Raymie Nightingale, by Kate DiCamillo

I was a kid running wild and free in the 1970s, and I find myself intrigued with the fiction written these days that takes place during that time period. It's a convenient time period, for sure. By this I mean that technology hadn't yet tethered us to our parents, and I'm assuming that most kids were like my sister and I -- running around the neighborhood and beyond with friends and coming home when we got hungry.

Raymie is a girl who isn't really noticed much by her parents. Her father has actually just up and left with a dental hygienist and Raymie's mom is spending her time staring into space. Raymie finds some comfort in neighbor Mrs. Borkowski who seems to know everything and always has time to talk to Raymie. She has also hatched a plan to get her father to come home.

Raymie has decided that she will enter and win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire 1975 pageant. This will result in her picture in the newspaper. Her dad will be so proud of her, he'll have to come home. When Raymie tells her dad's secretary her plan, Mrs. Sylvester says Ramie just has to learn to twirl the baton as her talent.  This is how she ends up at Ida Nee's place for twirling lessons along with Beverly Tapinski and Louisiana Elefante -- two girls who couldn't be more different from one another.

Louisiana is a wheezy and delicate girl, prone to swooning, while Beverly is the tough talking daughter of a cop who swears that she's seen things. In between these two, Raymie Clarke is a steadfast girl just doing her best to understand others.

Over the next few days, Louisiana dubs their trio the Rancheros, and even though Beverly refuses to live by the moniker, it becomes clear that Louisiana often gets her way. As the girls search for Louisiana's beloved cat, perform good deeds, experience loss, and do a little breaking and entering along the way, they slowly reveal their worries to one another.  They become tied together by the brokenness that surrounds them.

As always, DiCamillo leaves poetry on the page. But this book felt different to me. I was talking to a colleague about it and I noted that it felt like it had a big dose of Horvath in the pages. Some have said the girls are too quirky and almost derivative. I disagree. When you look closely, kids are weird. And if they allow themselves to be honest with who they are, Beverlys and Louisianas and Raymies are completely reasonable. Trying to mend neglect with toughness or fantasy is innately human. I really enjoyed this quiet and quirky summery read. I do wonder at today's kids sitting with the 1975 setting. I'm interested in their feedback.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

The second that I saw this cover at ALA in Denver, I knew I wanted to read this book. The title, the illustrations, everything called out to me. Unfortunately, there were no arcs left while I was on the floor, but I kept thinking about it. Now, loving a cover and title has backfired on me before, but I was hoping that this time would be different. A few reviews popped up in the blogs and I knew for sure that I wanted to read it, so I ordered my copy and waited for it to arrive!

It’s 1899 and Calpurnia is wilting away in rural Texas. She is eleven years old and the only girl in a family with 7 children. When her oldest, and favorite brother Harry hears about Callie’s inventive way to find earthworms in the packed Texas earth, he gives her a red leather notebook to record her findings and Callie’s summer as a naturalist truly begins.

One of the first things that she notices is that there is a new kind of grasshopper around. There were the quick emerald green ones that Callie has seen every summer, but there are also big, bright yellow ones. Callie asks everyone in her house (except for her formidable grandfather who lives with them, but tends to keep to himself studying in his laboratory) about the yellow hoppers, but nobody else has any knowledge of them at all. So Callie screws up her courage and goes to grandfather’s laboratory in order to ask him if in all his years he has seen the yellow grasshoppers before. His answer? “I suspect that a smart young whip like you can figure it out. Come back and tell me when you have.” (p.11) Callie figures that if her grandfather cannot help her, maybe Mr. Charles Darwin can, so she begs a ride into town from her brother for a trip to the library.

The librarian, however, is quite offended over Callie’s request. Without any help from grandfather or Mr. Darwin, Callie has only her own wits to help her out. After spending more time thinking about it, Callie does figure it out. Once she gets the nerve up to speak with her grandfather again, she tells him about her discovery. Her grandfather is quite impressed that Callie has figured this out on her own, and has her follow him into his library, where the children are never allowed. He hands Calpurnia his copy of The Origin of Species and at that moment, Calpurnia and her grandfather are bonded together as scientists.

Grandfather starts taking Calpurnia on his daily outings to gather specimens, brings her in on his experiments trying to distill drinkable spirits from pecans, and he begins to tell her about the World. Over time, Callie really feels like she is a scientist. She can’t help but be disinterested in the handicrafts and cooking in which her best friend Lula seems to excel. But while her grandfather believes that Calpurnia can be a scientist, her mother has other ideas, and is soon imposing cooking and knitting lessons, and letting Calpurnia know that she will be expected to “come out” as the only girl in the Tate family. Callie feels so confused; will she have to put aside all of her aspirations in order to be a wife someday? Will she have to be like her mother, with a passel of children, taking doses of Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound just to get by?

Jacqueline Kelly has written a piece of historical fiction with depth, detail and characters that leap off the page. From the first telephone coming to town, to Callie’s grandfather’s first time sitting in an automobile, to the kerosene powered “wind machine”, readers will find themselves immersed in the sweeping changes that were happening at the dawn of the 20th century. Social commentary on class and slavery are worked in naturally, and the bold idea of evolution is front and center in the story. The heartbreaking aspect of Callie’s position of being a girl is perfectly placed and I hope that young readers will ponder their own privilege and position, or even the lack thereof upon reading this book. I slowed down at the end, simply because I wasn’t ready to let go of Calpurnia.

Simply wonderful.

Newsgirl

It’s 1851, and Amelia her mother Sophie, and her mother’s companion Estelle have just made the journey from Boston to San Francisco. The journey was most difficult for Estelle, who suffered from seasickness the entire time. Amelia, however, had befriended some of the sailors and learned a thing or two about tying knots.

As their ship, the Unicorn, makes its way into the harbor, Amelia’s sailor friend Jim asks her to make herself useful. She helps Jim by tying up the bundles of newspapers he has with him. Amelia is surprised to find that the newspapers are from the east and are 3 months old. She soon learns that folks in California are hungry for news back east and will pay a pretty penny for it.

Once Amelia and her family are on dry land, Amelia’s mother reveals that the journey over was much more expensive than she had planned for. When Amelia goes to find a cart to help them haul their belongings, she has a brainstorm. She unpacks her dress shoes that are wrapped in a newspaper. A newspaper that is indeed newer than the ones that she bundled up and the newsboys were currently selling. When Amelia takes up on a street corner to sell her lone paper, she soon finds out that one kid, especially a girl, can’t sell in Julius’ turf. She is quickly and physically taken out of the game.

Amelia finds it difficult to be one of only a handful of women around. Yes it’s nice that all of the women gravitate toward each other and help each other out, but how is Amelia to help her family if all of the jobs from newsboy to printer’s devil are for boys?

Maybe Amelia would be better off as a boy.

Liza Ketchum has written a rip-roaring piece of historical fiction that will captivate all readers. Amelia’s intrepid nature and the vast chaos of San Francisco in the 1850s are fascinating. Sophie and Estelle are obviously partners, though Ketchum’s treatment of the relationship is simply matter of fact, and the book never strays into lesson territory. It is more of a scandal that Sophie never married. The action is non-stop, and readers will delight in Amelia’s adventures, whether they be up in the sky, down in the streets, or along the journey.

Hands down my favorite read so far this year.

The Storm in the Barn

Have you ever just been stopped cold by imagery? Matt Phelan has written and illustrated a graphic novel that even in arc form has risen to my list of all time favourites.

Jack is a child of the dust bowl. The rain stopped coming when he was just 7 years old, and since then he hasn't been much of a help. There is no farm work to do and his clumsy nature means that when he does try to help his dad, he usually just ends up knocking things over.

Many families are leaving town. There's nothing left but dust and sickness. Some are even being diagnosed with something called "dust dementia" which occurs when folks seem to see things in the dust that aren't there. Things like bright bursts of light from empty barns, and storm kings.

What is Jack seeing, and will he ever be able to help out and not be a burden?

I don't want to say too much about this extraordinary book since it is not due out until September, however, I could not help but share a bit since I have not seen a graphic novel that has pulled me in so quickly and so fully since Blankets, by Craig Thompson. This is a completely different book, but Phelan has raw emotion on every page from the atmospheric storms, to the drawn and wan faces of the people living through this incredible time in American History. The Dust Bowl has always been a fascinating subject matter, and The Storm in the Barn will most likely have readers looking for other information about the time period and the people who survived it. The book itself is chock full of historical detail from the popular Oz books, to rabbit drives, and snake superstitions. This is a title that I will happily buy in its finished form and pass on.

Thanks so much to Jesse for sharing this with me.

The Locked Garden

I received this book a few months ago, was intrigued by the cover and read it straight away. The discipline level it takes to not blog the '09s until '09 is pretty high. But since I am trying to play by the rules, I waited. It took me until almost the end of January to realize that I have a pile of stuff to get blogging about!

Verna, Carly, Aunt Maude and Papa have just moved into their new home on the grounds of an asylum. Papa is a well known psychiatrist, and he has very strong views on the treatment of the mentally ill. He is very happy to move his family to be among somewhat like minded doctors. The asylum and its grounds are a wonderful playground for the girls. The grounds and gardens go on and on, and there are many places to explore.

Sour Aunt Maude is the only one who is against this move. She is, after all, the sister of Isabel...the girl's mother and Papa's wife who passed away 2 years ago. Aunt Maude was against selling the house, against living on the grounds of the asylum, and most definite against having one of the patients keep house.

Eleanor is a patient, and it is her job to cook and clean for Papa's house. Aunt Maude is not kind in her treatment of Eleanor, and even though Eleanor's cleaning is impeccable and her food is delicious, Aunt Maude always seems to find fault. Imagine Aunt Maude's feelings when it becomes apparent that Verna and Carly prefer Eleanor's company to her own, and her brother-in-law appears smitten with Eleanor.

Gloria Whelan has written a story that explores not only family ties, but the historical treatment of the mentally ill, and she has done it in an incredibly accessible manner. The unlikable Aunt Maude struggles mightily with her sense of decorum and propriety, and it is apparent that she honestly thinks that she knows best. Readers will feel their heart strings pulled to the limit as Eleanor falters in her recovery and is misunderstood by her own family, due in large part to the meddlesome Aunt Maude.

Quietly poignant, The Locked Garden's descriptive language, and time setting of the early 1900s will find readers in fans of Creech, Jocelyn, and MacLachlan, among others.

Brooklyn Bridge

Last week I was lucky enough to attend a preview at Feiwel and Friends in the lovely Flat Iron Building. Many interesting titles were discussed, but the one I simply couldn't wait to read was Brooklyn Bridge, by Karen Hesse.

It's the summer of 1903 and Joseph is sick of bears. Ever since his mom created two toy bears in response to President Roosevelt's refusal to shoot a young bear on a hunting expedition, Joseph has been living and breathing bears. The family candy shop has turned into a bear making shop, and bear parts are all over the apartment. His parents are so busy trying to keep up with demand that Joseph's dream of getting to Coney Island seems like it will never happen.

Joseph's family are immigrants from Russia. First came his Aunt Golda (or the Queen as Joseph and his sister liked to call her) who saved all of her money to bring her siblings over, including Joseph's Papa, and his two other aunts (Aunt Beast and Aunt Mouse accordingly). His aunts stayed in Manhattan's Lower East Side, while the only home Joseph can remember is Brooklyn. Joseph knows that he is lucky...he really does. He knows other kids who don't want to go home because their parents yell, and hit, they don't have enough to eat, or they are falling over the many people crammed into their apartments. Joseph doesn't have to worry about any of these things. Still, he misses how life used to be with the candy shop, and how he used to be just one of the guys.

At least he is not one of the bridge kids. The ones that congregate there every night to try to get some sleep and stay out of harm's way. Some have nowhere else to go, others have run away from horrific situations. These kids watch out for each other, share whatever they have, and simply try to survive another day.

Hesse has penned an intriguing piece of historical fiction with a dash of magical realism as well. Who is the ghost that haunts the children under the bridge, and how can he possibly be related to Joseph's family?

The chapters about Joseph's family are interspersed with chapters telling the tales of the children living under the bridge. I am curious about the degree of fiction of these children's tales. Some are so horrific that I think they must have been recorded in a work house diary. It is amazing to think about NYC back at the turn of the century. The class divide is explored in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. The children who are cast aside are struggling every day to survive, and Joseph's family is making it, but suffering the consequence of not quite fitting in with the folks on the block like they used to.

I also love the amount of historical detail that Hesse managed to put into the book so seemingly effortlessly, that readers simply absorb them without feeling like it's work. The comments from newspapers of the day describing Coney Island are so interesting, and left me wanting to read more about the amusement parks (especially with the condo-ization of the area set to begin very soon).

Lyrical and haunting, Brooklyn Bridge is one of those books that stays with the reader. You will find yourself revisiting the characters and the situations time and time again.

A Thousand Never Evers

It's the summer of 1963, and all is not well. Medgar Evans has just been shot, four little girls have been firebombed while at Sunday School, and who knows what else is going on that is not making the news.

Addie Ann Pickett lives in Kuckachoo Mississippi with her mama, her Uncle Bump (on account of his muscles), and her brother Elias. Her biggest concerns of the summer are working with her Uncle at Old Man Adams' place, trying to convince her best friend Delilah that jumping double dutch isn't baby stuff, and worrying about
7th grade next year with Mrs. Jacks over at Country Colored (West Thunder Creek Junior High School, if you please!)

Things start changing when Old Man Adams up and dies. No one is more surprised than Addie Ann when she, her Uncle and Elmira the cook, are summoned up to the house for the reading of the will. Mr. Adams left a little something for each of them. Elmira gets his dutch oven, Addie Ann gets the television (that she used to secretly watch sometimes), and Uncle Bump gets a beautiful gold pocket watch. Everyone there is most interested in what will become of the house and grounds. After all, Old Man Adams has the best garden around.

Imagine the looks on the sheriff's and mayor's faces when the lawyer announces that the garden is to be a shared community garden for whites and colored folks alike! But when most people in power are racist from their toes on up, this seems like a piece of Old Man Adams will that won't be honoured.

Then something even worse happens. One day when Addie Ann's brother brings her to the general store, two bully white boys take her cat from her. All because she raised her eyes, and doesn't know her place. One boy is about to drop kick poor Flapjack when Elias comes to the rescue, lobs a honeypot at the boy's head, knocks him out and breaks his leg. Elias takes off swimming for his life in the Bayou. Addie Ann knows the sheriff and his hounds, along with the Klan will be after Elias.

What follows is Addie Ann's struggle to get through. Her struggle to come to grips with what has happened to her family. And her realization that now is her time. The reverend always said that she would know when her time to the movement would come. When the hounds come for her Uncle, she knows it's her time, and Addie Ann rises to the occasion.

Brilliantly written, A Thousand Never Evers should have a place in every public and school library. Addie Ann and her family come alive off the page, as does the town of Kuckachoo itself. Equally heartbreaking and inspiring, Shana Burg has taken her own family's calling to the civil rights movement and made it into a work of art.

This is one of the rare times that I put a recommendation here and at Booktopia. I do think that this book really does span from tween to young adult. The issues that arise can be discussed in various manners, and the summer of 1963 is one that we all need to know and think about!

The Dragon's Child

I am always on the look-out for a good immigration story. The topic is a big one in our curriculum. Imagine my delight upon having The Dragon's Child A Story of Angel Island, by Laurence and Kathleen Yep delivered by my fab colleague Jen.

A young boy, Gim Lew, is living with his family in his father's village in China. Father doesn't stay with them, however. He is a Guest of the Golden Mountain. In other words, he lives in America. He comes back periodically, brings money, and takes the sons away. Gim Lew first met his father two years ago, when he was seven years old. His father is a dragon, and the boy is nothing like him.

Gim Lew has a stutter and uses his left hand as well. He is just getting hit with the bamboo rod by his Uncle Jing, when word comes that his father has returned. His father is the most important man in the village, and as he usually brings gifts from San Fransisco, everyone is excited about his arrival. The New Year is just over, and most people could use the extra food that celebrations bring.

Gim Lew is shy around his father. His stutter is more pronounced, and he struggles to communicate with this important man. Imagine his surprise when he finds out that he too, is to return to the Golden Mountain with his father. Eventhough he does not want to go, he knows he must. The situation in China is precarious. If bandits do not get paid, they destroy villages. If the weather fails and the crops die, families will have nothing to eat if money is not sent.

Father soon starts preparing the boy for the "test". Gim Lew must learn every answer to any question that American immigration might ask of him. He is only ten. Can he overcome his shyness and his stutter to please his father?

Laurence and Kathleen Yep tell of the start of a journey and the stay at Angel Island. This story is a piece of their family history, though fictionalized. Readers get a clear view of a Chinese village, and of Shanghai as well. The journey on the ship is not glamorous, and one can only imagine the heat and stench of the hold. Even though Gim Lew's father is an American citizen, and therefore his children are too, the racism he faces everytime that he travels is intense and predictable.

The text is chock full of details that will enrich many a lesson on social justice, immigration, and family. There is a fourteen page essay after the conclusion of the book that details some of the hardships and legislation faced by the Chinese (and American Chinese) from the mid 1800s until the mid 1900s. Also included are some family photographs, and photos of the ships and of Angel Island.

A moving piece of historical fiction.

The Wednesday Wars

Holling Hoodhood lives in a perfect house, with a perfect lawn, smack-dab in the middle of a town that is either Jewish or Catholic. Holling's family is Presbyterian, which has never been a problem until this year. You see, Wednesdays are religious instruction day. This means that the Jewish kids head off to Hebrew School, and the Catholic kids head off to catechism. Holling has nowhere to be except school, and his teacher Mrs. Baker is now teaching a class of one. She is not pleased.

Holling is soon completing tasks like cleaning the chalkboard erasers, and dusting the classroom. And then it gets worse. Mrs. Baker brings in the Shakespeare!

Gary D. Schmidt has written an incredible story that is meaty, articulate, and important. Set in the Vietnam era United States, the Hoodhood family is staring change in the face. The perfect house and the perfect lawn isn't so perfect inside. As Holling tries to manage Wednesdays of 7th grade, his teenage sister Heather is becoming politically minded and estranged from her dad. Holling is seeing blatant racism directed at his Vietnamese classmate as local soldiers lose their lives.

Woven into the story is an innocent humor that brings the reader effortlessly along. From the escapee class pets, to Holling's stage debut, The Wednesday Wars is a pleasure to read. It's a solid dose of good old fashioned storytelling.

Imagine that!

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Hugo lives in the train station in Paris, and is the time-keeper. The only thing is, nobody knows. After his own clockmaker father died in a tragic fire, Hugo's gruff Uncle pulled him out of school, and made Hugo his own time-keeper apprentice. Hugo's uncle starts disappearing for longer and longer stretches of time, until one day, he doesn't come home at all.

What can Hugo do, but continue setting the clocks, and living in Uncle's tiny apartment in the station? He collects Uncle's paycheques so that the Station Inspector is none-the-wiser to the situation.

Everything changes for Hugo when one day, while stealing a wind-up mouse from the toy booth, he is caught. The man who runs the toy booth threatens to call the Station Inspector and takes from Hugo the one thing that he has left from his father - his notebook with the illustrations of the automaton that his father found in the museum attic. The man who runs the toy booth, and Hugo, are connected in a way that neither could fathom. With twists and turns too intricate to describe, Selznik takes readers on a journey about history, cinema, and the meaning of family.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret looks like a daunting book. It is as thick as J.K Rowling's works. The pages of Hugo, however, are filled with Selznick's amazing illustrations that call to mind the work of Chris Van Allsburg. Part of the story is actually told through the illustrations, quickening the pace of reading considerably. A beautiful and enchanting story that is destined to become a classic.

In Search of Mockingbird

Erin's mom died when Erin was just a baby, and she has been living with her dad and two brothers ever since. They simply do not get her. She retreated into books, To Kill a Mockingbird specifically. Even Erin's bestfriend Amy wants her to stop carrying it around!

When Erin's father announces he is to marry his longtime girlfriend, Erin snaps. He had to tell her the day before her birthday? To top things off, her dad gives Erin her mother's diary. Her father never even talks about her mom, and now that he's marrying someone else, he hands over this treasure?

Erin hops the Greyhound with the final destination of Monroeville, Alabama. She is in search of Harper Lee. Erin just knows that if she meets Miss Lee everything will be okay.

What Erin doesn't count on is who she will meet along the way. Fancy Sedushia, and odd Epp are two of the strangers who take Erin under their wings on her journey south.

Erin will use this journey to get to know her mother, and to get to know herself.

So, at first I wasn't sure if I was going to place this title with the Tweeners or not. I only came to Mockingbird lately, and the lead character in this homage is turning 16. But Erin is a very young 16. Karyn and I had a discussion about what having a dead parent does to you (she thinks it grows you up, and I think it kind of stunts you a bit), and I decided that this is where In Search of Mockingbird would land!

Feathers

It's 1971 and Frannie is just living her life at school when the new boy comes along. He has long curly hair, and he is white. What's he doing on this side of the highway?

The new boy calls himself Jesus. For real.

At home, it's Frannie, mom and dad, and brother Sean. Sean is deaf and signing is a part of daily life for Frannie. Imagine her surprise when Jesus signs to her at school!

Woodson has penned a beautiful character driven story, laden with issues of difference, racism, religion, and the sorrow of miscarriage. All as seen through a middle school girl's eyes.

Poignant and lyrical, Feathers is Woodson at her best. This title has staying power...audiences will be immediately sucked into Frannie's world, and classroom connections abound. This is a story that has lodged itself into me. Always a good thing!

The Green Glass Sea

So, imagine my surprise upon finishing this and then hearing from my friend Jen, that she had just attended a dinner for this very book! Timely, indeed.

As a Canadian, I really didn't learn much in school about the whole Los Alamos thing, so besides being enjoyable, I found The Green Glass Sea to be quite the learning experience as well.

Dewey and her dad have been making it on their own for a long time. Now that the war is on, however, Dewey's dad's scientific thinking has taken him away from her. First to Nana's place while Daddy was in Chicago, and then to New Mexico. To a place called "the hill" that's not even on a map. Dewey doesn't care so much about the standard issue housing, or the fact that the other kids call her Screwey Dewey...because at least she is back together with Daddy.

The kids on the hill really do have to make it on their own. All of their folks are military or scientists of some kind, and they aren't even allowed to discuss their work with their own families. Dewey and the other kids know that their parents are working on a "gadget", that will hopefully end the war.

This is a quiet and poignant look at the lives of the everyday people who were gathered up to work on "the bomb", as we used to call it. Oppie and Fermi are there, but so are regular families that just happen to have scientist parents.

A particularly thoughtful scene is when Suze's parents take Dewey and Suze out to "trinity" -- the testing site. The desert has turned to green glass. The girls are walking on it and taking chunks of it home. Suze's dad says that it's not "too hot". Let me tell you, as a parent knowing what we know now, my heart was in my throat. Can you imagine?

This quiet character driven story would work well for fans of Peach Hill, A Drowned Maiden's Hair, or even Private Peaceful. As someone said to me, it has a very Stand By Me feel, that translates easily to adults as well.

This is a story that will stay with me.