Historical Fiction Novel

Schmidt, Gary D. 2004. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. New York, NY: Clarion Books. ISBN: 9780618439294

Plot Summary:

Moving to Phippsburg, a small town in Maine, could be difficult for any 12 year old boy and it was for Turner Buckminster. Also hard for Turner was being the son of a minister. Most of the people in town had something to say about how Turner played baseball, what he wore (or didn’t wear), and where he went, but mostly they talked about who he chose to befriend. Malaga Island, a small island neighboring the town of Phippsburg, was home to Lizzie Griffin and other folks with dark skin who the people of Phippsburg desperately wanted to leave so they could use the island for tourism. One day while seeking the peacefulness of the ocean, Lizzie and Turner meet and begin a wonderful friendship that because of the differences in their skin color, really starts to give people something to talk about. When Turner finds that his friend is in need of a home because the townspeople are making all colored people leave, he uses the courage that he has been building to make a stand that may end up costing him more than he could have imagined.

Critical Analysis:

Rather than give an account the events of this story, Gary Schmidt pulls the reader into the story so much so that readers picture what is happening and become a part of the events. The events are the story, the two are masterly intertwined.

The story of the racism and removal of people living on Malaga Island is true. Schmidt accurately depicts the reasons for the cleansing of Malaga Island, racism and tourism, and how the people of Phippsburg went about it by forcing people to leave, burning their homes, and even digging up their graves. Schmidt is also careful to include accurate landmarks in the setting such as the First Congregational Church, the Pownal asylum, and the beaches.

Schmidt’s depiction of the characters reflects the views and close-minded attitudes of the times (the early 1900’s). Readers will fall in love with Turner Buckminster, a boy who must find himself and muster up the courage to take a stand for his beliefs. There is a lot of emphasis on character development in this story and it is completely necessary to enable readers to actually feel the events that unfold. Readers will be surprised at how they feel about the characters and what happens to them within the events of this story. The themes of morals, attitudes, relationships, and courage will indeed spark depth of conversation.

Awards and Reviews:

Newberry Honor Book

ALA Printz Award

“Schmidt weaves that history into a powerful tale of friendship and coming-of-age, adding a lyrical sense of the coastal landscape. Characters are drawn without reverence in this haunting combination of fact and fiction that has a powerful and tragic climax.”--Booklist

“With fully developed, memorable characters and a fascinating, little-known piece of history, this novel will leave a powerful impression on readers.”-- School Library Journal

Connections:

*Read another Gary Schmidt book such as Okay for Now or The Wednesday Wars

*Design a book jacket

*Write a diary entry from the perspective of Lizzie or Turner about a major event in the story such as being next to a whale, building a friendship, or visiting Miss Cobb’s house.

Historical Fiction by Laurence Yep

Yep, Laurence. 2006. The Earth Dragon Awakes: The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.

ISBN: 0060275251

Plot Summary:

The Earth Dragon had awaken before, but the Travis’s, Chin, and Ah Sing were unaware of the complication its movement was about to bring to their lives during this next awakening. Ah Sing, a Chinese immigrant in San Francisco in 1906, worked as a houseboy for the Travis family. His son Chin and the Travis boy, Henry, had grown to be friends and spent many evenings together reading “penny dreadfuls” to entertain their thoughts about heroism. Once the Earth Dragon, or earthquake, began to devastate the city and all its inhabitants, Henry and Chin recount their experiences as they deal with the loss of their homes and struggle to find safety. Through their shattering loss, Henry and Chin discover true heroism.

Critical Analysis:

Yen does a perfect job of introducing the characters in a way that expresses their culture and status during the early 1900’s. Yen is able to utilize his Chinese heritage to depict how the Chinese were treated in society around this time of the great earthquake. The discrimination of the Chinese is most evident in the details Yen writes in the afterword about the people not even wanting the Chinese to return after the fire. The character development is well-balanced in that it expresses the culture, but does not distract from the events of the earthquake. Although Yen states the characters are fictional, their thoughts and experiences are, in fact, a historical look at how the people in San Francisco dealt with the devastation of the earthquake and fire.

It is clear that Yen grew up in San Francisco. Yen does an amazing job of specifically addressing areas in San Francisco such as Nob Hill and Chinatown. Even if you have never been to the city, the details Yen provides about the locations in and around the city make it natural for readers to visualize the areas as the earthquake and fire move through the city and the people scramble to get out.  Also eye opening are the photographs included in the afterword of the book depicting the smoke and crippled buildings.

Yen’s style of writing is organized in a way that makes it easy for young readers to follow. The short chapters begin with a date and time to help organize the events throughout the earthquake and fire. Heroism is a prevalent theme throughout the book. Early on, the boys discuss heroic cowboys in their reading and soon come to realize the heroic qualities in their own families as they reach out to others and make brave decisions along their journey. The commitment of the firefighters and volunteers while battling the enormous blaze further exemplify heroic qualities.  There are also examples of non-heroes, such as the looters and people profiting on those trying to escape the fire. In addition to the other elements of the story, the theme in The Earth Dragon Awakes is authentic to the historical earthquake and fire of 1906.

Awards & Reviews:

Newberry Award winning author

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award

“Yep intersperses the fiction of Henry and Chin’s experiences with short chapters of facts about the earthquake and subsequent fire. This is a timely reminder of a historical disaster that turned over 2000 acres of city into a wasteland.”—Kirkus Review

“Henry and Chin’s stories are told in alternating chapters with a few interruptions for the insertion of earthquake information. Told in the present tense, the narration provides a "you are there" sense of immediacy and will appeal to readers who enjoy action-packed survival stories.”—Booklist

Connections:

*Do additional research on the 1906 earthquake using information sources such as http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/1906/18april/index.php .

*Do additional research or reading on plate tectonics

*Have students do a “What would you do?” – Write about what they would take and where they would go in a devastating situation such as an earthquake.

Scott O’Dell Award Winning Book

Gantos, Jack. 2011. Dead End In Norvelt. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN 9780374379933

Plot Summary:

Grounded for an entire summer after blowing a hole through a drive-in movie screen and mowing down his mother’s corn, young Jack must keep busy helping Miss Volker write obituaries for the original town members in Norvelt. While helping Miss Volker, Jack must learn how to manage nosebleeds, melted-off hands, driving lessons, an old man on a tricycle, and even Hells Angels. As Jack works to help with the obituaries, he discovers a wealth of information on the history of his small town in Pennsylvania and its founder Eleanor Roosevelt.

Critical Analysis:

Dead End In Norvelt’s main character, Jack Gantos is a 12 year-old boy growing up in the 1960’s. The book has some auto-biographical qualities through the experiences of the main character.  Because of the connection between the author and the main character, young Jack, it’s an accurate portrayal of the interests and actions of a 12 year-old in the 1960’s. Gantos efficiently portrays the personalities of the key characters in the book. The character’s personalities are realistic to the time, such as Jack’s mother who stays at home and works to prepare meals for the family and elderly community members. You can almost picture her with her hair neatly pinned and wearing an apron every waking minute.

The plot is unique and humorous.  While the events throughout the story are surprising and entertaining the plot is centrally focused on the town of Norvelt, PA, originally established as a project by Eleanor Roosevelt, and how this small town is slowly wearing out. Some of the details, such as Miss Volker doing procedures on Jack’s nose capillaries may distract a bit from the historical details that follow, but overall those details  lighten the mood of the plot and bring in a lot of humor that are sure to draw the attention of young readers.  Besides the town itself being historical and the drive-in movie down the road, the setting feels more like an old town than a historical one. Overall the characters and the plot stay more true to the times.

Jack Gantos fills his writing with classic “one-liners.” Witty comments such as Jack stating “I love to sniff the insides of books” and “cheezus crust” will make you laugh out loud at times. Poetic statements, such as “When the sun goes down, each day turns its back on the present and step into the past” fill the pages as well. It is clear Gantos has an affinity for history because he easily works in historical information into young Jack’s day to day life. Young Jack encounters history not only through the obituaries, but also in the “This Day in History” section of the paper and in the history books he loves to read. The era is reflected through the types of discussion the characters have and the activities they partake in. Dad discussing atomic bomb shelters and what the children do for fun (no video games…imagine that!) are realistic to discussions and activities of the 1960’s.

Awards & Reviews:

John Newberry Medal

Scott O’Dell Award

“A bit of autobiography works its way into all of Gantos’s work, but he one-ups himself in this wildly entertaining meld of truth and fiction by naming the main character . . . Jackie Gantos.” — STARRED/ Publishers Weekly

“A fast-paced and witty read.” —School Library Journal

“An exhilarating summer marked by death, gore and fire sparks deep thoughts in a small-town lad not uncoincidentally named ‘Jack Gantos.’ The gore is all Jack’s, which to his continuing embarrassment ‘would spray out of my nose holes like dragon flames’ whenever anything exciting or upsetting happens. And that would be on every other page, seemingly … [A] characteristically provocative gothic comedy, with sublime undertones.” --STARRED/ Kirkus Reviews

Connections:

*Identify similes in the book and write original similes about your town or school.

*Research a historical figure mentioned in the obituaries such as King Richard II, Cortes, or Eleanor Roosevelt.

 

Biography- The Lincolns

Fleming, Candace. 2008. The Lincolons: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary. New York: Schwartz and Wade Books. ISBN 9780375836183

Overview:

The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary portrays the life of President Abraham Lincoln and First Lady Mary Lincoln from birth to death. A dual look at both of their lives is offered illustrating their very different childhoods, their new life together, the presidency, Civil War, loss of children, and finally the tragic end to both of their lives. Along with some historical information, many ordinary events are presented.  Willie and Tad’s circus in the attic, Mary’s search for a dress maker, and Lincoln’s time  with “the boys,” allow readers to know the “real” Lincolns.

Critical Analysis:

Fleming uses a variety of sources, including personal writings from the Lincolns and memoirs and excerpts from family friends and relatives, to reveal a portrayal of the Abraham and Mary’s life from birth to death. The stories range from family times to major historical events that took place under Lincoln’s presidency.

The book is composed like a scrapbook and the black and white images and headlines will remind readers of a newspaper. Images of family portraits, primary documents, and historical events enhance every page. The book is organized into eight chapters and is in logical order according to Lincoln’s lifetime events and life themes. Also included are an engaging introduction, source notes, and an extensive index. Although the large composition of the book does not allow for a read aloud, the scrapbook layout invites readers to browse headings quite easily.

Reviews and Awards:

“Once again, Fleming humanizes her subjects and offers a broader perspective on their times with cleverly juxtaposed facts, anecdotes, and images.” --Booklist

“Using her signature scrapbook approach, Fleming lays out the answer in a biography that gives equal emphasis to Abraham and Mary Lincoln for an insightful portrait of their lives.”--School Library Journal

ALA Notable Books 2009
Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for Nonfiction 2009, Bank Street School of Education
IRA Teachers' Choices
NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book

Connections:

*Read more about the Lincolns in books such as:

            Abe Lincoln’s Hat by Martha Brenner

            Young Abe Lincoln: The Frontier Days, 1809-1837 by Cheryl Harness

            Lincoln in His Own Words by Milton Meltzer

*Review quotes of the day and additional information at http://www.abrahamlincolnsclassroom.org/

*Create an Abraham Lincoln puppet and share an interesting aspect of Lincoln’s life through the puppet.

*Write your own newspaper article about Abraham Lincoln.

Nonfiction By Steve Jenkins

Jenkins, Steve. Just a Second: A Different Way to Look At Time. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2011.

Overview:

Do you really know what kinds of things can happen every second, every minute, or every hour of each day, week, month, or year? In Just a Second: A Different Way to Look at Time, you will discover interesting information regarding time such as that a rattlesnake shakes its tail 60 times and a commercial jet can cruise 800 feet in just one second. Other intervals of time are also discussed- the minute, hour, day, week, month, year, and not to mention what has happened over the last billion years. After reading In Just a Second: A Different Way to Look at Time, readers will know just how much goes on in the time it takes to read just this one sentence.

Critical Analysis:

On two-paged colorful spreads, Jenkins displays collage-style images all around and includes facts near or bordering each picture. The images stand out against the bold solid colors used on the pages. Although the images used are not real photographs, they are appealing and draw in the attention of a young audience of 6 to 10 year olds. The facts are to the point and mostly not well-known information, making this informational book easy to read aloud from beginning to end. The last page in the book notes that some facts used in the book are well established, such as the speed of light, and other facts come from a variety of sources or are estimates of those sources. The author also notes that some facts come from reasonable estimates because, for example, there is no way to know exactly how many babies are born in a year. The author’s style of writing offers readers just enough information to peak their interest, but still allows the main idea of the book, concepts of time, to be clearly understood.

Awards and Reviews:

Caldecott Award Winning Author

“Jenkins renders this package both eye-catching and mind boggling. Teachers will find good juming-off points here for math, science, and history discussions.”--School Library Journal

“This subtly philosophical examination of time, scale, and the mechanics of life is all but certain to leave readers reconsidering the world and their place in it.” --Publishers Weekly

Connections:

*Create a class book that follows the pattern of Steve Jenkins’ Just a Second that depicts how many second, minutes, etc. that it takes student to do various things.

*Do some research on the history of time.

*Read Telling Time: How to tell time on digital and analog clocks! by Jules Older