147. The Year of Miss Agnes

The Year of Miss Agnes. Kirkpatrick Hill. 2000/2020. 128 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: "What will happen now?" I asked Mamma as we watched the plane take the teacher away. 

Premise/plot: Fred (Frederika) is skeptical that the new teacher will last long. Life in their small Alaskan village is too rough and tough on most teachers. But their small village has enough students--the minimum is six--for a school to be established if only they can get a teacher to come...to come and stay. Their last teacher didn't last long at all. But this teacher, Agnes Sutterfield, is all kinds of wonderful. Different in every way that matters, that counts. For the first time, the students feel their teacher has invested in them. But will she stay? That one question drives the narrative forward. 

Historical fiction set in Alaska in 1948/1949. This is a one-room school house in a small village.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this one! I enjoy historical fiction novels. (That is probably obvious by now). I love teaching stories. (I do.) This one was solidly good. If I had one complaint--and I suppose I do--it was just a little too short. It's like we get in-depth coverage of her first week or two of school and then super-super-super fast forward to the last day of school. When we only had two or three pages left of the novel and the story still hadn't come to any satisfying conclusion, I was VERY WORRIED. But it got there just in time. Barely. Another fifty to seventy-five pages and this one would have been A++++++. 

I really loved the inclusion of Bokko, Fred's sister, who is deaf. I loved how Miss Agnes taught her as well and got the whole town excited about including her.

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers

The Great Chicken Escape

The Great Chicken Escape. Nikki McClure. 2018. Cameron Kids. 40 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Good Morning, Chickens.

Premise/plot: The Great Chicken Escape is inspired by true events. The author while living with 'a small group of monastics on Spruce Island, Alaska' witnesses the great escape. One day the chickens escaped their coop. The author note reads,

"Some of the more timid were caught, but a rogue group successfully eluded the nuns. The nuns decided that there was no real danger, only the possibility of a great chicken adventure. They let the chickens roam, enjoying the freedom of the forest. There was no worry, for the chickens would return home to roost; after all, they are chickens." 

The illustrations are black and white.

My thoughts: I like this one. I do. It isn't my absolute favorite picture book about chickens. (There are believe it or not a lot of great books starring chickens!) But the illustrations are great. The text is sparse and simple. But the story is fun nonetheless.

© 2018 Becky Laney of Young Readers