Book Review #13

 

The Hired Girl

Author: Laura Amy Schlitz

Media: Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Publisher: Candlewick 

Release Date: Audible.com September 11, 2015

Narrator: Rachel Botchan  (12 hours and 48 minutes) 

ASIN - B0159JDVMA

Genre: Historical Fiction

 4 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁

Why 4 Roars? Epistolary novels are typically not a style that I prefer to read, but because it was an audible book it was less of a distraction for me. (Epistolary – a novel written as a series of documents.) I gave it 4 roars because this could be confusing for some readers. 

Main Characters: Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs is the main character. Her biological family and the Rosenbach family make up the additional characters. 

Plot: Joan is the only girl in her family. Her father is verbally insulting and burns her few books.  Joan runs away from her farm in Pennsylvania. She finds herself being taken in as the hired girl by a kind Jewish family, the Rosenbach family.  

She is also the “Shabbos goy” or  goy shel shabat (גוי של שבת) that performs tasks that are not allowed for Jewish people on the Sabbath. Joan involves herself in the eldest Rosenbach son’s love life, she tries to convert the grandson to Catholicism, finds herself less than endeared to the lady of the house, and then decides she is in love with the Rosenbachs’ younger son. In spite of all of these growing pains, Joan manages to become a strong independent young lady.

Setting: A farm in Pennsylvania during 1911 and Baltimore in a Jewish household. 

Theme: This work reflects the morals of the times and explores the topics of beliefs, religions, social classes, feminism, and young love. 

“Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs is a reluctant drudge on her family's farm, and no one appreciates her. She pours her thoughts and emotions into her diary, which is the lens through which readers experience her life. And life on her family's 1911 hardscrabble Pennsylvania farm grinds on endlessly. She loves to read and longs for more education but is trapped by her circumstances. Her boorish father pushes Joan too far the day he burns her best friends—her books. Soon afterward, she escapes and makes her way to Baltimore. She is taken in by a wealthy Jewish family as a hired girl. They are like no family she has ever met; their affection, religion, and education bind them into a warm unit totally foreign to Joan. She grows to love the family and is surprised and hurt to learn of anti-Semitism.” ~~ School Library Journal

Style: This is a coming-of-age drama written in diary format. There were many positive references to art, literature, and the need for education. There were 5 illustrations at the beginning of each of the different parts of the book; that was a nice touch. 

Additional Criteria: There are plenty of period details. The author included the idea of Jewish persecution, and the main character had to learn about the running of a Jewish household. For example, how to store meats and dairy foods separately, kosher laws, and religious holidays. These are very accurate depictions of this time period and the cultural differences the main character might have encountered. 

“The diary format allows Joan's romantic tendencies full rein, as well as narrative latitude for a few highly improbable scenarios and wildly silly passion. Tons of period details, especially about clothing, round out a highly satisfying and smart breast-clutcher from this Newbery-winning author.” 

~~Kirkus Reviews

"An unusual novel, brilliantly executed, this book is well worth the reader's time and will not be easily forgotten." 

~~ Jewish Book Council

Awards: 

Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, 2016 

Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Award Winner 

Winner of the 2016 National Jewish Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature

Connections: 

Jewish Dietary Laws Overview 

Book Review #12

 A Home for Mr. Emerson

Author: Barbara Kerley

Illustrator: Edwin Fotheringham

Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2014

ISBN: 978-0545350884

Genre: Children's Picture-book Biography

Topic: Biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson 

              (19th Century American Philosopher)

 5 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁

Why 5 Roars? I absolutely love great quotes, and this book is full of great quotes! 

"Insist on yourself; never imitate." 

~~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Critical Analysis

Accuracy: Barbara Kerley is a well-known children's author. She has written quite an interesting and diverse collection of books for children. 

“The team behind creative picture-book biographies The Extraordinary Mark Twain (2010) and What To Do About Alice? (2008) turns its attention to 19th-century American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson.” 

~~ Kirkus Reviews

Organization: The book is laid out with bright, whimsical illustrations and short text. The images seem to leap off the page at times. It reminds me of a comic strip in many ways. 

“A small, inviting window into the life of Ralph Waldo Emerson and an inspiring tribute to a life’s dream realized (author’s note, philosophical prompts, source notes, acknowledgments).” 

~~ Kirkus Reviews

Design: The design of the book is very much like her other books, The Extraordinary Mark Twain and What To Do About Alice? I think she found a rhythm and flow that she liked and knew a good thing when she found it. The arrangement makes it easy to follow along and understand the information. 

Style: I think the quotes are what separate her style into a distinctive category. They add a touch of wisdom and depth that will engage even the older readers and adults. 

"Quotes from his writings are liberally used to illuminate moments of his life, allowing readers to get to know the man through his own words.” 

~~ School Library Journal

Awards: NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book

Oregon Spirit Book Award for Nonfiction

Connections:

Barbara Kerley

One last quote for the road!

"All life is an experiment.

The more experiments

you make

the better."

~~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Book Review #11

 What Do You Do with a 

Tail Like This? 

Authors: Steve Jenkins & Robin Page 

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 978-0618997138

Genre: Children's Non-fiction

Topic: Animal Anatomy 

4 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁

Why 4 Roars? This is a cute book, but the information is very generalized. The reading level is given as 4 - 7 years. I am unsure of how much new information a child over the age of 5 would learn. I think it is directed at a younger audience. 

Critical Analysis

Accuracy: 

The information is simple and easy to fact-check. The book presents simple statements like, "if you're a monkey, you hang from a tree by your tail" and " if you're an eagle, you spot tiny animals from high in the air." 

The authors are a husband-and-wife team that own a graphic design studio. Steve Jenkins is a well-known children's non-fiction writer and illustrator. 

Organization: 

The book is organized into a simple layout. It starts by asking a question and then answering it on the next page. At the end of the book, it offers an extra paragraph of information and a small illustration of the animals discussed in the book. 

Design:

The design presents lovely cut-paper animal collage illustrations to keep a young learner's attention. It asks the reader a question, and younger readers will enjoy guessing at what is coming next. It could easily be turned into a guessing game or making predictions. 

Style: 

I think the author best describes his style in his own words below: 

"Every book begins with pages—often many pages—of notes and rough sketches. It is during this part of the process that lists of possible subjects are made and modified, and we begin to explore the relationship between images and text on the book's pages. These quick, rough notes make it easy to consider lots of different approaches. At this stage, it's also relatively painless to throw out ideas that don't seem to be working." ~~ Steve Jenkins

Awards:

Caldecott Honor

Connections: 

Steve Jenkins

Book Review #10

  Hitler Youth: Growing Up in 

Hitler's Shadow

Author: Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Publisher: Scholastic Inc. 2005

ISBN: 9780439353793

Genre: Children's Non-fiction

Topic: The book's topic is about the lives of the children and youth that the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazis) affected. 

 5 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁

"I begin with the young. We older ones are used up...But my magnificent youngsters!  Look at these men and boys!  What material! With them, I can create a new world." 

~~ Adolf Hitler, Nuremberg 1933 

Why 5 Roars? Anyone that can tackle topics like Hitler Youth, National Socialism, the violation of human rights, the destruction of democracy, and the German Resistance deserves 5 roars! 

Critical Analysis

Accuracy: 

To determine the accuracy of the book took a good bit of research. I started with the topic of Hitler Youth. This topic was so integrated into the rise of Hitler that it took a good bit of study to grasp it all.

The quote below was Hitler’s view on integrating young people into the Nazi Movement:

“These boys and girls enter our organizations [at] ten years of age, and often for the first time get a little fresh air; after four years of the Young Folk, they go on to the Hitler Youth, where we have them for another four years . . . And even if they are still not complete National Socialists, they go to Labor Service and are smoothed out there for another six, seven months . . . And whatever class consciousness or social status might still be left . . . the Wehrmacht [German armed forces] will take care of that.”

~~Adolf Hitler (1938)

The attempt to create a National Socialist German Workers' Party without class consciousness, social status, or religious views promising internal peace, national unity, and a utopian future was not hard to sell to the German public. So where do you start this movement? 

With the youth that would build it. Hitler Youth was fueled in the beginning by the uncomplicated human need to be part of the group and the ideas of building a better future. No one wanted to be viewed as unpopular or an outsider, and who would not want to be part of building a better future for humanity?

“The Nazi youth movement was not only about preparing for the future. The Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls were also used to weaken traditional social and religious authorities. Nazi youth activities intentionally replaced activities previously sponsored by religious institutions in an effort to challenge the churches’ claims to moral authority. The Hitler Youth monopolized members’ daily lives so children did not have time for activities outside Nazi control. The Hitler Youth and League of German Girls also encouraged members to report to their leaders about what was happening in their schools, churches, and families.” 

~~ United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

(Note: Membership in any Hitler Youth organization was voluntary until 1936.)
Bartoletti does a great job of objectively telling both sides in this book. She creates heart-wrenching stories of the Hitler Youth supporters and the resistance and avoids typical stereotypes.

She continues to add to her accuracy by interviewing Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, the only survivor of the Helmuth Hubener Resistance Group, as part of her research.

Due to her interviews, I have reason to believe the author has expertise in the area of Hitler Youth. These firsthand accounts of what it was like to be part of this movement were a large portion of what makes this book special.

(Note: In 1933, 3.5 million children were members of the Hitler Youth. This would become the largest youth group in history.)  

Organization:

Bartoletti organizes her book around the interviews with 12 former members. With one additional episode about Helmuth Hübener, who died (beheaded) at age 17 and was sentenced to death by the Nazis. He was the youngest anti-Nazi German to be murdered for resistance.

"German boys! Do you know the country without freedom, the country of terror and tyranny? Yes, you know it well, but are afraid to talk about it. They have intimidated you to such an extent that you don't dare talk for fear of reprisals. Yes, you are right; it is Germany—Hitler Germany! Through their unscrupulous terror tactics against young and old, men and women, they have succeeded in making you spineless puppets to do their bidding".

~~ Helmuth Hübener 

(from one of his pamphlets)

Bartoletti went on to write the book “The Boy Who Dared” in 2015 about this additional section of the book. 

Design:

The design is centered around the photographs that speak to you about the powerful influence that the older generation had over the younger generation’s lives. They evoke a strong sense of responsibility and how easy it is to mislead and corrupt children and youth. The naivety, trust, and lost childhoods are front and center with no words needed to envision the cost. 

Style:
Bartoletti's style is subtle but powerful. The book could easily be used as a coffee table book or displayed for its use of photography. It speaks a language of once you look, it's hard to forget. It plays on your mind, and you find yourself returning for just one more glance at those compelling images. 

Awards:

• Newbery Honor Book
• A YALSA Best Book for Young Adults
• A Booklist Editors' Choice
• A Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book
• A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
• A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
• A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
• Winner 2005 Parents' Choice Gold Seal Award

Connections: 

German Resistance Against National Socialism

Nazi Germany- Hitler Youth

The Blog of the National Library of Israel 

Works Cited:

Blair R. Holmes and Alan F. Keele (1995) When Truth Was Treason: German Youth against Hitler. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. 

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Introduction to the Holocaust.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/introduction-to-the-holocaust. Accessed on 10/27/20

Book Trailer

Book Trailer : "Leave Me Alone!" 

by Vera Brosgol

Book Review #9

M is for Monster: A Fantastic Creatures Alphabet

Author: J. Patrick Lewis 

Illustrator: Gerald Kelley 

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press 

 ISBN: 9781585368181

  

Main Characters: Baba Yaga, Frankenstein, mummies, werewolves, zombies, and more!

Plot: Creatures of popular legends and mythology come to life in this Alphabetic romp with poetry.  

Genre/Theme/Style: The book combines both historical and cultural origins of the creatures and poetry.

 5 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁

Critical Analysis: J. Patrick Lewis is a former U.S. Children's Poet Laureate, the author of more than 70 books for children, and shows off his poetry skills in this book. 

• Imagery - Scary, playful, and factual collide in this unique combination of imagery.

• Emotions - The author attempts to provide plenty of information, humor, fear, and a bit of the unknown,  

I also loved the Audio version on this book lends well to a performance that is both exciting and fascinating.

• Rhythm, Rhyme & Sound- 
  
  

        "An elf I am,

                    gentle as a lamb,

         but in days gone by,

                                horrid was I." 

The poetry rhymes, but the information given alongside the poetry does not attempt any rhythm or rhyming. 

Why 5 Roars? I think this book would be great for so many things. Discovering poetry, historical information on cultural mythologies, a few newer creatures to consider from modern children's literature, and most importantly a good scare. 

It would be great for middle school readers who love creatures, a good Halloween book, or a way to open up a discussion on a new topic. 

Illustrations: The illustrations are a perfect addition to the poetry. 

Gerald Kelley wrote and illustrated the picture book, Please Please the Bees. His book won the 2017 Frances and Wesley Bock Award for Children's Literature. 

Background Information on Poet/Poetry: J. Patrick Lewis is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, National Council of Teachers of English, and International Reading Association. 

J. Patrick Lewis reading

Animal Poetry. 

Connections:
Poetry Foundation

Book Review #8

Inside Out & Back Again

Inside Out & Back Again at the 2011 National Book Award Finalists Reading

Author: Thanhha Lai

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 9780061962791

Main Characters: Young Ha, her mother and her older brothers

Plot: A ten-year-old Vietnamese girl named Young Ha is living in Saigon in 1975. Her father is away fighting in the Vietnam war. She and her family are forced to flee their familiar home and travel to Alabama in the USA. She struggles to fit into her new life. 

Settings: Vietnam, Guam, & Alabama

   
Genre/Theme/Style: Free verse and predominantly non-fiction prose poetry. Written in the voice of a child writing in her diary. 

 4 Roars!🦁🦁🦁🦁

Critical Analysis: This book was written in first person, free verse and attempts to give you the feeling of a childlike voice telling the accounts that are written into a diary.  

I wanted to really love this book, and tried hard to get past the child that is pouting because she received dried papaya instead of fresh that threw it in the trash, and the child that uses the grocery money to buy treats while her Mom grows thin, but it was just difficult for me.  The main character came across as somewhat self-absorbed at times. 

I actually had great sympathy for her Mother and the problems she must have encountered during her displacement and the traumatic sacrifices she made to save her family from Communism. 

It bounces back and forth between a child's thoughts and those of an adult, in my opinion.  For instance, "All day I practice squeezing hisses through my teeth. Whoever invented English must have loved snakes," sounds like something a child would think and say. 

However, "Everyone knows the ship could sink, unable to hold the piles of bodies that keep crawling on like raging ants from a disrupted nest.  But no one is heartless enough to say stop because what if they had been stopped before their turn?" This for me does not sound like something a child would think or say. 

Rhythm, Rhyme, & Sound: The rhythm and sound changes frequently throughout the book.  The book does not attempt to rhyme. 

Language: The reader has to pay close attention to the language. It often comes in snippets and spurts of understanding. 

Imagery: The imagery is great, and the issues of compassion are important concepts to embrace. It does paint a picture of the hardships of a family trying to fit into a new society.   

Emotions: The book is full of emotions.  In fact, I think at times there are more emotions than most middle school readers could fully process or really grasp. The mood of the work shifts constantly making it difficult for the reader to follow.     

Why 4 Roars? I think this book is really written for older students or adults. I think middle school average readers might miss a lot of the subtle nuances, but still be capable of enjoying parts of story. I think that the average middle school reader might need assistance reading it, due to the way it is written. 

I attempted to find book reviews of this book given by middle school readers and most of these reviews gave the book an average of 3 stars out of 5 stars. Many of the teen book reviews I found also rated the book much lower than adult reviewers. For this reason I gave the book 4 Roars, even though as an adult I can appreciate the cultural value, language barriers, and symbolism that makes it award worthy. 

Awards: 

Newbery Honor Books 2012

#1 New Your Times Bestseller

Background Information on Poet/Poetry: The author started a non-profit organization called VietKids Inc. They buy bicycles for students that would have to walk long distances. 

Connections: More books by Thanhha Lai - Listen, Slowly and Butterfly Yellow