The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Bibliography: 

Bradley, K. B. (2016). The war that saved my life. Puffin Books.

Plot Summary: 

Ten-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him. So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?

Critical Analysis:

I was thoroughly absorbed by this wonderful book. I loved it! It touched my heart. Set in the early years of World War II It follows the experiences of two young evacuees, brother and sister, escaping from awful lives in London. Their transformation, especially in the older child while they are away, makes for wonderful reading. Born at the beginning of the war myself I found lots to remind me of those difficult years. The story centers round the hardships of war and themes of cruelty, low self esteem, disability, lack of love, learning to trust and and the healing of emotional damage. I would love to describe so much more about this beautiful and such a readable book but I don't want to stray into 'spoilers' territory.

Review Excerpt: 

The Wall Street Journal

Achingly lovely . . . Nuanced and emotionally acute, this vivid tale from the wartime home front will have readers ages 10-14 wincing at Ada's stumbles and rejoicing to the point of tears in her victories.

Kirkus (starred review)

Ada's voice is brisk and honest; her dawning realizations are made all the more poignant for their simplicity. . . . Things come to an explosive head, metaphorically and literally. Ignorance and abuse are brought to light, as are the healing powers of care, respect and love. Set against a backdrop of war and sacrifice, Ada's personal fight for freedom and ultimate triumph are cause for celebration.

Publisher's Weekly (starred review) 

Proving that her courage and compassion carry far more power than her disability, Ada earns self-respect, emerges a hero, and learns the meaning of home.

Connections:

Q&A with Kimberly Brubaker Bradley: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/84014-q-a-with-kimberly-brubaker-bradley.html

More on WWII: The different countries involved and stories from all the different views

More stories about children who are able to persevere through their disability

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

Bibliography: 

Hiranandani, V., & Ayyar, P. (2023). The night diary. Playaway Products, LLC. 

Plot Summary: 

Shy twelve-year-old Nisha, forced to flee her home with her Hindu family during the 1947 partition of India, tries to find her voice and make sense of the world falling apart around her by writing to her deceased Muslim mother in the pages of her diary.

Critical Analysis:

Beautifully written, relevant to the plight of child migrants and refugees today, a must read for middle grade students and teachers. The Night Diary is set during the Partition of India in 1947 when India won its independence from Great Britain, resulting in the forced migration of Hindus to India and Muslims to newly formed Pakistan.

On the eve of her twelfth birthday, Nisha receives a diary from the family cook, Kazi, who tells her that adults will have neither the time nor the presence of mind to record what is to come. From the start, Nisha is bewildered by the idea that politicians have drawn a line on a map that divides people according to their religion. What is to become of Nisha and her twin brother Amil? Their deceased mother was Muslim and their father is Hindu. Even though he is Muslim, surely Kazi will stay with the family. He has filled the role of nurturing parent as Nisha's father is distant, critical, and spent from caring for patients during this brewing storm of societal upheaval. The family's planned journey starts with a grand feast for friends and family to say their final farewells. Growing unease gives way to urgency as Kazi saves the family during a late night raid. They escape on foot carrying water, food, and a few prized possessions. We follow Nisha across the unforgiving desert, to boarding a dangerously overcrowded train where she witnesses violence and mayhem. Along the way, Nisha must fend off desperate refugees who fight over the last drops of water and the sparse shade from the unforgiving heat. There are twists and turns in this riveting, perilous journey with a surprise ending. The beauty of this story is that we see how Nisha navigates internal and external obstacles through her journal entries. Reminiscent of the The Diary of Anne Frank, Nisha's diary shines a light on how a young girl tries to make sense of a world where political forces have created divisions among people and has turned her world upside down. Woven throughout the diary entries are Nisha's descriptions of the soothing rituals of cooking with Kazi. His gift of the perfect tomato with a sprinkle of salt, the savory samosas, and crunchy pakora are outward signs of love, family, culture, and survival.

Review Excerpt: 

Kirkus (starred review)

Believable and heartbreaking...A gripping, nuanced story of the human cost of conflict appropriate for both children and adults.

School Library Journal (starred review)

This rich, compelling story, which speaks to the turbulence surrounding India’s independence and to the plight of refugees, should be in all libraries.

Publisher's Weekly (starred review) 

The diary format gives her story striking intimacy and immediacy, serving as a window into a fraught historical moment as Nisha grapples with issues of identity and the search for a home that remain quite timely.

Connections:

Have a unit on epistolary: Literary work in form of letters.

Stories about immigration and refugees

Countdown by Deborah Wiles

Countdown by Deborah Wiles

Bibliography: 

Wiles, D. (2013). Countdown. Scholastic Inc.

Plot Summary: 

The story of a formative year in 12-year-old Franny Chapman's life, and the life of a nation facing the threat of nuclear war. Franny Chapman just wants some peace. But that's hard to get when her best friend is feuding with her, her sister has disappeared, and her uncle is fighting an old war in his head. Her saintly younger brother is no help, and the cute boy across the street only complicates things. Worst of all, everyone is walking around just waiting for a bomb to fall. It's 1962, and it seems that the whole country is living in fear. When President Kennedy goes on television to say that Russia is sending nuclear missiles to Cuba, it only gets worse. Franny doesn't know how to deal with what's going on in the world -- no more than she knows how to deal with what's going on with her family and friends. But somehow she's got to make it through. Featuring a captivating story interspersed with footage from 1962, award-winning author Deborah Wiles has created a documentary novel that will put you right alongside Franny as she navigates a dangerous time in both her history and history.

Critical Analysis:

I chose to read this book as an audiobook and I'm thinking that's the way to go with this book. It has so many cool sound-bites that make it seem so real!

This just might be my all-time-favorite audio book! It was wonderful! Frannie is a 5th grade girl living in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis in a suburb of D.C. While the book certainly is a kid-friendly history lesson on the early 1960s, it also has a story line dealing with friendships and relationships, both within families and with close friends.

I would love to do this with interested PAT/higher level readers that are interested in historical fiction. There are so many great investigations that kids could explore that would be related to the time period of the book. I would also love to have the kids listen to it, while following along in the physical book.

Review Excerpt: 

Booklist (starred review)

Wiles skillfully keeps many balls in the air, giving readers a story that appeals across the decades as well as offering enticing paths into the history.

Horn Book (starred review)

The larger story...told here in an expert coupling of text and design, is how life endures, even triumphs, no matter how perilous the times

Publisher's Weekly (starred review) 

Wiles palpably recreates the fear kids felt when air-raid sirens and duck-and-cover drills were routine...this story is sure to strike a chord with those living through tough times today

Connections:

Do the whole Sixties Trilogy by Deborah Wiles - Great Book Club books

Background information about the 1960s:  https://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1960s.html

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library on the Cuban Missile Crisis, where you can listen to Kennedy’s speech to the nation, October 22, 1962:   http://www.jfklibrary.org/jfkl/cmc/cmc_calendar_map.html

Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk

Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk

Bibliography: 

Wolk, L. (2019). Beyond the Bright Sea. Scholastic.

Plot Summary: 

Crow has lived her entire life on a tiny piece of the starkly beautiful Elizabeth Islands off the coast of Massachusetts. Her only companions are Osh, the man who rescued her from a tiny skiff as an infant and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their neighbor across the sandbar. But it isn't until the night when a mysterious fire appears across the water that an unspoken question of her own history forms in her heart and an unstoppable chain of events is triggered. Using her bravery and perseverance, Crow must follow clues that not only lead to a personal treasure, but to uncovering her lost identity and, ultimately, understanding what it means to be a family.

Critical Analysis:

An excellent new middle grade classic that I would highly recommend as a replacement for ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS in all classrooms (so much has been written about the portrayal of American Indians in IOTBD - if you still use that book in the classroom, seek out a modern analysis before reading again) - BEYOND THE BRIGHT SEA retains much of the adventure, island life and abandoned child storylines that draw readers to that old story.

Admittedly, this book was a rather slow start for me as I recently finished ORPHAN ISLAND by Laurel Snyder and the storylines seemed similar at the start (abandoned children set afloat in boats to wash up on islands), but not long into BEYOND THE BRIGHT SEA, I fell in love with Crow, Osh, and Miss Maggie. One thing I loved about Wolk's telling of this story was the timelessness of it - it took reading the fascinating author's note at the end of the book to discover she was writing about the 1920s. This is a story of the Atlantic coastal islands, of course, but it is also a story of belonging, family and love.

This needs to be a required purchase for all elementary and middle school libraries, and highly recommended as a middle grade read aloud.

Review Excerpt: 

NPR's Best Books of the Year

Be warned, once you pick up Beyond the Bright Sea, you won’t be able to put it down...Lauren Wolk's writing is at once lyrical and fraught with danger and suspense, as Crow follows her instincts to hunt down a past that has eluded her and face an unknown future.

Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

Creating mystery and suspense in an unusual setting, Newbery Honor–winner Wolk spins an intriguing tale of an orphan determined to find her roots, set in the 1920s…. Crow is a determined and dynamic heroine with a strong intuition, who pieces together the puzzle of her past while making profound realizations about the definition of family.

Kirkus (starred review) 

The mysteries—and the words that describe them—are compelling enough to send readers to the islands for years to come. A beautiful, evocative sophomore effort from Newbery honoree Wolk

Booklist (starred review)

Wolk has a keen sense for the seaside landscape, skillfully mining the terror the ocean can unleash as a furious nor’easter heightens tension in the novel’s climax.

Connections:

Map of Massachusetts & the Elizabeth Islands: https://itouchmap.com/?d=614535&s=MA&f=island 

Cuttyhunk Island facts:  https://kids.kiddle.co/Cuttyhunk_Island

The First Leprosy Patients Arrive on Penikese Island: https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/

Information about Leprosy: https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/leprosy/599026

Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoiboi

 

Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoiboi

Bibliography: 

Zoboi, I. A. (2023). Star child: A biographical constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler. Dutton Children's Books. 

Plot Summary: 

Includes bibliographical references. "A biography in verse and prose of science fiction visionary Octavia Butler".

Critical Analysis:

Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoboi is one part poetry, one part biography. Zoboi uses stunning poetry to convey the life of Butler through shapes and movement of stanzas.This is an examination of how the current events of Butler's time shaped who she was as a person and as a writer. She was heavily influenced by the civil rights movement and the space race. She didn't even see any black women in science fiction until she was 19 and saw Lt. Nyota Uhura on Star Trek: The Origin Series for the first time in 1966.

Review Excerpt: 

School Library Journal (starred review)

A one-of-a-kind masterpiece of literature. This must-read biography belongs on every library shelf and will redefine the way readers engage with biographical texts.

Horn Book (starred review)

A biography that’s as unique in form and content as the groundbreaking sci-fi/fantasy author herself.... Informational and inspirational, this innovative work will draw committed Butler fans and entice those unfamiliar with her work to seek it out.

Booklist (starred review) 

Zoboi has created a necessary addition to school and public library collections through this memorable look at how writers incorporate their lives into their work.

Kirkus (starred review)

An inspiring look at the formative years and work of a literary giant that’s sure to capture young readers’ attention.

Connections:

Research the Great Migration

Writing Poetry - https://lithub.com/this-is-octavia-butlers-best-writing-advice/

Black History Month - February

Creature Features: 25 Animals Explain Why They Look the Way They Do by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

 

Creature Features: 25 Animals Explain Why They Look the Way They Do by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

Bibliography: 

Ganeri, A., & Fricker, S. (1997). Creature features. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 

Plot Summary: 

Includes bibliographical references. Text and illustrations examine unusual animal facial features and how they help the animals survive.

Critical Analysis:

Steve Jenkins and Robin Page may just be some of my new favorite authors. As all of Jenkins' books are beautifully illustrated, this one is remarkably done. The students in my class absolutely loved this book! I really like the perspective that this text takes makes it highly intriguing the reader. It makes the reader think about the picture and listen to the facts to figure out why the animal looks the way they do. The content of the book is also very interesting and for my 5th grade students "very cool". I have to say I learned a lot by reading this story too! Great book and I can't wait to make it a part of my classroom.

Review Excerpt: 

Kirkus 

From a skilled team, another intriguing invitation to explore the animal world.

Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

Jenkins's torn-paper creations emphasize the idea of interspecies dialogue—readers stare face to face with the animals, who happily divulge what makes them special.

Bulletin 

The language of the questions is funny, varied, and irreverent, and the answers are as personable as they are compactly informative...Though the text is accessible for reading alone, the Q&A format is a natural for a lively and unusual readaloud—funny voices optional but recommended.

Booklist

It's a splendid introduction and a memorable read-aloud for young children.

Connections:

Nonfiction Unit

Animal Unit - You can include other books written by Steve Jenkins

Interview with Steve Jenkins - https://www.teachingbooks.net/author_collection.cgi?id=26&mid=50

The House Baba Built: An Artist's Childhood in China by Ed Young

 

The House Baba Built: An Artist's Childhood in China by Ed Young

Bibliography: 

Young, E. (2011). The House Baba built. New York, NY. 

Plot Summary: 

Ed Young describes his childhood home, which was built by his father in Shanghai, and reflects on his fond memories of playing in the home while guests moved in to seek safety from the war affecting China.

Critical Analysis:

What a treasure this memory-filled book is! The multimedia illustrations by Ed Young, who himself is an artistic treasure, are filled with images of the artist and his family during their early years in Shanghai. In order to keep the family safe, Ed's engineer father designed and built a house on the edge of the town. So structurally sound was the house [Ed's father built double-tiered walls from bricks and covered the roof with concrete--that it survived World War II, something the illustrator realized only as he was creating the book that pays homage to his father and "the house that Baba built" (unpaginated), a phrase that is repeated throughout the story. The way the family spent its free time and Young's first attempts at drawing are described, and it is clear that despite the war and the changes that were occurring in China, the house's rooms were filled with affection and trust. The love of family and the difficulties involved in retrieving long-lost pieces of the past shine through in this wonderful memoir. Pair this one with the memoir of another well-loved children's illustrator, Allen Say's Drawing from Memory.

Review Excerpt: 

School Library Journal

Young's father builds a house for his growing family and for others who join them. Against the background of World War II, the author shares childhood memories of changing seasons, raising silkworms, and picnicking by the pool. This oversize book with foldout pages is illustrated with photos, drawings, and collage.

Connections:

Nonfiction/Biography Unit

Author Study of Ed Young with other non-fiction books written by him.

Asian Heritage Month - May

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone

 

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared To Dream by Tanya Lee Stone

Bibliography: 

Stone, T. L., & Weitekamp, M. A. (2009). Almost astronauts: 13 women who dared to dream. Candlewick Press.

Plot Summary: 

What does it take to be an astronaut? Excellence at flying, courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, top physical shape — any checklist would include these. But when America created NASA in 1958, there was another unspoken rule: you had to be a man. Here is the tale of thirteen women who proved that they were not only as tough as the toughest man but also brave enough to challenge the government. They were blocked by prejudice, jealousy, and the scrawled note of one of the most powerful men in Washington. But even though the Mercury 13 women did not make it into space, they did not lose, for their example empowered young women to take their place in the sky, piloting jets and commanding space capsules. ALMOST ASTRONAUTS is the story of thirteen true pioneers of the space age.

Critical Analysis:

Stone offers a fascinating exploration of gender roles during this time and how these particular women were considered abnormal and misfits who could not fit into natural roles of motherhood, having dinner on the table for their husbands when they came home, etc. The media and most male astronauts didn’t help. The women were the topic of many degrading jokes, cartoons, and court testimonies that was meant to keep them in their place: at home. As the story of the thirteen women is told, the author offers a glimpse of how popular media and what shows were on television during that time. Furthermore, Stone’s first intention was to have the book include poetry she wrote about each one of the women but her editor advised her against this. However, she has these poems available online for those who are interested in further study of the topic. 

Overall, this text is a great way for teens to explore the history of the struggle for equality but also take a critical look into how far the women’s rights battle has come. After all, even today, women still earn less than men do.

Review Excerpt: 

The Horn Book (starred review)

Stone presents the full story of early-sixties public discourse about women’s capabilities and clearly shows the personal, political, and physical risks taken by the women in pursuit of their dream.

Publisher's Weekly

Readers with an interest in history and in women's struggle for equality will undoubtedly be moved.

School Library Journal (starred review)

This passionately written account of a classic but little-known challenge to established gender prejudices also introduces readers to a select group of courageous, independent women.

Connections:

Women's Rights - Would be good to use as a resource for March, which is World Women's Month.

SEL - Overcoming adversity of women astronauts in a male dominated field at the time.