Dust of Eden: A Novel, by Mariko Nagai (Albert Whitman & Co., 2014)

Recommended for ages 8-12

This slim historical novel in verse packs an wallop of an emotional punch. It tells the story of Mina Tagawa, a young Japanese-American girl from Seattle who along with her family is imprisoned in an internment camp in Idaho, where they live for three years. 

The author sensitively portrays this shameful period in our history, and the way in which different members of Mina's family react: her stoic grandfather; her angry father, a newspaper reporter who is arrested soon after Pearl Harbor; her frustrated teenaged brother, who joins the highly decorated Japanese regiment that fought in Europe. We also see the reaction of Mina's white best friend and her family, who try to remain loyal to their Japanese American friends and neighbors during this difficult time.  In a particularly moving passage, Mina's brother Nick writes of his experience liberating Dachau, drawing comparisons to the camp he lived in Idaho surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers like the ones he saw in Germany.  

In an afterword, the author explains that she was inspired to write Dust of Eden by her childhood doctor, a second-generation Japanese American who was interned along with his family during World War II.  The afterword gives a short background on the chronology of the internment.  

Blog Tour: Odin's Promise: Interview with author Sandy Brehl

Author Sandy Brehl

I am delighted to participate in the blog tour for an exciting new historical fiction novel for middle-grade readers, Odin's Promise:  A Novel of Norway, by author Sandy Brehl.  Sandy kindly consented to answer a number of questions about her book for this blog.

Q:  World War II continues to supply inspiration for movies, television, adult books, and children's books, with no signs that interest in the war is abating as it becomes part of the more distant past for today's young people.  How would you explain the continued fascination with this conflict?

A:  It’s true that WWII has a sustained interest among young readers and their families, too. I would have thought with our many recent years of war that it would not be the case. Despite our war-weary society, World War II seems to hold a unique place in the hearts of even the youngest. Perhaps it’s seen as that one war when, despite graphic horrors and destruction, loss of lives, and even documented atrocities, good really overcame evil. It was also followed by world-unifying efforts, like support for refugees, restoration of cities, and the creation of the United Nations. Even if young people aren’t aware of those aspects, they seem to understand that WWII has an aura of decency and validity that so many other conflicts lack.The unequivocal ruthlessness of Hitler, Japan, and Mussolini versus a world united not only in self-defense but in the name of freedom makes it a sort of “poster child” for what a “good war” would be. Few before or since have had such a clear mission.

Q:  What inspires you to write historical fiction for young people?  

A:  First, I enjoy reading historical fiction, for all ages. In this case specific stories I heard about the war years while visiting Norway took root in my mind and wouldn’t let go. The research that ensued made me eager to discover and tell this story. I write contemporary middle grade novels, too, and picture book texts, but several historical fiction stories have sprouted “seedlings” in my mind from stories my parents, grandparents, and even local characters have shared. I’ve begun to trust that a time will come when each will grow to harvest when the time is right.

Q:  Can you tell us a little bit about why you decided to set a story in Norway at this time and how you researched this difficult time in their history?

A:  First, I’m not Norwegian. A good friend is the daughter of a Norwegian immigrant, though, and she invited me to travel with her to her father’s home village. On that first trip I fell in love with the country- the people, the landscape, the values, the lifestyle. We stayed with her family on that visit and another. I experienced such genuine hospitality, good humor,generosity, and national pride of the purest type that I felt at home there immediately. Pictures and stories they shared focused on their family before, during, and after the war years. One particular story of resistance seemed like a book waiting to be written. Despite my best efforts over several decades, that story couldn’t seem to find its footing. Revisions, critiques, and shifts in genre, target audience, or focus weren’t enough to bring success. My readings and research into that era continued until I finally found one work by a Norwegian scholar, Stokker. It featured journal entries from the war years, including some by children Mari’s age. That’s when those earlier readings, writings, and research found their way into Mari and her family. The story incorporates many documented details of underground resistance, but the characters are all fictional.

Photo of coastal Bergen,Norway--the village where the book takes place is on the other side of the mountains

Q:  What made you decide to put a dog, Odin, at the center of your novel?  

Norwegian Elkhound

A:  I’ve had dogs most of my life, and while I was in Norway I saw how much dogs are integral members of families there. When I began to imagine Mari’s role in her family as a shy youngest child, it was the most natural thing in the world for her to have a companion dog. I knew her story and circumstances would require her to grow and change, to discover her strengths and define herself as an individual. Odin and his loyalty to the family played an essential part in that process. I never had an elkhound, but the more I learned about the breed, its intelligence and courage, and its role as a national breed, the more certain I was that Odin was the best friend Mari could ever have.

Q:  I especially liked the way your novel does not portray the Nazis as black and white or 100% evil.  Was it important to you to show that some of the Nazi soldiers may have been young men not very different from the Norwegian young men of the village of Ytre Arna, where Odin's Promise is set?

Ytre Arna, mid-20th century (from the collection of Knut Naevdal and the Ytre Arna Historielag (Museum)

A:  Although I didn’t write this to convey a “message”, it was very important to me to avoid stereotyping any of the characters. That includes the villagers who cooperated with the Nazi occupiers. We can’t always choose the circumstances of our lives, yet we can make conscious choices about how we deal with them. The hard truth is that those choices are seldom clear-cut, black-and-white, yes-or-no. Mari’s journey involves her growing recognition of this challenging truth.

Q:  With the adoption of the Common Core, do you think that historical fiction will become more popular as a genre?

A: I hope so, just as I hope quality literature becomes a more central part of every subject. My concern is less with the standards than with the emphasis on high-stakes testing. When testing drives the curriculum, all too often school districts adopt various packaged materials, many of which are produced by the testing publishers themselves. Authentic, engaging, rich literature (novels, non-fiction, picture books) should be used in every subject area, and historical fiction can play a major role in helping young people not just learn to read, but to love reading.

Q:  In addition to publishing this novel, you blog about picture books at Unpacking the Power of Picture Books.  Can you share with us a little about your work with picture books?

A:  I spent nearly forty years as an elementary teacher, working in classrooms and with special needs students, from pre-school to middle grade. Whenever someone hears you are a teacher they ask, “What do you teach?” At the risk of sounding like a smart-mouth I would always answer “Kids!” then quickly explain that I regularly changed grade levels, subjects, and focus groups because I loved working with kids at all the different stages of their young lives. At every age or grade it’s the child I teach, not the subject. These changes allowed me to read, share, and explore a wide array of children’s literature. I loved helping established readers rediscover the depth and richness of picture books, those “baby books” they thought they had outgrown. I was writing throughout those years, mainly in summer.  That included academic articles on ways picture books work for all ages to improve literacy and comprehension. When I retired a few years ago it was to read, write, and teach, but this time to teach adults instead of kids. I teach professional development workshops for teachers, childcare workers, and librarians on the power of picture books to develop the highest quality readers and thinkers. I also do presentations on this topic for reading conferences.Many of the titles I share in those workshops are non-fiction and historical fiction.

Q:  Can you share with us what books are on your nightstand or e-reader?

A:  I always have a half-dozen or more picture books in a stack, to add reviews on Goodreads or use them for my blogs. That stack turns over every week or so, but as I write this it includes: God Got A Dog, by Cynthia Rylant and Marla Frazee; Nest, by Jorey Hurley; Founding Mothers, by Cokie Roberts with illustrations by Diane Goode; Ezra Jack Keats:A Biography with Illustrations, by Dean Engel and Florence B. Freedman; A Dance Like Starlight, by Christy Dempsey and Floyd Cooper, and A Home For Mr. Emerson, by Barbara Kerley and illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham. In the MG category I just finished: From Norvelt to Nowhere by Jack Gantos and Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman. Now reading, or waiting in the stack, are: The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg, Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord; Seven Stories Up, by Laurel Snyder, Sure Signs of Crazy, by Karen Harrington, Slob, by Ellen Potter, and A Snicker of Magic.

Thanks so much, Sandy, for your thoughtful responses!

Author Interview: Maryann Macdonald, author of Odette's Secrets

The Jewish holiday, Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, begins on Monday night, April 28.  In honor of the millions who perished, as well as those who survived, I wanted to share with my readers an interview with author Maryann Macdonald of Odette's Secrets (reviewed here at the Fourth Musketeer last month).  This novel tells the story of a young French girl who was hidden during the Nazi occupation, and thus survived the Holocaust.  Thanks so much, Maryann, for visiting my blog today.

Q:  There are so many books, even for young readers, that deal with World War II, particularly the European side of the conflict.  Yet there are still so many stories to tell, with more books coming out every year.  Please tell us how you discovered the true story of Odette, and why you considered it important to tell her story to young readers.  

A:   When I learned that 86% of French Jewish children survived the Holocaust by going into hiding, I was astonished.  How had these children managed to reinvent themselves so successfully, I wondered?  And how had it affected them?  Then, by chance, I found "Doors to Madame Marie," a memoir by Odette Meyers at the American Library in Paris.  I was so touched by Odette's story of her experience as a hidden child in France.  I especially loved her description of the struggles she went through with all the necessary deception that was required to stay successfully hidden, and the affect this had on her developing identity.  I had never seen a book that told this particular story about WWII, and I wanted to create a children's book about it for today's readers.  Although Odette had passed away some years earlier, I learned that her son Daniel was alive and living in Paris.  I called him and we met.  He told me he that his mother had often told her story in schools, churches and synagogues, and he was sure that she would want it to live on.  So I began the process of trying to recreate Odette's story for today's young readers.  

Right above the door is Odette's Paris apartment

Odette and Mama (photographer and family later deported)

Q:   Why did you decide to tell this particular story in free verse, rather than a more conventional prose style?

A:  My first draft of Odette's Secrets was in third person.  I wanted the story to be as accurate as possible, but I felt this version was too dry.  Then I remembered that Odette loved poetry, and even thought its beauty helped her to survive her ordeal.  She grew up to become a professor of literature, and wrote poetry of her own.  So I set about telling Odette's story in first person, in blank verse, to access more accurately Odette's childhood voice.  I wanted the book to seem as though Odette herself was telling her story to children.  This turned the book into fiction, but nearly every single recorded detail is true.

Odette's godmother, Madame Marie

Q:  Many of your many prior books for young people are picture books rather than novels.  Did you ever consider telling Odette's story in a picture book format?

A:  I have written many picture books, but also one other middle grade novel and quite a few chapter books.  My latest effort is a young adult novel.  At first I thought Odette's Secrets might be a picture book, but there was just too much story to tell.  It is now slotted in for 10-14 year-old's, but I have heard from readers as young as 8.  One of my oldest readers was himself a hidden child.  He wrote to me to say he thought I had captured the experience quite accurately.  

Q: In the current publishing climate, with the wild success of the Wimpy Kid series, dystopian novels like Hunger Games, and the continued popularity of fantasy series in the Harry Potter style, do you have any advice on how librarians, parents, and teachers can encourage children to explore historical fiction like Odette's Secrets?

A:  I have developed a teacher's guide for "Odette's Secrets," which is downloadable on my website, www.maryannmacdonald.com.  It offers many ways to draw readers into the book.    Obviously, linking the story with the history curriculum, with Holocaust Remembrance Day, and with National Poetry Month might help.  Not every book suits every reader, but Odette's Secrets has found many appreciative readers.  Fans of this genre can discover other great WWII books I've enjoyed, from picture books on up, on the "Odette's Secrets" FB page.  

Q:  Can you share with us five children's books that made a big impact on you as a young person?

A:  Like so many young girls of my time,  I fell in love with the Little House Books, especially "Little House on the Prairie."  Now that I think of it, that series has some similarities with Odette's Secrets:  adventure, family closeness, life-threatening danger.  I read every book in our local library on pioneer life, too.  But I also loved books about England, especially "The Secret Garden," "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," and "Mary Poppins."  I think my love of English children's literature was partly responsible for the fact that when I grew up, I went to live in England for 23 years.  And again, like so many girls of yesterday and today, I loved Nancy Drew.  My granddaughter loves her, too.

Q:  What books are currently on your nightstand?  (or in your e-reader, if you prefer your books in that format?)

A:  I just read "The Hare with the Amber Eyes" with my book group.  I enjoyed that in paperback, but I LOVE my Kindle, too, and take it everywhere.  Now I live in New York City, so I get a lot of reading done on the subway, so take my Kindle everywhere in my handbag.  I'm reading "The Unlikely Pilgrimmage of Harold Fry" by British writer Rachel Joyce on it right now.   I also listen to books on my I-Pod while walking in Central Park and while cooking.  My latest cooking favorite is "The Hobbit" by Tolkein and my latest walking favorite is "City of Thieves," by David Benioff, about the siege of Leningrad.  Background reading gets fitted in at the library and just before bedtime.

Book Review: Hero on a Bicycle, by Shirley Hughes (Candlewick, 2013)

Recommended for ages 8-12.

Beloved British author Shirley Hughes is best known for her delightful picture books about preschooler Alfie and his toddler sister Annie Rose.  In 2012, at the ripe age of 84, she published in Great Britain her first children's novel, Hero on a Bicycle, which was published in 2013 by Candlewick here in the U.S.

Set in Florence in 1944, this novel centers around thirteen-year old Paolo.  He hates the Nazis but feels powerless--he's stuck between being a child and being old enough to be useful.  Paolo lives with his mother, Rosemary, an English woman who married an Italian, and his teenaged sister Constanza, a pretty girl who catches the attention of the Nazi officers stationed in town. Seeking a few thrills, Paolo rides his bicycle around town in the dark--past curfew.  But when he runs into a group of partisans--Italian resistance fighters--he becomes their messenger.  Soon his family is intimately involved, taking in downed Allied pilots, whom the resistance is trying to get to safety at the Allied lines.  Soon Paolo and his family are literally on the front lines of the conflict, and Paolo will get his chance to play the hero--sooner than he may have expected.

This is a slim novel (at 213 pages) that is a good choice for younger readers who are interested in World War II.  While providing plenty of suspense and a sense of danger, Hughes does not include any graphic violence in the novel that would be unsuitable for younger middle-grade readers.  Most of the novels for young people about World War II seem to involve the Holocaust or Jewish issues in some way; this novel provides a different perspective, as it focuses on the partisans and the Allied soldiers to fought to free Italy from the Nazi occupiers.

 

Book Review: Odette's Secrets, by Maryann Macdonald (Bloomsbury, 2013)

Recommended for ages 9-14.

Please note:  The Fourth Musketeer will feature an interview with Odette's Secrets author Maryann Macdonald on April 25.  

World War II seems to supply authors, whether those for children or adults, with an inexhaustible supply of true stories for inspiration.  Author Maryann Macdonald turns to historical fiction in her new novel, Odette's Secrets, about a young Jewish girl in Paris during the Nazi Occupation.  Odette's story is told in spare free verse; we meet her Polish-Jewish parents who have immigrated to Paris with their only daughter Odette.  Odette is beloved by her gentile godmother, the concierge at her building, and has a comfortable existence until her father joins the French military, is taken prisoner by the Germans, and conditions began to worsen considerably for the Jewish population of Paris.  Soon the round-ups of foreign-born Jews begin, destined to be shipped off to the East.  Odette's mother, realizing the danger, makes a plan for her daughter and the daughters of other friends to go stay with family friends in the Vendee, outside of Nazi-occupied France, where she will be in safely in the countryside with plenty to eat.

There's one wrinkle--Odette must forget that she's a Jew.  She must blend in perfectly with the village children, learn how to cross herself, say Catholic prayers, attend mass, eat pork, in other words, do nothing that could distinguish her from other children in the village.  She becomes very good at keeping secrets--even from her closest friends.  But when her mother flees Paris to join her, suspicion follows them just the same.  Can they stay safe?  And what will happen after the war ends?  Will her father and other relatives find them back in Paris?

This is a moving, small novel that can be read quickly but delves into real issues of prejudice, bravery, and how ordinary children can survive in dangerous and extraordinary times  This novel is inspired by the life of the real Odette Myers, a story the author discovered while doing research in a Paris library; she was helped in this project by Odette's son, Daniel, who shared family photos and experiences.  Highly recommended.  

Book Review: The Children of the King, by Sonya Hartnett (Candlewick, 2014)

 

Recommended for ages 9-12.

Release date:  March 25, 2014

Award-winning Australian author Sonya Hartnett returns to World War II in her latest historical novel for middle grade readers.  The Children of the King blends a paranormal ghost story with historical fiction;  it takes place in England at the beginning of the Second World War, and the novel begins with the young and somewhat spoiled Cecily and her older brother Jemmy moving from their comfortable upper-class existence in London to the equally comfortable country home of their uncle, to be safe from bombs that are expected to soon begin falling on London. Their father, who appears to be someone important to the war effort, is left behind in London.  Unlike other child evacuees, they are fortunate to be with their mother while other evacuees are taken in by total strangers. Cecily begs her mother for them to take in an evacuee too, and she chooses a young girl close to her own age named May.  Cecily expects the younger May to be her little pet, obeying her in everything.  

May, however, has a mind of her own, and soon is off exploring the countryside, where she discovers the ruins of an old castle. The castle is inhabited by two young brothers, dressed in fancy, old-fashioned clothes--are they evacuees who have run away from their new home? Or could they be something more amazing--and be somehow connected with the story that Uncle Peregrine tells them (and the reader) in bits and pieces?  This story is the history of Richard III and the nephews he imprisoned in the Tower of London.  The young princes' story is interwoven with that of the three modern children, all of whom are coping with the war in their own way.  Hartnett does not spare the reader from some very vivid descriptions of the London bombings, which are contrasted with the peaceful existence in the countryside.  

This is a beautiful and touching war story, with a ghost story woven in for good measure.  As you might expect, the two stories intersect in a magical way toward the end of the novel (no spoilers). An afterword with some more information about the young princes in the tower and the London Blitz might have been a good addition, to provide some historical facts and context to go with the uncle's tales.

Book Review: Beholding Bee, by Kimberly Newton Fusco (Alfred A. Knopf, 2013)

Recommended for ages 8-12.

Award-winning author Kimberly Newton Fusco really knows how to create strong female characters that stay with you long after you've finished her book.  In her most recent book, Beholding Bee, she weaves an especially magical and moving story that's perfect for middle-grade readers.

As the novel opens, we meet 11-year old Bee, who lives with a traveling carnival.  It's 1942, and Bee's parents, carnival workers, were killed when she was four and she's been raised by a kindly young woman, Pauline.  Bee fills her days chopping onions and helping at the carnival's hot dog cart.  She has to deal with teasing about a prominent birthmark on her face, although her guardian Pauline suggests it's a precious diamond.  In fact, the carnival owner only seems to be keeping Bee so that he can use her in his "freak show" when she's a little older.  But when Bee's two best friends leave the carnival, Bee decides it's time to find a real home, and takes to the road with a stray dog as unwanted as she is and a small piglet.

Bee is taken in by two mysterious but kindly old women, Mrs. Swift and Mrs. Potter, who live in an old home that seems straight out of a fairy tale.  Their clothes seem to come from another era, and curiously only Bee is able to see these women she calls her "aunts." For the first time, Bee goes to school, where she must cope with cruel bullying.  Although she's put in a special education class where she clearly does not belong, at school she makes her first friend her own age.  Gradually, Bee learns that there are people who care about her, and she learns to accept herself for who she is.

This is a lovely, lyrical, story filled with what Bookpage called "real magic"--"created by love and conjured up by need."  Kimberly Newton Fusco manages to fuse magic and realism, love and cruelty, loneliness and hope into another novel that's a treasure for middle-grade readers (and adults who love to share books with children!)

Book Review: Greenhorn, by Anna Olswanger (New South Books, 2012)

Recommended for ages 12 - adult.

There is no shortage of stories about the Holocaust for young people, whether fiction or nonfiction.  Greenhorn, by author and children's book editor Anna Oswanger, strikes a different chord than most of these works by focusing on the aftermath of the war, through the story of one of its young survivors.

Although published as a free-standing book, Greenhorn, at 43 pages, is really more of an illustrated short story.  Set in an Orthodox yeshiva in Brooklyn in 1946, the story tells of the arrival at the yeshiva of twenty orphaned Polish boys, including young Daniel, who won't let go of a little tin box he carries with him everywhere.  Daniel rarely speaks, but Aaron, whose father is a rabbi, considers him his friend.  Aaron stutters and is made fun of by the other boys, and feels some connection with the nearly silent refugee when the yeshiva boys start teasing Daniel about his box that he carries with him and even sleeps with.  What's in the box, everyone wonders?  The horrifying reality of what Daniel is carrying around contrasts with the innocence of the children at the yeshiva, who are concerned with baseball, basketball, candy, and other normal kid pursuits.  We learn that inside the box is a greasy piece of soap, made with fat from the bodies of Jewish prisoners.  Daniel clutches to it believing it could contain a piece of his mother, of whom he has not even a photograph.

An afterword explains that this story is based on a real incident in the life of Rabbi Rafael Grossman.  A glossary provides explanations of Yiddish names, words and phrases used in the text.

Although this looks by the cover, the slight size of the story, and the abundant illustrations like a book for young children, I would not recommend this book for children younger than twelve.  Also, some background knowledge of the Holocaust is useful for understanding the implications of the story.   The story would make a good addition to a unit on the Holocaust, and could easily be read aloud in a classroom or read by individual students and used for classroom or home discussion.  The Holocaust is such a vast tragedy that sometimes it is difficult to imagine the scope; this small book brings one element of a survivor's story vividly to life for young people.

Book Review: War Dogs: Churchill & Rufus, by Kathryn Selbert (Charlesbridge, 2013)

Recommended for ages 7-12.  


Winston Churchill was known during his lifetime as the British Bulldog, due to his famous tenacity.  In addition to being a great statesman, writer, and orator, Churchill was an animal lover, but it was not bulldogs who lived alongside the famous man, but miniature poodles.

This new picture book by debut author/illustrator Kathryn Selbert tells the story of the British home front by highlighting Churchill's relationship with his poodle, Rufus.  The author opens with the following:

"Rufus's best friend, Winston Churchill, is a busy man, but most days Rufus and Winston share a walk."

It's 1940, and Winston is managing a nation at war.  Through the eyes of Rufus, Churchill's faithful brown miniature poodle, we see Churchill at work, visiting his secret underground bunker, the room from which he directs the war, going to the House of Commons, walking through streets filled with rubble from buildings destroyed by Nazi bombers.  Rufus is not always invited along however; when Winston meets with his allies, Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin, to plan D-Day, Rufus sits by the door, patiently guarding the bunker.  Rufus is once again by Churchill's side as the war ends, barking and howling with happiness.  In the end, Rufus and Winston retire to the country, resting..."two war dogs."  In the final lovely two-page spread dominated by the greens of the English countryside, Winston and Rufus gaze out to the horizon, with the country finally at peace.

Back matter includes a timeline of World War II, a look at Churchill and his affection for poodles (he owned two during his lifetime, both named Rufus), and a brief biography of Winston Churchill himself.    The author also includes books for young Churchill fans, Churchill and World War II-related websites, a bibliography, and quotation sources.

Acrylic and collage illustrations have an nostalgic yet realistic look, with plenty of sepia tones suggesting a time long ago.  Each two-page spread features a quotation by Churchill on a yellowed piece of paper, in an old-fashioned typewriter-style font, designed to look like it has been pinned to the rest of the picture. An interview on the Charlesbridge website indicates that this book grew out of an undergraduate school project, but that the book originally focused more on the relationship between dog and owner, and less on the historical details.  The book now provides more of an introduction to World War II, one that would be a good classroom read-aloud while studying that time period.  The book will, of course, capture the heart of dog lovers as well as history lover, with its illustrations that depict Rufus in all his poodle splendor.

Disclaimer:  I am a poodle owner and a poodle lover.  Review copy provided by publisher.

Churchill with the real Rufus 

Book Review: Mister Orange, by Truus Matti (Enchanted Lion Books, 2013)

American cover

Release date:  January 22, 2013

Recommended for ages 9-14.

Few foreign books for children wind up translated into English, perhaps not surprisingly given the plethora of titles published each year by American and English-speaking authors from Canada, England, Australia, and other countries.  Often the ones that do make it for release in the U.S. are special titles, and that's the case with the new historical novel Mister Orange by Dutch author Truus Matti.  This title is especially unusual because, although written originally in Dutch and first published in the Netherlands, the book takes place in New York City during World War II and the protagonist is a young American boy, Linus, whose brother has shipped off to fight on the European front.

Mr. Orange, as adults might guess who see the American cover (the Dutch cover looks completely different, as is often the case), is none other than the famous Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, who has moved to New York to escape the repressive political environment in Europe.  With Linus' older brother off at the war, Linus inherits his grocery delivery route, and, unable to remember his customer's foreign name, dubs him Mr. Orange because of his twice monthly delivery of a box of oranges.  The two strike up an unusual friendship, as Mr. Orange shares with Linus his unusual perspective on life.  We learn, for example, how he attempted to capture in his work the raw energy of both boogie-woogie music and New York.

At home, Linus' family anxiously awaits word from Linus' brother Alfie, and each letter is eagerly devoured.  At first, the war seems like something out of his brother's beloved super-hero comic books, with his brother the hero, until Linus reads part of a despairing letter that his parents tried to keep from him.  As the real horrors of war hit home, Linus grows and changes as well.  Can imaginary heroes like Mister Superspeed do any good in a world filled with so much uncertainty and horrors?  Perhaps Mr. Orange can help Linus make sense of it all.

Back matter includes information on Piet Mondrian and his life in New York City in the 1940's.  Also included are additional resources for reading, watching on the Internet, and where to find Mondrian's paintings in museums around the United States.

This is an top-notch historical novel that should appeal to boys as well as girls. It's filled with characters that young people can easily identify with, and also provides interdisciplinary content on World War II, the home front, and art.  It can be effectively paired with a book on Mondrian or further exploration of the artist's works on the Internet in order to fully appreciate the mental images of his apartment and working style described in the book.

Dutch edition of Mister Orange

Truss' first novel, Departure Time, was a 2011 Batchelder Honor Book and I won't be surprised if this book is also recognized by that committee which awards honors to the most outstanding books originally published in a language other than English and then translated and published in the U.S.

Book Review: Finding Zasha, by Randi Barrow (Scholastic, 2013)

Recommended for ages 9-14.

Author Randi Barrow's debut novel, Saving Zasha, was one of my favorite historical fiction titles of 2011, and was recognized with many honors.  Not only was it terrific historical fiction, it was a great dog story, one that could appeal equally to both boys and girls.  I was therefore excited to read her newest novel, Finding Zasha, a prequel to Saving Zasha. 

Set in the middle of World War II Russia, Finding Zasha is another page-turner, filled with adventure, danger, and yes, adorable German shepherd puppies being raised by the Nazis for nefarious purposes.  As the novel opens, we meet our hero, twelve-year old Ivan, who lives in Leningrad with his mother and loves to play his concertina.  When Leningrad is besieged by the Germans and its citizenry begin to starve, Ivan's mother sends him on a dangerous journey across a frozen lake to stay with an uncle in the countryside.  But as the Germans march across Russia, this seemingly safe town, too, is occupied by the Germans, and Ivan is determined to help the war effort by joining the Partisans, who work secretly to undermine the Nazis however possible.

When a Nazi officer, the sadistic Major Recht, discovers Ivan's musical talents, he brings him to stay in the German camp, a valuable opportunity for Ivan to discover information which he can feed to the partisans.  At Nazi headquarters, Ivan also befriends two adorable German shepherd puppies, Thor and Zasha.  The Nazi commander plans to train the puppies to hunt Russians, and then breed them to create a corps of Russian-hating dogs.  Ivan can't imagine a worse fate for the innocent puppies, and dreams of somehow rescuing the prized dogs from their Nazi handlers.

When a turn of events in the war provides an opportunity for Ivan and the puppies to escape the Nazi's clutches, he's separated from Zasha, and is torn between trying to rescue her and possibly put the partisans in danger or saving himself and the other puppy Thor.  And he lives with the knowledge that the vindictive Recht will stop at nothing to get his prized dogs back.  Will he ever find safety for himself and the dogs?

Once again, Randi Barrow has penned an outstanding title with appeal for boys and girls alike, a "historical thriller"  (a phrase I borrow from author Laurie Halse Anderson) that will especially capture the imagination of animal lovers, students interested in history and World War II, and anyone who enjoys a good adventure novel.  I had a hard time putting the book down, as I followed Ivan's nail-biting story of the hardships of life in Leningrad during the Nazi siege, his harrowing journey out of Leningrad, his life with the partisans and under the nose of the Nazis, and his eventual escape.  This book can be read with or without having read its companion novel, Saving Zasha, although undoubtedly those who have read one of the books will be eager to read the other.

The author includes a helpful afterword on Russia and World War II, which gives some historical context to the story, particularly to Hitler's campaign against Russia, the siege of Leningrad, during which one and a half million civilians starved, and the role of the partisans in Russia's war effort.

Nonfiction Monday Book Review: Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, by Steve Sheinkin (Flashpoint, 2012)

Recommended for ages 10 to adult.

Although I love to read nonfiction, particularly about history, I can't say there are many books in this genre that I literally can't put down until I finish them because I am so engrossed in the story.  Steve Sheinkin's latest work, Bomb:  The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, was one of those I drag to the bathroom with me.  He makes the reader feels as if he or she is reading the newest thriller from James Patterson or Lee Child.  Even adults are likely to find this book riveting, and it's a real winner for middle school or high school readers with an interest in history, spy stories, or technology.  And last week, Bomb was one of 5 YA books nominated for the National Book Award!

Sheinkin likes to call himself a "recovering textbook writer," blaming the boring history textbooks used in schools for so many young people's dislike of history as a subject.  He has, however, more than atoned for writing boring textbooks with his highly readable nonfiction works for kids, including The Notorious Benedict Arnold (Flash Point, 2010).

His newest masterful work of narrative nonfiction tells three simultaneous stories:  American physicists realize the potential bomb-making power of atomic fission (splitting atoms in two) and with the backing of the US government, set up a top-secret research institute in an isolated campus in New Mexico to try to build--and test--an atomic bomb before the German physicists develop one; the Soviets try to steal the bomb from the Americans; and the Allies try to sabotage the German bomb project.  It features a cast of colorful characters that no one could make up, complete with dozens of story lines organized by Sheinkin into a "cinematic style thriller."  It's full of details sure to be fascinating to young people--i.e. did you know Oppenheimer's parents, worried about their very geeky and brilliant son's social skills (or lack thereof), sent him to sports camp, where he was mercilessly bullied by other campers?

Sheinkin consulted a impressive variety of sources for this book, and back matter includes detailed source notes that are organized by bomb race sources, character sources, and primary sources.  Photo credits, quotation notes, and an index are also included.   Check out an interview with Sheinkin about this book from School Library Journal.  You can listen to Steve introduce his book and read an excerpt from it at the following link.

On another note, if you're a fan of Sheinkin's nonfiction, you should try out his hilarious graphic novels about Rabbi Harvey, a rabbi in the Wild West.

Nonfiction Monday Book Review: Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust, by Doreen Rappaport (Candlewick, 2012)

Recommended for ages 12 through adult.

In a stunning work of nonfiction for young people, award-winning author Doreen Rappaport has just published an ambitious new work profiling little-known true stories of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust, a book that took her six years to research and write.  Her extensive research for this project included interviews with some of the survivors whose stories are told in this volume.

This is a massive topic for a book for young people, but Rappaport manages to make it comprehensible by dividing her story into discrete sections and concentrating on a selection of individual stories.  The first section, titled Realization, deals with the years up until the beginning of the war, when Hitler came to power.  The second, Saving the Future, discusses brave Jews who smuggled Jewish children to safety in Holland, Belgium, France, and the forests of the Soviet Union.  In part three, Rappaport examines resistance stories from the ghettos, not only the famed Warsaw ghetto uprising, in which a few thousand Jewish fighters held off the might of the Nazi army for nearly a month, but organized escapes from the Vilna ghetto and secret magazines penned by children in Theresienstadt.  Other chapters discuss resistance in the concentration camps and partisan warfare conducted by Jewish resistance fighters against the Nazis.

As Rappaport notes in her introduction, few of these remarkable and heroic stories are known to the general public.  Even in Jewish families, we generally learn that Jews went to the gas chambers like "lambs to the slaughter."  In this volume, she takes pride in showing that stereotype is untrue, and that there were many Jews who defied and resisted the Nazis in a variety of ways.

These many amazing stories include that of 14-year old Idel, who escaped not once but twice from a labor camp in Belorussia, finally succeeding in tunneling out of the camp with the help of other inmates, after which he reaches the partisan Jewish group governed by the Bielskis, who were hiding out in the forest.  Rappaport even includes an incredible story of a revolt of the Sonderkommandos, the Jewish prisoners who were forced to work in the gas chambers and the crematoriums.  Although their elaborately planned revolt ultimately failed, they did succeed in blowing up one crematorium.

Handsomely designed and abundantly illustrated with dozens of archival photographs and maps, both from the war years and after, the book is supplemented with extra material on Rappaport's website, including conversations between the author and some of the survivors she profiles and links to other resources for studying the Holocaust.

Extensive back matter includes:  a pronunciation guide for the many foreign names and words in the text; a timeline of important dates from 1933 when Hitler takes power until the end of the war in 1945; source notes; a selected bibliography of books and websites, organized both as an overview and also chapter by chapter; photography and art credits; and an index.  A study guide for Beyond Courage will soon be available on Rappaport's website.

This book is highly informative and readable for adults as well as students, and definitely belongs in all public and school libraries (at least high school and middle school). I will be incredibly surprised if we don't see this book--a model of outstanding nonfiction writing for young people--recognized during book award season.

Book Review: Jump into the Sky, by Shelley Pearsall (Alfred A. Knopf, 2012)

Recommended for ages 10-14.

In her new historical novel Jump into the Sky, award-winning historical fiction author Shelley Pearsall explores a little known footnote in World War II history--the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, the first black paratrooper unit in the U.S. Army.

The story of the 555th unfolds through the eyes of thirteen-year old Levi, who's been living with his aunt in Chicago while his father serves in a secret Army mission.  It's May, 1945, and the war is drawing to close.  Levi's aunt decides to send him off by train to stay with his father at his dad's last known address, an army post in North Carolina.  Not only does his father not know he's coming, Levi arrives in the Jim Crow South without a clue as to the behavior expected of a "colored boy" and almost gets himself killed for trying to buy a Coke at the wrong store.  And to make things more difficult, his father's unit has been sent all the way to Oregon.  Will Levi have to go back to his aunt, who doesn't want him any more, or will he be able to find his father in Oregon?  And will his father survive the dangerous mission assigned to the 555?

This novel is a powerful story of racism and courage in the not-too-distant days of the Jim Crow South and a segregated American military.  Although the main characters of Levi and his father are fictitious, the novel is carefully researched and many of the incidents described really happened, including the scene at the country store with the Coca Cola.  Moreover, the novel is peppered with colorful real soldiers from the 555th, including "Tiger Ted" Lowry, who once fought Joe Louis in an exhibition match.  An author's note describes how she first learned of this battalion, which was part of a secret operation to protect the U.S. from Japanese balloon bombs.  This balloon bombing strategy of the Japanese is certainly a "truth is stranger than fiction" story.  Pearsall was fortunate to interview a veteran of the unit, Walter Morris.  Further details on the 555th can be found at the unit's website, triplenickle.com.

I would highly recommend this book to middle schoolers looking for a good adventure story that brings a little known part of World War II history to life.

Book Review: Boys of Wartime: Michael at the Invasion of France 1943, by Laurie Calkhoven (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2012)

Recommended for ages 8-12.


Release date:  February 16, 2012


Check out my interview with author Laurie Calkhoven on February 16!


Twelve-year old Michael, a half-American, half-French boy living in Paris, has to grow up quickly when the Nazis invade France in this fast-moving historical fiction novel about World War II.  His brother's been captured and is in a German POW camp, and his father is in England, leaving Michael the man of the house for his mother and little sister.

Despite having to deal with hunger and the intense cold, Michael is determined to fight the Nazis in whatever way possible, and soon is a member of the French resistance.  Michael's assignment is dangerous but important--helping to guide Allied pilots to safe houses so that they can escape and continue to fly missions against Hitler.  But when the Gestapo discovers their cell of resistance fighters, will Michael be able to get his American flier and his family to safety?

This is the third in Calkhoven's excellent historical series Boys of Wartime (the first two novels were set during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War).  Told in the first person, the suspenseful story grabs the reader from the start, and I found the novel difficult to put down.  Michael is a well-rounded character, filled with doubts about his ability to live up to his father's expectations, yet brave and quick on his feet.  The narrative is peppered with telling details of the difficulties of life for ordinary Frenchmen under the Germans, from having to sleep in the Metro station because it was marginally warmer underground to breeding rabbits in the bathtub to have additional food to eat and to trade on the black market.

The author provides a prologue setting the scene for the story, providing easy-to-understand background on the beginnings of World War II and Hitler's Blitzkrieg.  A historical note at the conclusion provides further information on resistance groups, the role of children in the French Resistance, a timeline of the war, a glossary of unfamiliar words, suggestions for further reading about World War II, and brief biographies of some of the historical figures who are mentioned in the novel, such as Charles de Gaulle and Marechal Petain.

While there are many novels for young people about World War II, Calkhoven concentrates on a different angle--the rescue of American and allied airmen who were shot down in German-occupied airmen.  This was a subject I had never read about, and it made a very appealing narrative for young readers, full of danger, suspense, villains and heroes.  I would highly recommend this novel for collections for elementary school students and even for middle school.  The book, while clearly aimed at boys, would appeal to young girls as well who are looking for a story with plenty of action and adventure.



Disclosure:  Review copy provided by publisher.

Book Review: An Elephant in the Garden, by Michael Morpurgo (Feiwel and Friends, 2011)

Recommended for ages 8-12.

British author Michael Morpurgo, who's written more than 100 books for young people, is currently in the limelight as the author of War Horse, the World War I novel on which the current Steven Spielberg film and hit play are based.  His most recent book to be published in the U.S. (October 2011) is another moving story of a family and an animal in wartime, this time set during the Second World War and involving a somewhat more unusual animal--an elephant.

Inspired by historical truth and the author's self-professed love of elephants, this novel tells a story within a story; a young boy named Karl visits his mother at the nursing home where she works in present day England.  He's the only one who takes seriously an elderly woman named Lizzie (Elizabeth) when she tells him about Marlene, the elephant that lived in her garden.  When Karl and his mother sit down to listen, Lizzie spins the extraordinary saga of her life as a young girl in Dresden, at the time of World War II.  Her mother worked at the zoo there, and sought permission from authorities to bring a lonely orphaned elephant to stay with them each night, walking her to and from the zoo each day from the garden outside their home.

When Dresden is fire bombed by a savage Allied air raid attack, Elizabeth takes to the roads along with Mutti (her mother), her little brother, Karli, and their beloved, gentle, and wise four-year old elephant, Marlene, named after movie star idol Marlene Dietrich.  They are joined on the roads by thousands of other bewildered civilian refugees, who have seen their city turned into ashes.  Knowing that the Russians are closing in on Germany from the East and the Allies from the West, the family decides to take its chances with the Americans and the British forces by heading west.

On their journey to safety, they meet Peter, a young Canadian navigator who's been shot down and is being pursued by German police.  Lizzie is consumed with guilt by her immediate attraction to this handsome enemy, and despite the fact that her mother is filled with hatred toward the soldiers who bombed her beautiful city to smithereens, Peter soon becomes a member of their ragtag family.  However, their lives are filled with danger since Peter could be arrested at any moment by German police and sent to a POW camp.  And it's pretty hard to travel without being noticed when you're travelling with an elephant in tow...will Lizzie and her family make it to safety?  And what will happen to Marlene?

The author uses different fonts so that young readers are not confused by the time shifts between Lizzie's story during the war and Lizzie's conversations with Karl and his mother.  At less than 200 pages, this is a quick read for strong readers and a relatively easy book for reluctant readers as well.  The well-paced story is sure to appeal to both those who love animal stories and readers looking for an adventure story or historical fiction.  I particularly admired the way that Morpurgo shows the way the war impacted ordinary German civilians; for example, the rise of Hitler causes a rift between different members of Lizzie's family, some of whom support Hitler and others who think he's an abomination.  We also see  the manner in which the Allied bombings affected everyone, from the children to Peter, the Canadian bomber, who although the enemy, is kind to Lizzie and her family.

Morpurgo is one of the U.K.'s most beloved children's authors, but is not immune to criticism; McDonalds in England is handing out free copies of his books with their Happy Meals, as part of a special promotion for the release of War Horse in England.  Despite the fact that all of Morpurgo's royalties are going to charity, this promotion has been criticized as encouraging childhood obesity (see the article below for further details).

McDonald's UK Switches Out Happy Meal Toys For... (huffingtonpost.com)

Nonfiction Monday Book Review: Irena's Jars of Secrets, by Marcia Vaughan (Lee & Low Books, 2011)

Recommended for ages 8-Adult.

Irena's Jars of Secrets is the second picture book to come out this year on Polish heroine Irena Sendler, a young social worker who rescued over 2,500 Jewish children from under the noses of the Nazi guards in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II (earlier this year I reviewed Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto, by Susan Goldman Rubin).  Both are well-written, worthwhile books, although they cover much of the same territory.

Irena's father, a Polish doctor, taught his daughter that if she ever saw someone drowning, she must jump in, even if she didn't know how to swim.  Irena took his teachings to heart, and when the Polish Jews were forced into the Warsaw ghetto, dying of starvation and disease, she knew she must do something to help.  Dressed as a nurse, she smuggled in food, medicine, and clothes, but that wasn't enough.  Soon she joined the Zegota, a Polish organization established to help the Jews, and started smuggling children out of the ghetto however she could--finding families that would take them in.  She kept careful records of the names of the children and where they went, so that they could be reunited with their parents after the war.  These important notes were hidden in small jars and buried under the apple tree in a friend's garden.

Irena's work was terribly dangerous, and she was eventually arrested by the Gestapo and sentenced to death.  Zegota members managed to rescue her through a bribe, and she continued to work for the resistance until the war ended.  Although Irena was able to retrieve her precious records, very few of the children were able to be reunited with their parents, most of whom had perished in death camps or the ghetto.  Still, relatives were able to be found for some of the children.

Irena's remarkable story was ignored in Poland until very recently, although she was honored in 1965 by Israel's Yad Vashem as one of the Righteous Among Nations, those Gentiles who helped Jews escape the Nazis.  She passed away in 2008 at the age of 98, but as author Marcia Vaughan concludes in her afterword, "her story of caring and courage lives on."

Ron Mazellan's rich oil painting illustrations capture the somber mood of this time period, with dark colors, broad, energetic, brush strokes, and dramatic lighting.

To learn more about Sendler, you may want to watch a documentary about Sendler's life entitled Irena Sendler:  In the Name of their Mothers, which was broadcast on PBS affiliates in May of 2011.  The documentary features some of Sendler's last interviews.

Disclosure:  Review copy provided by NetGalley.

Book Review: Soldier Bear, by Bib Dumon Tak (Eerdmans Books, 2011)

Recommended for ages 8-12.

In this charming novel for children, Dutch author Bibi Dumon Tak fictionalizes the true story of an orphaned Syrian brown bear cub who's adopted by a group of Polish soldiers during World War II, eventually becoming the unit's beloved mascot.  The mischievous bear cub was named Voytek (smiling warrior) by the soldiers.  As the soldiers journeyed through Iran and Iraq on their way to their assignment in Palestine to join their Brtish allies, even the officers softened at the adorable teddy bear of a cub.  But of course, cute little cubs soon grow big, and Voytek soon is getting into plenty of trouble, especially with the resident monkey, Kaska, who loved to throw stones, sand, or whatever she could find at poor Voytek's head.  But that wasn't the whole menagerie that followed the soldiers around; there was also a dog named Stalin, who Kaska liked to hitch rides on, and a dalmatian who loved to romp around with the bear.

Tak writes about the soldiers and their animal friends with such good humor that I found myself laughing out loud at their antics, especially touching in the middle of a war.  When the soldiers are sent to supply Allied troops in Italy, Voytek takes his place helping to move live artillery shells, when he's not stealing food from the cook or sliding up and down cranes like an acrobat, stopping traffic as soldiers stopped to cheer him on.

While a story of a tamed bear who's goodnaturedly given chocolate, beer, and cigarettes isn't quite "politically correct" for today's American audience, I was charmed by the story of Voytek, his animal friends, and the soldiers who loved them in the middle of wartime.  The book is greatly enriched by the pencil drawings of Dutch illustrator Philip Hopman, which perfectly capture the humor and pathos of the story.  Any animal lover will be delighted by the story of lonely soldiers, little more than boys themselves, cuddling up at night with a furry bear, who liked to suck on their fingers at night as a sort of human pacifier.

The conclusion of the book includes some photographs of Voytek with his soldier buddies, as well as an afterword about Voytek's true story.

For more on Voytek and his soldier friends, see this website set up by the son of one of the soldiers from Voytek's unit.  The website offers plenty of photos of the real bear as well, including this one:

Book Review: Caleb's Wars, by David L. Dudley (Clarion Books, 2011)

Recommended for ages 12 and up.


Caleb's Wars, released last month by Clarion Books, is an intriguing teen historical novel set in the Jim Crow South during World War II.  As the novel begins, two new businesses are opening in 15-year-old Caleb's rural Georgia town:  a new restaurant for whites only, the Dixie Belle, and a POW camp for captured Germans, brought to Georgia to do farm work and replace Americans in the service overseas.  Author David Dudley paints a harsh but undoubtedly true-to-life picture of life for African-Americans at the time.  Caleb has to act carefully around the white people in the town, making sure not to offend anyone or even look a white man directly in the eye.  His family life's no piece of cake either.  His father whips him for disobeying and getting into a fight with some white boys from the town.  "Don't you know by now that white folks'd just as soon kill you as look at you?" he tells Caleb.  His brother's in the military, in the segregated army, and about to be sent overseas, and his mother takes solace in her faith.  Against his father's wishes, Caleb takes a job working at the new whites-only restaurant, where he works washing dishes along with the African-American kitchen workers and a German POW, Andreas, who's been assigned to the restaurant. Caleb can't help but be drawn to the friendly young German, who's supposed to be the enemy.  But when German POW's are allowed to eat at the Dixie Belle, where he and his friends can't be served, it's more than Caleb can take.  How will he come to terms with the many contradictions in his life?  

This novel mixes historical fiction with Christian themes as well, sometimes in a way that seems a bit uneasy.  Toward the beginning of the story, Caleb, largely to please his very religious mother, agrees to be baptized.  During the ceremony, and again after, he hears a voice saying "Behold my servant."  Is it the voice of God?  Caleb is as shocked as anyone, and thinks the whole thing is a practical joke by one of his friends.  But when Caleb is able to mysteriously heal the crippled hands of an elderly man, what exactly does it mean?  Is Caleb now a prophet of sorts?  This religious aspect of the story is never fully developed, and seems to fit awkwardly with the historical fiction themes.

Despite its flaws, I found the book stimulating reading that could provoke interesting discussions for a book group or book talk.   One caveat:  Dudley does not shirk from using the "n" word in his dialogue, which of course was widely used at the time this book is set and is historically appropriate.

Disclosure:  review copy provided by publisher.

From the Backlist: For Freedom: The Story of a French Spy, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (Delacorte Press, 2003)

      Recommended for ages 10-14 

The Fourth Musketeer has been very busy finishing up her library school e-portfolio (now waiting for review by her advisor) and has not had as much time for blogging lately.  Now that her school work is finished, she will be back to blogging about historical fiction again:  all for one, and one for all!

Today, I am pleased to feature an excellent backlist title about World War II by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.  I am looking forward to reading her newest book, Jefferson's Sons (on my list to find from the library!), which has had excellent reviews so far. 

Based on a true story, For Freedom tells the tale of 13-year old Suzanne, an aspiring opera singer and student in Cherbourg, France.  When the Germans bomb her town, she and her best friend are injured and witness the horrible death of a neighbor.  Rather than give in to fear, Suzanne becomes a spy for the French resistance, carrying messages that help the Allies plan the invasion of Europe.  Her work is extremely dangerous and often terrifying, and she is one of the few operatives from her unit to survive the war.  Not even her family can know about her dangerous work.

This novel is an excellent first-person narrative of an ordinary teenager who discovers an inner courage that helps her to play a part in defeating the Nazis, even though she must keep her role a secret from all her family and friends and pretend to carry on as normally as possible.  This novelization of a true story is very suspenseful and a great book to recommend to students since it has a very positive message of how a young girl could demonstrate great courage in extraordinary circumstances.

This book could easily be featured in a display or perhaps a book talk about spies, a subject very popular with young people.  Couldn't you just imagine: Beyond James Bond:  Spies Real and Imaginary.  A great book talk for teens or tweens!  

What are some of your favorite spy stories for young people?  Please leave your favorites in a comment below.