Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
With alternating stories, Just Like That by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion Books, 2021) tells the story of two 14-year-olds in 1968 who are coming to terms with something big that happened, which changed their lives completely “just like that.” Meryl Lee Kowalski (a name familiar to those who have read The Wednesday Wars) has been
The Dark Frigate by Charles Hawes (originally published 1923) features pirate action as well as a slightly multifaceted adversary in the pirate leader Tom Jordon, with much the same attitude I found in Treasure Island, but a passionless main character and a series of bloody battles gave the overall book a jolt of boring reality
Doug Swieteck, a fourteen-year-old transplant to the small town of Marysville, learns to cope with his life as he adjusts to new situations during the 1968-1969 school year in Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion Books, 2011). Even as he faces the struggles of moving to a new middle school, Doug must still
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007) is a powerful young adult novel that shares the pivotal 1967-1968 school year from the perspective of seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood. In The Wednesday Wars, his fellow students go to their religious schools (Catholic school or the Jewish synagogue) on Wednesday afternoons. As the lone
Adam and His Kin by Ruth Beechick (published by Mott Media, 1990) is titled to be a book telling a narrative story of the early patriarchs of the Earth, beginning with Adam and going through Abraham. Unfortunately, it really feels like a paraphrase retelling with very little narrative. It seems unfair to say: there was
Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace (HarperCollins, 1940) is a sweet chapter book about five-year-old friends who are across-the-street neighbors. The girls are so inseparable that they are called by a single name: Betsy-Tacy. Betsy is a creative girl who tells stories and Tacy is a shy and quiet girl who nurtures Betsy’s imagination. In many
Because there was only one book named for the Newbery Award in 1923, I was curious to see what other books for children were published in 1922. Bannertail: The Story of a Gray Squirrel by Ernest Thompson Seton (Charles Scribner, 1922) was a delightful contrast to the early 1920s books I’ve read so far, with
The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting (published 1922) continues the story of the special doctor that talks to animals, John Dolittle, but this time with a different tone and child’s perspective. In this volume, the doctor travels across the ocean to the coast of Brazil to find his naturalist friend on his floating
The apartment in the classic Harlem brownstone feels like a part of the family in The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser (Clarion Books, 2017). But this Christmas, the family finds out that their landlord, the grumpy Mr. Beiderman, will not be renewing their lease. Now, with just eleven days before moving day,
The Story of Doctor Doolittle by Hugh Lofting (published 1920) is told with a “once upon a time” feel, with a humorous tale told casually about a doctor who can speak with the animals. What a fun concept, but what a shame this concept was written about in such an era. While the writing is
AfterMath by Emily Barth Isler (Carolrhoda, September 2021) portrays the trauma of dealing with a sibling’s death as well as the effects of a school shooting, even years after the fact. Twelve-year-old Lucy still mourns her younger brother, even as she moves into a community still reeling from the school shooting during third grade. Without
I love a good (clean) retelling of Pride & Prejudice that gives a new perspective with a familiar and era-appropriate feeling to the classic story. Lizzy Bennet’s Diary by Marcia Williams (Candlewick, 2014) adds scrapbooking to an illustrated first-person diary-format story to give young middle-grade readers a delightful and fun introduction into the classic novel!
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