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Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club com, March 12, 2012
In southern California on the eve of World War II, Maddie and Lane go against each of their family’s wishes and marry. Although Maddie is white and Lane is a Nisei, an American born to parents who emigrated from Japan, they are sure their love for each other will help them overcome the obstacles.
Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into the war changes everything in ways they could not have anticipated. Suddenly, Lane’s father is spirited away to a detention center for questioning, and the weeks drag on without his return. The rest of the family is forced to leave everything behind and enter an internment camp. But the challenges they face have only just begun, and they will continue to be taxed as long as the war is on.
In Bridge of Scarlet Leaves author Kristina McMorris returns to the time in history she brought to life in Letters from Home. In her new book, she focuses on the challenge Japanese Americans faced during World War II, and what it was like for the people who looked beyond race to see them as simply Americans. Even before the war, mixed relationships were frowned upon, and anyone bold enough to enter into one had to endure whispers, stares and disapproval. After the war began, it was even more difficult.
This sweeping tale goes behind the fences of an internment camp and a POW camp. It looks at the experience through the eyes of American soldiers in the Pacific arena, and at the lives of those back home. Through it all, the focus is on human resiliency�"the inner reserves of strength that can help someone shore up when circumstances conspire to bring them down. I highly recommend it.
The author provided me with a copy of this book to review.
Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club com, March 12, 2012
As she heads into high school, Kelsey is determined to change the way people see her. It’s not that she doesn’t already have a lot going for her already�"including great friends and pretty good looks�"but she wants to kick things up a notch. But right away, things don’t turn out quite like she planned.
She makes an enemy of her soccer captain, gets into a conflict with one of her best friends, botches her first kiss and fights often with her mom. And someone on the photography staff of the school newspaper seems to have it out for her, because photos of her in embarrassing positions keep showing up in print.
Through every setback, Kelsey is even more determined to make things better. You’ll admire her spunk, her sense of humor and her tenacity, even when she’s being what her mom calls a Typical Adolescent.
Issues to talk about in mother-daughter book clubs include handling conflicts with friends, first dates and kisses, mother-daughter relationships, and underage drinking and drug use. I recommend it for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 14 and up.
Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club com, March 12, 2012
In Girl Meets Boy: Because There Are Two Sides to Every Story, twelve young adult writers team up to create six stories from two different points of view: his and hers. This collection, edited by Kelly Milner Halls, is funny and smart and raw in the way it looks at teens in love.
Joseph Bruchac writes of a Native American boy who is short for his age and learning martial arts to defend himself against the bigger guys at school. He would like to get together with the tall star of the girls basketball team, but he’s sure she would never go for him. Cynthia Leitich Smith writes the other side of the story, of a girl who’s not very girly and who intimidates the boys around her. In this story, as in all the others, the boys and girls face their insecurities, their fears, and sometimes even defy the wishes of their parents in the pursuit of love.
Other writers in the collection include Chris Crutcher and Kelly Milner Halls, James Howe and Ellen Wittlinger, Terry Davis and Rebecca Fjelland Davis, Terry Trueman and Rita Williams-Garcia, and Randy Powel and Sara Ryan.
Issues that these teens deal with include being attracted to someone of a different race, someone of the same sex, and someone of a different religion. Their moral backgrounds don’t always match. But they all share one thing in common: they are taking a chance on someone in the hopes of finding love. The writing is fresh and thoughtful and provocative. Girl Meets Boy is fun to read. It’s also interesting to see what each author has to say about the inspiration for his or her character. I recommend it for ages 15 and up.
The publisher provided me with a copy of this book to review.
Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club com, March 12, 2012
Jennifer Fosberry and Mike Litwin, who brought us My Name Is Not Isabella, have added a new adventure for spunky, purple-haired Isabella. In Isabella: Girl on the Go, she is an explorer discovering some of the great places of the world as she works with her dad in her own backyard.
The day starts with Isabella playing in a sandbox and her dad asking his “favorite little girl” for help. “I am not a little girl,” she replies. “Then who is going to help me today?” asked the father. Isabella replies, “I am an archeologist, searching the hottest, driest desert for the tomb of a king.”
As the day goes on, Isabella becomes an artist in Paris, a Chinese warrior building the Great Wall, an astronomer at a Mayan temple and more. When the day comes to an end her father takes her hand and asks, “Where are we headed now?” By this time Isabella has explored the world and discovered that the most wonderful place is home.
The back of the book features information on all the places Isabella imagines she travels to, perfect for extending the learning when you read this book to your child. The illustrations and the story will have you coming back to read this over and over again. I highly recommend it.
Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club com, March 12, 2012
Houston in 1968 was a volatile place with strained relations between blacks and whites. Schools were integrated just a few years before and the unrest there reflected much of what was happening in other parts of the country as well. Into this fray enters the white family of a television cameraman who makes friends with a black activist who was editor of an anti-poverty weekly.
The Silence of Our Friends, by Mark Long, Jim Demonakos and Nate Powell is based on the real life story of author Long’s father, who was the cameraman, and the events that took place around a protest that led to a police officer’s death and the trial of the men arrested for it.
The black and white images in this graphic novel reflect many things from the era: television was in black and white, blacks and whites held preconceived notions about each other, and race lines were usually drawn so that you were either for or against one side or the other. Children often see things as their parents do, and this book is particularly poignant when it shows the children of both families interacting with each other and with others in their own neighborhoods.
The simple act of a white family inviting a black family to dinner, or vice versa, was unheard of, and breaking the unwritten code could be dangerous. The title of the book is taken from the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., quote, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies…but the silence of our friends.” It is a fitting title, and the book challenges readers to really consider the courage it takes to speak up in a place where everything encourages you to keep silent.
I recommend The Silence of Our Friends for ages 14 and up.
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Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club com has commented on (205) products.
Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristina McMorris
Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club com, March 12, 2012
In southern California on the eve of World War II, Maddie and Lane go against each of their family’s wishes and marry. Although Maddie is white and Lane is a Nisei, an American born to parents who emigrated from Japan, they are sure their love for each other will help them overcome the obstacles.Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into the war changes everything in ways they could not have anticipated. Suddenly, Lane’s father is spirited away to a detention center for questioning, and the weeks drag on without his return. The rest of the family is forced to leave everything behind and enter an internment camp. But the challenges they face have only just begun, and they will continue to be taxed as long as the war is on.
In Bridge of Scarlet Leaves author Kristina McMorris returns to the time in history she brought to life in Letters from Home. In her new book, she focuses on the challenge Japanese Americans faced during World War II, and what it was like for the people who looked beyond race to see them as simply Americans. Even before the war, mixed relationships were frowned upon, and anyone bold enough to enter into one had to endure whispers, stares and disapproval. After the war began, it was even more difficult.
This sweeping tale goes behind the fences of an internment camp and a POW camp. It looks at the experience through the eyes of American soldiers in the Pacific arena, and at the lives of those back home. Through it all, the focus is on human resiliency�"the inner reserves of strength that can help someone shore up when circumstances conspire to bring them down. I highly recommend it.
The author provided me with a copy of this book to review.
Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin
Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club com, March 12, 2012
As she heads into high school, Kelsey is determined to change the way people see her. It’s not that she doesn’t already have a lot going for her already�"including great friends and pretty good looks�"but she wants to kick things up a notch. But right away, things don’t turn out quite like she planned.She makes an enemy of her soccer captain, gets into a conflict with one of her best friends, botches her first kiss and fights often with her mom. And someone on the photography staff of the school newspaper seems to have it out for her, because photos of her in embarrassing positions keep showing up in print.
Through every setback, Kelsey is even more determined to make things better. You’ll admire her spunk, her sense of humor and her tenacity, even when she’s being what her mom calls a Typical Adolescent.
Issues to talk about in mother-daughter book clubs include handling conflicts with friends, first dates and kisses, mother-daughter relationships, and underage drinking and drug use. I recommend it for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 14 and up.
Girl Meets Boy: Because There Are Two Sides to Every Story by Kelly Milner Halls
Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club com, March 12, 2012
In Girl Meets Boy: Because There Are Two Sides to Every Story, twelve young adult writers team up to create six stories from two different points of view: his and hers. This collection, edited by Kelly Milner Halls, is funny and smart and raw in the way it looks at teens in love.Joseph Bruchac writes of a Native American boy who is short for his age and learning martial arts to defend himself against the bigger guys at school. He would like to get together with the tall star of the girls basketball team, but he’s sure she would never go for him. Cynthia Leitich Smith writes the other side of the story, of a girl who’s not very girly and who intimidates the boys around her. In this story, as in all the others, the boys and girls face their insecurities, their fears, and sometimes even defy the wishes of their parents in the pursuit of love.
Other writers in the collection include Chris Crutcher and Kelly Milner Halls, James Howe and Ellen Wittlinger, Terry Davis and Rebecca Fjelland Davis, Terry Trueman and Rita Williams-Garcia, and Randy Powel and Sara Ryan.
Issues that these teens deal with include being attracted to someone of a different race, someone of the same sex, and someone of a different religion. Their moral backgrounds don’t always match. But they all share one thing in common: they are taking a chance on someone in the hopes of finding love. The writing is fresh and thoughtful and provocative. Girl Meets Boy is fun to read. It’s also interesting to see what each author has to say about the inspiration for his or her character. I recommend it for ages 15 and up.
The publisher provided me with a copy of this book to review.
Isabella: Girl on the Go by Jennifer Fosberry
Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club com, March 12, 2012
Jennifer Fosberry and Mike Litwin, who brought us My Name Is Not Isabella, have added a new adventure for spunky, purple-haired Isabella. In Isabella: Girl on the Go, she is an explorer discovering some of the great places of the world as she works with her dad in her own backyard.The day starts with Isabella playing in a sandbox and her dad asking his “favorite little girl” for help. “I am not a little girl,” she replies. “Then who is going to help me today?” asked the father. Isabella replies, “I am an archeologist, searching the hottest, driest desert for the tomb of a king.”
As the day goes on, Isabella becomes an artist in Paris, a Chinese warrior building the Great Wall, an astronomer at a Mayan temple and more. When the day comes to an end her father takes her hand and asks, “Where are we headed now?” By this time Isabella has explored the world and discovered that the most wonderful place is home.
The back of the book features information on all the places Isabella imagines she travels to, perfect for extending the learning when you read this book to your child. The illustrations and the story will have you coming back to read this over and over again. I highly recommend it.
The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long
Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club com, March 12, 2012
Houston in 1968 was a volatile place with strained relations between blacks and whites. Schools were integrated just a few years before and the unrest there reflected much of what was happening in other parts of the country as well. Into this fray enters the white family of a television cameraman who makes friends with a black activist who was editor of an anti-poverty weekly.The Silence of Our Friends, by Mark Long, Jim Demonakos and Nate Powell is based on the real life story of author Long’s father, who was the cameraman, and the events that took place around a protest that led to a police officer’s death and the trial of the men arrested for it.
The black and white images in this graphic novel reflect many things from the era: television was in black and white, blacks and whites held preconceived notions about each other, and race lines were usually drawn so that you were either for or against one side or the other. Children often see things as their parents do, and this book is particularly poignant when it shows the children of both families interacting with each other and with others in their own neighborhoods.
The simple act of a white family inviting a black family to dinner, or vice versa, was unheard of, and breaking the unwritten code could be dangerous. The title of the book is taken from the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., quote, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies…but the silence of our friends.” It is a fitting title, and the book challenges readers to really consider the courage it takes to speak up in a place where everything encourages you to keep silent.
I recommend The Silence of Our Friends for ages 14 and up.
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