49. Number the Stars

Number the Stars
By Lois Lowry
Sandpiper, 1989

Genre
Historical Fiction

Awards

• Newbery Award (1990)
• National Jewish Book Award for Children's Literature (1990)
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (1991)

Review
This touching story about the difficulties of growing up is cast during WWII.  Annemarie Johansen is growing up during the German occupation of Denmark and sees how the German policies and prejudices are affecting her best friend's family, who is Jewish.  Annemarie is torn through most of the story between the world of children, where innocence and lack of understanding are a protective shield that prevent her from having to deal with the atrocities going on around her (like the death of her older sister, Lise), and the world of adults, where she feels like she is being drawn when she is called upon to help protect her friend's family but she doesn't feel like she quite belongs here yet.  Tweens can relate to this main character; despite not being a situation similar to WWII, they will recognize Annemarie's struggles with growing up and be able to see things in their own life that put them between childhood and adulthood, teetering on an edge and unsure of which way to land.

Opinion
Lois Lowry's writing style does not disappoint.  Just like her previous books, this story draws the reader into the world of the characters, causing their emotions to be felt by the reader.  Since this is written at a level intended for elementary school, possibly middle school, more girls are likely to identify with the book as there is a female main character, but boys can identify slightly with Peter Neilsen and his part in the Resistance.

Ideas
Great for a project on WWII or for an assignment about historical fiction; also good for a display of younger age appropriate books for these two topics.

39. Esperanza Rising

Esperanza Rising
By Pam Muñzo Ryan
Narrated by Trini Alvarado
Scholastic, 2000

Genre
Historical Fiction

Awards

• Jane Addams Children's Book Awards for Book for Older Children (2000)
• Publisher's Weekly: Best Book (2000)
• Publisher's Weekly Starred Review (2000)
• Pura Belpré Award: Narrative (2002)

Review
Esperanza's life is about to change.  She has always been the daughter of a wealthy father who owned a lot of land on his Mexican ranch; she was used to having servants, pretty dresses, and porcelain dolls.  But when her father is killed, she and her mother are forced to run to the US to escape her corrupt uncles who now own the farm.  Here, Esperanza learns to work and to appreciate life around her for what it is, not what she has.  This is a beautiful story of a girl coming to terms with who she is and adjusting to new circumstances, doing what she must do in the face of adversity.  This story is set during the Mexican Repatriation in the US and not long after the Mexican Revolution.  A powerful story that speaks to readers about coming to terms with hardships beyond personal control and rising above them.

Opinion
This is a great story and can be inspiring to readers, especially those who can identify with the main characters due to heritage, personal loss, or other similarities.  Esperanza is a wonderful heroine that girls can look up to as a strong female role model.  I think this book is good for more advanced readers in later elementary school or the average middle school reader.

Ideas
Great for many different kinds of displays: historical fiction, Mexican-American history, multicultural history, etc.  This book would also be good for a unit on multicultural literature.

36. Riding Freedom

Riding Freedom
By Pam Muñoz Ryan
Scholastic Paperbacks, 1999
Narrated by Melissa Hughes

Genre
Historical Fiction

Awards 

• Teacher's Choice Award (1999)

• WILLA Award: Best Young Adult Novel (1999)
• Arizona Young Reader's Award (1999-2000)
• California Young Reader Medal: Intermediate Reader (2000)

Review
After Charlotte banned from the stables because her riding makes the boys look bad and her only friend in the orphanage is being adopted, she decides to run away.  She escapes with the help of her friend and the stable hand, disguised as a boy.  She finds work in a stable with coach horses where she is a stable hand, and eventually coach driver, until she decides to move to California during the gold rush to find land where she can finally get her own ranch.  This is a wonderful story about "Charlie", a coach driver that was a woman disguised as a man until the day she died.  An inspiring story for young girls about chasing your dreams no matter what it takes, this story touches on the history of the woman's suffrage movement and talks about what it was like to be a girl in those times.  Melissa Hughes does a great job narrating, bringing Charlotte's story to life for the listener.

Opinion
This is an inspiring story about this girl who went against all odds to achieve what she did.  The author explains that though Charlotte was real, and most of the characters and history was accurate, some of the timelines were changed to coincide with historical events the way the author wanted.  I think this is a great book for horse lovers and for girls, who will find strength in Charlotte's spirit and resilience.

Ideas
Great for a display about historical woman, woman's suffrage, horses, or people who are not who they appear to be.

4. Island of the Blue Dolphins

Island of the Blue Dolphins

By Scott O'Dell

Dell Publishing, 1960
Narrated by Tantoo Cardinal

Genre

Historical Fiction

Honors

• Newbery Award (1961)
• Lewis Carroll Shelf Award (1961)
• Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People (1961)
• Pomona Friends of the Library (1961)
• International Board on Books for Young People Honor List (1962)
• William Allen White Children's Book Award (1963)
• Jugendbuchpreis (1963 - Given by Federal Republic of Germany)
• Rupert Hughes Award
• Nene Award (1964)
• George C. Stone Center for Children's Books (1971)
• Children's Literature Association: "11 Best American Children's Books of the Past 200 Years" (1976)
• Omar's Book Award (1985)
• School Library Journal, Books That Shaped the Century (2000)

Review

Karana's life with her tribe in their small village of Ghalas-at had a routine - the men hunted, the woman gathered, and they all survived together.  Karana's father was the chief of the tribe and she spent much time with her brother and sister.  One spring, hunters Karana thought of as Aleut came to the island and changed everything.  The Aleut and the men of the tribe fought and many of the men, including Karana's father, died.  A new chief took a canoe to find white men who could bring a ship to take the rest of the tribe to safety.  When the white men came, the tribe boarded the ship, leaving their home behind.  Karana found that her brother had missed the ship and she jumped off the boat to go back for him.  The two of them made plans to survive while waiting for the ship to return, but her brother was killed.  Karana was alone on the island for a long time and overcame many struggles before a ship finally came for her.  Tantoo Cardinal narrates this beautifully written book, bringing the story to life and speaking Karana's language as though she had known it her whole life.  Her cadence was like waves, going in and out from the beach, calming and flowing over the reader as she tells about Karana exploring her home and learning to live alone.

Opinion

The edition of the book I have doesn't say until the end that this story is based off history.  I feel that O'Dell did a wonderful job telling what this woman's life may have been like on that island, but I wish the book was organized with this information at the front.  The audio book doesn't cover this short informational segment and I never knew this book was more than a fictional story until discovering this short in the back.  I enjoyed that it was different than much historical fiction I've read before, starting with a historical character and creating events around her, rather than starting with a historical time period and creating characters within it.

Ideas

This is a great book for an exhibit about American Indians since O'Dell goes into great detail about how they hunted, and also a little detail about the beliefs and language of Karana's tribe.  I also think this is a great book for young girls since it has a strong female main character survivalist.  Many books I've seen about young people living alone are about solitary boys or groups of youth.  This may be an empowering book for young female readers.