This week I made it though two Caudills (Letters from Wolfie and Alabama Moon) and four Battle books (Squashed, Red Scarf Girl, Travel Team, and Memory Boy)
Caudills:
Letters from Wolfie is about a boy who decides to donate his dog to the Army to help the troops in Vietnam. Mark's brother is fighting in Vietnam, and Mark wants to help somehow with the war effort. As soon as Wolfie is gone, Mark regrets his decision. The soldier assigned to Wolfie writes letters to let Mark and his family know how things are going. I have to admit that I always have trouble with dog books (if I think they're not going to have happy endings). This was very well written and had lot of good food for thought - especially with all the controversy surrounding the current war.
Alabama Moon was a book I didn't really enjoy. It was interesting, I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen, but it was a little depressing. Moon is 12. He and his father have always lived in the woods - his father is paranoid about the government. Even though Moon has great survival skills, when his father dies he doesn't quite know what to do next. Moon has several run-ins with a cruel and demeaning policeman. He ends up in jail, then a boys' home where he is bullied and belittled. Even escape doesn't seem like it will bring Moon any relief. The author paints a terrific picture of a difficult life - not very comfortable to read!
Battle Books:
Memory Boy is an "end of the world" kind of story. It's the sort of survival tale where the characters find out what they can do under extreme pressure. Volcanoes on the West Coast have exploded shooting tons of ash into the air and changing the atmosphere of the planet. Will's family decides that the violence and looting in their home city of Minneapolis are getting too dangerous and they head north. But when their safe retreat turns out not to be so safe, it's up to Will to help his family survive. I loved this one!
Red Scarf Girl is the story of a girl growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution. The government has decided that old ways are bad and everyone must help bring the new ways to China. People who are suspected of keeping old customs, old clothing, old treasures have their homes looted and their possessions taken away. Children are encouraged to "tattle" on each other and their own families. Parents are taken to prison camps in the middle of the night. This is a true story, written by a girl who lived through it.
Travel Team is a fast moving sports book about a kid named Danny who has always been the smallest kid on his team. It's never mattered before, because he plays with such heart and passion - but this year his height keeps him from making the travel team. Danny's dad (who led the travel team to the Nationals when he was young) can't stand to see his son's heart broken, and surprises the whole town with his solution. This is a story of friendship, heart, family, secrets, and most of all basketball - I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Squashed is a funny little book. It's the story of Ellie and her quest to win the town's pumpkin growing contest. Ellie has won the young grower's award several times, but this year she's entered the adult division and she knows she can win. She takes care of her pumpkin, Max, (actually a squash) by watering, weeding, covering him with blankets when it's cold, talking to him and even hiring a mangy dog named Spider to guard him against pumpkin thieves. Her biggest competition is Cyril Pool - who is just the meanest, nastiest, creep you can imagine. A fun read.
