Esperanza Rising

by Pam Munoz Ryan

I can't say it better than the back of the book, so I'm not even going to try. "Esperanza thought she'd always live with her family on their ranch in Mexico--she'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, and servants. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard labor, financial struggles, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When their new life is threatened, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances--Mama's life, and her own, depend on it."

Audience: 5th grade and up

What I Love:
1. All the characters are relateable
2. Debunking of stereotypes about Latinos (ie being uneducated)
3. A wonderful story about growing up

Cautions:
This book deals with grief and persecution of migrant workers

Follow the Drinking Gourd

by Jeanette Winter

The story of a family making their way to freedom from a slave plantation with the help of "Peg Leg Joe" and the underground railroad.  The one thing they need to remember is to "Follow the drinking gourd" or big dipper's north star.

Audience: anyone old enough to learn about the underground railroad

What I Love:
1. The historical concepts
2. The sheet music
3. The happy ending

Cautions: The music for "Follow the Drinking Gourd" was first published in 1928.  It's suspected such a song was used on the underground railroad, but the version in the book was not.

Chicken Sunday

by Patricia Polacco

This sweet story is about a young Jewish girl growing up in the South.  When her own grandmother dies she is initiated into a black family.  She goes to church each Sunday with her new grandmother and brothers, then they come home for "Chicken Sunday."  The kids decide they want to ask  Mr. Kozinski for the the hat, but are accused of vandalism.  The children work to earn the full price and learn more about life from Mr. Kozinski than they ever realized they didn't know, and watch his heart soften in the process.

Audience:Anyone around 7 should enjoy the story, and I used it with my 3rd graders for independent reading

What I Love:

This is a real life story.  Good intentions go awry, and sometimes people aren't nice.  This is a story of persevering in spite of that.  This is also a beautiful family story about self-less love.

Cautions:

Nazi death camps are alluded to, but never explicitly stated. The tatoo is visible on Mr. Kozinski's arm

Wonderstruck

by Brian Selznick

Wonderstruck starts out about a little boy in 1977 who has lost his mother.  Unsure how to cope living with relatives that seem to feel more obligation to take him in than actual love, he goes back to the house he and his mother shared.  He is on the phone when it is struck by lightning and becomes deaf.  As we are learning pieces of his story the prose (words) will stop and pictures will tell the story of a deaf girl in 1927 who feels very trapped, finding solace in following the career of actress Lilyan Mayhew.  I spent the whole book entranced by both characters and wondering how they could possibly be connected.  When I found out, I was delighted and touched.

Audience:
About 3rd grade.  It is a really thick book, but so much of the story is told with only pictures that reading it won't be a problem for younger children.

What I Love:
The title of this book is very fitting.  It comes in the text from Ben (the little boy) reading a book about how the purpose of museums is to leave someone 'wonderstruck' but expands to include the wonder of discovering the world and oneself.  It is about feeling lost and alone, then finding a friend and becoming part of something more than yourself.

I don't think I have any words for the pictures, they are gorgeous and they really are worth a thousand words each:

Cautions:
This story is meandering at best.  There are several ideas that aren't really tied together in the end-the idea of museums and the idea of reaching higher than oneself for instance.  I think the author purposely left out a few conclusions to allow the audience to decide what certain things mean.

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

by Jean Lee Latham

Nat Bowditch is a little known American historical figure around the time of the Revolutionary War.  The book starts out with Nat as a child excited about school and especially about his best subject: Math.  Unfortunately Nat's career in school is short lived due to his family's poverty.  At 12 he is indentured to a Chandler (someone who sells everything a ship would need) and has to give up all dreams of further schooling.  In his job at the Chandlery Nat learns every thing he possibly can get his mind around on any and every subject.  Eventually Nat becomes a skilled navigator and spends most of his time teaching others the art.  Along the course of his teaching, Nat finds the charts they currently use are riddled with errors leading to the loss of ships and sets out to publish The New American Practical Navigator still known as the Sailor's Bible today.

Audience
5th and 6th grad boys will love it best.  This book will be perfect for anyone who loves Johnny Tremaine.

What I Love:
1) I love this book's view of education.  Nat was heartbroken about not returning to school, but educated himself to the extent that he was awarded an honorary Harvard degree.
2)I like that Nat took accountability for everything in his life and bettered his circumstance instead of complaining,
3) The title is taken from an oft repeated line by Nat's captain, Captain Price.  I love when adults are shown as wise and caring.  His support enabled Nat's legacy.

American Girl

Various Authors

This is another set that reads differently to children than adults.  They are all about pre-teen (9-11 year old) girls at different points in American history.  When I grew up there was just Felicity, Kristen, Molly, Addy, and Samantha.  I'll do my best to outline all the current ones here.

Addy-She and her mother escape slavery, leaving the other half of the family behind

Felicity-Lives with her grandmother in the American Colonies.  She must decide where she stands in regards to the war for independence

Molly-Molly is an irrepressible girl struggling on the homefront of World War II

Kristen-A Sweedish immigrant in the midwest during the 1800's

Samantha-A young Victorian lady who struggles between societal expectations and her own vivacious nature.

Josephina- A Mexican American girl during the Spanish American War who struggles to find her own culture

Kit- The trials of the Great Depression are the perfect place for Kit to stretch her imagination and see what she can do with the world around her

Caroline is afraid of being separated from her father during the War of 1812, but determines not to let it happen

Julie-in the face of her parent's divorce, Julie struggles to follow her dreams amid the sexism of the 1970s

Ivy Ling- an American Girl of the 1970s must decide how to incorporate the traditions from her rich past with her dreams of the future

Rebecca moved from Russia to the land of opportunity in 1914, but finds that being Jewish in America leads to other problems and unexpected joys for her and her family

Kaya, a Native American from the Naz Perez tribe loves her fast horse, but quickly learns that bragging will get in the way of everything she wants to do in life and in racing

Marie-Grace lives in 1853 New Orleans.  Amid the flurry of color and spectacle she dreams of being a singer, but how can she overcome her shyness and pursue a life on stage?

Audience
These are great first chapter books.  As soon as the child has mastered something like Frog and Toad are Friends or Magic Tree House is a great time to introduce your daughter/student to the American Girls

What I Love:
1) The stories feel genuine to me, very natural as opposed to feeling contrived or made up
2) The struggles of these girls pull at my heartstrings.  Things like trying to keep a family together and fear of an uncertain future
3) There's always a 'Looking Back' section at the end of each book to give a true picture of historical fact
4) The setting is pretty accurate to history without the Looking Back section

Cautions:
1) There are lots of pictures (appropriate for a first chapter book)
2) Each girl deals with real issues (i.e. slavery, child labor)
3) I've never known a little boy to get enthused about these.  Almost all the characters are girls.
4) There is a booming franchise of expensive dolls and doll accessories to go with every character, and your girl will almost definitely want them after reading the books.

All the girl's stories follow this same format:
Meet Addy: An American Girl
Addy Learns a Lesson: A School Story
Addy's Surprise: A School Story
Happy Birthday Addy: A Springtime Story
Addy Saves the Day: A Summer Story
Changes for Addy: A Winter Story

*Note: I've done one American Girl from each time period.  Now the series includes two girls from each period, one from a privileged class and one from the underclass of the day

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

by Joe Steptoe

This is a Cinderella story with an African twist.  There are two sisters (Mufaro's beautiful daughters) who are the fairest of all the women of the village.  The elder is selfish and spoiled, while the younger is kind and good.  When the prince comes to choose a bride, the elder sets out to make sure she is chosen.  It backfires and the story leads to poetic justice for all involved.

Audience:
Preschool through 3rd.  It's a little too cliche above that.

What I Love:
1) The illustrations are great.
2) The message about kindness never gets old

Cautions:
1) It is cliche, your average Cinderella story.
2) The dad falls into the "stupid adult" category
3) I don't know if this really is an African folk tale or a European one dressed up in different colors

Knots on a Counting Rope

by Bill Martin Jr. and Ted Rand

I'm just going to copy and paste the ALA review here-It's more eloquent than I would be.  

Boy-Strength-of-Blue-Horses begs his grandfather to tell him again the story of the night he was born. In a question-and-answer litany, the boy and his grandfather share the telling of the events on that special nightthe wild storm; the frantic ride for the grandmother/midwife; the birth of the frail, sickly boy; and the blessings of the blue horses.- Karen K. Radtke, Milwaukee Public Library

Audience 

The website says Kindergarten thru 4th grade.  I'd stick with late kindergarten.  I think 5th graders would still be into this book.

What I Love:

1) The illustrations are gorgeous and gripping.  They tell the story as much as the words.

2) I love the portrayal of a successful disabled character.

3) The voices of the grandfather and boy are distinct and interesting

4) This story is heartwarming and can lead to so many interesting conversations

Cautions:

1) This story is told from a Native American voice and perspective

2) It tackles the tough issue of children with disabilities.  But I recommend it above any other disabled child book I've ever read.

Encounter

Jane Yolen

This is the story of a Native American (Taino) boy whose tribe encounters the White Man-specifically Columbus and his crew.  His people are excited about the new people and new things, but the boy has a horrible feeling about them.

Audience
I read this to 3rd graders and they understood.  I think anyone up through adults could enjoy it.

Why I Love This Book
1) The pictures.  They are beautiful and captivating.  They are also important to story telling.
2) The narrator's voice is amazing.  I can believe it's a child, but he is a reliable narrator
3) Every detail is completely believable, and the story is as historically accurate as possible

Caution
1) This is about the harm of the Columbian exchange
2) Though discrete, it does mention war crimes

Because of Winn-Dixie

Because of Winn-Dixie

by Kate DiCamillo

When I started doing literature circles with my students, I thought they wanted action packed, exciting books.  This book is not action packed or exciting, yet it is my students' favorite.  It is the story of a ten year old girl and her single father moving to a new town.  The father is burried in work, and one day sends Opal to get groceries for him.  While she is in Winn-Dixie grocery store, she finds a dog she names Winn-Dixie.  With a dog for a constant companion Opal feels a little less lonely.  Soon she gets to know the people of the town.  She learns that Miss Franny Block has the best stories and she is lonely too.  She learns that Amanda Wilkerson has a reason she always looks sad.  Most of all, she learns that she can heal from her own heartache.

Audience
I loved this book.  My third graders cannot get enough of it.  The reading level is probably closer to 4th grade, but I think this is the perfect age to start with it.

What I Love About This Book
I was crying when I read it.  What a beautiful story.  I loved that in the end Opal learned that her dad needs her just as much as she needs him.  This book focuses a lot on how we all have burdens, and the joy that comes from sharing them with good friends.  All the characters and relationships are different, but there is a sweetness and innocence to the whole story.

Cautions
Abandonment is a major theme, and alcoholism is mentioned a few times

Pink and Say

by Patricia Polacco

This is the story of a young soldier (Say) who is shot in the stomach and saved by a black soldier his own age days later.  The black soldier Pinkus, or Pink, takes Say to his own home to recover.  Say recovers physically, he is terrified to go into battle again.  Moe, Pink's mom, assures Say that this is natural and he is not a coward.  Before he is faced with the final choice the house is attacked.  Say is wounded again, though not as bad this time, and Pink is taken to a POW camp, supposedly as he is never heard from after that.  The author's note at the end says that Say was her own great-great-grandfather.  The book is dedicated to Pink for his selfless sacrifice.

Audience
Not for little kids.  I would only read this with my 3rd graders if I was there to talk to them about it and help them understand.  Palacco writes for older children, more of the 5th grade and up variety.

What I Love About This Book
It shows two people bonding over shared pain.  Though the boys are from opposing sides of a war, we get to see that they are both good

Cautions
Again, not for young children.  This book has violence, and even though it is not graphic I think some aspects of war would need to be explained

Anne of Green Gables

by L. M. Montgomery
I grew up with this series, both the movies and the books.  I love the movies, but they leave out a few characters from the books, and I love her more each time I come in contact with her.  Anne is an orphan accidentally adopted by Mathew and Marilla Cuthbert.  They were expecting a boy and got a girl that was certainly one of a kind.  This book follows a turn of the century Canadian redhead through the ups and downs of her life.  From being the new girl to challenges in friendships, to first dances and everything in between I love it all.  I love how ordinary the facts of Anne's life are.  If I were to spell it out, it would be typical of the time period and not rare today.  What makes this story special is the world Anne creates around her.  Like Pollyanna, she takes the grumpy, ordinary world around her and makes it into her dream, bringing others with her.

Audience
Girls 8 and up should understand the story.  The reading level is quite high, around 8th grade, but I would recommend reading it aloud to younger children if you have the chance

What I Love About These Books
I love Anne.  She is so spunky and funny.  I relate to her, being both a talker and a dreamer myself. I also feel my mother is similar to Marilla Cuthbert in a lot of ways.  I love all the enchanting people she loves, and I love getting to know the less enchanting people she learns to love.  Her adventures keep me in stitches and warm my heart.  I also want to marry someone like Gilbert Blythe.  Just a handsome doctor who has adored me for years, is that too much to ask?

Cautions
Just that this book is hard to read.  It was written over 100 years ago in Eastern Canada, so the language is slightly different.  The rest is entirely appropriate

Series
Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Avonlea
Anne of the Island
Anne of Windy Poplars
Anne's House of Dreams
Anne of Ingleside

The Little Princess

by Francis Hodgeson Burnett

This has been a favorite of mine since before I can remember.  Sara Crew is her father's darling, but now that he is off to war, they must leave their home in India and Sara must start at boarding school.  Even at her young age, she sees the injustice of her having so much and does her best to remedy it.  She sees the good in everyone and draws all kind people to her.  She imagines a better world and does her best to tell her friends about it, and to live in it as much as she can.  Then one day she learns that her father is dead and she is destitute.  In one moment she goes from being the parlour boarder to being a scullery maid.  Now she must draw on all her powers of imagination to survive.  Now she really can see if she has the ability to imagine a better place.

Audience
I'd recomend the audio to 3rd graders and the book to 4th graders.  This is definetly a girls book

What I Love About This Book

I always wanted to be like Sara, but more than that I wanted a friend like her.  I could relate to Sara more in poverty than in the beginning, but I have always had a place in my heart for Ermingaurde and Lottie.  This story gives me hope in trials and makes me happy.  I love how Sara grows and I love how everyone else becomes better just for being around her

Cautions

The descriptions of child mistreatment and of deprivation are fairly graphic.  Also, if you are used to the Liesel Mathews movie, this does not end the same.  The movie ending is happier and tidier, but I still like the ending of the book because it seemed more real to me.

Number the Stars

by Lois Lowry
Danish Annemarie and her friend Ellen are racing home one day when stopped by a German soldier.  They are on all the street corners these days, the Nazi occupation of Denmark, so the girls think it's no big deal.  Their parents feel otherwise, especially when they are told a few days later that the Jewish Ellen must go into hiding with Annemarie's family.  They will take her to their Grandpa's farm on the coast, and from there get her to safety in Sweden.  Annemarie now has to become aware of the courage of her family and the evils of the soldiers occupying her land.  The courage of one little girl may not be much in the big war, but it can be enough to save her friend.

Audience

I read it in 7th grade and loved it.  My friend read it in 3rd and loved it.  I really do think that 5th might be the best option, especially since that is the age of the heroine.

What I Love About This Book
This book doesn't even touch on concentration camps.  It is the triumph of the Danish people in choosing the safety of their Jewish people over their pride as a country.  It's the courage of the resistance fighters in persevering through danger and tragedy to save so many lives

Cautions
The end of this book is bittersweet.  Some characters live to the end of the story, some do not.  It is an accurate representation of the challenges in occupied Denmark through the eyes of a child.

Little Women

by Louisa Mayy Alcott
This book is part of our consiousness.  Every person should at least have heard of it.  The plot is very simple.  It is how four sisters grow from childhood to adulthood.  Most of all it focuses on Jo, whose dreams seem too big for her realities.  She wants to be a writer, an actor, something creative that will make the worls notice her.  Under the loving care of a watchful Marmee, all the girls learn who they really are and how to find what they want in life.

What I Love About this Book

There are so many coming of age stories out there, but what makes this one special is that it is 4 girls coming of age.  I think every girl can latch onto one or two of the main characters.  The sisters are so different and want entirely different lives, yet are bound together in love.  I think the fact that Louisa May Alcot wrote from her own life gives this book power.  I found myself in these pages constantly and still do sometimes.  There is humor and there is tragedy.  I love that every crisis is met with faith and love.  This book doesn't pull punches on how hard life can be, it just reminds us of the light at the end of the tunnel

Cautions

This book was writen during Civil War times.  The war is alluded to, but never really discussed.  Transendentalism and temperence are also mentioned and it's helpful to have a knowledge of those concepts.  The book does not focus on religion, but it does mention it in a positive light, showing both Protestent and Catholic faith at its' heart

Tuck Everlasting

by Natalie Babbitt

Winnie Foster runs to the woods to escape her oppressive life around the turn of the century.  She finds a Jesse Tuck in her woods drinking from a stream and starts questioning him.  When she cannot be deflected from her curiosity she is kidnapped by the Tuck family, who is more sorry about her kidnapping than she is.  She learns the secret of the Tucks-they have been immortal ever since they drank from the spring.  Now she has the choice to follow in their footsteps and some time to decide.  She examines each member of the family and their different views on life.  Jesse very much wants her to drink the water when she gets older.  Ma Tuck is so happy just to have a girl in her life once again.  Miles and Pa Tuck share the broken hearts they've had because of their immortality.  Winnie finds friendship and freedom for the first time with the Tucks, but is that worth giving up one's place in the cycle of the world?

Audience3rd-5th grade

What I Love About This Book

After reading so many sensational novels, it was a breath of fresh air to read this sweet little story about choices and belonging.  This is a gently paced book with a special sweetness I haven't found very often.  The moral is something to think about.  I will always have a soft spot in my heart for this book.

Cautions

SPOILER!!!! The moral is that life is valuable because it is so short.  Death is presented as being necessary to life.  Immortality is portrayed as a misery.

Belle Praters Boy

by Ruth White
Gypsy does not know her cousin Wodrow very well, but that changes when he moves in next door to live with their shared grandparents.  He's cross eyed and has coke bottle glasses.  And those coveralls are their own disaster.  Gypsy is determined to know what Wodrow knows about his mother's disappearance.  As she gets to know him,  she laughs at his mischief and at herself for joining in.  As they become close, they prove to the world that he is more than just "Belle Prater's Boy" and she has courage and a fire all her own.

What I Love About This Book

Whenever I've had my heart broken, and I mean really broken, I pull this book off the shelf and gather courage and perspective from it's pages.  I love the way heavy topics are handled.  It's not avoided, and the book does not pretend that real pain can be "made better" with just a little understanding.  When the book ends the children are not necessarily healed, but they are at peace.  As serious as this book gets, there are plenty of childhood antics that keep me in stitches.  The voices of the characters, as well as their coping strategies ring true to me as a teacher of children that age.

Cautions: SPOILERS

1) The book is about Gypsy coming to terms with her father's suicide

2) It's also about Wodrow coming to terms with his mother's abandonment

Sarah, Plain and Tall

This is the story of a mail-order-bride who comes from Maine and her beloved ocean to the Midwest prairies of Kansas to meet a farmer and his two young children.  She finds the love Jacob has for his deceased wife is still strong, and he finds that Sarah will never stand for being merely a replacement.  The couple grow in love for each other, as well as for the children and the beautiful, if unforgiving farmland they live on.

Audience

3-5th grade.  This series is very simple, lacking some of the character exploration and ambiguity of young adult fiction.  They are short and sweet.

What I Love About These Books
For some reason this love story speaks to me.  I love heroines like Sarah that don't wait for life to happen to them.  Sarah knows she needs a change and makes it happen.  I love that Jacob is strong and intelligent enough to let her be herself.  Some people find the simplicity of the story boring.  I find it comforting.  It seems to me that a child could comprehend the story, but as an adult reader I understand so much more than I did before and relate on a whole new level

Caution
1) This book is not action packed.  Many children nowadays would find it slow.

Series
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Skylark
Caleb's Story
More Perfect Than the Moon

The Secret Garden

I am remiss in not reviewing The Secret Garden until now.  This book centers around ten year old Mary Lenox and the day she finds her parents have died of Cholera.  She is taken to her uncle Archibald Craven in England on the moors of Yorkshire.  She goes from having everything she could want (outside of human contact) to a world alien to everything she ever knew.  The people around her now don't put up with her whining and temper tantrums, but they genuinely care about her, and she comes to enjoy them.  Eventually she meets Colin Craven, who has lived as sheltered and spoiled a life as herself.  Together they find the "secret garden" that Colins' mother had loved and together breathe life and love into it.  As they work to make the garden live again, they find their hearts filled with all the love and hope they ever wanted and more.

Audience

I think an eight year old would be safe with the content.  The language is a little old, so probably fifth grade reading level.  The book was written for girls, but all the boys I know have loved it just as much.  I loved it the first time I read it, and still find new things to ponder on each rereading.

What I Love About This Book

Where do I even start?  I always donate this book to battered women's and children's shelters.  The message is taking one of taking your life into your own hands, and filling it with beauty.  I love watching Mary emerge from her shell.  I love the whole message that when you give love, you find yourself filled with love.  The theme statement of the whole book is: Where you tend a rose, a thistle cannot grow.  Every time we add something positive to our lives, or simply maintain the good, that is a space where evil, negativity, and darkness will never find root.

Cautions

1) In talking to others, it seems they did not fall in love with this book unless they knew it as a child.  I can't imagine a world where I didn't know "The Secret Garden."

2) There is some talk of the supernatural.  It is never defined as being God or Indian magic, but both are hinted at.

3) It could be argued this book is slow.  Mary and Colin finding life is the story, there is no surprising little plot twist.