Historical Fiction Book Review: Penny From Heaven

Bibliography

Holm, Jennifer L.. 2006. Penny From Heaven. New York: Random House Children’s Books. ISBN 0375836896

Plot Summary

Penny's father is deceased but she has the next best thing, his brothers.  Penny's father came from a large Italian- American family with uncles that adore her so much.  Penny's mother married into the Falucci clan, and after Penny's father's death her mother and grandmother do not mingle with her dad's crew and vice versa.  Penny is about to turn twelve and all kinds of things are starting to happen to her.  She's starting to notice boys and she sees how overprotective her mother is.  She's hanging around her cousin Frankie who is getting into trouble left and right.  Penny's mother starts dating the most unpopular guy-the milkman.  When Penny gets involved in a gruesome accident, the truth about her father's mysterious death begins to unravel.

Critical Analysis        

This is a special book because the characterization is detailed, realistic and multi-layered.  The post-war 1950's are so vivid you feel as though you are a character in this novel. Many of the events in the book are based on anecdotes told by Holm's family members. And it explores a forgotten bit of WWII history that I've never read about before.  Just as this book talks about death, family, pets, miracles, and love of all kinds, these are all things everyone can relate to and sympathize with.  

Reviews Excerpts/Awards/Honors

John Newbery Medal Honor Book

American Library Association Notable Children’s Book

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Penny and her world are clearly drawn and eminently believable, made up of seamlessly interwoven details from everyday life.”

KIRKUS: “Penny’s present-tense narration is both earthy and observant, and her commentary on her families’ eccentricities sparkles.”

BOOKLIST: “…this languidly paced novel will appeal most to readers who appreciate gentle, episodic tales with a nostalgic flavor.”

Connections       

-Read Our Only May Amelia by the author Jennifer L. Holm.

-Read other books about Italian families such as, The Boy of San Joaquin by D. James Smith, or Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech.

-Look for additional information on the author. Biography Resource Center

“Jennifer L. Holm.” Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2007 Reproduced in

Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2007.

http://www.inspire.net

Historical Fiction Book Review: Lily's Crossing

Bibliography

Giff, Patricia Reilly. 1997.  Lily's Crossing. New York: Random House Children’s Books. ISBN 9780440414537

Plot Summary

Lily made a great new friend in Rockaway.  Albert, was a Hungarian boy who escaped from the Nazi's, Lily met him during the summer of 1944 at the peak of World War II.  Everything started to occur when her best friend Margaret left Rockaway, Beach because her father was transferred to a wartime factory in Michigan.  Lily also had a tough time dealing with her father leaving to win the war.  Lily and her new friend Albert can't seem to stay out of trouble with the lies that Lily tells.  One lie may jeopardize the friendship between Albert and Lily.

Critical Analysis

This is a great book about friendship with hard and happy times.   The book presents life during World War II. It presents the reader with a whole new world in the little town named Rockaway, New York where families and friends become close knit and help each other out. Also, by inviting everyone over to dinner. The war helps Lily become closer to her friends and family during these rough times. It also helps her to become trustworthy with her friends and to stop lying to everybody.  This book is very suspenseful and easy to comprehend. 

Reviews Excerpts/Awards    

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Giff's well-drawn, believable characters and vivid prose style make this an excellent choice.”

American Library Association Notable Children’s Books

Jefferson Cup Award Honor Book

Boston Globe- Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature Honor Book

KIRKUS: “It's a strong ending to a deftly told story.”

John Newbery Medal Honor Book

BOOKLIST: “With wry comedy and intense feeling, and without intrusive historical detail, Giff gets across a strong sense of what it was like on the home front during World War II.”

Connections

-According to the book, have students write a paragraph telling how they think life was like back in 1944. 

-Students can watch this movie, Since You Went Away (1944) Anne Hilton must cope with life while her husband is fighting in World War II.  This relates to Lily's father leaving because of World War II.

-Research more about the Holocaust at this website.  http://www.holocaustsurvivors.org This Web site contains survivor stories, photographs, discussions, an audio gallery as well as a historical introduction to the Holocaust.        

Historical Fiction Book Review: Elijah of Buxton

Bibliography

 Curtis, Christopher Paul. 2009. Elijah of Buxton. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN-13: 978-0439023450

Plot Summary

Elijah of Buxton was known for being born free in a settlement in Canada.  He is eleven-years old and wants to be a man but has a hard time convincing everyone including himself that he's ready to be one.  His parents constantly refer to Elijah as being "fragile" and weak because he cries a lot.  Elijah is confronted with life or death situations and learning about slaves on his journey.  

Critical Analysis

Elijah of Buxton is an interesting character that slowly evolves in each chapter until the end of the story.  From the introduction, Elijah was the average eleven-year old trouble maker that turned out to be a brave young boy who made man decisions.  The history of Buxton was really precise from the start of the story.  The subject matter was awesome-he had great settings and talked about a wide array of issues that would catch the reader off guard.  The book has heavy dialect of the way people probably talked back then.  The language seemed very authentic and it added interest to the reading.   Elijah of Buxton leaves readers with a universal truth understood by all groups who have been oppressed and enslaved; as long as hope survives, a brighter tomorrow exists for future generations.

Reviews Excerpts/Awards

Coretta Scott King Award Winner

Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Honor Book

John Newbery Medal Honor Book

Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction Winner

ALSC American Library Association- Notable Children’s Books

Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books

Starred Review in BOOKLIST: “A fine original novel from a gifted storyteller.”

Starred Review in KIRKUS: “This is Curtis’s best novel yet…”

Connections   

-Read and research more books about slavery.

-Read more book from the author Christopher Paul Curtis such as, Bucking the Sarge, Mr. Chickee's Funny Money, and Mr. Chickee's Messy Mission.

-Write about being a slave versus born free.

Informational Text: Actual Size

Bibliography

Jenkins, Steve. 2011.  Actual Size.  Sandpiper.  ISBN 10: 9780547512914

Plot Summary

In this picture book, Steve Jenkins shows a variety of animals and animal parts at their actual size.  This book will allow children and adults to compare their body parts to the body parts of these abnormally small and abnormally large animals.  Also, this book will allow the viewer to learn about the actual animal facts.

Critical Analysis        

This book gives an authentic look of how actual animals can be related to human body parts according to their size.  Each page is devoted to a familiar animal and it gives specific details about the animals' size, characteristics, and habitat.  "In this book seeing is believing as Steve Jenkins illustrates animals both large and small at the ACTUAL SIZE."  The illustrations are very unique.  The pictures are composed of cut and torn pieces of paper put together to form the picture of the animal.  The first attraction to the book are the pictures and then the text.  The eyes are drawn to the picture first and then it makes you want to read more about that particular animal.

Reviews Excerpts/Awards/Honors         

School Library Journal, "A thoroughly engaging read-aloud and a must-have for any collection."

Starred The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Book's, "Jenkins' imaginative paper collages work their usual magic in transcending their medium to capture the spirit and detail of their subjects. The real triumph here, however, is the compositions...the book makes brilliantly creative use of its tight focus, resulting in startling close-ups."

Starred Booklist, ALA, "Jenkins' artwork is gorgeous (a gatefold of a frog in mid-leap is particularly memorable)... An unusual, unusually effective tool for connecting children to nature's astonishing variety."

Connections

*Students can measure the body parts in the book.

*Complete additional research on the animals pictured in the book.

*Try to duplicate an animal body part in this book by using clay or play-dough.

*Classify all the animals in this book (mammal, reptiles, and amphibians).

*Distinguish which animals are prey and which are predators.

*Read this book then take a field trip to the zoo and discuss any animals that they saw that were in the book.

Informational Text: Claudette Colvin Twice Toward Justice

Bibliography

Hoose, Phillip. 2009. Claudette Colvin Twice Toward Justice. Square Fish. ISBN 978-0-312-66105-2

Plot Summary

This bibliography tells about events of an ordinary teenager who did an extraordinary thing that kindled a movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King.  Before Rosa Parks refused her seat on the bus, Claudette Colvin was the first person to challenge the segregation laws in Montgomery, Alabama.  Colvin's daring stand added fuel to the already outraged African American feelings toward the oppression, ignorance and hatred by the segregation laws.

Critical Analysis

"To me God loved everyone.  Why did He curse just us?"  This kind of thinking from Claudette Colvin was a constant reminder that there was still injustice in Montgomery, Alabama.  It caused Colvin to take a courageous stand and speak out against the injustices of segregation.  This book is written in first-person accounts from Colvin taken from several interviews by the author.  Phil Hoose captures the essence of Colvin's words to tell her own story in which he frames the narrative, and includes a rich text that embodies passion within the content.  This book will hopefully inspire youth and adults to do something about the things they think are wrong in society to try to change or improve them.  The illustrations in the book are taken from actual pictures from Claudette Colvin, Rosa Parks, E.D. Nixon, Dr. Martin Luther King and many other influential African Americans.  

Reviews Excerpts/Awards        

Winner of the National Book Award

A Robert F. Siebert Honor Book

YALSA Finalist for Excellence in Nonfiction

Starred School Library Journal, "Well-written and engaging...Outstanding."

New York Post, "Hoose vividly recreates Colvin's bravery."

Starred Booklist, "This title shows the incredible difference that a single young person can make, even as  it demonstrates the multitude of interconnected lives that create and sustain a political movement."

Starred Publisher's Weekly, "Hoose reasserts [Claudette Colvin's] place in history with this vivid and dramatic account, complemented with photographs, sidebars, and liberal excerpts from interviews conducted with Colvin...Thoughtful."

Connections

* Think about something they are able to change at their school and how would they go about doing it?

*Since Claudette Colvin is still living, see if you could Skype her and have the children ask her questions about the book.

*Have students do research on the Jim Crow laws.

Informational Text: The Extraoridinary Mark Twain: According To Susy

 

Bibliography

Kerley, Barbara. 2010.  The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy).Ill by. Edwin Fotheringham. Scholastic Press.  ISBN 978-0-545-12508-6

Plot Summary

This bibliography is written about the famous Mark Twain.  Susy, Twain's daughter,  decided to write a bibliography about her father because she felt like everybody was "just plain wrong about him."  Susy  started writing secretly about her father until one day her mother found her journal and from then on it was an interesting project that her mother and father appreciated and complimented. 

Critical Analysis        

Susy was frustrated at the way people thought they knew her father.  Yes, he was a "world-famous author, quoted here, there, and everywhere," but no one knew Mark Twain like Susy did.  This is a charming, fresh way to look at Mark Twain, after you read this book you will have a "new" outlook on the real Mark Twain.  Susy shows the reality of her father- the good and not so good.  This book is very creative and well put together.  Inserted in this oversized volume are mini-journals, stapled to the book spine, which include excerpts from Susy's actual text in script, misspellings and all.  The misspellings in the journal allow for the reader to connect with the realness of Susy.  The illustrations are rich and detailed.  Every picture is connected to the text on the page.  This book puts a playful spin on bibliographies.

Reviews Excerpts/Awards/Honors

Starred Kirkus Reviews, "A gleeful celebration of a fully, unapologetically led life."

Starred Booklist Review, "The large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for spectacular art."

The New York Times, "Kerley reveals the essence of Alice in an upbeat account of her life."

Connections       

* Have students create a diary.

*Read other books written by Barbara Kerley such as, What To Do About Alice?, Walt Whitman: Words For America, A Cool Drink of Water, A Little Peace.

*Let the children write about one parent.

*List character traits for Mark Twain.             

*Observe someone at school and write about them, just as Susy did.