VVMBookBlog

Another Maud Hart Lovelace 2006-07 book

I was reading this book recently in the time when the war was going on in the Middle East with Israel and Lebanon, and I couldn’t help making comparisons with actions in this book.

This is a fantasy about shapeshifters who are able to move between their human and animal forms. Danica Shardae is an avian who shifts into a golden hawk, and Zane Cobriana is a serpiente who shifts into a cobra–and their two groups have been at war for so long that no one can remember the reason why. Both Danica and Zane are fed up with wars and having to bury the bodies of their friends and families. Then they come up with an outrageous idea for a way to end the fighting. Would it work? Will the others in their families go along with it and what will happen if they don’t?

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes is 22 years old and has already written some great books, including this one. Many readers enjoy her books that have a vampire theme. Now check out her website!

Another 2006-07 Maud Hart Lovelace book–look for it in the MHL section.

This book is a series of personal reflections of students in Mr. Ward’s high school English class, alternating with poetry written by those students. After a time studying the Harlem Renaissance and poetry from that time, Mr. Ward initiates Open Mike Fridays when students in his class share their poetry with the class. It catches on fast and students are able to see the experiences and feelings they share with others, and what might be behind the person their classmates show to the world.

There really should be more Mr. Wards in the world–a teacher who takes a chance to try something new and allow students a place to use their writing skills to learn more about themselves and their world. It takes lots of trust and courage to be willing to express the depth of feeling that one’s own poetry can evoke, but it can also be a great gift to other people. Some of our VVMS have shared their poetry in the past, either for publication, at the talent shows, or on TV.

Nikki Grimes has a great book here. Wouldn’t it be great if we could get her to come and visit our school?

Richard Peck has written some fun and funny books in the past few years, including the Newbery Award-winning A Year Down Yonder. He often pulls in historic events or time periods, creates some often laugh-out-loud funny situations but then usually puts all that against a backdrop of some very heartfelt human experiences. A recent book by him that I enjoyed was The Teacher’s Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts. But do I need to explain why I REALLY liked his latest book–Here Lies the Librarian?

It’s around 1914 and Peewee–Eleanor–is living with her older brother Jake and helping him run his barely-there car repair business–cars being a new and promising thing back in 1914. The story opens as a tornado is bearing down on their Indiana town, doing lots of structural damage, but it also unearths some of the graves in the Beulahland Cemetary near their house. Fortunately the grave of Peewee’s mother was untouched, as was the grave of recently deceased Electra Dietz, town librarian. And that leads to talk about the town library and the ultimate replacement for Ms. Dietz. After a series of funny interviews with the town library board, the replacement position ends up being shared by four young women, daughters of wealthy families in Indianapolis, and all very proud of being library science majors from Butler University.

Of course, I really enjoyed the librarian parts of this book. For me as a librarian, as a former city library board president, and having been on committees to hire librarians in my past, I thought this whole process was hysterical. I’m just not sure how far general appreciation of that particular topic might extend–especially to young student readers.

BUT…another big topic in the book are various car models of that time–Stutz Bearcat, Stoddard-Dayton, Packard, Pierce-Arrow–and some interesting bits of information about the early days of car racing. Read it and see how one of the four students–Irene Ridpath–inspires Peewee to do something unexpected with her life go where no girl/woman has gone before.

Oh, yeah, and here’s from librarian Electra Dietz’ gravestone:

Electra Dietz
1851-1912
SHH
HERE LIES THE LIBRARIAN
After years of service,
Tried and true,
Heaven stamped her–
OVERDUE.

This is another book on this year’s Maud Hart Lovelace reading list, however when you see this title on the list, you will see an asterisk or star by it noting that it is for more mature readers. The topic of the book is war.

In March 1944, Erik was 16, lived in Germany, and was drafted into the German Army at a time when things were starting to go very badly for the Germans. He was sent to the Russian front, where the Germans were attacking the Russians, with other young boys his age to replace dead and wounded German soldiers. As an infantryman, he and his fellow soldiers were moving from town to town, seeing the horror and death of war, and soon were engaged in direct combat from the trencheson their side of the battle. The Russians overtook them and killed most of his comrades.

Erik’s grandparents were from Russia so Erik grew up also speaking Russian. So in order to survive after the last horrible battle, Erik traded uniforms with a dead Russian soldier and, since he was wounded, he ended up in a Russian field hospital.

Read Soldier X to find out what happened to Erik. The descriptions of battles and combat are quite realistic, and readers get a disturbing view of war and the aftermath of war. And still it’s young adult fiction; actual warfare must be beyond horrible!