In this historical fiction, we meet two young girls who are as different as night and day living in rural Pennsylvania in 1943. Annabelle is a sweet, responsible, compassionate twelve year old who lives with her parents, grand parents, aunt, and siblings on the family farm. Betty Glengarry, an older girl, moves to town to live with her grandparents. Annabelle and Betty have many run-ins and each run-in escalates with Betty revealing herself to be more and more of a bully. Annabelle typically would turn to her family for help, but since she is getting older, she attempts to handle the situation on her own. One day, Betty plays a nasty trick on Annabelle and her brothers and Toby, a WWI veteran, intervenes. Toby lives alone and is a wanderer. He isn’t from Wolf Hollow and few people know much about him. Living a life of solitude, he soon finds himself on the cruel end of Betty’s antics. Annabelle must find the courage to stand up for what she believes and speak the truth about Betty’s actions. Life lessons are not always sweet and charming, as Annabelle learns, some lessons are heartfelt and bitter.Highly recommended.
Tag Archives: Historical fiction
Revenge of the Green Banana
Revenge of the Green Banana reads like a memoir and many aspects of the fictional tale are true, but the book is considered a work of fiction – historical, humorous, and realistic. The story begins in 1958 with Jim Murphy beginning the sixth grade. He is determined that this year will be different than all of the others. This year, he will change his ways and become a serious student who is dedicated to academic excellence. Unfortunately, the teachers at St. Stephen’s Catholic School are not privy to Jim’s transformation. Jim finds himself a student in Sister Angelica’s class. Jim soon learns that Sister Angelica has a file on him and a chip on her shoulder. Jim’s journey into academic and social excellence is short lived and quickly transforms into a revenge plot to destroy his new teacher. Along the journey of revenge, Jim learns important life lessons both in and out of school. He soon questions his desire to destroy this new teacher and isn’t sure how to change the course of action. Kids will get a nice chuckle out of this book.
Things Too Huge to Fix by Saying Sorry
“Things Too Huge to Fix by Saying Sorry” written by Susan Vaught is a novel based historical and realistic events.The main hero of this book is Deni Beans, 12 years old girl, whose mother is white and father is African American. They take care of their grandmother, because she is very sick from Alzheimer’s disease. Deni’s mysteries and adventure started, when her grandma told her granddaughter to find a secret key and an envelope that she hid a long time ago. During this investigation, Deni and her best friends (Indri and Mac) try to find out what happen with the friendship between their grandmas who were two best friends from different races (Mrs Beans and Mrs. Avadelle Richardson). This conflict led to the children’s secret investigation about their family’s past. Also, during this adventure the young investigators discover the real history of the Meredith Riot which was over the desegregation of the University of Mississippi in the 1960s.
The book has very sad and unexpected ending with many twists,and turns along the way. This book can be hard to read, because of how it is written. Most chapter begin with an excerpt from one character’s book. Some chapters include passages from another character’s diary. Both excerpts and diary passages are from different perspectives on the historical context and occurrences that led up to the Meredith Riots. Meanwhile, the story also takes place in modern times with the grandchildren who are investigating a family feud from the past. The characters’ stories interlace to create a complex novel for historical perspective on racial tension and desegregation in the south.
I recommend this book for middle school students who enjoy learning about civil rights and African American history.
Midnight Without A Moon
This gritty story of thirteen-year-old, Rose Lee Carter, living in Mississippi in 1955 touches the heart and soul of life for colored people in the south at the dawn of the civil rights movement. Rose Lee lives with her grandparents who are sharecroppers on a cotton plantation. Rose Lee is stuck in the south at a time when friends and family, including her mama, are fleeing to the north to escape the racial tension of the south. With the murder of Emmett Till as the catalyst for change, Rose Lee must decide whether her future will be in the north or in the south. Jackson’s skillfully provides the historical backdrop of racial tension in the south and tells a story of hope, courage and change. Jackson’s writing is lyrical and descriptive and captivates the reader with imagery. This historical fiction work is a must have for middle school collections.
Tru & Nelle
The book “Tru & Nelle” written by G. Neri is interesting and great book. This fiction book combines couple genres. It’s mix of true story, mystery, adventure and historical facts. That makes this book interesting for readers.
When you read this book you fall into real friendship that starts from the childhood, and ends in adulthood. The main characters of this story are Tru (Truman Capote) and Nelle (Harper Lee). Tru is a seven year old boy, who came from New Orleans. His unreliable parents sent him to live for a couple years in “tiny town” of Monroeville, Alabama with his more caring relatives. Nelle is six, and she‘s always allowed to run by herself. She was born and lived in this small town Monroeville. In this story we can see how the friendship began between the city boy, Tru, who was out of place in this town, and a village girl, Nelle, who acts and looks like a tomboy. It shows us, that anyone could look and act very different, but also share a lot of interests, which bring them closer and results in real friendship. The same happens with the book’s main characters, Tru and Nelle, or as author called them “the prince and the pauper.” Even though they look different, they both share the same problems in their extraordinary families. They both love to read, especially the book “Sherlock Holmes,” which inspired these friends to have fun by creating their own investigations in a simple and boring town. When you are reading this book, you become a part of their mystery investigation team, trying to solve the robbery at the town’s drugstore. Although it takes you, as a reader, on many different adventures throughout this mystery, leading to a lot of fun and dangers along the way, like the threatening encounter with the Ku Klux Klan, or planing a high tension Halloween party. During this adventure, the children were daring and very funny the whole way through.
The author was very successful in demonstrating overall purpose of this book. He did a great job in describing the details of the town, families and their relationships, as well, as the people’s life. Especially in the short stories at the end of the book, that expend the overall story. They give us additional information about the main characters’ life in future with some picture.
I would recommend this book for children in elementary and middle school. Although, it’s also a great book for everyone, who enjoys intriguing adventure which is easy to read. I really enjoyed reading this book.
-Marianna
Outrun the Moon
Outrun the Moon has so much to recommend it: Historic fiction, a Chinese-American school girl living in Chinatown overcoming all odds to attend a prestigious all white girls’ school, and the action and adventure of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
Readers will cheer at the spunk of the main character, Mercy, who has ambition and wants to be an entrepreneur. We cheer as she literally bribes/blackmails/connives her way into the school, in part by deceiving them that she is a Chinese heiress (although she was born in California and has never been to China). The reader fumes at the racism and how the Chinese are treated. And the reader roots for Mercy as she helps her fellow students, and others, survive on the day of the catastrophic earthquake and fire, and in the days following.
Fleabrain Loves Franny
Fleabrain Loves Franny, by Joanne Rocklin, portrays the unlikely friendship between a young girl and a flea.
Set in Pittsburgh, 1952, Franny Katzenback is recovering from polio and wondering if she’ll ever walk again. Franny reads and falls in love with the brand-new book Charlotte’s Web. At a critical point during her illness she imagines she is being cared for by angels, which just turn out to be nurses in white uniforms. So when she starts to receive letters from a flea, who lives on the tip of her dog’s tail, it seems like just another delusion.
But Fleabrain proves his existence and a strong friendship forms. Fleabrain is a strange and marvelous fluke of nature. He is a self-taught genius and just happens to be a voracious reader. He helpsFranny gain courage, self-confidence and strength to fight her battles with prejudice, discrimination and the struggle of recovery. He is determined to stand by and motivate Franny during this difficult time in her life because he finds he truly loves her. Fleabrain becomes Franny’s Charlotte.
The other characters in the book include her older sister Min, whom she sarcastically calls “Saint Min”, her best friend from a distance Walter Walter (yes, double named), the mean-spirited Nurse Olivegarten, Franny’s adored grandfather Zadie, and Dr. Gutman a neighbor and scientist working with Jonas Salk to find the cure for polio.
Rocklin’s inclusion of many daily life routines and practices of the 1950’s add to the story’s realism. She introduces young readers to some realities of disability and the harsh and often times unfair reactions of others. She also does a good job of introducing many topics for classroom discussion. Readers may learn not only about paralysis, polio, Jonas Salk, vaccines, infectious diseases and prejudices; but also about literary and cultural references such as E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, James Howell’s Paramoigraphy, the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche and Jewish folklore and traditions. These may sound like heavy topics for young readers, but Rocklin provides small spoonfuls of understanding to the reader. As Franny learns of these things in incremental, digestible pieces, so does the reader.
Included is an author’s note reflecting on polio and the issue of disability, and a bibliography of referenced works and songs. Teachers can also go to Rocklin’s website and get a CCSS aligned discussion guide and activities list.
Finding Zasha
This is the prequel to Saving Zasha and is set in 1941 during the German invasion of Russia.
The main character is twelve year old Ivan. After an intense bombing of his home city of Leningrad, Ivan and his mother are forced to leave their home. The company Ivan’s mother works for is moving operations to the Ural mountains for safety and continued productivity. Ivan is not allowed to go with her; therefore, she is forced to make the heart wrenching decision of separating from her only child. Mom decides to send Ivan to live with her brother Boris who lives 70 miles away.
Ivan’s new city is soon overtaken by the Germans and Ivan inadvertently becomes an entertainer for the German commander, Major Axel Recht, a cruel and ruthless man. Axel has two German Sheppard puppies that he is training to hunt and kill Russian citizens. Ivan is horrified at the intended use of these beautiful creatures and appalled at their cruel treatment, so he makes up his mind to steal the dogs away from Axel. Axel is a man who callously and blatantly punishes anyone whom he perceives to have crossed him in any way. Ivan realizes that Axel in all likely hood will literally kill him for what he is about to do, but he feels compelled to steal the dogs regardless of the potentially dire consequences he could face.
This prequel gives the reader introduction to characters and motivations that are in the first book Saving Zasha. This is an interesting read for upper elementary and middle school students. Both boys and girls will enjoy the story. The beginning hooks the reader with the bombing of Leningrad. The story lags just a bit in the middle and the end wraps up just a little too quickly; however, Finding Zasha is still a very engaging read.
The Lions of Little Rock
In 1958 Little Rock, Marlee Nesbitt is painfully shy and not very unhappy. Then she meets Liz, the new girl at school, and finally Marlee has a true friend. And that friendship is put to the test when Liz leaves school abruptly and the rumors are that it is because she has been “passing.” But Marlee will not give up on her friend. The two meet in secret, which could end disastrously for both. Although it is Liz who is the outspoken, never at a loss girl at the beginning of the book, by the end it is Marlee who finally finds her voice and the courage to stand up for what she believes in. appropriate for age 10 and up.