I read Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, the 1998 Newbery Award winner, in my ongoing project to read all of the Newbery books.
Set in the 1930’s during the great depression in the dust bowl of Oklahoma, Out of the Dust is told as a diary in free verse form, a style of writing [...]
Letters from a Slave Girl, The Story of Harriet Jacobs by Mary E. Lyons is based upon Harriet Jacob’s own 1861 autobiography entitled Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery, it was the only life that she knew. When her mistress, Margaret Horniblow, who taught Harriet to read [...]
The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox, is a 1974 Newbery Medal winner. Set in 1840, 13 year old Jessie Bollier lives a simple but relatively safe childhood. He plays his fife down on the docks in New Orleans for a few pennies which helps supports his mother and sister. Sometimes, out of idle curiosity, he [...]
Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff, a 1998 Newbery Honor, is set on the American home front during World War II and gives a snapshot of what many dealt with why their family members were on the front lines. Every year, Lily spends her the summer in Rockaway, at her families summer house by the [...]
Journey to Topaz by Yoshicku Uchida was recommended to me by Becky at Becky’s Book Reviews when I asked for an author with the last name beginning with U. I knew right away that this was the book for me and I almost feel like I’m come full circle this year on the topic of [...]
