A Royal Reflection

This morning I realized that my son is nearly the exact same age I was when Lady Diana wed Prince Charles.  It was 1981 and I was in Maine spending the summer in Waldoboro.  We didn't have a TV so the best I could do was look closely at all the photos in the paper the following day.  It satisfied me enough but boy did I feel left out that I didn't see it live.

I loved Diana.  I wanted to be her.  Even down to her hairstyle.  That year in Seventeen magazine there was a how-to on her hairstyle that you could cut out and hand over to your hairdresser.  I did it and looked awful.  Did my hairdresser know better? Of course.  I can still picture her telling me that it wasn't going to work on my curly, thick hair.  But I insisted. Thankfully, hair grows.

Today when I have a TV and Internet, I didn't set my alarm or attend any parties (I heard about this one at the Kansas City Public Library on NPR yesterday) but I did tune in when I finally managed to get out of bed.  I missed the ceremony but still got my share of the pomp and circumstance. And my tears were flowing. C'mon. Who doesn't cry at weddings?

The news these days is not good so a fairytale royal wedding is medicine for the soul. An escape, even if it's for an hour.  That's what reading does for me, too.  Plucks me right out of my life for a while. It's cliche but true. Take me to another world, another life, please.

Last week I finished Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee, a perfect lead up to today's event. Englishman Monty, his younger sister, Felicity and his best friend, Percey embark on a year long "Grand Tour" of the continent sometime in the 1700s.  There's a stolen box from Versailles pirates, parties, drinking, sex, Monty's love for Percey (unrequited or requited?) and quests...this exciting young adult novel has it all. The adventure, the triplet, the English countryside had me thinking it was a more-than-PG-13-but-less-than-R-rated version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as Monty, Felicity and Percey seek to find a mysterious cure. The sequel from Felicity's point of view, comes out October 2.


Thank you Royal Family for giving me the opportunity to escape to England for the second time this week and congratulations Harry and Meghan from across the pond, up the Hudson River over in Castleton.

The War I Finally Won

I literally cried myself to sleep last night.  Not just a weep, an all out bawl. You know, the kind you can't breathe, you almost can't move. My husband woke up.  He tried to console me. I don't even want to know what time it was--way after midnight.

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley has done it again.  Another masterpiece.  If you thought she deserved gold in 2016, that's totally ok now because this book, if you can imagine, is even better. She was distinguished then; she is a complete 100% master now.

I wanted to just soak this book in and that I did.  By doing so meant that I didn't take notes and I didn't have a pile of sticky notes by my side.  You must believe me when I tell you this, the words are beautiful, the plot is strong, and the themes play out even more this time around.

As the War played a role in the first book, this time it becomes another character. The book takes place right after the first book ends.  With no place to live, Susan, Ada and Jamie move into the Thorntons' gamekeeper's cottage.  Then, because of reasons related to the war, Lady Thornton must move in with them, along with Ruth, a German Jew. As challenging as all this sounds, Bradley makes this not only a story of what is lost in war but what can be gained. So much: Love, family, friendship, courage, forgiveness.

Of course, the question is, "Can it stand alone?"  Definitely.  But it would be read so much more deeply if you had the background knowledge of how horrible Mam was, what it was like to live imprisoned in Mam's world, how Ada and Jamie got to the country and met Susan, Ada's life with her clubfoot, Ada's relationship with her horse, Butter...and yet, if you haven't read the first book and want to dive right into this one, you can.  Bradley does such a phenomenal job picking the reader up from where she left off and filling in the blanks if it is read as a stand alone.  In fact, my friend who gave me the arc didn't even know it was a sequel until during or after she read it and still thoroughly enjoyed it.

The War that Saved My Life has been one of my go-to books for recommendations. My mom read it. My mom's friends. My adult cousins.  Mrs. Warland's book group. Grandma Dottie. My 10 year old niece. They all loved it and wouldn't stop talking about it.  I cannot wait to pass The War I Finally Won on to them all and then some. I cannot wait to read it with my students. I cannot wait for you to read it as well.

Yesterday I went to a Newbery-Caldecott prize prediction party. Since this book isn't released yet (comes out tomorrow, October 3), it hadn't received much buzz.  Please, if you were there and are reading this, The War I Finally Won is at the top of my list.  Fortunately for Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, I don't take off points for lost sleep and wailing that wakes my family.

Salt to the Sea

As often as I can get out of my 1-2-0-3-3 zip code, or even better 5-1-8 area code, I do. Be it as it may, on this particular school break, until this afternoon, I had yet to physically manage to get much out of either. However, I did leave the 2-0-1-6 for several hours yesterday-this morning and am grateful to Ruta Sepetys for that experience.

I feel a little naughty, too, reading a young adult novel.  You know I love my middle grade and joke that I have a fifth grade reading level.  However, every once in awhile, and I mean while, it is nice to break away.  It is the season of naughty and nice after all, right?

My friend and amazing Albany HS librarian, Alicia Abdul, recommended Ruta Septeys to me back in the summer and I finally was able to download the book the other day.  As an ebook, there is no flap or back cover to get a hint of what the book was about.  And honestly, if Alicia told me (and I'm sure she did) I forgot and dove into it completely blind and naive about it all.  I believe because of this, I enjoyed the experience even more.  My heart raced faster, my jaw dropped further in surprise and my tears were saltier.  This is going to become my new go-to recommend book for young adults and up.

It is 1945 Prussia in a month where "January's teeth bit sharp." This vivid language from only a few pages got me hooked immediately.

Four young people.  Four different points of view:  Emilia, a Polish girl with a secret;  Joana, a hardworking Lithuanian nurse; Florian, a suspicious handsome man on a mission; and,  Alfred, a German soldier constantly writing updates in mental love letters.

Eventually, they all come together, along with 10,000 other men, women and children on board the Wilhelm Gustloff with visions of freedom on the other side of the Baltic Sea.  But, the Russians had another idea for this ship that was "pregnant with lost souls conceived of war.  They would crowd into her belly and she would give birth to their freedom..." and this is the story of hope, survival and sacrifice of those who end up together on this "ship...born of death."

I was quickly sold on Sepetys rich language and descriptions.  Here, Alfred in one of his mental letters to Hannelore, explains "...we heroes eat danger atop our porridge for breakfast..."  To be able to write like she does and get in the mind of this young German soldier is heroic and delicious enough for me.

Searching for freedom in an icy, snowy, cold January, Emilia describes:  "Snow was falling, making everything appear fresh.  The white snow covered the dark truth.  Pressed white linen over a scarred table, a crisp clean sheet over a stained mattress."  Line after line, page after page, the metaphors along with the historical significance, should make this a required reading for every high school student.

Only after finishing the book and reading the author's notes did I then go to her webpage.  I'm in awe and have her other two books on hold for me at the library.  I will indulge once again in YA.  I'm hooked and I know a few of you will be once you get your hands on Salt to the Sea, too.  You've heard me say this before but make sure your day and night are free (no putting down this one) and a box of Kleenex is nearby.

As an aside, Ruta Sepetys's website has a ton of resources available if you want to learn more about the Wilhelm Gustoff.  I know, I do.  Also, here is a great video of her talking about the book that includes many original photographs.  Just watching this video made me start crying again.



So, enjoy the characters.  Enjoy the language.  And let the story soak in. Most of all, take advantage of the escape from wheverever your zip code is.  Then listen to the advice from Joana's father and take a break because "Sometimes living life is more instructive than studying it." Ahhh...thank you Ruta for letting me live life outside the 1-2-0-3-3 for just a bit.

Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban

This is a beautiful book that shares a part of our history in such a way that will make it easier to talk about and understand with my middle grade reading students.  World War II for Japanese Americans born in this country was not a time looked at with fondness.  I know this first hand because my mother-in-law, born in California in 1940, knows about it first hand and never speaks of it.  Manami's story, although a little older, could have been "Grandma's" story. 

From the beginning, this book is filled with questions to ponder.  Knowing no dogs are allowed in the camps, what would you do with your beloved Yujiin?  I can see early on, fascinating and educational discussions about the camps and the War will ensue with students.

When the family arrives to arrives at Manzanar to the barbed wire, guard tower, lack of green for a garden, Manami's father says with a positive twist, "The soldiers say it will be a village...We will make it a village." (p. 28) and they do.

Shortly afterwards, Manami stops talking.  The dirt, not like her island sand where she comes from "coats her throat so [she] cannot speak."  And the questions to think about continue:  Is it Manami's fault that her older brother, Ron, came from college in Indiana?  Why did her older sister, Keiko, stay in college?

Each chapter is a month in time at the camp.  In June, Ron thinks about joining the US Army. More questions--Should he go?  Why the conflict with going or staying?

Manami draws pictures of Yujiin and sends them in the sky, hoping for him to come to her.  "Each morning, I make a wish for Yujiin to come and I send new promises in the air." (p.81)

The months go on and the challenges of living in Manzanar continue.  Stray dogs show up, but none are Yujiin.  Is Yujiin getting Manami's messages?  Will Manami ever be able to love another dog?Will Manami speak again?

Go ahead and grab a cup of tea, a rice ball and sit down for a few hours and enjoy this special historical novel by debut author, Lois Sepahaban.  You won't want to get up till your finished.

Some enchanted ECHO by Pam Munoz Ryan

This afternoon while staring at the beautiful piercing blue sky, my 9 year old son and I finished up listening to the last hour of the audio version of ECHO.  We listened with all our heart in amazement.  I am still speechless.  I wiped the tears off my cheek, not just from the emotional written words spoken so perfectly but also at the finality of a book we loved so much and were committed to listening to for over nine hours was finished.  I craved more.  I kept the CD playing through all the credits and stared at the CD player hoping bonus tracks would begin magically, or at least one more song.

A boy in Germany.  Brothers in Philly.  A girl in California.  All brought together by music played from the heart from one magical harmonica.  It is truly enchanting.  Each of the three stories is intense in its own special way and leaves you hanging till the very end.  And then it is wrapped up and tied together like the perfect birthday present, except this one you want to wrap right back up and untie those bows ever so slowly again, knowing how good the gift underneath will be.

It was great to be able to explain the historical settings and stories behind each character to my son.  The book gave me the opportunity to discuss Nazi Germany, adoption, the internment camps, Pearl Harbor and more in such a way that was appropriate for my son and only enough to make the book make sense to his formidable mind.

I have been a fan of Pam Munoz Ryan's for a long time.  When I read THE DREAMER, I immediately got 10 copies donated to my library so I could use it for a book group that year.  Since then I have used it with many other groups of students and am still amazed by the beauty of the writing and poetry in that book.  I have never looked at poetry or Pablo Neruda the same.  THE DREAMER is still one of my favorite book group books to use with high level third graders and fourth graders.

ECHO is going to be one of those books that I believe should be on the short list for the Newbery this year.  Just getting my fifth graders to read it will be a challenge only because of the length.  I will promote the Overdrive version (and CD version) heavily and tell them they will not be disappointed.  Maybe it will be one of our Newbery book groups.  If that's the case, I will definitely volunteer to facilitate for I would welcome the opportunity to reread it with all my heart and share this enchanted piece of literature with my students.