Historical Fiction!

The link below will take you to a document that features four reviews for historical fiction books.

Historical Fiction Assignment 4

Summaries for each book in the historical fiction collection:

Bartoletti, S. C. (2005). Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler’s shadow. New York: Scholastic.

The Hitler Youth was the Nazi Party’s way to include and indoctrinate the children of Germany into conforming to their anti-Semitic philosophy.  What started off as a voluntary organization soon transformed into a required activity.  German children endured intense physical training, learned to operate military equipment, and spent time away from home to acquire the skills and knowledge that the Nazis deemed imperative to the country’s success.  These children were so brainwashed by Hitler’s ideals that they would rat out their own family members for comments or acts not in line with Nazi goals and directives.

Curtis, C.P. (1995). The Watsons go to Birmingham—1963. New York: Delacorte Press.

Middle child Kenny Watson has it a little rough in his 1960s life in Flint, Michigan.  He has a lazy eye, an arrogant and increasingly rebellious older brother named Byron, a little sister to look after, and an affinity for reading.  When Byron’s teenage rebellion gets to be more than his parents can handle, they decide to have him spend some time with his maternal grandmother down south in Alabama.  The whole family travels by car without incident but when they get there, Kenny soon realizes that the racial climate is quite different than what he is used to back home.

Nelson, K. (2008). We are the ship: The story of Negro League baseball. New York: Hyperion.

Because blacks were not allowed to play baseball with whites, they formed their own leagues, teams, and venues starting in the 1920s.  Some of the players were legendary as were their managers.  Despite unfair conditions and lackluster pay, they played the game they dearly loved.  Some of these men played with such skill they were unrivaled by their white counterparts.  As time went on, conditions started to improve.  Some layers even traveled to Cuba to play ball where they were met with a more pleasant atmosphere.  Finally, Jackie Robinson broke the barrier and initiated integration with white teams.

Schlitz, L.A. (2007) Good masters! Sweet ladies! Voices from a medieval village. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.

The lives of the various members of a medieval village intertwine in ways one would not expect.  All have various responsibilities and different perspectives on their lives.  Not only to the poor and hardworking children wrestle with their plight, but children of wealthy families have their own issues with which they struggle.  The book shows that life is not always pleasant, that there are people who are hungry, who are abused, whose parents have died and that no matter how bad you think your life is, someone else is worse off than you.

Realistic Fiction!

The link below will take you to a file in which I have analyzed six realistic fiction novels for the evaluative criteria of character, plot, setting, theme, style, and gender or culture.

Realistic Fiction Assignment 3

Summaries of each book in the realistic fiction collection:

Cleary, B. (1983). Dear Mr. Henshaw. New York: Morrow Junior Books.

Leigh is a sixth grade boy who really enjoys the work of author, Boyd Henshaw.  Letters written to the author explain the events happening in Leigh’s life.  Leigh’s father, a truckdriver, appears in his life sporadically since the divorce and his mother struggles to make ends meet with her job at a catering company.  Leigh deals with kids stealing his delicious lunches and becomes upset when he learns that his father’s attention is focused on forming a new family.  At point Leigh abandons writing to Mr. Henshaw exclusively in favor of journaling about his life. 

 Draper, S. (2010). Out of my mind. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Wheelchair-bound Melody has cerebral palsy and has struggled to communicate her thoughts and feelings her entire life.  Her disability prevents others from knowing just how intelligent she is.  Melody rises from being treated like a baby in school to competing on the academic team in fifth grade due to some changes in class structure and technology.  After practicing hard for the academic team’s state competition, she misses the opportunity to participate because the flight is cancelled and no one informs her.  Melody’s streak of stubbornness the next school day leads to near-tragic event for Melody’s family.

Lord, C. (2008) Rules. New York: Scholastic.

Catherine, a twelve-year old girl, must establish rules for her autistic little brother, David.  She longs to live a “normal” life.  A new girl, Kristi, moves in next door and Catherine sees this as a perfect opportunity to make the friend she’s always wanted.  At one of David’s therapy appointments, Catherine meets Jason, a boy with cerebral palsy with whom she starts a friendship.  Wanting to maintain her friendship with Kristi, she tries to hide her brother’s issues and feelings for Jason.  Eventually, she learns to except David and Jason’s differences.

Pastis, S. (2013). Timmy Failure: Mistakes were made. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.

Timmy Failure is a kid whose academic performance in school is less than desirable.  His school woes are  probably largely due in part to his focus on a less than effective detective agency run by himself and one polar bear named Total.  Timmy is also bent on bringing down his rival, Corrina and many of the shenanigans he which he finds himself taking part are related to this mission.  Meanwhile, his mother is dating a guy whom Timmy is not fond, only exacerbating Timmy’s issues.

Paterson, K. (1977). Bridge to Terabithia. New York: HarperCollins.

Jess Aarons is the sole boy in a family of girls who is made to do the bulk of the work and receives no gratitude from his mother or father.  He seeks acceptance from his classmates by training to be the fastest runner in his grade level, but that all changes when a new girl, Leslie moves in next door and the two become friends.  Together they create a little secret spot in the woods near their homes to escape their daily realities.  Tragedy strikes on a day Jess thinks will be his best day ever.

Urban, L. (2007). A crooked kind of perfect. New York: Scholastic.

Zoe wants to play the piano more than anything.  Unfortunately, the wrong sales person preyed upon her timid father and she wound up with an organ.  She learns to play and practices well enough to earn her instructor’s recommendation of competing in a recital.  Along the way she grows apart from her childhood best friend and befriends what she thought was the school bully, Wheeler and the two develop a close friendship.  At her first ever competition, she places fourth.  Her parents buy her a piano to celebrate her success.