Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from March, 2019

Paperboy

BIBLIOGRAPHY Vawter, V. 2013. Paperboy . Yearling. ISBN-10: 030793151X. PLOT SUMMARY Vincent Vawter writes a coming of age historical fiction, Paperboy , in which a young 11-year-old “Little Man” encounters the cruel reality of adulthood. The story takes place in 1959 in Memphis, Tennessee during a difficult time in U.S. history. Segregation, discrimination and racism play a role in the character’s development and overall theme. Main character, Victor, struggles with a speech impairment that makes his new job as a paperboy more difficult than expected. Live-in nanny, Mam, is a major support for Victor throughout the story. His stuttering gets him in trouble at times, but also carries some advantages. Victor meets different people along his summer journey that help him understand the adult life in a deeper level. A troubled alcoholic woman, Mrs. Worthington, a knowledgeable and well-read philosophical merchant marine, Mr. Spiro, and neighborhood African-American scary junkman,

Elijah of Buxton

BIBLIOGRAPHY Curtis, C. 2007. Elijah of Buxton . Scholastic Paperbacks. ISBN-10: 0439023459. PLOT SUMMARY Christopher Paul Curtis creates a humorous, adventurous, and inspirational historical fiction in Elijah of Buxton . Elijah, is a young and playful 11-year-old boy who is famous for being first-born free from a generation of slaves in the mid 1800’s. Elijah’s family and friends are settled closed to the American border in Buxton, a settlement in Ontario, Canada. Elijah is guided by his parents, church leaders, and community members throughout the story. Elijah has never experienced slavery as more than just stories told by family and friends. He is often perceived as fragile and experiences misadventures due to the deceiving Right Reverend Zephariah. The author depicts Elijah living a fun, normal and carefree life, until conflict arises and he is faced with making tough “grown up” decisions. Elijah embarks on a journey to the United States in hopes to buy Mr. Leroy’s famil

Lily's Crossing

BIBLIOGRAPHY Reilly Giff, P.1999. Lily’s Crossing . Bantam Doubleday Dell. ISBN-10: 0440414539 PLOT SUMMARY Reilly Giff’s Lily’s Crossing , is a historical fiction of turmoil, hope, and perseverance. The unexpected friendship between two young children during WWII in Rockaway, makes for a fresh, enlightening, and adventurous story. Main character, Lily, and Hungarian refugee, Albert, become best friends through all odds. The story is based in the 1940’s when the world was at war and people of all ages suffered the loss of loved ones, or awaited in desperation for the war to be over and have their family members safely back home. Lily is a spontaneous, energetic young girl with a major flaw; she can’t stop her lies. Albert is hopeful to see his sister in Europe, that he is willing to swim across the Atlantic Ocean with Lily’s help. Lily’s lies get her into unlikely situations, but one of her worst lies nearly gets Albert killed. In the end Lily realizes her lies won’t make her

One Crazy Summer

BIBLIOGRAPHY Garcia-Williams, R. 2011. One Crazy Summer. Amistad. ISBN-10: 0060760907. PLOT SUMMARY Rita Williams-Garcia’s One Crazy Summer is a historical fiction that takes place in the summer of 1968 in Oakland California during the Black Panther movement. Main character, Delphine, and her two sisters, Vonetta and Fern, travel from Brooklyn, New York to Oakland, California to meet their biological mother, Cecile, whom abandoned them at an early age. Their awaited California adventure is cut short by Cecile’s cold welcome. Cecile sends them for take-out every evening, demands they stay out of her sight at all times, and makes them participate in the Black Panther Summer Camp. At 11 years old, Cecile knows how to cook, clean, bathe her sisters, and keep them well-behaved in public. Throughout the story, the sisters are trying to figure out their mother, the black panther movement, discrimination towards colored people, and are trying to enjoy their California adventure. Ce

The Great Fire

BIBLIOGRAPHY Jim Murphy. 1995. The Great Fire. Scholastic Press. ISBN-10: 0590472674. PLOT SUMMARY Jim Murphy’s, The Great Fire (1996 Newbery Medal and Honor Books), is a non-fiction informative narrative which gives insight into the Chicago fire of 1871. The book provides personal accounts, illustrations, maps, research and reflects on four different point of views during one of the greatest catastrophes in U.S. history. Joseph E. Chamberlin, Horace White, Alexander Frear, and Claire Innes, all take part in shaping this historical disaster and bringing the book to life. The story takes us on a journey from the very beginning of the fire, the progression, the human faults and errors throughout, and the end and after-math of the fire. The ending sheds light on the years of blame and condemnation that Catherine O’Leary endured and the deflation of such claims to uncover the real truth: division between the wealthy and the poor. Subsequently, Murphy includes the impactful mess