Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

National Book Award Finalist
Newbery 



Summary: The story takes place in Saigon in 1975. Ha, the main character is the youngest and only daughter in her family. The war has impacted her life because she fled from North Vietnam at the beginning and her father has been missing in action for years. As the fighting gets closer and Ha's mother fears the worst she allows a family friend help them to escape on a Navy ship full of refugees. The family winds up in Alabama and it's a very different world. Ha has to learn a new language, new foods and customs and new friends. Life is different and hard but Ha is still surrounded by a family who loves and supports her, this makes a big difference in the daily struggles of assimilating into a new culture in a time of controversy.

Ha is able to relate the information in verse in a matter of fact way of a child.  The verse not only gives the sense of broken language and you can hear Ha's voice throughout the story. The verse also allows the reader to gain the most important words, there is no fluff, and the choice of words and phrases become a powerful representation of Ha's consciousness. 

I loved every member of the family and the way the story unfolded. This is a book that I will go back and read over and over again because there is so much left unsaid, waiting to be discovered. 

This book is based on the author's own experiences as a ten year old. The genre of historical fiction allows her latitude in deciding about details surrounding dates and names. It also creates a beautiful platform for expressing her feelings and remembrances about that time in her life.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

This books carried me back to a time on the outskirts of my memories. My mom is a wilted flower child who still seems to exist in the 1970's. She is strong willed, passionate and always working for the cause, any cause. As I read the story and tried to figure out what went wrong. Why would Cecile leave right after Fern was born? Was she crazy? Did she not care about her girls? What could have been so important as to make her leave her babies and travel to the other side of the country? I read the book hoping the answer was simple that maybe she was planning on returning but didn't know how. I was transported back to a little girl wondering where her mother had gone. Why had she left? When would we see her again? 
I could feel Delphine's strength and determination to do things rights and set them straight. I understood inherently the role of the oldest sister living in a home without a mother. I wanted Cecile to say sorry that she made a mistake that it was just a miscommunication and everything would be okay. Delphine looked out for her sisters even when Cecile could not or would not. She tried to resist the "cause" and fought hard to block out the Black Panthers, poetry and news surrounding her but she slowly began to give in to the collective spirit surrounding her. Delphine found herself in a battle of will between the voices of Cecile and those of her father and Big Ma at home. It was in this struggle that resolution was found. Although Cecile didn't apologize or come back she was better understood and forgiven at the end of the novel. I felt an overwhelmingly connection to Delphine as my mother was called away in the same way. I still don't understand how it happened or why but I do forgive her and try to understand her now. 

This was a beautifully written book full of historic connections and wonderful teaching moments. 

This is a video of Rita Williams Garcia discussing One Crazy Summer

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

Newbery Honor Book (2010)

Golden Kite Award Winner

The main character Turtle is eleven years old and is sent to Key West by her mother to live with relatives. She is tough on the outside but has a tender underbelly like the creature she is named for. The story is engaging and we are rooting for Turtle throughout her trials and tribulations in dealing with her new found cousins and their rules. Turtle is proud of her shoes that her mom's boyfriend bought for her before sending her South to Florida. They stick out in her new environment as no kids where shoes in the keys. They end up being stolen and the first thing she wants to do is replace them but as parts of her life become unraveled and a sense of hope rises in her she realizes that her place is in the keys with her extended family and father and the shoes she longed for no longer fit; they are tight and pinch and inhibit her feet from being free. This is symbolic of her transition from a mainland girl to an official "Conch". 

Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (2010)

Genre: Historical Fiction, mystery

Themes: Family, Friendship

Awards: Newbery Award (2011)

Summary:

Abilene Tucker has lived a life on the road. Her father, whom she refers to as Gideon, has gotten by using his quick wit and keen sense of people but when she gets sick from a cut on her leg and almost dies he sends her to Manifest Kansas, a town with a secret. It is here that Abilene with the help of two friends reveals the deeply buried secrets that will not only fill the gaping whole she feels in her heart but heal the town as well. The girls spend the summer in search of “The Rattler” a presumed spy from long ago. The local gypsy women helps Abilene piece the stories of the old town together allowing her to bond with the past of the town and eventually finding her home, Manifest Kansas Personal Response:

This tale told by three different characters is engaging, charming and heartbreaking all at the same time. I was rooting for Abilene from the beginning and hoping that Jinx turned out to be her father. The way the letters from Ned, the Newpaper articles and Miss Sadies stories weave the tale of Abilenes past is so engaging I could barely put the book down. I want to share this story aloud with my class I believe it will engage them on many levels. The characters are diverse and have endearing qualities about them. These qualities make us feel as though we know them and the common themes of family and friendship and how they endure through hardship and stress are articulated in this story and although Abilene uncovers the mystery of the town we are left only hoping that love and family will conquer all.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
(2007)
Awards: Newbery Honor (2008), Nominated for the Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award (2010)
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Themes: Coming of Age, Friendship, Family, Acceptance

Summary: A seventh grader named Holling Hoodhood continually finds himself in situations that are not conducive to surviving middle school. He is forced to spend Wednesday afternoons with a teacher he believes "hates him". The teacher, Mrs. Baker, is unrelenting and unapologetic in her approach to education and in particular to the education of Holling. We come to find that although Hollings life has the appearance of perfection it is just a facade. The father is solely interested in appearances and the architecture firm that he owns. Every decision made in the house is based on how it will affect the business and home for Holling and his sister is filled with high expectations and low levels of love and consideration. We find Holling beginning to find his own path and Mrs. Baker helps him discover it through the study of Shakespere and the act of running. The story takes place during the Vietnam war and the echoes of that emotional time are woven into the story making the pressures of growing up even more complicated. In the end Holling finds his voice although not his path and we are left hopeful that change is inevitable for both the Hoodhood family and the country.


Personal Response: Upon first opening the book I had a difficult time relating to Holling. He believed the world to be against him and it was a paranoid, annoying journey. I found myself frustrated with his constant "woe is me" attitude until his father became a more central part. Finding the cold, sterile and disconnected home life in which Holling lived helped me to embrace his paranoia. The calculated way in which Mrs. Baker drew him out and found his inner confidence and supported him in a way that allowed him to bloom was beautiful. I think as teachers we all strive to be like Mrs. Baker in some way; hoping to illuminate the path in which a student may find his/her gifts. By the end of the story I was hooked and rooting for Holling and his sister, finding the strength in their relationship, they would eventually overcome their family situation and be better off for it. The historical aspects of the late 1960's brought me back to a time that is on the cusp of my own existence. I could feel the emotion and the anxiety that was an undercurrent in our society. I would recommend this book to upper middle school-high school students, especially those studying Shakespere.

Life on Alcatraz

How amazing would it be to move to Alcatraz when it was in its prime? The worst criminals of the time living within yards of regular families. Gennifer Choldenko the author of Al Capone Does My Shirts does a great job of setting the scene and creating a historical fiction novel that would appeal to young readers everywhere. Moose, the main character, must move to the island with his family due to financial reasons. The novel takes place during the Great Depression and work is scarce to say the least. We find ourselves learning about the do's and don'ts of living on the most notorious island in our countries history. Moose makes new friends and soon realizes that his arch nemesis Piper, the warden's daughter, is more like a crush than an enemy. Choldenko beautifully weaves the historic details of life on Alcatraz during the Great Depression and Moose's personal struggles with fitting in and starting over. This is particularly challenging because Moose has a sister named Natalie who is mentally impaired. The fact that mental illness was less understood and accepted at that time is apparent in the families struggles to keep things "normal". Moose is forced to take on greater responsibility for his sister as his parents are spread thin trying to work and make a life. Through the year he and Natalie grow closer and his understanding of her abilities and inner personality develop. He begins to understand his mothers complete devotion to his sisters cause and in the end must challenge her in order to protect his sister. The novelty of Al Capone is not lost on the reader and the quest for items touched by the convicts is a constant theme throughout the book. In the end the least likely character helps to put things right and make a positive change in not only Mooses family but in the field of mental illness as well. 

I would recommend this book to to late elementary school through middle school students. It is engaging and offers a glimpse of history through the details and the setting throughout the book. The relationship between Moose his mother and Natalie is a platform for wonderful discussions about sacrifice, determination and perception. 

A great read...

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick (2009)

Genre: Historical Fiction
Themes: Civil War, Determination, Perseverance, Brotherhood and Survival

Awards: Newbery Award(2010)


Summary:

A fun and exciting read that would peak the interest of any young reader. Homer is a young orphaned boy with a terrible home life. His older brother is his hero and protector but through a shady deal is sold into the Union Army. Homer escapes from his Uncles care and sets off to free his brother from the Army. Homers telling of his adventures are hilarious as he is a gifted liar; which helps him to survive some sticky situations. The characters that he meets combined with the historical details about the Underground Railroad and a glimpse into what life may have been like during the Civil War help to make the book come to life. Personal Response: What a wonderful read aloud. I first read it to myself for a class I am taking and upon finishing could hardly contain myself to read it to my two boys, ages 10 and 12. They enjoyed the lies that Homer could create effortlessly they also liked talking about what it must have been like to live during the Civil War. This prompted many great discussions about how we live now and what things may have been like back then. I think this is a great book for a fourth or fifth grade class, especially one studying the same era in history.