A STONE IN MY HAND by Cathryn Clinton

Clinton, Cathryn. A Stone in My Hand. Somerville: Candlewick Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-7636-4772-8. $6.99. Age: 10 and up

Cathryn Clinton describes A Stone in My Hand as historical fiction. She says it is "the story of a single girl and single family"and that it is not meant to be a comment on present political situations. Nevertheless, the tale, that of an eleven-year-old Palestinian girl whose father has gone missing, is achingly current.

Malaak is so traumatized by her father's disappearance that she falls into near silence; in fact, rather than talk to her family and friends, she begins to confide in a bird named Abdo. Malaak talks to Abdo as she watches the world of 1988 and 1989 Gaza City: There are soldiers, guns, and bombs; curfews and school closures; hot city streets and cool nights on rooftop patios. She studies those around her: her sister, Hend, dreaming of one day having her own home and family, her mother growing ever paler and tired, and her brother, Hamid, whose eyes crackle with fire as he longs to join the Palestinian Liberation Organization. She observes her brother's friend, Tariq, who rarely speaks after witnessing the shooting of his father when Tariq was five years-old. Through all of this, Malaak imagines that she can see through Abdo's eyes and fly above the conflict surrounding her. Nonetheless, Malaak and her family cannot escape the violence and another tragedy threatens to once more render Malaak mute.

Clinton manages to provide a story of hope while staying within the confines of a reality that can have no happy ending. Death, violence, and the pain of a broken family are all present, but life, kindness, and resilience gained through friends and family are even more powerful. A Stone in My Hand is well suited for early adolescent readers. Yes, it is a far gentler rendering than it might be, but it is a good introduction and reminder of the complex and overwhelming dilemma that children and teenagers, not just adults, must face.

Stephanie Ashley

EDDIE: THE LOST YOUTH OF EDGAR ALLAN POE by Scott Gustafson

Gustafson, Scott. Eddie: the Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011. ISBN: 978-1416997641.

Young Eddie wakes up one morning in the middle of his neighbor's yard, but the fact that he was sleepwalking is the least of his problems. He's been accused of playing a wild practical joke on his neighbor's prized rooster, who's been caught in a pillowcase with Eddie's cat and suspended up high from the barn! His foster parents don't believe in his innocence, but Eddie is granted a single day to solve this mystery and exonerate himself, or else suffer the consequences of punishment.

The first major appeal is the subject itself: Edgar Allan Poe, or specifically his youth and the mythical origins of his legendary status as the "Master of the Macabre." The basics of Poe's background are all introduced here. Gustafson manages to introduce the adult Poe as a haunted but sympathetic soul, animating the ghosts that swirl around his consciousness and give rise to his epic tales. He then moves into Poe's childhood, and in a stroke of superb creativity, tells us that the father who abandoned him and his siblings as children did leave his troubling legacy with Eddie, in the form of an mischievous imp aptly named "McCobber." McCobber and a friendly Raven become Eddie's two only friends in his youth, and help him solve the immediate puzzle that the book revolves around.

Gustafson's first book, Eddie is written with a distinct precision to highlight the time period these characters live in but remains accessible and enjoyable, with an overarching kind narrative voice that carries the story along. I think Gustafson uses enough historical fact woven with imaginative flair to create this charming mystery and possibly whet a child's appetite to know more about Poe. An observant reader will also pick up on the subtle portrayals of class difference, between wealth and race.

The story itself is enough to captivate a young reader (a true mystery of strange proportions) but the illustrations are what ensnared me. Gustafson's exquisite illustrations are imbued with detail and emotion, capturing the dark undertones of Edgar Allan Poe's life and paranormal proclivity. The use of pencil alone to create these striking black and white drawings allows the shadows to stand out and truly haunt the reader throughout the story. Yet Gustafson makes sure to portray kindness wherever it exists as well, so a young reader should never feel too anxious. Overall, it's a well crafted tale about a logical, mature, and sensitive young protagonist instilled with a generous dose of the mystical imagination.

Reviewed by Alya Hameed

MIDDLEWORLD by Jon and Pamela Voelkel

Voekel, Jon, Pamela Voelkel. Middleworld. EgmontUSA, 2010. ISBN-13: 9781606840719. $8.99.

Special Feature: Review by an elementary school student.

I looked through bookshelves and ran my fingers along various bindings, when something caught my eye. The title read Middleworld, by J & P Voekel.

From the moment I saw it till the moment I began it, I knew I wouldn’t let it out of my sight. With all the unexpected journeys and unidentified characters, I was mesmerized, but more than anything it was the mystery of the Maya that attracted me to Middleworld. The two main characters, Max the video game expert and Monkey Girl (aka Lola), come from two opposite worlds; it was an exciting voyage to see how they reacted to each other’s different lifestyles. I liked Lola the most. She’s daring and brave, loves the jungle, and is thankful for everything she has (not including Max). I relate to Lola because I love Norway as much as she loves the jungle. The jungle is her birthplace and home like Norway is mine.

The book is mostly about how the Maya culture is literally coming back from the past. This is both good and bad. One of the important events is when the ancient Maya King, Lord 6-Dog, and his mother, Lady Coco, possess the bodies of two howler monkeys, which results in a series of unfortunate events. This made me feel very strange. The book also made me feel curious to find out the mysteries that lurk around every corner.

My favorite part is when Max and Lola meet. It is like a dog and a cat. They are complete opposites, but despite their differences, they have much in common. I connected to the book because like Lady Coco, I love to be free. When she takes over a monkey, it is like a bird is taken out of a cage. She is swinging and laughing -- she is free at last!

The lasting impression that I’ll take away from reading this book is to make sacrifices. It’s difficult to explain why, but the characters made a lot of sacrifices in their lives that will inspire me to make more in my life.

People who love adventure, electrifying moments and the mystery of the Maya will enjoy this book. You’ll understand why once you read it.

Review by Madeleine Denison, 5th grade

ABE LINCOLN AT LAST! by Mary Pope Osborne

Osborne, Mary Pope. Illus. Sal Murdoca. Abe Lincoln at Last! Random House Children’s Books, 2011. ISBN-13: 9780375868252. $12.99.

Special Feature: Review by an elementary school student.


Abe Lincoln At Last! is part of the Magic Tree House series, in which a tree house time machine takes two kids to different historical eras. I think Abe Lincoln at Last! was really fantastic because it had two stories in one, and it was really interesting! The first half of the book was really about saving Penny the penguin, who was turned into a stone statue, and the other half was about getting a feather from Abraham Lincoln. The Feather of Hope had two important purposes. The first purpose was for writing a letter of hope to Abraham Lincoln to not give up freeing the slaves. The second was for saving Penny. The Feather of Hope, along with the emerald rose and the buttercup from other books in this series, is needed to turn Penny back into a penguin.

The story was interesting because it went back in the past, and you can tell it was hard to live a long time ago. I would have a hard time doing chores like cutting the wood, getting water from a stream, and milking the cows! These were all jobs that kids had to do each day.

I really like this story, and I would like to read the next story in the series to find out about the emerald rose and the buttercup. I like the ideas that the author put in the story, and I would recommend it to my friends.

Review by Finnegan McCool, 5th grade

TURTLE IN PARADISE by Jennifer S. Holm

Holm, Jennifer S. Turtle in Paradise. Random House Children’s Books, 2011. ISBN-13: 9780375836909. $6.99. Newbery Honor Book.

Special Feature: Review by an elementary school student.

Turtle is an angry 11-year-old girl. She got her name from her mother, who said “You have a hard shell but a soft belly.” Turtle doesn’t believe that! Turtle thinks she is a tough girl because she hangs out with the Diaper Gang. The Diaper Gang is very funny. They have a lot of adventures with babies who have diaper rashes. Bean has a secret formula that is called cornstarch, but nobody knows what it is. As a reader, I was surprised that they went around taking care of babies, but it was very funny.

It's the year 1935, and Turtle moves to Florida to stay with relatives. Turtle meets many relatives whom she didn’t know about. The first relatives she meets are Aunt Minnie, Uncle Vernon, and four cousins. She then meets Nana Philly, the grandmother she thought was dead. Turtle also meets a man named Slow Poke, who becomes a good friend. I found out at the end of the story something very special about Slow Poke, and that was also very surprising.

There is an exciting and scary adventure in this book. Turtle finds the map of Captain Caesar’s treasure. She and the Diaper Gang go on a boat to an island where they find a huge rock that the treasure is buried under. I really enjoyed this adventure because I would like to go hunting for treasure with them, and I was excited about what it might be. The Diaper Gang got into a lot of trouble during this adventure, and I was hoping they all would be safe.

The ending of the story was both sad and happy. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to my friends. They would enjoy the ending also!

Review by Finnegan McCool, 5th grade

ALL THE EARTH, THROWN TO THE SKY by Joe R. Lansdale

Lansdale, Joe R. All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky. NY: Delacorte Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-0385739313. $16.99. Ages 12-15

If Delacorte Press played in March Madness, I’d pick them as a winning seed in my bracket. With Joe Lansdale’s novel All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky, Delacorte wins again.

Jack, Jane, and her younger brother Tony are orphaned in Oklahoma during the dust storms of the Great Depression. Armed with sixteen dollars and a “borrowed” Ford, they head out into the world: staying put means a slow starvation; moving out affords them at least a chance to live. Along their way, they get tangled up with bank-robbing gangsters, a slave-driving pea farmer/sheriff, and various other dubious characters. In what I’ve read so far from them, Delacorte never shies away from tackling tough issues in a respectable way. Their authors give kids adult responsibilities: Jack’s parents die in the first two pages; he’s buried them in the barn by the third page—no use wasting any time! Jack realizes that when the bank confiscates the property, the bank will own his parents’ bodies, but he says, “I had always been taught it wasn’t the body that mattered, it was the life inside it. That life was long gone now.” In my opinion, that’s tough stuff for a teenager, but it’s dealt with in an appropriate and mature way.

After losing his parents, Jack considers suicide, but decides against it, rationalizing: “I wanted to be like the heroes in books I had read about, who could stand up against anything and keep on coming.” This sentiment inaugurates a prevailing theme throughout the book: reading itself has power. Time and again, the characters, particularly Jane, compare themselves to heroes in books and draw inspiration to persevere. At one point, Jack picks up a book of poems, forming the words with his mouth, enjoying the way it feels to read; it almost works like a therapy of sorts in time of crisis. Frequently, when the trio meets new people, Jane makes up stories. When one older woman catches her in a lie, she asks Jane why she makes up stories when the truth is strange enough? Sometimes, however, the fiction is easier to bear than the facts. We see Jane accept the truth of their situation when she introduces them truthfully (and the new person dismisses it as falsehood!). Ultimately, she finds her destiny inextricably linked with her stories, but in an unexpected way: rather than making up stories, she writes down what she observes in the world around her.

Lansdale writes with an exquisite voice, giving detail and description in an Oklahoma dialect without compromising readability for young readers. For example, Jack muses about the prevalence of death: “It was the sort of thing that stunned you at the same time it made you feel as empty as a corn crib after the rats had been in it.” About Jane’s tall tales, he says, “She went on painting the barn, so to speak, when there wasn’t no need for paint, or for that matter, when the paint bucket was empty.” The affection between the three hits the reader with a poignancy. Jack develops an attraction to Jane for all the “right” reasons: she’s pretty, she has a pleasant voice, she’s smart, and she smells good. The developing romance is age-appropriate and tasteful. When a swarm of grasshoppers eats the entire backside of her pants, Jack ties what the grasshoppers left behind of his shirt around Jane's waist to cover her exposed rear end. The pair kiss twice, and although the trio spends many nights sleeping together, sex never arises as a remote possibility. While Jack and Jane’s affections for one another play an important role in their character development within the novel, the tale definitely is not a love story. The ending makes clear that growing up means moving on: Tony gets adopted by a kindly older widow, Jane finds her way as a writer out west, and Jack joins up as a carnival worker.

Lansdale’s novel serves not only as an enjoyable insight into the Great Depression through the eyes of children, but also as a timeless study of perseverance, spunk, and adolescence.

Marisa Behan

NO SMALL VICTORY by Connie Brummel Crook

Crook, Connie Brummel. No Small Victory. Ontario. CA: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2010. ISBN: 978-1-5545-5169-9. $12.95

The theme of “moving” comes up frequently in works of children’s literature, and rightly so—for many kids, moving translates to losing everything they know and love, starting over with seemingly nothing.

In No Small Victory, Bonnie’s family has been hit hard by the Great Depression, and they are forced to move quickly, without taking time to slowly say their goodbyes to the only home Bonnie has ever known. She’s the new kid in her one-room schoolhouse, unfamiliar with the strict male teacher, and faces many of the same challenges as adolescents today, but in a historical setting that distances the events from immediate reality while still modeling lessons and behavior.

The story also addresses issues of money and debt, particularly that of a family who struggles valiantly to pay down their bills. In today’s economy, these are problems with which many families struggle. Bonnie serves as a character to identify with for someone in a similar situation.

Despite being a bit of an underdog, Bonnie uses her smarts to become a heroine. It is Bonnie who creates the rhyme that saves her peers from bullies when they acquire lice, and it is Bonnie who wins the spelling bee to defeat the big older bully from the neighboring town!

A story of family, of friendship, and of wholesome triumph, No Small Victory is a book I recommend without reservations. With this story, Crook has won no small victory!

Marisa Behan

THE GOLDEN BULL by Marjorie Cowley

Cowley, Marjorie. The Golden Bull. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2008. ISBN: 978-1-58089-181-3. $15.95. Ages 10-14. 

Marjorie Cowley gives you little buildup before plunging immediately into the issue: A drought has come over Mesopotamia and Jomar and his sister Zefa must leave their farm and family to travel to Ur. Without food, the family has no choice but to send them away. Jomar’s father has arranged an apprenticeship for him with a goldsmith, but twelve year old Zefa must find other work—she’s not part of the arrangement.

Like many historical fiction novels for young readers, child characters are forced by dire circumstances into adult roles: Jomar, as the older sibling, bears the responsibility both to protect his sister and to find her work in the city. Zefa, however, proves herself a responsible young woman, saving them on multiple occasions with her compassion, bravery, and musical ability. The story truly belongs to Jomar, however, as he learns to care for his sister, to thank those who sacrifice for him, and to act with understanding and wisdom. Ultimately, it is the genuine self-sacrifice and honesty of both siblings that saves them from harm in the big city of Ur.

Cowley’s writing is filled with historical details about the social structure, city design, government, religion, and trade of ancient Mesopotamia, even describing the earliest application of the written word—as receipts! The author’s note at the end also includes historical information, describing the religion of Mesopotamia and the means by which scholars study this ancient society.

As a history teacher, I’m pleased to include this book in my collection of young adult historical fiction. Cowley’s work is engaging and historically accurate, a wonderful combination for budding (or not-so-budding) historians!

Marisa Behan

MY HEART WILL NOT SIT DOWN by Mara Rockliff

Rockliff, Mara. My Heart Will Not Sit Down. Illus. Ann Tanksley. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-375-84569-7. $17.99 US/$19.99 CAN.

Historical fiction picture books are unusual to begin with, but Mara Rockliff’s text takes an even more uncommon approach—she depicts the American Great Depression from the point of view of a village child in Africa.

When her teacher tells them about the plight of children in the (contemporary) Great Depression, Kedi’s “heart stands up and it won’t sit down.” She understands the hunger of those New York children because she, too, has gone to bed with a grumbling empty tummy! Her mother’s initial reaction to Kedi’s desire to help is to let the American people come to them; they can share their dinner. And when Kedi asks her mother and the other villagers for monetary aid, the African villagers wonder, “Why send money to people whose faces we haven’t seen?”

On her way to school the next day, Kedi’s mother gives her one coin—their only coin—which seems puny and useless, until all the villagers arrive at the school bearing their coins. Finally, Kedi’s heart can sit down.

As described in the author’s endnote, the fictionalized tale is based on a true event, in which the city of New York received a donation of $3.77 from a small Cameroon village to aid the hungry of the city. Such generosity, Rockliff points out, is not solitary, as similar instances occurred in Papua New Guinea and Santa Domingo, Guatemala.

The text offers a very interesting opportunity for discussion, even with students whose reading level would be above and beyond the simplicity of a picture book. What prompts us to want to help those far away, even if we ourselves have little? What can we do to help those in need and what is the effect of our donation beyond its actual monetary value?

The art is brightly colored and chunky, reminiscent of other picture books of African folklore. My Heart Will Not Sit Down carries an interesting and heartwarming message of human generosity, and the accessibility of the illustrations packages that message with candor and simple honesty.

Marisa Behan