't be easy - Recht is a sadistic, vengeful man, who loves his whip. And when he forces Ivan to watch a German soldier being whipped for a minor breach, the full extent of his cruelty becomes apparent.
But Ivan's plan of escape may happen sooner that he expects when Recht and his soldiers must leave the village soon to go help in the fighting at Tikhvin where things are not going well for the Germans. Can Ivan succeed in escaping Recht with both of his prized puppies?
This is a nice historical fiction work about Russia in WW2, an area not frequently explored in novels, though lately some really excellent works have been published. Another book depicting the terrible conditions in Russia during the war and how they impacted the ordinary Russians that people this story is always welcome. And certainly all the historical facts in this novel were spot on - the siege of Leningrad, the ice road over Lake Ladoga, the fighting at Tikhvin, a battle that helped turn the tide for the starving people in Leningrad. Be sure to read the Barrow's information and timeline about these things at the end of the book.
But
Finding Zasha left me with very mixed feelings. I actually enjoyed the first part of it quite a bit, but I felt that the story was sometimes forced in order to create a history for Zasha. And I thought that the second half and the ending were rushed in order to get to the end of the war and the point at which
Saving Zasha could begin. Although the story is filled with adventure and danger, I didn't find myself holding my breath at the places where that should have happened.
Sadly, I didn't care much for Ivan, either. Rather than strong and brave, I found him to be too headstrong, impulsive and public to be a partisan. And the other partisans accepting him as one struck me as took simplistic. He was basically an unknown to them and had proved himself trustworthy yet.
Yet, at the end of the day, I would recommend reading
Finding Zasha. It is still a well written novel, and there is much to cull from this book for fans of Zasha and/or Randi Barrow. And I hear there is a third Zasha book on the horizon.
This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was an E-ARC from
Net Galley
I found the concept of the ice road very intriguing and so I looked it up. It took Ivan and Auntie quite a long time to cross Lake Ladoga in a truck in
Finding Zasha. The ice road was almost 17 miles long and was constructed under enemy fire in the winter of 1041/42. But it lived up to its nickname The Road of Life during the Siege of Leningrad when it allowed limited food supplies to be brought into the beleaguered city and allowed others to leave if they had places they could go to.
 |
The Ice Road - April 1942 (you can see the ice
starting to melt) |
And the turtles, of course...all the turtles are free
As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.
Today is the birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel A/K/A Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss was born in Springfield, MA on March 2, 1904. He attended Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where he first began using the pen name Seuss while working on the college's humor magazine
Jack-O_Lantern. Not long after graduation, Seuss became Dr. Seuss.
Meanwhile, Dr. Seuss published his first children's book
And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street in 1937. This was followed by
The 500 Hat of Bartholomew Cubbins in 1938,
The King's Stilts and adult book
The Seven Lady Godivas in 1939 and
Horton Hatches the Egg in 1940.
After Dartmouth, Dr. Seuss went to Oxford graduate school, got bored and traveled around Europe instead. Returning to the US, he worked in advertising and did some cartooning but once World War II started, Dr. Seuss began working for a left wing weekly magazine called
PM. Seuss was a strong opponent of American isolationism, and used his
PM cartoons to express his feelings:
After the US entered the war, he continued to use his biting humor in his political cartoons, like the one below that introduced his idea of the vulnerability of stacking turtles to call out the defense producers that were delivering defense material 'at a turtles pace' thereby slowing down defense production and the threatening an Allied victory with instability and failure:
All of which brings me to
Yertle the Turtle. With a history of no-holds-barred political cartooning, it wasn't surprising to find out that Dr.Seuss, that master of political satire, was at it again just few years after the war ended.
Yertle is the story of the king of the pond who one day looks around and despite the contentment of his turtle subjects, decides he needs to increase the area he rules over. So he demands that build his a higher throne:
"If I could sit high, how much greater I'd be!
What a king! I'd be ruler of all I could see!"
The turtles pile themselves up, one on top of the other, creating a higher throne, so Yertle could "see 'most a mile!"
But then the bottom turtle, named Mack, complains about the standing so long with turtles on his back. Angered, Yertle demands a higher throne and once again, turtles,"Whole families of turtles, with uncles and cousins" come to add themselves to the stack of turtles already there.
And once again Mack speaks up:
"I know, up on top you are seeing great sights,
But down at the bottom, we, too, should have rights.
We turtles can't stand it. Our shells will all crack!
Besides, we need food. We are starving! groaned Mack."
But Mack speaks to no avail. That night, when the moon rises, Yertle, seeing that it is higher than he is, starts to demands more and more turtles when suddenly Mack, having had enough of Yertle, burps and the whole stack of turtle shakes, throwing Yertle into the mud below - where he remained, ruling all he could see through the mud.
"That plain little turtle below in the stack,
That plain little turtle whose name was just Mack,
Decided he'd taken enough. And he had
And that plain little lad got a little bit mad
And that plain little Mack did a plain little thing
He burped!And his burp shook the throne of the king!
Now, I am sure you can see the resemblance to Hitler and his quest for more and more
Lebensraum in Yertle. And it isn't hard to figure out that the turtles are the German people under Hitler's dictatorship. But there is a moral of this story and it is simply that anyone can make a difference and their action can bring about change.
If you wish to explore the social and political meanings behind
Yertle the Turtle in greater depth, you can find a excellent lesson plan at the
Teach Peace Foundation.
Two interesting notes:
1-
Yertle the Turtle was first published in 1958 by Random House (which is actually the copy I own, a hand-me-down from an older cousin I wouldn't to give up to a younger cousin). At the time, a word like burp was considered to be in poor taste and there was some concern at publishing it, never mind the political message in it. But kids being kids, the book was an instant successful and no one was the worse for the use of burp. And speaking of the political message...
2- In 2012, a teacher at a school in British Columbia was asked to remove a quote from
Yertle the Turtle that she had displayed in her classroom because there was a line in it that was considered too political. It seems that there was a vote in 2011 to keep political materials out of classrooms in British Columbia, because children must be shielded from them. The quote in question:
"I know up on top you are seeing great sights,
But down at the bottom we, too, should have rights."
You can read the whole story
here.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DR. SEUSS!
When I was a girl, I used to love ice skating in Central Park, either on the pond if it were frozen enough or the skating rink. There was nothing like the feeling of gliding across the ice on a cold winter's day. So when I saw
The Greatest Skating Race by Louise Borden sitting on a bookshelf, I knew I just had to read it.
Written in free verse, the story is set in the Netherlands in December 1941. Ten-year-old Piet Janssen was born to ice skate. His father's family had made and repaired ice skates for many generations, and Piet is looking forward to the time he is old enough to skate in the Elfstedentoct just like his hero , Pim Mulier. Mulier has skated the 200 kilometer/124 miles race in record-breaking time in a bitter cold December, much like Holland was experiencing in 1941.
But Holland is under German occupation and although there is no restriction on skating, there just are much of the need supplies left for Piet's grandfather to make or repair skates. In fact, there isn't much of anything left after the Germans took what needed. But for Christmas, Piet receives a little red notebook. In it, he begins to plan and train for his entry in the Elfstedentoct...someday.
The Janssens are kind people and help others whenever they can, especially during the bitter cold winters that Europe has been experiencing since the war began. One Friday, when Piet comes home from school, excited to show his mother his perfect spelling test, he learns that the father of a school mate has been arrested for possessing a radio and sending messages to the Allies. It is decided that his children, Johanna and her little brother Joop Winkelman, need to get away to safety.
Which means that Piet, Johanna and Joop would skate the frozen canals to Brugge, Belgium, a distance of 16 kilometers/10 miles past German checkpoints all along the way, a long distance for two 10 year olds and one 7 year old after a day at school.
And so the three skaters begin their journey. They don't get far before they run into their first German sentries, who stop them and become very suspicious when they see the Elfstedentoct map Piet had drawn in his red notebook for training purposes. A nice border map, one guard says. Finally the other guard recognizes the name of the race. The children are allowed to go on, but can they fool every sentry at every guard house they will have to pass and arrive safely in Brugge or be caught and arrested? And even if they get by the guards, can little Joop complete the arduous journey?
The Greatest Skating Race was such an exciting story and so well told that I had to keep checking the spine of the library book I was reading to remind myself that it is fiction. And although this is technically a picture book, it is really designed for middle grade readers. It is an engaging and beautifully written story that demonstrates the bravery and courage of children caught up in a war and their understanding of just how serious things were. An exciting story, it really captures the fear and tension that people experienced living under Nazi occupation continually felt.
The illustrations by Niki Daly, which are done in colored pencil, ballpoint pen and watercolor with digital enhancement, beautifully convey the freezing winter weather, the beauty of the country and the fear, the determination and even the innocence of the children in cold wintry tones.
The Elfstedenstoct is a real race that can only be done if the ice in the canals along the 11 city route are all frozen to 15cm. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like a race will be held in 2013 and in fact there hasn't been one since 1997.
Pim Mulier (1865-1954), Piet's skating hero, did indeed complete the Elfstedentoct just as it is described in
The Greatest Skating Race.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from The Bank Street College of Education library
When I was 10 years old, I was diligently knitting away at a mitten when I realized I had made a mistake. Imagine my surprise when my dad sat down beside me, took my knitting and fixed my mistake. Turns out, my dad knew how to knit rather well.*
So, I knew I wanted to read
Knit Your Bit the moment I first heard about it. The United States had entered World War I in April 1917, and lots of men rushed to enlist, leaving their families behind. This is true for young Mikey, whose Pop is also a soldier and who has just shipped off to fight overseas in Europe. Mikey is very frustrated that he has to stay home and can't do something big and important to help the war effort, too. Nevertheless, he turns up his nose when his mother asks if he would like to learn to knit for the soldiers along with his sister. Mikey turns the offer down, because, well, boys don't knit!
But when his teacher announces that there will be a three-day Knitting Bee in Central Park to make hats, socks and scarves for US servicemen overseas, Mikey is challenged by a girl to learn to knit and participate - boys against the girls. And so it is settled - the Boys' Knitting Brigade vs. the Purl Girls.
The only problem is - knitting isn't quite as easy as the boys thought it would be. Yet, they soon master knit, and then it is on to purl. Mikey works on socks, friend Nick on a muffler and Dan works mostly on tangling and untangling his yarn.
The first day of the Knitting Bee finally arrives and there are lots of people participating - men, women, girls and, yes, even other boys. And there's also lots of food, a band and before they all know it, it is time to cast on.
As Mikey does his best trying to knit a pair socks, he learns a mighty important lesson from a disabled soldier about what it really means to do something big and important to help the war effort and the brave soldiers overseas. But who wins the challenge? The Boys' Knitting Brigade or the Purl Girls?
Knit Your Bit is based on a three-day knitting bee held in Central Park in August 1918 and sponsored by the Navy League Comforts Committee. It is a heartwarming story that might even bring a tear or two to your eyes. Hopkinson has seamlessly woven in Mikey's story with this event to produce a wonderful story that shows that sometimes what counts it isn't how well you do something, rather what counts is doing something out of your comfort zone, doing your best and doing it in the right spirit. Wonderfully humorous pen, ink and watercolor illustrations by Steven Guarnaccia add much to the enjoyment of
Knit Your Bit. The lines are clean and simple, yet delightfully expressive, and I really liked how they reflect the clothing of the period.
Hopeinson has provided lots of back matter including a Red Cross knitting poster from WWI, an Author's Note which you should be sure to read all about the real Knitting Bee and sources for more information.
Though this is a story that all will enjoy, sending gifts to loved ones fighting in a war is long held tradition and for that reason, I think Mikey's story will particularly resonate for readers in today's world, especially those who have or know someone who has a relative deployed overseas.
This book is recommended for readers age 7+
This book was sent to me by the publisher as part of a
Knit Your Bit Blog Tour.
For other stops on the blog tour, be sure to visit
Deborah Hopkinson's blog.
And guess what? You can still Knit Your Bit.
All you have to do is visit
The National WWII Museum to download patterns and learn how to participate. Your knitted scarves will be sent to veterans all over the country.
Want to know more? HistoryLink.org has a wonderfully detailed essay on
Knitting for Victory - World War I, complete with photographs, posters and even an ad.
I always like to look up these kinds of historical events in the New York Times and sure enough, here is the article announcing the results after three days of knitting:
*Oh, and my dad the knitter - poor guy was in his fifties when I was born, so yes, he knitted as a young boy for WWI.
The poster and bookmark for this year's Children's Book Week (May 12-19, 2013) has been released and they are, as always, wonderful. The poster was done by Brian Selznick, author/illustrator of
The Invention of Hugo Cabret and
Wonderstruck.
The poster very cleverly pays homage to two of Selznick's fellow author/illustrators and legends in their own right - Remy Charlip and Maurice Sendak - both of whom we lost in 2012. The little parachuting boy reminds us of the cover of Charlip's classic book
Fortunately, a story about the good and bad things that happen on a young boy's trip to a surprise party in Florida.
And of course, if you look closely, you can see that the boy is holding a copy of Sendak's
Where the Wild Thing Are.
The accompanying bookmark this year was done by fellow author/illustrator Grace Lin, whose wonderful work Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was a 2010 Newbery Honor book. The bookmark has the same sense of Chinese tradition that pervades Lin's work and makes it so awesome. What is really special about this bookmark is that it comes with instructions for drawing a dragon's face using letters of the alphabet. AND along the same line, the face of the bookmark contains a puzzle - finding the hidden letters in the image.
 |
| Can you find the letters? Click to enlarge |
You can download and print Grace's lovely bookmark (and the answer to the puzzle)
here
I used to love Hidden Object Puzzles when I was a kid. They always came in some comic books, or kid's magazines like Highlights, Jack and Jill, or Children's Playmate, and in our Weekly Reader. Thinking about this, I remembered I have a few issues of Child Life that were published during the war and sure enough, they all contained the Hidden Object Puzzle. Here, then, are three puzzles for your solving enjoyment (click each one to enlarge it).
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| This one is pretty easy - from February 1943 |
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| This was a little harder - from January 1943 |
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I found this one more difficult - from July 1943 (OK, I confess
this had me stumped for a long time) |
To see posters Children's Book Week from1939 to 1945 see my previous post
here
I first heard about the Triple Nickles when I read the book
Jump into the Sky by Shelly Pearsall, the story of a young African American boy whose father was a paratrooper in 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, or the Triple Nickles.
Now, Tanya Lee Stone's
Courage Has No Color tells the true story of the Triple Nickels, America's first and only all black unit of paratroopers in World War II. She begins their story by describing in graphic detail what it feels like to jump out of an airplane and parachute back to earth, to give you an idea of the level of courage it takes to be a paratrooper. It is not something I think I would want to ever do.
From there she writes about the kind of treatment black soldiers received in the military: segregated and relegated to service work and treated like servants. It was demeaning and demoralizing to the men who joined the military to fight for their country and freedom. One man, Walter Morris, a first sergeant in charge of Service Company of The Parachute School, saw how being treated like servants was affecting the men serving under him. Morris devised a plan to teach his men how to feel like soldiers again. It was his plan to teach them what they needed to know to become paratroopers. And so after the white serviceman were finished practicing for the day, and the black servicemen arrived to start cleaning up after them, they also began their training. And someone noticed how well they learned what was needed to become a successful paratrooper. Pretty soon, the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, long a proponent of equality, got into the act.
In 1941, The 99th Pursuit Squadron, or the Tuskegee Airmen, was formed and the men trained to be the country's first African American aviators. And in 1943, these airmen were finally sent into combat overseas. But the 555th Paratrooper Infantry Battalion was finally formed in February 1943. Though trained as paratroopers, the Triple Nickles would never be used in combat, instead they were sent to Oregon to fight fires. Turns out those fires were started by balloons sent over by Japan for that very purpose.
All of this and much more about the people and history of the 555th is detailed in
Courage Has No Color, including an in-depth explanation of how they got their name - yes, there more to it than just 555. It is a fascinating book covering this little known aspect of the United States military and World War II and an exceptional contribute to the history of African Americans in this country.
Stone has done an exemplary job of gathering primary source material, including interviews with some the of members of the 555th and lots of archival photographs, to bring to life the courage and heroism of these men and their accomplishments even against all odds. Included is a very eyeopening timeline of the desegregation and the Triple Nickles,
Sadly, the United States Military was not desegregated until 1950.
This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was obtained from the publisher
Oh yes, remember that description of jumping out of an airplane I mentioned, well, you too can experience what it is like to be a paratrooper by reading it
here.
A very useful teaching guide including Common Core connections, can be downloaded
here.
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. PalacioTen-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 RappaportTwenty-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 LewisBeautiful 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!
This post was originally published on my other blog Randomly Reading so if you receive this twice, my apologies.
Last year, Tomie dePaola won The Society of Illustrators Lifetime Achievement Award and his extensive interview with Lee Wind on the SCBWI blog reminded me that I still haven't read Tomie's books about his home front experiences during World War II. He wrote about them in the last four of the eight books that make up his 26 Fairmount Avenue series, subtitled The War Years.
This post probably contains spoilers
In Book 5,
Things Will Never Be the Same, begins in January 1941, first-grader Tomie had just received his two best Christmas presents - a Junior Flexible Flyer sled and a diary with a lock and key, and so Book 5 begins with his very first diary entry. With all the charm, honesty and bluntness of a very precocious and artistic 6 year old, Tomie takes us through the year 1941, diary entry by diary entry. Each chapter begins with a short diary entry and the rest of the chapter goes into more depth everything that was going on at the time. And 1941 is an exciting year for Tomie. Through his diary, Tomie presents a wonderful picture of what life was life in that year preceding America's entry into the war. Things he writes about include the day to day family life of the dePaola family, and the world of a first grader, for example, learning about President Roosevelt and the March of Dimes, and not being able to swim in the summer because of a Polio scare; the excitement over seeing Disney's
Fantasia in the theater, his disappointment over who is second grade teacher is, about his tap dancing lessons which he loves, and of course all the holidays over the course of the year. But all this changes on December 7, 1941. Tomie writes in his diary:
As the dePaola's listen, along with the whole country, to the radio announcer talking about the attack on Pearl Harbor, Tomie's mother says to her family, "Things will never be the same."
Unlike
Things Will Never Be the Same, which covers a whole year
, Book 6,
I'm Still Scared, diary entries only cover one month, December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1941, but is is a powerful month for second grader Tomie. Not quite understanding what has happened and the implications of war, Tomie is a scared little boy and to make matters worse, no one really wants to explain what's going on to him. Luckily for him, after listening to Roosevelt's speech on the radio, the family go to visit Tomie's grandparents and his grandfather, Tom, takes some time he talk to him about his fears. But life had indeed changed. At school, there were air raid drills, and at home, an air raid shelter had to be created in the basement just in case. And Tomie had to contend with being called the ENEMY because of his Italian heritage. War was everywhere. Even at the movies showing a children's feature, the newsreels showed London in the Blitz, and Tomie realized it was the first time he had seen what war was like. At the end of December, young Tomie is still scared.
Book 7,
Why?, begins on January 1, 1942 and runs until April 29, 1942. In his new diary, Tomie gives more details of his day to day life. He writes about his excitement about being able to stay up late for New Year's Eve, of going to help in his grandfather's grocery store, and of his first surprise air raid drill at school. But his real trouble comes when his teacher starts teaching the kids to write in cursive and refused to allow Tomie, a lefty, to hold the pen in a way that worked for him. And Tomie talks more about his older brother Buddy and how angry/annoyed Buddy gets with him. But perhaps saddest of all are the entries about his cousin Anthony A/K/A Blackie. Blackie was a favorite cousin who had joined the Army Air Corps. Tomie seemed able to adjust to everything involving the war - like rationing and air raid drills - but the news of Blackie's death is just incomprehensible to him. In the end, he is left asking himself Why?
Book 8,
For the Duration, is the final book in the 26 Fairmount Avenue series and begins on May 1, 1942 and runs through... Well, that's hard to say. It seems that early on, Tomie's diary key disappeared. While there are not more diary entries, Tomie still talks about his life and in 1942, patriotism is in full swing. At school, Tomie gets very sad and runs out of the room when the class starts singing the Army Air Corps anthem. At dancing school. there is a lot so rehearsing for a wonderful recital, but there are also bullies in the schoolyard who take his new tap shoes and start tossing them around. And there are victory gardens and ration books and helping again in his grandfather's grocery. Things between Tomie and his brother Buddy get worse and in the end, it is Buddy who has taken the diary key. But one thing Tomie learns to understand completely is that some things disappear (chewing gum, fireworks) and other thing come into being (war bonds, war stamps), all "for the duration."
The 26 Fairmount Avenue series is an extraordinary group of chapter books recalling Tomie dePaola's early life living in Meridan, Connecticut. For the most part, they are a series of vignettes told in great detail and include whimsical illustrations by Tomie thoughout the books. Much of what Tomie writes is funny, charming, sad and so typical of kids that age. Though I haven't reviewed for first four books here, I would really recommend the whole series to anyone who is a Tomie dePaola fan. My only gripe is that we are left hanging about Buddy and the diary key.
And if you are a Tomie dePaola fan, be sure to read Lee Wind's interview with him:
Part 1 can be found
here
Part 2 can be found
here
Part 3 can be found
here
These books are recommended for readers age 7+
Things Will Never Be the Same was borrowed from the Children's Center of the NYPL
I'm Still Scared was borrowed from the Yorkville Branch of the NYPL
Why? was borrowed from the Morningside Heights Branch of the NYPL
For the Duration was borrowed from the Bank Street College of Education Library
Nonfiction Monday is hosted this week by Tammy at
Apples With Many Seeds
February is Black History Month and way back in 2011, I looked at a book about African American soldiers in World War II called
The Double V Campaign: African Americans and World War II by Michael L. Cooper. The Double V Campaign demanded that African Americans who were risking their lives fighting for freedom and democracy abroad should be given full civil rights at home - Victory at home AND abroad. Cooper's book is an interesting, well-researched book, but it doesn't tell the whole story of the Double Victory Campaign. The Double V campaign was also waged on the home front, and women played a very important part.
In her book,
Double Victory: How African American Women Broke Race and Gender Barriers to Help Win World War II, Cheryl Mullenbach brings together the lives and work of a number of strong, brave women in four areas: women who worked in the war industry, women who became political activists, women in the military, volunteers and of course, women in entertainment.
Here are only a few of the many stories covered in Mullenbach's book:
High school teacher Layle Lane was asked by A. Philip Randolph, a Civil Righs leader, to help organize a March on Washington in 1941 to end discrimination in employment, since most defense plants would not hire African Americans. The march never happened, but Lane was in on the talks with President Roosevelt that led to the issuance of Executive Order Number 8802, which meant if you discriminate, the Fair Employment Practices Committee can investigate you. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start.
Pauli Murray, a female law student, let students from Howard University in peaceful direct action sit-in at a restaurant that refused to serve African Americans. Three by three the students entered, sat and asked for service. When that was refused, they stayed seated and began to quietly study. Police couldn't arrest them because by not being served, they weren't breaking the law. The owner closed for the day, but when he reopened the next day, the students held a peaceful picket outside and after a few days of lost business, the Whites Only sign came down.
The women who joined the WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps) once it was opened to African Americans discovered the racism and segregation followed them into the military, just as it had followed men of color. Nevertheless, the women soldered on and succeeded. And eventually, Charity Adams even became the first African American woman officer in the WAACs and commanded the 6888th Central Postal Battalion (see
Mare's War by Tanita Davis for an interesting and accurate fictional account of one women's experience in the 6888th).
Star power carries a lot of weight and in WWII it was not different. When the Hollywood Victory Campaign was formed, actress Hattie McDaniel was asked to be in charge of "Negro talent" section. Hattie, who had won an Academy Award in 1940 for playing Mammy in Gone with the Wind, helped to organize black entertainers to perform in the segregated all black units of the armed forces. This work required the entertainers would need to meet frequently, usually at Hattie's house. But she lived in a restricted area, meaning no blacks allowed. So when the white homeowners filed a legal complaint, Hattie fought back and won.
Lena Horne, one of my favorite singers, was a favorite during the 1930s and 1940s and she was also part of the Hollywood Victory Campaign. Mullenbach tells about the time on a southern USO tour, Lena performed one night to a white only audience, and the next morning in the mess hall, she was to perform for the black soldiers. But in the front row were German POWs. She left the stage, stood in front of the black soldiers, back to the Germans and sang. She ended up quitting the USO tour over this, but continued entertaining soldiers throughout the war.
These are just a few of the many interesting women included in
Double Victory: How African American Women Broke Race and Gender Barriers to Help Win World War II. It is a well-researched, nicely presented book with lots of supporting photographs and detailed back matter. It is intelligently written, yet very accessible for young readers. The fact that she introduces us to ordinary women doing extraordinary things in wartime makes it all the more valuable. And while it is good to know that anyone can make a difference, not just famous people, it is also nice to read about the contributions of so many African American women, which are often overlooked.
Kathryn Atwood started a narrative about women and their courageous acts in WWII in her work
Women Heroes of World War II and Cheryl Mullenbach has extended that narrative to include African American women in
Double Victory: How African American Women Broke Race and Gender Barriers to Help Win World War II.
This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was an E-ARC from
Net Galley
For more on the Double Victory Campaign, see
Newspapers - The Pittsburgh Courier and
Fighting For Democracy - African Americans
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 Engineering. 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 S
chutzpass 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 Wallenberg is 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 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
Randomly Reading
Nonfiction Monday is hosted this week by
Abby the Librarian
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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 other 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 touch 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.
First, may I say congratulations on being given this award for writing such a fine biography of a real World War II hero.
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 that 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 kinds 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.
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Raoul Wallenberg's Class Picture @1921
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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.
This interview also appears on my other blog
Randomly Reading
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
Related posts at Bildungsroman:
Interview: Robin Friedman
Interview: Trina Robbins
The Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour 2012
It is December 1939. In a lavish apartment in Antwerp, Belgium, 9-year-old Claudia Rossin, along with her parents, relatives and others, are listening to a Polish refugee taking about the Nazi invasion of Poland and the horrors that they brought with them. But Claudia doesn't fully understand the implications of Anton's story. She is far too wrapped up in her unhappiness at being under the thumb of a detested French governess whose job it was to turn a very head-strong girl into a perfect social being.
And then in May 1940, despite Belgium's declarations of neutrality, the Nazis march in and before Claudia knows it, they are living under German occupation. But Claudia's parents, Max, an insecure Polish businessman despite his success in business. and Suze, a socialite who knows and likes to entertain all the right people in her salons, remind blind to what is happening, despite being Jewish.
In October, racial standards and registration of all Jewish are imposed. Suze goes to the
Kommandant and manages to charm an extra two months out of him before they must register - two months to plot the family's escape. And she does - charming the Salvadorian consul into signing questionable visas.
Armed with these questionable visas to El Salvador, the family travels in a first-class compartment of the Brussels-Paris Express. But Paris that winter isn't wonderful and then, in June 1940, the Nazis arrive. The family is ordered to leave France within 24 hours. They head for Spain and board a boat heading to Havana, Cuba. They have escaped in the nick of time - soon roundup and deportations of Jews would start in Belgium along with the rest of the Europe's Nazi occupied countries.
For Claudia, the two best things about Cuba are the warmth and no more French governess. She is enrolled in a private Catholic school and, because of her blond hair and fair skin, accepted and welcomed by the other girls, never letting on that she is Jewish.
Away from the stresses of the war and the Nazis, life becomes more routine - school, parties, friends, fighting with her mother, trying to become a grown-up. And after a few years, Claudia meets and finds herself attracted to a boy at a party. Dieter Müller was born in Havana to German parents. Claudia lets him believe she is also an Aryan German, born in Berlin: We are the perfect pair," he whispers to her. Dieter is awed by the Hitler Youth, and Claudia tells him she used to dream about being picked to present flowers to the Führer.
On the surface, it does appear that Claudia and Dieter are the perfect pair, or are they?
Passing through Havana is an interesting look at the Jews who managed to escape to Cuba. The novel is based on the author's real experiences as a young girl. Claudia is a bit of a spoiled brat and Rosshandler's depiction of her conflicts with her mother and how they impact some of her youthful, rather defiant decisions are spot on. But this is a coming of age novel, so it is a bit of a roller coaster ride towards maturity, as Claudia discovers who she is and begins to see reality without the romantically tinged rose-colored glasses of her pre-adolesence.
I really enjpyed reading about Cuba in the early 1940s and the experience of the Jewish community that formed among the refugees. I don't know of many books about European Jews who fled to Cuba. In 1939, only those with landing permits were allowed to disenbark in Cuba when the St. Louis arrived there. The Rossins disembarked with the landing passes for El Salvador, with the intention of remaining in Cuba only until they could get to the United States - which finally happened after the war, hence the somewhat ironic title
Passing through Havana. Rosshandler also paints a very interesting picture of pre-Castro Havana among the upper class in her book. Most of us don't remember that Cuba once had a striated society and there were some very wealthy, educated people as well as very poor.
Originally published in 1984,
Passing through Havana is now being reissued as a Kindle book.
Passing through Havana should probably be read by more mature teens due to some sexual content.
This book is recommended for readers age 15+
This book was sent to me by the author
And in the spirit of Valentine's Day:
This book is autobiographical fiction - based on real life experiences. Recently The Guardian ran an article about Felicia and a real teenage sweetheart - read how their story worked out over the years
here
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Teenage sweethearts Felicia and Edmundo Desnoes age 16
in Havana, Cuba |
I would like to give a big Thank You to Barbara over at March House Books Blog for giving my blog this Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Barbara, as you may or may not know, has one of the loveliest blogs on the block and I love visiting it and seeing all the wonderful images she post there from old books and postcards.
Thank you so much, Barbara, I am delighted to accept this award.
Of course, there are some conditions:
✔ Display the award logo on your blog.
✔ Link back to the person who nominated you.
✔ State 7 things about yourself.
✔ Nominate other bloggers for this award and link to them.
✔ Notify those bloggers of the nomination.
I have listed 7 things about myself so often, I have nothing to add, so here is a compilation from the past with updates:
1- I am ashamed to say that I have lived in New York City all my life and have never visited the UN,
the Statue of Liberty or taken the Circle Line, but I pass by them a lot. This is sadly still true.
2- I love cats, but prefer black cats. Alas, I no longer can have cats because of severe allegories.
3- I always wear my socks inside out because the seam at the toe annoys me so much. Still true.
4- I collect snow globes. I added two new ones this past year.
5- Snoopy has been my muse since I was 10 and I still have the first Snoopy that started it all (see
photo below)
6- My favorite comfort food is still a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a bowl of Campbell’s
chicken noodle soup. Still true and something I eat a lot since Newtown.
7- I never eat dessert if it doesn’t have chocolate in or on it. Still true.
My nominations:
Perogies & Gyoza
We Sat Down
Secrets & Sharing Soda
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| Original Snoopy |
Now for the bad news: not long ago I had an extensive email exchange with Joyce over at The 3 R's - Reading, 'Riting & Research about comment verification and I said I didn't use it because I didn't get much spam. Well, the spammer gods must have heard me say that and wham! more comments from our old enemy Anonymous than ever. Sooo...I am going to use word verification for a while, which means until it annoys me as much as the line in my socks (see above #3)
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Originally written in Dutch and skillfully translated by Laura Watkinson, Mister Orange is itself a wonderful historical fiction work of imagination that skillfully portrays the daily hustle and bustle of life in one New York City neighborhood during WW2 as Linus makes his deliveries. I grew up in Brooklyn and Manhattan at a time when Mom and Pop grocery stores were still common (my brother's first job was delivering groceries), and if you had a fight with your best friend, you just went over to their house to make up - just the way Linus does - very simple, very easy. So I know that this and more of Mister Orange is pretty spot on. And so is the Action Comic that Linus buys for Albie - November 1943 No. 66. Matti has done her research well.
This book sounds great and I know I can't wait to check it out. I loved seeing the photos of the artwork- so thank you for including them. :)
"If imagination were as harmless as you think...then the Nazis couldn't be so scared of it."
Oh my! This book is downright intriguing! Thanks, Alex!
This was a good book and I am glad you liked the additional information. So many WWII books are based on something that is real and interesting, I always like to include them when I can.
Yes, it is intriguing and there were lots of conversations able art, imagination and how valuable they are during stressful times like war.
I think this is a good looking book.but i don't know how i collect it.
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