Tag: Children

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Lety Out Loud by Angela Cervantes

I’m always good for a compassionate tear-jerker of a story, and Lety Out Loud with its sympathetic characters and focus on abandoned pets blessed me with three separate crying jags.

Synopsis

Lety Muñoz is an ESL student fresh out of fifth grade. She loves putting just the right words together—in Spanish or in English–to get the perfect meaning. Although she’s not very good with English yet.

She also loves animals. When she gets to help out at an animal shelter, she volunteers for the position of “shelter scribe,” writing animal profiles to be posted on social media.

But there’s a problem. Hunter, an arrogant boy in her mainstreamed class, also wants the job. Hunter figures he’s a shoe-in  since Lety doesn’t know English as well as he does. However, the veterinarian in charge has them split ten profiles between them. Not satisfied, Hunter challenges Lety to a competition: whoever succeeds in getting all five of their featured pets adopted first, can remain the shelter scribe. The loser scoops dog food.

Both Hunter and Lety work hard to create the best profiles, and as the competition draws to a close, they learn a little more about each other. Lety grows in confidence, and Hunter allows her to glimpse the kind heart under his self-protective armor.

Pros

  1. Angela Cervantes uses several Spanish phrases matched with the English, an excellent way to teach English-speakers a little more of a foreign culture. My favorite: “sueños azules oscuros,” or “deep blue dreams.” Beautiful word picture in either language!
  2. The book is filled with themes of forgiveness and self-sacrifice. To build a child’s character while reading a great story is the best that any writer can accomplish.

Cons

I can’t think of a thing.

Discussion Questions

  1. If you wanted to volunteer for a certain job but weren’t sure if you were good enough, would you volunteer anyway or would you look for something you knew you could do, even if it wasn’t as interesting?
  2. How does Kennedy show support for Lety?
  3. Do you think the rules of the competition between Hunter and Lety were fair? Why or why not?
  4. When Hunter is introduced at the beginning of the story, he is full of confidence, convinced that he’s the best man for the of shelter scribe. Did you like him at that point? How did he change by the end? Did you like him once he had changed?

Conclusion

Most kids love animal stories, and they also like rooting for the underdog (pun intended).  Lety Out Loud is a sure winner in both categories!

 

 

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Under the Dancing Tree by Chip Mattis

Under the Dancing Tree is one of those rare picture books that caresses my heartstrings with the same tenderness of a harpist’s fingers creating a gentle glissando.

If you’re a parent or a grandparent, you may want to make this a new, favorite, read-aloud. I believe it launches on Amazon this week.

Synopsis

Opening with the picture of a tiny girl dancing under the willow tree in her yard, Mattis creates a variety of scenes throughout the book, depicting day-to-day life as the little girl grows up.  The willow tree is included in each stage of their lives, but the story, much like the song, “Butterfly Kisses,” is all about a father’s love for his daughter.

Pros

1. The art. I love the colors, the choice of subject, the tranquil atmosphere. Obviously, I am no art critic, but I know what I like.

2. The book is done in rhyme, not easy to do well. Chip Mattis does a good job with the rhythms he created, and again, I love the serene atmosphere that results from those rhythms.

3. I can see this title being passed from generation to generation, much as what has been done with Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. Love You Forever gives us a completely different feel for everyday life within a family, but the message still matches Under the Dancing Tree–how much a parent loves his or her child.

Cons

Some readers may find the focus of Under the Dancing Tree too mild. No conflict. No problem to solve. However, conflict does exist–that ancient ache of a father knowing his little girl will grow up, and there’s nothing he can do to stop time.

Conclusion

Just as I read Love You Forever to my sons, and my sons read it to their little ones today, so do I expect that dads will read Under the Dancing Tree to their daughters. And may those little girls grow up, hand the book to their husbands, who will read it to their little girls.

 

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Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright

Set in the late 1930s, Thimble Summer captures the era’s atmosphere of farm life in  Wisconsin. Elizabeth Enright wrote this while people were just beginning to recover from the Dust Bowl further south, and the book gives an excellent sense of the Depression years through a child’s eyes.

Synopsis

Garnet Linden, ten years old, gets herself into a different scrape every chapter. The story starts with the silver thimble she finds half buried in the river bank, and Garnet decides it will bring her good luck. All her adventures through the rest of the summer “prove” it. Life isn’t always easy, and she knows her father worries about the bills, but as the season comes to a close, she can look back on adventures that brought so many treasures to hold close to her heart for a lifetime.

Pros

 

  1. Children who love a gentle, happy story with enough challenges to keep them interested will love the book.
  2. Enright provides wonderful details teaching today’s readers what farming was like in the twentieth century before World War II, such as how neighbors teamed up to get everyone’s harvest in and how farm machinery was relatively new.

Cons

 

Children who love action and adventure, or adults who deem no story is a good story without building toward a strong climax will not like Thimble Summer.

Discussion Questions

  1. What chores did Garnet help out with?
  2. Would you prefer to be Eric, who lived on his own for over a year, or would you prefer to be part of a family like Garnet’s? Why?
  3. How was it possible that no one missed Garnet when she ran away for the whole day?

Conclusion

I write reviews for Vintage Reads for the sole purpose of pointing readers to great books of yesteryear. This is the second book by Elizabeth Enright that I’ve reviewed. You can find my opinion of The Saturdays here. She has ten more books for children, and each one paints a beautiful picture of Americana.

 

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Carry On, Mr. Bowditch By Jean Lee Latham

Set in post-Revolutionary War New England, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch is the  biography of Nathaniel Bowditch, author of The American Practical Navigator, nicknamed the “Sailor’s Bible.” While I never paid attention to the author’s name when I was a child, I’m sure I read several of Jean Lee Latham’s biographical works. I recognized her writing style at once.

Synopsis

When Habakkuk Bowditch’s ship founders on the shoals near Salem, Massachusetts, the family is left in poverty.  His second son, Nat,  is much smaller than his other other sons, and Mr. Bowditch doesn’t expect Nat will have the strength needed to join the family tradition of working on a ship.  So he decides to send Nat into indentured service. There will be one less mouth to feed in a family of seven children and Nat will be able to earn a living after nine years. Nat lives with another family for nine years to learn the trade of ship chandlery, the business of supplying equipment and commodities for ships.

Nat’s intuitive understanding of math concepts combined with his passion for helping ships sail as safely as possible drives him to a phenomenal self-education. He learns bookkeeping, Latin, French, Italian, navigational techniques, and advanced mathematics, all with the purpose of writing a book which will correct mathematical errors in established navigational books.

But don’t think this story is only about academic subjects. Nat’s adventures from the Cape of Good Hope to the island of Sumatra add all the action a reader could wish for.

Pros

  1. Nathaniel Bowditch’s life is well-documented, and Latham’s story holds true to all the facts.
  2. Children reading this will get a strong sense of the New World culture circa 1800.

Cons

  1. Because of the early nineteenth century culture, some adults may have a problem with the attitude of such things as “boys don’t blubber,” or that society approved of profits from whaling and sealing expeditions.

Discussion Questions

  1. Do you think Nat had a good attitude once he was indentured to the ship chandlery? Why or why not?
  2. Did Nat ever receive a college degree from Harvard?
  3. Why did wives of sailors need to be independent, able to run their entire households and provide for their families?
  4. Nat sailed on five different voyages. Which one of those voyages did you enjoy reading about the most?

Conclusion

As a Vintage Read, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch is both educational and entertaining.

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Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski

Lois Lenski’s American Regional books have been likened to the Little House books of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Yes, the similar settings are hugely important to the story, but Lenski’s style is far different than Wilder’s, and I like them both. I found Strawberry Girl particularly interesting because it covers a place and time I’m unfamiliar with, Florida at the turn of the twentieth century.

Synopsis

Birdie Boyer’s father has purchased a long-abandoned farm in central Florida. Proud of their Cracker heritage (the Scotch-Irish pioneers who populated the Appalachian Mountains), ten-year-old Birdie works hard helping her family plant an orchard and strawberry field. However, the antagonists, a squatter family who have lived on the nearby land for generations, are determined to stop the Boyers from building fences. The Slaters own cattle and are used to allowing their cows to roam wild. You can see how conflict is going to build.

Once Birdie cools down from the latest Slater outrage, she and her mother still offer kindness to their neighbors, especially as they realize that wife and children suffer under the irresponsibility of the father. Today’s reader will find the ending improbable. Without giving away the plot, I’ll just tell you that Lenski uses the ideal to teach children virtues to strive for.

Pros

  1. Strawberry Girl offers a great history lesson about Florida and its culture.
  2. The language is simple and straightforward, even as Lenski uses southern terms that might be unfamiliar to her readers. Third-graders should be able to understand most of it.

Cons

  1. Many readers won’t care for what I’ve noted as pros. They don’t want a history lesson, and they don’t want to struggle with new vocabulary. I guess that’s more of a criticism of the reader than the book!
  2. Having been written over sixty years ago, the book is narrated rather than the deep POV most of us are now accustomed to. But the narration is excellent, which is why it won the Newbery Medal in 1945.

Discussion Questions

  1. If Effie Slater wanted to be friends with Birdie, why was Effie so hateful toward her neighbor sometimes?
  2. Who was able to better solve problems between the Boyers and the Slaters, Mr. Boyer or Mrs. Boyer? Give an example.
  3. What was Birdie’s surprise gift after all her work growing the strawberries?

Conclusion

Another very worthwhile vintage read!

 

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Skeleton and Ghost by Nathaniel Dowell

Skeleton and Ghost by Nathaniel Dowell is a book for children, appropriate for ages 3 and up.

Synopsis​

Skeleton lies in his coffin, listening to the earthworms crawl, and longs to walk around outside. Unfortunately, he is stuck underground because he has a ghost. Then one day, he meets a sad little ghost who is looking for his mother and father. Skeleton his happy to help his new friend reunite with his family, and with his help, rises from his coffin and pokes his head out into the night sky. As the two journey together through the peaceful night in search of the little ghost’s family, a beautiful friendship is formed.

Pros:

  • Sweet, positive characters who genuinely care for each other
  • Beautiful, colorful illustrations
  • No mischief or trickery
  • It is not an overtly Halloween story, but it is an option for those who prefer a “soft,” family-friendly Halloween for their children free of creepy elements. Honestly, the only creepy aspect of it is the fact that it is about a skeleton and a ghost.

Cons:

  • Some may be uncomfortable with a book about a skeleton and a ghost.

Personal Thoughts

If you are a child at heart who loves Halloween but are not into the over-the-top creepy aspect of it, or if you are looking for a book to share with an important child in your life, this is the book for you. This is a simple, sweet story about two characters that happen to be a ghost and a skeleton. I found the writing enchanting and the illustrations were gorgeous creations by the author himself. This is the perfect book for you to enjoy with your child, little sibling, niece, nephew, or friend.