Across Five Aprils

Hunt, Irene. Across Five Aprils. Berkley, reprinted in 1986. ISBN 0425102416

Slow-paced in the beginning, but overall an excellent read. The book was published in the 1960's and the author draws upon stories her own grandfather relayed to her about life during the 1860's. Extremely well researched, this book brings to life the family struggles, heartaches, and triumphs of the "five Aprils" that spanned the American Civil War.

Might be difficult for young readers due to the slower pace and the verbiage (the author captures the speech patterns and poor grammar of backwoods families in Southern Illinois). However, a stronger reader would enjoy it immensely, especially the coming-of-age elements found in the main character as he grows from a young boy of nine to a teen who is forced to become the "man of the farm." His self discovery (when he first realizes his speech could be a source of ridicule, when he decides to keep difficult decisions from his ailing father, when he struggles between being the "baby" of the family while also being on equal terms with his older siblings, when he learns that gossip is not always true...) is appropriate and believable. I was a bit disappointed at the abruptness of the ending. The story seemed to simply run out of steam.

Civil War battles, generals, and events are woven in and out of the tale, making this work of fiction and wonderful companion resource for anyone learning about the Civil War.

Staying Nine and Silver For General Washington

This month I couldn't decide which book to review, so I am doing two. Both are aimed at the same age range, but one is geared more towards a girl, while the other a boy would enjoy reading. 

While taking juvenile literature classes in grad school, I was vehemently told to stick to new books only. My professor explained that young children and tweens cannot identify with children from even a decade ago and, with the exception of classics, (which are usually read by older tweens and teens) I would be doing them a disservice by introducing them to older books. 

However, I feel that relevancy plays a huge part in this. If the book covers certain feelings, circumstances and truths that will not fade with time, it will not only stay relevant for today, but can also be a treasured volume to read. 

  

Conrad, Pam. Staying Nine. Illustrated by Michael Wimmer. HarperCollins, 1990 ISBN 0064403777


The reason this book is so appealing, is because it deals with a subject every child and tween experiences: that in-between stage, when one is no longer a baby, but not yet an adult. I distinctly remember these emotions. 

In one particular example, I remember stomping around the house, and my grandmother admonished me to "walk more like a young lady." At that moment, I felt an almost overwhelming desire to not become a "lady". I didn't want to grow up. I didn't want to stop being a kid who could climb trees and stomp around the house. However, it was also at that moment that I realized the hand of time could be stopped by no one. 

Heather, the young protagonist in this Chapter Book (suitable for readers who are not yet ready for a Novel, but too old for Easy Readers) does not want to grow up. She decides to try and stay nine by having an unbirthday party and wearing the same clothes as last year for the school picture, among other things. This causes conflict with friends at school who do not understand her need, but is offset by a supporting mother. (These moments, both humorous and somber, are enhanced beautifully with Wimmer's detailed pencil sketches.)

One fear of Heather's is that growing up will take the fun out of life. No more make believe, no more climbing up the door frames, and no more fun. However, in probably the best moment of the story, a 23 year old friend takes off her shoes and stealthily climbs up the door frame -- thus proving that you can choose to stay young in the ways that matter most to you. 

Meadowcroft, Enid LaMonte. Silver for General Washington: A Story of Valley Forge. Scholastic, 1974. ASIN: B000PC5CYM


I wanted to mention this title because, like the above title, I have a memory associated with it. To refute the idea that, unless a book is a classic, tweens and teens will not read older books, I remember my brother and I both reading Silver for General Washington more than a decade after it was first published. 

The only reason I read it was because my older brother said that he had loved it. I balked at first (it looked like a boring war book, and the cover art harkened back to the 70's -- SO old!) but since my brother insisted it was good, I decided to give it a go. 

It didn't take long before I was swept into the world of two cousins living at the time of the revolution. Their patriotism and decision to risk taking a a dangerous journey to retrieve their family's stash of silver, for the sole purpose of giving it to General Washington (in order to help with the war effort), was instantly appealing to me. 

Would I have taken such an adventure? Why did it mean so much to them? What must it have been like, to live during the time of the revolution?

The excitement of the story kept my interest, even though the protagonists were boys. In fact, by the end of the book, I longed to take such a journey on my own. My brother had been right: it was a good book!

Summer of My German Soldier

Green, Bette. Summer of My German Soldier. Speak, 1999 ISBN: 014130636X

In one of my previous posts, I did a somewhat unfavorable review of a book that is garnering critical praise for being relevant and important in tween and young adult fiction. I stated that I disagreed with most critics, and found it irrelevant, shallow, and inappropriate for MOST tweens. (The book in question was Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, and you can read the review here: http://lneeleylibr264digitalrecord.blogspot.com/2010/06/angus-thongs-and-full-frontal-snogging.html) 

In this review, I will change course a bit and do a somewhat favorable review of a book that has been challenged and even banned in some schools. 

A twelve-year-old Jewish girl meets and then agrees to hide a German Nazi POW who has escaped from a military prison just outside her small Southern hometown. Sounds like all the makings of a romantic thriller, right? And although I must agree that Summer of My German Soldier IS inappropriate for some audiences, it may be very profound and challenging to just the RIGHT audience. 


If I were to recommend this book to a tween, I would need to know that he or she is at a maturity level where there is an ability to process complex ideas, and I would warn against the offensive language which, in this book is more reminiscent of language one would find in To Kill a Mockingbird or Tom Sawyer (also banned books), where the words make sense in the setting and context of the story. 


And so does the racism. In fact, this book is ABOUT racism. However, what I like about the story is the challenging viewpoint it takes: the German Nazi is the good guy, the Jewish father is the bad guy, and the daughter is caught somewhere in between. 


Another fact about this book you may not find mentioned in other reviews is that the author has an obvious negative bias towards religion. This does not come through strongly at all, but in a very subtle way in specific, non-vital snippets of the story. 


Despite all of this, I appreciated and enjoyed the book. Contrary to the cover, it really is not a love story. Instead, it is a story about a very normal girl in very difficult situations. The author uses perfect visual words to create images of a small, isolated southern town in the midst of a stifling hot summer, where the slightest excitement is grasped onto until it spins out of control, landing our protagonist in a very unanticipated predicament. 


Some would say this book does not have a happy ending. I think it does. I feel that the realism of this story will inspire certain mature tweens and teens towards questioning their own life decisions, visualizing the fact that every action has an all-too-real consequence. By walking the journey with our heroine that lands her in court and eventually a reform school (rather than a romantic, unrealistic outcome to her choice to hide an enemy of the state unbeknownst to her parents), the reader will see that although life has its difficulties, the rocky parts of the journey are what mold us into who we will eventually become. 


Would definitely be a good title for discussions about coming-of-age, race, life-altering choices, and WWII. 

The Long Winter

Wilder, Laura Ingalls. The Long Winter. Illustrated by Garth Williams. HaperCollins Publishers, 1940. ISBN 0-06-026460-8
Many are familiar with The Little House on the Prairie series. However, I would argue that this title is by far the most exciting of the series. There is no need to read the rest of the series, as this book does well standing alone as a complete story.

Based off of the life of the author, this book describes the struggle, depression, persistence, courage and hunger experienced during one of the worst winters on record for the Dakota territories. Young readers will gain a first-hand look at what life was like for pioneers and homesteaders on the harsh prairies during a difficult winter. Images of waking up with nails in the ceiling frosted over, white-out blizzards that killed people, the warnings and natural signs from wildlife and native peoples, and even starvation.

However, a young audience is in mind, and this book is anything but dark. Wilder does a superb job of describing her love for her family, the simple joys and pastimes of the pioneer life, her admiration for those who risk their lives to protect others, and the awe-inspiring power of nature and weather.