World War I is turning Europe upside down.Our narrator is steadfast Joey, a beautiful young farm horse who suddenly finds himself in the thick of battle when his owners sell him to the British army. With the help of the soldiers and his strong stallion companion Topthorn, Joey is able to prove his bravery in even the toughest situations, but the young master that he left behind, Albert, is always on his mind. Albert is heartbroken to say goodbye to his spirited friend and vows to find his beloved Joey one day, even if he has to enlist in the services when he is old enough.Their inevitable reunion seems impossible, though, as Joey gets captured by the Germans as a prisoner of war. Under their new masters, he and Topthorn travel around the countryside to pull the hospital wagons for injured soldiers. The pair find brief solace in the company of sweet young Emilie and her grandfather, French civilians who care for them through a long and brutal winter. Sadly, the comforts of their care are short-lived when the horses are commissioned to go back into battle. For Joey, the war drags ever on as conditions worsen and the horses around him begin to drop one by one. Will Joey ever free himself from battle to see his dear Albert again? War Horse gets right in the middle of a messy period of time and shows the downsides of battle from a very unique point of view. Its message of peace resonates throughout the book, and readers will be rooting for Joey to make it through the violence in one piece.
0 Comments
Once upon a time, fairy tales were a whole lot cooler than the ones that you might have heard. Back in the day, the Brothers Grimm wove some totally bloody, awesome stories, many of which have been lost to the ages in favor of flouncy princesses and happy endings. A Tale Dark and Grimm sets the record straight, retelling some of the best of the Grimm fairy tales in an innovative new way. Hansel and Gretel, famous for their gingerbread house-eating, are cast as the heroes of all of these stories, which are spun together to form one merry gory narrative. Not all is well in the kingdom of Grimm, and the two unfortunate siblings are forced to find their way in the world, falling head over heels into trouble with every step of their journey. All the siblings want is to reunite with their long lost parents (who, by the way, once chopped off both of their heads…but don’t worry, they got better!), but numerous evil adults, monsters, and even the devil himself keep thwarting them. In the end, all that stands between Hansel and Gretel and happiness is a huge horrible dragon. Not surprisingly, it falls to the children to save the kingdom from the fire breathing beast…and a happily ever after ending is nowhere in sight! Readers (especially boys) will get a kick out of this twisted fairy tale, which has plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor, daring feats, and severed body parts to go around. Fairy tales are cool again. Life as Fadi knows it ends the night he and his family make their narrow escape from Afghanistan’s oppressive Taliban rule; it is the same night that his six-year-old sister Mariam becomes lost and left behind in the increasingly unstable Middle East. Fadi and his parents and older sister Noor are forced to press on to their new home in California to avoid capture, all blaming themselves for sweet Mariam’s disappearance. All four of them try to make the best out of a bad situation while their overseas connections mount searches for Mariam. Fadi begins middle school and finds comfort in the after-school photography club and his new friendship with bossy Chinese classmate Anh. What little peace and solace Fadi finds is short-lived, though, as the events on September 11, 2001, turn his life upside down once again. He quickly finds himself at odds with a group of dangerous racist bullies, and the political climate makes it even harder to find traces of the missing Mariam. Throughout all of the hardship and intolerance, his family struggles to keep their fervent hopes alive, and Fadi soon plans his own scheme to bring his little sister home.Everything hinges on the upcoming Societé Geographique photography contest, and he just knows that he can win the grand prize: plane tickets overseas. But how can he find the perfect shot? N.H. Senzai writes very convincingly as likeable hero Fadi, and all of the rich details of Pukhtun culture enhance the story and will invite readers to learn more about Afghanistan and its people and history. A helpful glossary of terms and facts can be found at the back of the book. 272 pages. Ages 10-14. Readalikes: Laugh With the Moon, by Shana Burg Ever since the death of her twin sister, twelve year old Bluebell’s life has been in disarray. With her trusty video camera, Blue captures the aftermath of the Gadsby family life in an alternating combination of short film clips and diary entries. Blue is most comfortable when she can disappear behind the camera, and she has made invisibility an artform in the halls of her school. Despite her quiet existence, though, Blue’s world is nevertheless filled with a fascinating array of characters like dramatic pink-haired sister Flora, a family of white rats, pesky little sibs Twig and Jasmine, and prickly Bosnian au pair Zoran. Most interesting to Blue, though, is the sudden addition of a next-door neighbor. Specifically, a very cute next-door neighbor named Joss who seems to actually notice and like her. Over time, Blue gets to remember what it feels like to be noticed, to learn how to be her own person even with the jarring absence of Iris. After Iris is a sympathetic story with a lot of humor and heart that tackles realistic issues in a thoughtful way. The transcripts from Blue’s films let readers see the world as she does, and the chapters told from her point of view are even more insightful and frank. This is a winner. Living on a farm in the midst of the Great Depression means that times are hard, especially for Charlie Anne and her family, who recently lost their beloved mother. Charlie Anne hears the voice of her mother everywhere she goes, especially the nearby river, where she seeks out refuge from her sadness and troubles. Still, she knows that they will always get by as long as they stay together as a family, a conviction that is shattered when her father leaves them to earn money building roads up north. Left in the care of their awful cousin Mirabel, she and her siblings have to make by as best they can, wearing hand-me-down clothes, going without shoes and education, and working hard to maintain their home. It’s not the happiest existence, but Charlie Anne tries her best to keep the family united. Everything changes on the day that two strangers move in next door and shake the town upside down. Rosalyn is a free-thinking schoolteacher who runs around in red pepper red trousers, and Phoebe is her African-American daughter, the first person of color that Charlie Anne has ever seen in her life. The two girls become fast friends, and fast funny Phoebe turns out to be the perfect solace for the still-grieving Charlie Anne. Unfortunately, cousin Mirabel and the rest of the town are not as thrilled with their new neighbors, and they have to keep their playtimes a secret. As racial tensions mount and Rosalyn and Phoebe try to open up an integrated schoolhouse, Charlie Anne learns what people are really made of. Her hard times have just begun as she learns to stand up to injustice for the sake of her friend, finally donning some trousers of her own and realizing that this world still has plenty of surprises and pleasures in it. This is a lovely tale of friendship in the face of adversity, of family and love, of the power of education, and of life after loss. This tale is a "Beauty and the Beast" like no other, weaving the familiar fairytale tropes around the story of Sarah, a lonely girl with a lonely life. Sarahbear, as her mother calls her, knows that her family is hiding a secret. They are always on the move, running from cold weather and going house to house before Sarah ever has a chance to settle or make friends. Just when she starts to make the acquaintance of Alan, a compelling older boy, Sarah is shuttled away yet again. This time, though, her parents aren’t staying with her. Instead, she is the reluctant resident of a crumbling old castle in the middle of nowhere, and only her stern and frightening grandmother is there for company. That’s what she is led to believe, anyway. Natural curiosity and a bit of magic lead Sarah to discover talking ravens, family secrets, witches, and Beasts. As Sarah puts the pieces of her cursed family history together, older readers will be drawn into the richly detailed mystery and will probably be as surprised by the true identity of the Beast (or Beasts?) as Sarah herself is. In this dark and thoughtful story, the Beast isn’t who you might think it is. Read alikes: Bound, by Donna Jo Napoli; The Beast Within, by Serena Valentino |
Posts by Mrs. Remington, School Librarian
|