I just read a great historical fiction book that I found touching and moving. WHAT THE MOON SAID is about an extremely likeable young girl and her family relocating from Chicago to a farm in Wisconsin during the Depression (1930’s) after Pa loses his job. Despite the harsh conditions – the farm is rundown, has no electricity or indoor plumbing – Esther loves the animals and responds to the adventure of living “pioneer style”. Esther desperately wants her mother , a Russian immigrant who is very superstitious, seeing signs in everything from rings around the moon to the number of birds on the fence post, to show her some affection. She wants her to be more like her best friend’s mother, but Ma is caught up in the grind of farm life. Through the course of the book, we see Esther respond to tough issues involving school, sickness, and a new best friend, yet she never loses hope or the willingness to try again. If you like the “Little House” books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, WHAT THE MOON SAID gives you the same feeling. The past is brought to life as a charming, believable young girl deals with real life situations in ways that make you cheer for her.
Posted tagged ‘History’
The Christmas Truce of World War I
December 16, 2013Last year I discovered these three books about the famous Christmas truce that happened during World War I. In varying degrees of illustration and text, all three books tell the amazing true story of the Christmas Eve in 1914 when the British and the Germans stopped fighting, sang Christmas carols together (in different languages), exchanged small gifts and conversation, and even played a rousing game of football. My fifth grade classes have truly had their eyes opened by this gem of a story, which gives us a glimpse of peace and humanity in the midst of the harsh, violent realities of war.
LITTLE BLOG ON THE PRAIRIE
December 6, 2012The “little house” books by Laura Ingalls Wilder were my favorites when I was in grade school. My best friend and I used to play in the woods behind our houses, pretending we were Laura and Mary. When I saw this book I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it! I read it last weekend and loved it.
Genevieve (Gen for short) and her family are spending the summer at Camp Frontier, with 4 other families. They must give up their cell phones, ipods, and modern clothes and conveniences so that they can live an authentic 1890’s life. That means eating only what they can grow (lots of beans!), using an outhouse, wearing heavy clothes and a bonnet in the sweltering heat, learning to milk a cow, and spending an entire day each Monday washing the family’s clothes in a tin washtub. The entire family is a little overwhelmed with the changes. Things start looking up for Gen when she becomes interested in the boy at the farm next door AND when she starts texting her friends back home on the cell phone she sneaked in to the Camp. For older students who might wonder what it would be like to live in the “old days”, this is a fascinating, fun, and suspenseful read.
KING ARTHUR
April 30, 2012I have been reading King Arthur books in the library recently, because Crescent Park School is going to put on a production with the help of Children’s Stage Adventures the week of May 14. It has been fun to dive into these legendary tales again; I haven’t read them since my son was in elementary school. Both the boys and girls have enjoyed being transported to a time of chivalry, magic, nobility, and destiny.
Trouble River again!
February 17, 2012My third grade literacy group just finished Trouble River by Betsy Byars, a historical fiction novel
about Dewey and Grandma escaping the Indians on a raft that Dewey built. Grandma’s in her rocking chair as they shoot the rapids! As we did last year, we all made rafts and floated a Lego Grandma in the sink. Did they sink or float? Check out these smiles and you be the judge.