Salt: A Story of Friendship in a Time of War by Helen Frost

This novel-in-verse looks into the past when Native Americans were forced from their lands in the 1800s in the United States. I just happened to have finished the book, How I Became a Ghost, by Tim Tingle about the same topic except specifically, the Trail of Tears. These two books could be compared regarding the Removal Acts of 1830 and how they impacted the Native Americans. They are quick reads. Helen Frost captures the lifestyle of the Miami tribe at Kekionga and the trading post outside Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Two alternating viewpoints between twelve-year-old friends, Anikwa, a Miami boy, and James, a white boy, show two cultures at odds with each other. I got lost in the scenes where the two are trying to communicate and do not know each others language. I can relate with living overseas for the past ten years and having a concrete ear when it comes to learning languages. Some incidents are funny. Some frustrating. The subcharacter, Isaac, captured my attention least. He is one dimensional and used as a foil to show the common prejudicial view toward Native Americans. The two families of Anikwa and James, particularly the males, fluctuate between helping or hurting each other. I do think this plot was an ambitious endeavor and is going to be hard to pull off because it is a complex topic and poetry uses so few words to convey information. I admire Frost's efforts and at times she succeeds and other times falls short.

The verse in Anikwa's voice is in the shape of weaving, while James is in couplets. The author explains this in the notes and says that originally, James was supposed to look like the American flag. Side-by-side they look like a blanket in the process of being woven. This image of two cultures intertwined made me think of the modern day mix of ethnic cultures in the United States. Blanket weaving has such a rich history in Native American culture and the long hours put into creating a brightly colored blankets suggests that friendship and peace is possible one thread at a time but will take a time and patience.

This is set during a time of war where tensions run high and people are taking sides. Anikwa and James are friends. They fish together and hunt. While they can't speak together, they try to learn words and have an easy camaraderie. The author shows how the Native Americans tried to use appeasement and force against the white people taking their lands. Neither way works and in the end the Miami tribes lose their lands. It suggests that individuals can be friends even in the midst of war and while they can't make a change on a big scale they can on a small one.

This week I was particularly frustrated by the Taiwan government. They have had food scandal after food scandal. My husband and I have been drinking contaminated milk for 7 years. At our school, the incidence of cancer is high. To the point that people have wondered what is going on. I suspect tainted food and pollution. When I talk to the Taiwanese they shrug their shoulders and say they can't do anything. But I can do something. I will not buy food from the companies with shady practices. I can get imported foods. By making a personal action I feel like I have a choice. I can't control the government but I can protest as one small voice. If enough of us get together, it will have an impact on these companies. This is the message I get from this book. Even though only two families will not change the outcome of the war, they made a choice. And that choice is for tolerance and peace.

4 Smileys

How I Became a Ghost by Tim Tingle

This action-packed mixture of a ghost story with historical fiction is a must for libraries that want diversity and are looking for themes regarding tolerance. Tim Tingle, descendant of the Choctaw Indians, writes with authenticity that counters stereotypes of Native Americans in this tale of a boy that knows he will die but has the courage to do what is right in the face of it. Don't worry I'm not spoiling anything... he tells the reader in the first line of the story that he'll become a ghost. The story is about the Trail of Tears where thousands of Native Americans die when forced to relocate from their lands. The unique rhythm and repetition of words reflects the author's background as a storyteller and person invested in his topic. Tingle's great-great grandfather survived the Trail of Tears and he is able to convey the Choctaw culture to readers with a unique insider's understanding of customs and lifestyles. While the plot has some holes, the writing is full of suspense and hope with many in-depth messages ripe for discussions.

Ten-year-old Isaac is a Choctaw Indian acting like any normal kid when he starts to see ghosts and wonders if he is going crazy. The tension mounts when he hears about a Treaty with white men. His people know that nothing good comes from treaties. When his village is set on fire by white men, his fears come true. He flees with other survivors of the village but they are eventually caught along with his family and forced to march with other Native Americans along the Trail of Tears. When people he loves start to die he finds hope in forgiveness and making his ancestors proud by rising above the oppressors and letting go of his anger.

Tingle presents this plot in a unique way. There are few historical explanations and much has to be inferred by the reader. I can see some readers being confused by the soldiers and what they did to the villagers. I think this is Tingle's way of sweeping the reader into the story and slowly giving out information on a dark historical episode in American history. If he jumped out with the injustices then it might turn readers off; however, the lack of information might require clarification for readers unfamiliar with Native American history. I know that I would have to explain parts to my Asian audience. That said, it would make as a great read aloud.

Isaac is a kind-hearted, nice kid and his innocence contrasts with the horrors of a forced relocation. He is not judgmental nor is he stereotyped as a primitive Native American. His village has a lifestyle that includes religion, a government or council, an economy with livestock and farming, and generations of families caring for each other. The magical elements of shape-shifting and seeing ghosts is a part of the rich customs and practices found in Native American culture. At 160 pages, Tingle doesn't explain this much and it keeps the pacing galloping through the storyline.

The cruel soldiers are not introduced until later and Tingle balances them with kind soldiers. By looking at the past in a fair way, his message seems such that he hopes that people today will not make the same mistakes and oppress other cultures.The female teenager that is rescued is brave and courageous. She risks her life; yet, is not so afraid that she doesn't insist on hugging her parents. The three heroes value forgiveness and when the ghosts of the Nation honor them it shows how this trait is healthy for the soul to have peace and move on. Death is also treated with hope and while many characters die their ghosts are able to interact with the humans and grief is eased in survivors. This seems to be a part of the Choctaw belief system. I would have liked some notes at the end explaining facts from fiction.

History of cultures displaced and oppressed by others is like a Black Hole when you start thinking about it. America oppressed the Native Americans and African Americans. The Japanese oppressed the Taiwanese, Koreans, and others. The Spanish leader, Franco, oppressed the Catalans. The German leader, Hitler, oppressed the Jews, dissidents, and more. I was talking about this book with my colleague, the Chinese librarian born and raised in Taiwan. She said with a rue smile, "You should look at China's history... it runs deep [with Conquerors]." Tingle's story is so important because it teaches tolerance and respect for other cultures. There is always hope that new generations will not make the recurrent mistakes found in the histories of the world.

4 Smileys

Phoebe and Her Unicorn: A Heavenly Nostrils Chronicle by Dana Simpson

When fourth grader Phoebe skips a rock across a pond and hits a unicorn in the face, she breaks the spell of the unicorn being stuck staring at her reflection in the water. This unicorn is vain and sarcastic with enough compassion to make her interesting as a character. She introduces herself, "I am Marigold Heavenly Nostrils." Phoebe is a dork with self-deprecating humor and enough wits to match the unicorn whether intentional or not. When Marigold grants Phoebe a wish she asks for her to be her best friend. The two show they were lonely before meeting each other and they slowly strike up a friendship.

Phoebe and Marigold braid each others hair, have a slumber party, go trick-or-treating together, and basically do all the fun things friends do with each other. Phoebe is the weird girl in class that gets called names and picked on. Her friendship with Marigold helps her gain confidence. When Phoebe has to share Marigold with another girl she isn't too excited, but she learns to not be so insecure. Marigold is constantly touting her superiority to humans and Phoebe usually makes some jab back showing that Marigold really doesn't get it.

One of my favorite parts is when Phoebe talks about liking her spelling partner in class. She says, "I want Max to like me, and now he prolly thinks I'm weird." So you like him," states Marigold. "Yeah, he seems cool," says Phoebe. "Yes, but when I say 'like,' you know what I mean?" Marigold continues, "You want to use his shoelaces to make a nest!" Marigold's nose is up in the air and her eyes are closed as Phoebe taps her neck and says, "You really don't get humans, huh?"

I have an advanced reader's copy and not all of the cartoons were finished in it. There are pages that are separate from the narrative story that I didn't quite follow at first. I found it jarring at first and wondered if the published copy would have some type of color or ink that would offset or show that the pages were outside the narrative sequence. The entire book is in black and white and the only indication that they were separate was a slightly bigger layout. I didn't always catch it. Of course, I'm not an expert graphic novel reader so I could have been missing other visual clues. Don't miss this one. Embrace your inner unicorn.

4 Smileys

The Girl and the Seven Thieves by Olivia Snowe, Michelle Lamoreaux (Illustrations)

It took me 40 minutes to read this book. The protagonist is 16 years old and it is written for readers learning English as a second language. The Fountas & Pinnell reading level is an "N" which makes it good for middle school and up with a high interest level. Our school is comprised of students where English is not their native language and there are not a ton of books at this lower level for older readers. This book fills a much needed void and the author does a fairly good job sticking with the classic fairy tale and putting her own twist on it.

Eira lives is from New York with her stepmom and dad. When her stepmom tells her to run an errand for her with Hunter, the chauffeur she grew up with, Eira doesn't think anything of it. When Hunter takes her out of his way to a bad part of town she realizes that something is wrong. He reveals that he is supposed to kill her and tells her to disappear. She flees into the streets but does not feel safe when a crowd of seven men start to follow her. As she wonders whether to run or not, she discovers their intentions are not sinister and Eira makes friends with the group hiding out with them. When her stepmom tracks her down it is up to the seven men to save her.

The illustrations have a Manga feel to them that will appeal to the Asian students at my school. Also, Eira and her boyfriend look somewhat Asian. Students will identify with the straight black hair and eye-shapes. The evil stepmom looks Caucasian and the seven dwarves or thieves look like a mixture of different cultures. The pictures have a diverse look that will appeal to a global audience. I am always on the lookout for illustrations that reflect the mixed heritage of my students. They are not easy to find and I wish there were more out there to choose from for our library.

There is very little room for character development in such a short book, but the author manages to show Eira as a strong female character that is also trusting and slightly naive. The abundance of dwarves works against the development in some ways because there are so many it takes away from any of them getting fleshed out. The author is stuck with having seven in order to parallel the classic. The plot follows Snow White's story giving the reader some background knowledge because so many countries have their own version of this particular fairy tale. I have found that working in Asia, many of the Western folktales are not necessarily a part of their culture, but this one is that is and therefore readers will be able to tackle the words and plot with ease. There is a little bit of romance and if you are looking for a complement to this "Twice Told" series but at an easier reading level, I recommend Stone Arch publishing's "Faerieground" series by Beth Bracken (F & P level: K).

4 Smileys

Shelter Pet Squad #1: Jelly Bean (Shelter Pet Squad #1) by Cynthia Lord

This story draws on a child's desire to have a pet. Second-grader Suzannah lives in an apartment that does not allow them so she volunteers at the local animal shelter. She is part of the Shelter Pet Squad, a group of kids in grades 2-6 that play with the animals and make things for them. When a family brings in a pet guinea pig to the shelter because they are moving, Suzannah is determined to find it a home. She rallies the Pet Squad into advertising at the school in hopes that some teacher will step forward and adopt the pet for his or her classroom. Our students in third grade work with animal shelter dogs and adopt-a-pet for their classrooms. I know that teachers will like this book for their library or as a read aloud.

I was confused at the start of the book because the illustrations make Suzannah look older than grade 2. I didn't discover her age until after Chapter 1 and had a hard time getting an image in my head. A sweet tale emerges that shows how one person can make a difference in the life of an animal. I snoozed a bit in this slow, sweet, realistic tale directed at intermediate readers. These type of books tend to have a limited vocabulary and simple plots and words as readers gain fluency. This is the nature of intermediate books and the result is I find them forgettable for the most part. Perhaps my hyperactiveness works against me and my bias toward humor, fantasy, and action are too influential. Either way, you'll have to decide for yourself what you think about its pacing.

I like Cynthia Lord's middle grade books because of the tension she creates and depth in themes. She is one of the few writers that can sustain my interest. She just doesn't here. I actually took more interest in the broken-hearted dog, Bandit, thinking that the story might be about Suzannah trying to make friends with him. But Bandit is just an aside to showing that the animals at the shelter can find good homes. The real star is the guinea pig, Jelly Bean. Ironically, my dad used to call me "Barbara Jean, Jelly Bean" because I was always doing gymnastics around the house. I loved to cartwheel and spin in circles. Alas, this book just didn't have enough twirls for me.

3 Smileys

Be Careful What You Sniff For (Magic Bone #1) by Nancy E. Krulik, Sebastien Braun (Illustrations)

This follows the same vein as the Katie Kazoo series. The realistic story has a magical item that transforms the main character in a unique way. While Katie Kazoo has more of a Freaky Friday magical twist, this one has a rambunctious puppy that gets transported by a magical bone to another location. He bites his bone and ends up in cheer-i-o London. Except everyone is crabby and the cute pooch, Sparky, gets tossed into the dog pound with a bunch of bully bulldogs. He makes friend with a small dog like him and they plan their escape. While I'll get this series for my library I know I'll forget about it. Nothing quite stands out for me. The author does give Sparky specific traits such as him being a hyperactive puppy that uses three-word repetitions that might make it a better read aloud. It reminded me of Mo Willems, "Let's Go For a Drive" (drive, drive, drive-y, drive, drive) which kids love as a read aloud.

The animals have human characteristics and can communicate with each other but are limited in how they can communicate with their human owners. This adds humor and frames the story as the human owner of Sparky only appears at the beginning and end of the story. Notes at the end explain different places in London that Sparky explored. The facts are a good way to give some nonfiction facts in a fiction story. The illustrations should help the reader recognize Buckingham Palace and Big Ben and is a good intermediate chapter book series. Fans of some toilet-bowl humor will think Sparky's peeing at inappropriate times and puking on the floor funny. Can't tell you how many squirts I find in the library howling over books that have this specific type of tickle-your-bones humor. Or in this case it might tickle-their-magic-bone. Light, fun fare.

3 Smileys 

The Princess in Black (The Princess in Black #1) by Shannon Hale

After reading the Legends of King Arthur where the females are presented as dorks and the guys get all the fun being heroes, I have a new appreciation for stories that have girl heroes. What's unusual about this book is that it reaches that oh-so-hard-to-find group of readers that are transitioning from picture to chapter books. This fairy tale princess has a secret and when the kingdom's biggest busybody, Duchess Wigtower, comes to visit, the princess is called to don her mask and save the kingdom incognito without alerting the Duchess. Young readers will like the adventure as Princess Magnolia corrals a blue monster that looks a bit like the "Sulley" from Monster's Inc.

Princess Magnolia is stuck having tea with the gray-haired Duchess whose hair is piled on her head like a two-foot tall mini-tornado, when her secret ring goes off warning her that the kingdom is in danger. Not wanting to raise her suspicions, Princess Magnolia comes up with a lame excuse to go change into her black super hero costume and see what is up. In the meantime, a blue monster that lives underground with other monsters is trying to remember why he shouldn't leave his den but he is so hungry that he crawls out anyway. He finds some goats with a shepherd and immediately goes after one. The shepherd named, Duff, thinks the Princess in Black looks familiar and decides to come up with his own superhero costume, Goat Avenger. It would appear that many more adventures are in the making for the Princess in Black and that a sidekick might play a part as book one of a future series ends.

There are quite a few illustrations than one usually finds in this length of book. Or maybe that is because I just finished "Leroy Ninker Saddles Up" and it had noticeably fewer pictures than this one. The color pages add to the fun and gross humor. When blue monster eats a plate of toe-nail clippings I cringed and laughed at the same time. The two-page spread of Princess Magnolia's ninja moves on the blue monster adds to the action and excitement. Duchess Wigtower reminds me a bit of the Disney stepmother in "Cinderella" except her mountainous hair adds humor.  A great addition to Mercy Watson series in your library.

4 Smileys