Real Stories From My Time: Pearl Harbor

Nanea, Real Stories From My Time: Pearl Harbor (American Girl) Jennifer Swanson. 2018. Scholastic. 112 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence:  When most people think of Hawaii, they picture a lush, tropical island with miles of sandy beaches and palm trees swaying in the warm breeze--and that picture is pretty accurate!

Premise/plot: This AmericanGirl chapter book blends nonfiction and fiction together to teach young readers about the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

The first three chapters give young readers a background on Hawaii. The remaining chapters focus on the attack itself and the aftermath.

Most chapters include a brief section set apart as Nanea's Story. This fiction story is set in a different font. There's no mistaking what is fiction and what is nonfiction in this one.

My thoughts: I haven't read many--if any--American Girl chapter books. I liked this one. Part of me can't help wishing that it was all nonfiction or all fiction. The Magic Treehouse series, I believe, often has a fiction book and a nonfiction companion book that go together.

Original audience born circa 2009 to 2011. 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Knit Your Bit

Knit Your Bit: A World War I Story. Deborah Hopkinson. Illustrated by Steven Guarnaccia. 2013. 32 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: When Pop left to be a soldier, I wanted to go with him. "I'm brave," I told Pop. "I know, Mikey," he said, patting my shoulder. "And you'll need to be, 'cause it takes just as much courage to stay behind."

Premise/plot: Mikey says he wants to do something BIG to help the war effort. While his sister, Ellie, learns to knit so she can knit her bit, Mikey resists such a simple, little thing. Besides knitting is for girls. BUT when a knitting bee--to be held at Central Park--is announced, Mikey finds himself entering with two of his friends. Perhaps he enters because he's dared to enter. But once he begins knitting lessons, he realizes that it's not so simple and anything but a 'little' contribution to the war effort.

My thoughts: I enjoyed this historical picture book. It was inspired by real events.

The New York Times reported that the event raised $4,000. Mrs. Ethel Rizzo of East 67th Street, who completed an entire sweater in around six hours, won the prize for fastest knitter. Over the course of three days, volunteers knitted 50 sweaters, 48 mufflers, and 224 pairs of socks. Prize winners included four blind women, two men, an eighty-three year old woman, and four children under the age of eleven. 

I would definitely recommend this one! I found it a compelling story with a fascinating author's note.

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10

© 2018 Becky Laney of Young Readers

100 Days and 99 Nights

Madison, Alan. 2008. 100 Days and 99 Nights.

Everyone calls me Esme, which is five letters short of my given name, Esmerelda. My middle name, Swishback, is my mother's last name before she got married. And my last name, McCarther, is spelled with two C's--the first one is a baby and the second one isn't. That's me all over: I'm Esmerelda Swishback McCarther. (1)

Esme has a younger brother, Ike, and quite a few pets. Esme is used to moving around quite a lot. Her father is in the army. She's lived in Korea, Kenya, and Germany. And the U.S., of course, where she is living now. Virginia to be exact. But her father's last assignment is a place where his family can't come with him. He'll be away on tour of duty for 100 days and 99 nights. This is Esme's story of how she copes with his absence, and copes with life in general--getting along with her brother, going to school, etc.

Esme's uniqueness manifests itself early on. She's got a "bedzoo" of animals living with her. Stuffed animals on her bed all the way from A to Z. Each chapter features an animal from her bedzoo. But Esme's uniqueness is also illustrated in her narrative voice. It's strong; it's spunky. It's vulnerable. It just feels right.

138 pages.

Why? The Wars Years

DePaola, Tomie. 2007. Why? The War Years.

Tomie DePaola, in addition to picture books, has been writing a successful line of chapter books. Titles include 26 Fairmont Avenue, Here We All Are, On My Way, and What A Year. Within this series is a sub-series called The War Years. Why? is the third title in that series. (Others include Things will NEVER Be the Same and I'm Still Scared.) The series is historical. The author is recounting what life was like when he was a child. Why? is no different, though it is substantially darker than 26 Fairmont Avenue. The book opens with the New Years celebration. It is officially 1942. Big changes are on the way for the family and the nation that is now at war. The book deals with issues big and small--from school and listening to the radio to hearing the devastating news that his cousin Anthony has been killed in the war. It has an emotional ending with no resolution. Perhaps the next book in the series will show them learning to cope with the pain, loss, and confusion. Or maybe the book is designed to show that there is no resolution, that the shock of it really never goes away. That there are no tidy endings in war. Either way, I think the series will continue to be a success. I wish, however, that I had been more familiar with it before I read this one. I had read the first two--26 Fairmont Avenue and Here We All Are--but I had not read the others--specifically the two in the War Years series. I think it would have been more enjoyable--less abrupt and disjointed. But still, I imagine that the overall series is great.