The Slave Dancer

The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox won the Newbery Medal in 1974. It was recommended to me by Rondrea in 1997. I read it this week - finally.

Rondrea...what a girl! Fierce, loving, smiling! Too bad she was my student for only a year!

This book tells the story of Jessie, a 13-year-old boy from New Orleans who is kidnapped by sailors because he can play a fife. The captain of their ship needs a boy who plays music. Jessie learns that the music will not be for the men, but for the Africans that the ship will bring back to sell as slaves. When the Africans are brought up out of the hold for exercise, Jessie is to play and they are to "dance."

Jessie hates almost everything about being on the ship. They live in constant filth, stench, hunger, and thirst. They are at the mercy of the winds and weather, and the Captain and his mates. They must avoid other ships because slave trade is illegal. If found by the English or Americans, they will have to dump their slave cargo. At book's end, there are only two people left.

I have read some of the criticism of this book. There are some who are bothered by the way the blacks are called a few times. Certain characters in the book also show racism towards the blacks. I can understand why this bothers people, but if a novel of truly historical fiction is going to be written, then it needs to accurately show that which would have been true at the time. The truth of the past is sometimes ugly and hurtful, but that doesn't mean it is meant to be the truth of the present. You can't just edit the truth because children will be reading it.

Paula Fox herself said, "One thing is certain: the criteria for artistry and integrity must be every bit as high in books for children as for adults. We must never, ever try to pull the wool over children's eyes by "watering down" powerful stories. Contrary to popular belief, children are not easily fooled; they know if a story is authentic, or not. And for this they deserve our respect and the best literature that can be made available.

I would hope that children who read this book are abhorred by it, that it causes them to look at themselves and desire to live and think differently than the characters in the book. My concern is that kids will open up this book and not read very much before becoming disinterested. The book is extremely well-written. But if you are looking to read something that will not require you to work at it, then you should read something else. In my opinion, the best literature is not only that which engages you, but forces you to work at learning what resides within!

West Against the Wind

As I recall, it was towards the end of my first year teaching. Summer was approaching, and I was looking forward to having more time to read for pleasure. (This ended up being a joke because a wedding, honeymoon, and moving into a new place took up quite a bit of time.)

I decided to ask my students for any book recommendations. I only remember two of them. My next review will be the second book, but I not only received a recommendation for West Against the Wind by Liza Ketchum Murrow, I received a copy of it. I finally read it, and now I know why Matthew gave it to me. The main character's last name was the same as my maiden name.

Abby and her mother and brother are heading west to California, where her father has been panning for gold. They travel with her uncle and aunt, and ultimately, a young man who they meet and who is very close-mouthed about why he is traveling west. He finally shares that he is looking for his defiant sister who has gone off with an older man, and yet is not married to him. It is feared that she is being treated harmfully.

Along the way, they deal with Abby's aunt's pregnancy, Indians, sickness, and death. They don't have the food or the strength to cross the mountains when they come to them, and the weather is not cooperating either. And to top it off, they really aren't sure how they will find Father when they get to California, or if he is even still alive - it has been that long since they've heard from him.

There is nothing really spectacular about this book, but there's nothing really wrong with it either. I was a little disappointed after I read it, but that was my own fault for building it up in my head all these years. Hopefully the second student-recommended book will be better!

The Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz

For the last many weeks, I've been reading the eight books of the Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz: Stormbreaker, Point Blank, Skeleton Key, Eagle Strike, Scorpia, Ark Angel, Snakehead, and Crocodile Tears.

I remember years ago when Stormbreaker was first released. Our school was having a Scholastic Book Fair, and the promo video described Stormbreaker. I was very interested, and I went on to purchase the book. But like so many on my shelves, it has had to wait its turn to be read. Zack was my first student to recommend Alex Rider, and Andrew and Samantha have been the most recent. I must say I wholeheartedly agree with them.

Anthony Horowitz has written a very likable character in Alex Rider, a 14-year-old English boy who has already lost his parents and now loses his uncle to death. Alex learns that his uncle was a secret agent working for MI6 - British Intelligence. Alex is recruited to help MI6 - not only has his uncle been surreptitiously training him for intelligence work by teaching him skills such as scuba diving and martial arts, but Alex would never be suspected as a agent because he is so young.

I was pleased that this series is so clean - almost squeaky! That doesn't mean it isn't without its killing. This is espionage and there are bad guys. But I was glad that in this day and age to find an author who can write without putting so much of what "sells" to teens now. This series would engage both boys and girls and adults, too. I've got something to put on my Christmas list - I want to make sure I have this series on the shelf for my boys when they are older.

Hopefully, Anthony Horowitz has a few more Alex Rider adventures percolating!

The One Left Behind

I'm going to keep this simple - The One Left Behind is one book that you should leave behind. Here are the final words that Scholastic wrote on the back of the book:

"In her final book, Willo Davis Roberts proves once again why she is considered one of the greatest mystery writers for young readers. The One Left Behind is a haunting tale of love, loss, and - ultimately - hope."

Hello, Scholastic! Whoever wrote those words deserves a bonus! That's some real salesmanship there. (If you did not read those words with sarcasm, please go back and read them again. There....that was better.)

I've got nothing to which I can compare this book. I've never read anything else written by Willo Davis Roberts. I wouldn't have even read this book had it not been given to me. And don't get me wrong - this book is wholesome, doesn't cause me concern for anyone who reads it. I just think it's SLOW and BORING! It doesn't really get interesting until chapter 7, and there are only 11 chapters total. I think it's completely predictable - most of the pages I just glanced over, looking for where something would begin to happen.

A year ago, Mandy's twin sister died suddenly. While the rest of the family has begun to move on, it is understandably difficult for Mandy to do so. Her parents are going on a little trip, older brothers are staying with friends, and everyone thinks eleven-year-old Mandy is going with someone else. That's why she gets left at home alone - but in this small Michigan town, that's nothing to worry about. Nobody even locks their doors around here. But why the TV is on in the middle of the night, why peanut butter sandwich fixings are left out on the counter, and why the dirt from a flower pot that has been knocked over has a footprint in it are all mysteries to Mandy. (I'm really leaving you hanging here, just in case you ignore my recommendation and read this thing.)

I think if you are going to spend your time reading that you should make the reading worthwhile! Don't spend your time reading mindless drivel!!! (That's a purple word for all you MM students out there. FYI: "drivel" means nonsense - synonyms for drivel include "hogwash," "poppycock," "idiocy," "claptrap," and "twaddle." All purple words! What fun!)

Okay, there is one redeeming factor about this book - but I wouldn't read it just because of this. Mandy has an uncle who suffers from schizophrenia. He is supposed to take medication for it, but he says the medication makes him feel rotten. A woman at a grocery store gets wierded out because he is talking to the tomatoes. He believes that evil people are wearing masks, disguising themselves as his relatives. These examples are part of his illness. But I think Roberts does an admirable job in explaining schizophrenia in a compassionate way. Mandy thinks: "Uncle Frank couldn't help the way he was. For the most part he was not dangerous, though strangers often perceived that he was, and taking the drugs the doctors wanted him to take made him feel so horrible he'd rather be thought insane than deal with the unpleasant side effects....There were a lot of things in life that didn't seem to have any satisfactory answers or solutions."

Schizophrenia and purple words. That's all you're getting out of this review. If you do read The One Left Behind and agree with Scholastic, then you are crazy and full of balderdash! (Purple word.)

The 39 Clues

Over Christmas Break, I decided to read the first book in The 39 Clues series. Then I decided to read all of the books published so far - that means 6 books out of the 10 that Scholastic has planned to publish.

The 39 Clues series follows the story of Amy and Dan Cahill, middle school aged siblings who lost their parents in a fire when they were very young. Now they have also lost their grandmother to cancer. At the reading of her will she gives her relatives a choice - accept a check for one million dollars, or forfeit the check to have a chance to search for 39 clues which when put together properly, will make you the most influential person in the world.

Oh, and by the way, if the Clues fall into the wrong hands, it could mean the end of the world as we know it.

Amy and Dan travel all over the world looking for clues. At every turn, their lives are threatened by their own relatives who are also in the hunt for the Clues. The coolest thing about the series is how they teach you about people in history and take you to see things and places that you wouldn't normally see in books. The stories move quickly and are fairly interesting, and they certainly set you up to want to read the next book...but let me tell you what kind of racket is going on here!

Scholastic created this series to fill a gap in the market left by the end of the Harry Potter series - and boy have they done a first rate job. Each book at regular price is $13 - and all hardcover. They have to be hardcover because inside each cover are six clue cards. You use these to play the online game in search of the 39 clues. Why must you play the online game? Because so far in 6 books, Amy and Dan have only found 6 clues and been given 1 or 2 more. Do the math - that rate is not going to get us to 39 clues, people!

Each set of cards has a code at the bottom that you type into the website. That's great. I thought I would save money and check the books out at the library. Some of them had been read before, but two of them were brand new. When I went to plug in the card codes, the ones from the new books were fine, but I learned that if kids had used the codes from the other books already, I couldn't use them too. That means you've got to buy the books yourself. There are also extra card packs that you can buy. Holy Schmoley! I figure you could easily spend upwards of $200 by the time this is all said and done. Way to go, Scholastic!

It kind of puts a damper on the excitement of the series for me. From what I've read online, Spielberg is looking to make 3-4 movies on the series, there is a board game, and the marketing continues. I wonder how long Scholastic et al will be able to ride this bankable wave!

Books by Richard Peck

I just finished reading another book by Richard Peck. But rather than tell you about that only, I thought I'd share with you the other great books that I've read by this author, and the summaries that I'd written years ago.

The first book is A Long Way from Chicago. This 1999 Newbery Honor book follows siblings Joey and Mary Alice, who are from Chicago - a city where you can experience everything from Shirley Temple to John Dillinger. But they ain't seen nothing until they spend one week every summer in a small central Illinois town with Grandma Dowdel.

As Mary Alice said, "I don't think Grandma's a very good influence on us." The city kids sure learn a lot about country living: using a privy, catching fish in traps baited with cheese, making soap, and going to church rummage sales. And Grandma Dowdel teaches them plenty about justice, blackmail, and living the private life in the midst of public scrutiny.

As the kids get older, they dread going to Grandma's house more and want to leave her house less. While the Wabash Blue Bird pulls out of the station headed for Chicago, Joey and Mary Alice already wonder what next summer's visit will hold.

Next comes Peck's 2001 Newbery Medal Winner, A Year Down Yonder. At the end of the Depression, the 1917 recession has put Mary Alice's father out of work. Joey's out West working with the Civilian Conservation Corps, and Mary Alice is sent to spend a year by herself with Grandma Dowdel back in central Illinois until her folks can get back up on their feet.

Although Mary Alice is two years older since her last visit, Grandma hasn't changed at all. She's still up to her old tricks: besting the school bully, catching and punishing pranksters at Halloween, overcharging folks at the turkey shoot in order to support a war veteran, and revealing the true ancestry of one of the town's elite.

As the year comes to a close, Mary Alice dreads going home and leaving Grandma to make it on her own. But you never have to worry about Grandma - she'll outlive and outgive everyone around.

The third Richard Peck book I experienced takes a pause from the Grandma Dowdel stories. And yet The Teacher's Funeral is just as delightful a story. Russell Culver is a boy who lives in the backwoodsiest county in Indiana shortly after the turn of the 20th century. He, along with this brother Lloyd and best friend Charlie, is hopeful that school won't begin in August, on account of the fact that their teacher has died. Russell has dreams of going to the Dakotas and finding his fortunes there - but not if his sister Tansy has anything to say about it.

Tansy becomes the one-room school's next teacher, without even a high school education. Eight students will keep the school open, and when she doesn't have enough, Tansy goes looking for one more. She drills the kids in orinthology, geography, and mathematics, and readies herself for a visit from the man who will examine her for a teaching certificate. But all is not smooth sailing. There are plenty of mishaps around the school, many involving boys vying for Tansy's attention.

And yet the school year Russell never wanted to have turns out to be one of the best!

And so it was with great anticipation that I opened this most recent Peck novel, excited that once again it was a story that included the infamous Grandma Dowdel. A Season of Gifts takes place 15-20 years after A Year Down Yonder, and it is told from the perspective of 12-year-old Bob Barnhart, the preacher's son who's just moved in next door to Mrs. Dowdel.

Reverend Barnhart's church is run-down and his congregation is dried up. Mrs. Dowdel says that if you want to have the people come in, you've got to have a good funeral, and she knows just who to bury! Mrs. Dowdel doesn't "neighbor", but she lets little Ruth Ann follow her around and teaches her how to make pies and speak with colorful (but not naughty!) language. Mrs. Dowdel even has Bob drive the family car to go cut down a Christmas tree - only to find out that the tree belongs to someone else! It's classic Grandma Dowdel all over again.

I didn't find this book as entertaining as the others, but it was still a fun story to read. My favorite line is the Reverend's response to Bob's question as the two prepare for the "funeral":

"Dad, am I going to have to be a minister when I grow up?"

"If you hear the Call, you'll have to answer it."

"Oh," I said.

But then Dad said, thoughtful and far-off, "Or you may just want to let it ring."

I haven't read all of Richard Peck's novels, so they might not all be great to recommend, but I'd recommend these as great summer read-alouds for your kids.

The Boy Who Dared

Last night I finished my most recent book, The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. It is a work of historical fiction based on the life of Helmuth Hubener. Helmuth was a young boy in Germany during the time that Hitler was coming to power. He was awed by the men in uniform and envious of the older boys who got to be part of the Hitler Youth. Helmuth wanted to help Germany be a strong nation again.

But things started to change. Hitler outlawed anything that wasn't German, which included listening to non-German music, reading non-German books, and fraternizing with people who were not really German - like the Jews. Although Helmuth's Mormon faith told him to give respect to those in government, Helmuth believed he could not go against his conscience. Although to the outside world he acted like a good Nazi, late at night he began to write and distribute pamphlets that spoke about the truth of what was really going on in Hitler's regime, based on the information he learned from the BBC radio broadcast out of London.

Eventually Helmuth was suspected of acting against the Nazis. He was put in jail, convicted of treason, and was executed a little over two months later.

The story is told in third person, beginning on the morning of the day that will be Helmuth's last. As he is waiting to find out if he will be executed, he goes back in his mind and remembers what brought him to this place. Therefore, the story is told almost exclusively in flashback. That does help to increase the suspense a bit, but overall, the telling of this story was pretty tame. It was educational to read a novel from this angle of history. But I would be more interested in reading the memoirs of Helmuth's two friends who also distributed the illegal pamphlets. If you would like to check them out, here are the titles:

Before the Blood Tribunal by Rudi Wobbe
The Price by Karl-Heinz Schnibbe

By the way, The Boy Who Dared is not the only fictionalized account of Helmuth Hubener's life. Another book entitled Brothers in Valor was published by Michael Tunnel seven years before this book hit the shelves. Have any of you read these books? Let me know what you think of them!