Holbrook, Sara. The Enemy.

Holbrook, Sara. The Enemy. Calkins Creek  2017  256p     $17.95    ISBN 978-1-62979-498-3    ms/hs  Historical Fiction  E-BN      

It is 1953, and Marjorie is a 12-year-old girl living in Detroit with her father, a shell-shocked veteran of World War Two, her college-educated mother, her little sister, and Frank, a teenager who lost his father in the war. At school, she experiences air-raid drills, hears talk about the Cold War, and learns from her girlfriends that all Germans are Nazis and that girls cannot become doctors. The era of the 50s is invoked on every page, and I found only two anachronisms: toward the end of the book, one girl says to another “It isn’t about you,” which nobody said back in the 1950s. The other anachronism is Marjorie’s mother telling her daughter “Breathe”. Nobody said that back in the 1950s either.

However, in general, the era is very faithfully portrayed, and the fear of the times is strongly invoked: fear of Communism, the Bomb, subversive literature, and independent thought.

Marjorie is a believable protagonist, as are the other characters. They are all flawed human beings, but in most cases they are doing their best to move on after the trauma of the war to make better lives for themselves. The author has extensive notes at the end of the book, describing her own childhood in Detroit and discussing her inspiration for the story.

This is a great realistic and historical novel for those readers who enjoy the genre.  Recommended for middle- and high-school collections.    

Summary: In this novel, which takes place in the early 1950s, Marjorie lives in Detroit with her family and struggles to make up her mind about all the things she sees around her ... censorship, McCarthyism, and xenophobia in the wake of the second world war.

Cold War-Fiction                                                                                            --Carol Kennedy

Agrimbau, Diego. Leonardo Da Vinci.

Agrimbau, Diego. Leonardo Da Vinci. Calkins Creek (Boyd's Mills)  2018  112p.  $31.99           ISBN 978-1-5157-9163-8            elem/ms       Graphic Nonfiction           VG-BNS       

This title calls itself an unofficial biography.  In graphic-novel format, it takes Leonardo from childhood through his life.  He serves as an apprentice to Verrocchio but he dreams of creating his own paintings. He uses cadavers to study anatomy.  As his sponsors change, he moves from Florence to Milan to Venice and back to Florence.  His technique and his search for perfection cause him to spend years on an individual painting.  His disappointments as well as his achievements are discussed.

This story is written as if Leonardo is talking about his life to his apprentice Salai.  This conceit allows the story to proceed forward and backwards in time, rather than following a straight line of progression.  Leonardo expressed his regrets over unfinished works and failed projects.

The illustrations are integral to the story.  It is easy to follow the action, and the drawings clearly show the story. The choice of colors evokes a pensive mood, or at the least, a mood of times past.  The text is clear, with good contrast to the background.  The book also includes a timeline, some historic background, a glossary, discussion questions and writing prompts.  The discussion of  the portrayal of Leonardo in movies mostly addresses the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which is superfluous.  The index is rudimentary, as are the suggestions for reading more about Leonardo. 
 

This title gives readers a general outline of the life of Leonardo da Vinci in a readily accessible format.  Reluctant readers are more likely to pick up a graphic novel than a wordy tome.  The information is presented in sufficient detail to give a good picture of his life.  Grades 4-8.           

The series is Encounter: Narrative Nonfiction Stories, and within it the subseries is Graphic Lives.  It includes four titles: Anne Frank, Nelson Mandela, Pope Francis and Leonardo da Vinci.  They are good introductory biographies for grades 4-8.      

Summary: Graphic biography of Leonardo da Vinci that describes his development from an apprentice to a master painter and sculptor and also covers some of his many other interests in science and engineering.  Grades 4-8.      

Leonardo da Vinci, Biography                              --Joan Theal

Brimmer, Larry Dane Twelve Days In May

Brimmer, Larry Dane            Twelve Days In May Boyd's Mills/Calkins Creek  2017   109p   18.95  978-1-62979-586-7            ms/hs             E-BN            

The first Freedom Ride, an effort to test federal laws enacted to reduce discrimination, in May 1961 comes alive with succinct descriptions of events, black and white photos and quotes of Freedom Riders and their opponents. Grades 5-12.          

This slim volume succinctly captures the background and reasons for the first Freedom Ride, an effort to test federal laws enacted to reduce racial discrimination, its participants and events that occurred as Riders on two buses travel from the Washington D.C. to New Orleans. The best page of this book for researchers is the one page listing of each participant, their race, and a short sentence of their background. This feature makes for easy reference when events listing specific Riders names are discussed. The resoluteness of their belief in desegregation as allowed by federal law, their ability to be nonviolent, and the fierceness of their opponents is all vividly captured through photos and quotations. A last chapter tells of the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, a precursor to the Freedom Rides, and provides an update on the lives of the first Freedom Riders after their historic bus ride.                                     McNicol(3),Lois          Civil Rights, 1960s, Discrimination, Freedom Riders

Agrimbau, Diego Leonardo Da Vinci

           

Agrimbau, Diego        Leonardo Da Vinci     Calkins Creek (Boyd's Mills)            2018   112p   31.99  978-1-5157-9163-8            elm/ms            Graphic novel            VG-BNS           

Graphic novel biography of Leonardo da Vinci.  It tells how he developed from an apprentice to master painter and sculptor.  Also shows some of his many other interests in science and engineering.  Grades 4-8.         

This title calls itself an unofficial biography.  In graphic novel format, it takes Leonardo from childhood through his life.  He serves as an apprentice to Verrocchio where he dreams of making his own paintings. He uses cadavers to study anatomy.  As his sponsors changed, he moved from Florence to Milan to Venice and back to Florence.  His technique and search for perfection caused him to spend years on an individual painting.  His disappointments as well as his achievements are related.
  This story is told as if Leonardo is telling about his life to his apprentice Salai.  This allows the story to proceed forward and backwards in time, rather that a straight life progression.  Regret is expressed over unfinished works and failed projects.
  The illustrations are integral to the story.  It is easy to follow the action and the drawings clearly show the story. The choice of colors evoke a pensive mood or at the least, times past.  The text is clear with good contrast to the background.
  A timeline, some historic background, glossary, discussion questions and writing prompts are included.  The discussion of Leonardo in movies mostly addresses the Teenage Mutant Turtles.  This is superfluous.  The index is rudimentary as are the suggestions to read more about Leonardo. 
  This title would give readers a general outline of the life of Leonardo da Vinci in a readily accessible format.  Reluctant readers are more likely to pick up a graphic novel than a wordy tome.  The information is given in sufficient detail to give a good picture of his life.  Grades 4-8.            Encounter: Narrative Nonfiction Stories (Capstone)        Graphic Lives includes four titles.  Anne Frank, Nelson Mandela, Pope Francis and Leonardo da Vinci.  Good introductory biographies for grades 4-8.       Theal, Joan           Leonardo Da Vinci

MacColl, Michaela. The Lost Ones.

MacColl, Michaela.  The Lost Ones.  Boyd’s Mills/Calkins Creek  2016  255p          $17.95  ISBN 978-1-62091-625-4     ms       Historical fiction  VG-BN          

Based on the true story of two young Apache children who ended up at the Carlisle Indian School back in the 1800s, this novel fills in the many gaps of their story using fictional text that is research-based as well as “imagination”-based.  With due diligence, author Michaela MacColl describes life in El Remolino, Mexico, with an Apache tribe called Cuelcahen Nde.  In 1877, the tribe was all but obliterated when the U. S. Cavalry crossed the border to attack.  Young Casita and her brother, Jack, end up at a fort in Texas where a young couple takes them in and shows them their Indaa ways.  Casita wants to keep her memories of life with her tribe alive, yet finds herself more and more assimilated into life with Mollie Smith and her husband Captain Smith.  Jack resists until he is welcomed into an elite group of caregivers for the horses.  Once he proves his mettle, he jumps wholeheartedly into the white man’s world.  The descriptions of the Apache ways, the wonderful setting, and the backdrop of actual events provides a solid, interesting, almost 3-D look at the history surrounding MacColl’s plot.  When Casita and Jack are sent to the Carlisle School in Pennsylvania, they understand how their past does not have to be forgotten just because they have become Indaa in actions and appearance.  Descriptions of life at the school are as interesting as they could be, especially the ones about founder Richard Pratt, a believer in killing the savage emotionally and spiritually. This story is an example of the type of literature that will engage middle-level readers who love historical fiction but also like action.  Its value lies in the enjoyment of a story told in Casita’s voice, a voice that reveals the conflicts these children have when they were taken and assimilated, while trying to hold onto their rich, tradition-based native culture.             

Summary: When the tribal warriors are away, the U. S. Cavalry attacks, burning or killing everything that Casita and her brother Jack have known.  Showing remarkable resilience, the two children are “adopted” by Mollie and Charles Smith, and they find a place for themselves at the fort.  However, life changes again for them, this time sending them to Carlisle, PA, to a school for Indians.       

Carlisle School-Fiction, American Indians-Fiction                                                     —Martha Squaresky