Classroom Library Buy – Page 144

Crankee Doodle by Tom Angleberger

October 13, 2013September 21, 2013 by Kellee

Crankee Doodle
Author: Tom Angelberger
Illustrator: Cece Bell
Published June 4th, 2013 by Clarion Books

Goodreads Summary: “Yankee Doodle went to town / a-riding on a pony / stuck a feather in his hat / and called it macaroni.” Many know the song “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” but few understand it. This unapologetically silly picture book reveals that the legendary ride to town (and the whole macaroni thing) was all suggested by Mr. Doodle’s overeager pony. This just makes Mr. Doodle cranky: “I do not want macaroni. I do not want a feather. I do not want any other clothing, any other pasta, or any other parts of a bird. I do not want anything that they have in town!” A historical note ends this colorful, comical take on a nonsensical old song.

My Review: Tom Angleberger and Cece Bell are a match made in heaven (good think they found each other)! This book is funny from page one and will definitely get the reader giggling. The hilarious story line mixed with the colorful, exaggerated, silly illustrations make the reader purely engaged in the book. This book will definitely make the reader sing “Yankee Doodle” and want to read the book again.

Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: What I love about this book is that it’ll be a perfect read aloud, but it also connects to history by having a historical note in the back. Who wrote “Yankee Doodle”? No one knows, but what a great conversation started and a way to introduce Colonial America.

In the story, the word macaroni is also discussed. Macaroni used to mean fancy, but now it obviously doesn’t. What a way to begin a discussion of how words change meaning over time. There are TONS of words that have changed their meaning. Going over this and giving would really start a great discussion and could lead to some amazing activities.

Discussion Questions: Why would the British want to make fun of Americans during Colonial America?; How did the horse persuade Doodle to go to town?; How would this story have been different if the pony was the lazy and Doodle wasn’t?

We Flagged: Pony: “Macaroni is just another word for fancy.”
Doodle: “Says you. That’s the silliest thing I ever heard. Macaroni isn’t fancy. It’s macaroni. You know what’s fancy? Lasagna. Lasagna is fancy. Lasagna has all those little ripples in it, and then it gets baked with cheese and tomatoes and vegetables. Then you eat it with some garlic bread. Now, that’s fancy!” (p. 14-15)

Read This If You Loved: Imogene’s Last Stand by Candace Fleming, Rabbit and Robot by Cece Bell, Those Rebels, John and Tom by Barbara Kerley

Recommended For:

Guys Read: Other Worlds edited by Jon Scieszka

October 13, 2013September 20, 2013 by Kellee

Guys Read: Other Worlds
Edited by Jon Scieszka
Illustrated by Greg Ruth
Published September 17th, 2013 by Walden Pond Press

Goodreads Summary: Other Worlds, the fourth volume in Jon Scieszka’s Guys Read anthology series for tween boys, features ten thrilling new tales of science fiction and fantasy from some of the biggest names in children’s literature.

Prepare yourself for ten trips into the unknown, as ten of your favorite writers—Rick Riordan, who has written an all-new and exclusive Percy Jackson tale, Tom Angleberger of Origami Yoda fame, Newbery medalist Rebecca Stead, Shannon Hale, D. J. MacHale, Eric Nylund, Kenneth Oppel, Neal Shusterman, Shaun Tan, and none other than the late Ray Bradbury—spin tales of fantasy and science fiction the likes of which you have never imagined.

Compiled by National Ambassador for Children’s Literature (and Secret Ambassador for the Intergalactic Alliance) Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: Other Worlds is sure to boldly take you where no reader has gone before.

My Review: This was such an amazing short story anthology. Usually when you read a collection of short stories there are a few winners and a bunch of losers, but with this one there are a tone of winners and a couple runners-up.

Let’s talk about how awesome it is to read a new Ray Bradbury story and a phenomenal story at that. It is an amazing story about survival, life, and love. It is such an interesting concept (a world where you only live 8 days) and is executed so well (you wouldn’t expect any less from Bradbury). And it is just one of the amazing stories. The amazing list of authors in this book would impress anyone: Rick Riordan, Shannon Hale, DJ Machale, Tom Angleberger, Neal Shusterman, Rebecca Stead, Shaun Tan, Kenneth Oppel, Eric Nylund, and Ray Bradbury. I also love the variety of stories. There are fantasy and science fiction stories – Percy Jackson right next to a story about aliens – and there are serious and funny stories – Tom Angleberger’s hilarious Rise of the Roboshoes alongside The Klack Bros. Museum by Kenneth Oppel.

Even though I don’t want to pick favorites, I would say if you are going to pick and choose go with the stories by Hale, Angleberger, Shusterman, Tan, Oppel, and Bradbury.

Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: I think this book would be the best as a read aloud or in the classroom library. They are just great stories and need to be shared.

Discussion Questions: After reading ___[story title]___, why do you think it was chosen to be included in Other Worlds?; What do you think is the theme of The Dirt on our Shoes by Neal Shusterman?; Which of the stories were your favorite?; In Rise of the RoboShoes what could beat the Roboshoes?; Using the illustrations and story from A Day in the Life write a narrative about the boy.

We Flagged: “All fiction and storytelling is answering that “what if…” questions. But science fiction and fantasy go a step further: They bend the rules of reality. They get to imagine the “What if” in completely other worlds.

And that is why good science fiction and fantasy stories can be so mind-expandingly fun.” (from Scieszka’s intro, p. vii-viii)

Read This If You Loved: Any of the authors who contributed or Fantasy/Science Fiction in general

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Walden Pond Press for providing a copy for review!**

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

November 14, 2013September 19, 2013 by Ricki

The Dream Thieves
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Published: September 17th, 2013 by Scholastic Press

Summary: Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after…

Review: This sequel will not disappoint lovers of The Raven Boys. The book is written in multiple points of view, but in my opinion, Ronan’s perspective is the highlight of this installment of the series. He is tormented by terrible nightmares and his harrowing past. Each of the characters is further developed from the first novel, and I loved the new advancements. Additionally, readers are introduced to two, incredibly complex characters, The Gray Man and Kavinsky, who offer dark perspectives and are essential to the unfolding of the story. I loved the new characters and the intricacy of this story. I will admit that I missed the central focus on Blue and her household of psychics (as in The Raven Boys), but Blue certainly plays a strong role in this book. The psychics were my favorite part of the first book in the series. Stiefvater does a brilliant job in the development of Ronan’s story which adds an interesting twist to this book. I also enjoyed how she wove several, different plot threads. This book kept me guessing, and it is quite unpredictable, which made it a pleasure to read.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: It would be hard for teachers to introduce this text as a whole-class reading if students haven’t read the first book in the series. That said, teachers could set the context of the story and show samples of the darker passages from Ronan’s perspective to teach imagery and mood. If a small group chose it as a literature circle text, students would enjoy comparing and contrasting the author’s purposes and characterization between the two books in the series. This would show students how important it is to build characterization both within a story and across books in a sequel as a plot advances.

Discussion Questions: How do the purpose and direction of this book differ from the first book in the series?; How does Stiefvater develop her characters further from the first book?; In what ways does Ronan struggle to negotiate with his past?; How does Adam cope with his obstacles and circumstances? Do you agree with his approach?

We Flagged: “Sometimes, some rare times, a secret stays undiscovered because it is something too big for the mind to hold. It is too strange, too vast, too terrifying to contemplate” (Prologue).

Please note: The above quotes are from the Advanced Reader Copy. The e-book (a galley) did not provide page numbers. The quotes may change when the book is published.

Read This If You Loved: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, White Cat by Holly Black

Recommended For:

**Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for providing the Advanced Reader Copy for review!**

The Boy Who Loved Math by Deborah Heiligman

September 18, 2013September 18, 2013 by Kellee

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos
Author: Deborah Heiligman
Illustrator: LeUyen Pham
Published June 25th, 2013 by Roaring Brook Press

Goodreads Review: Most people think of mathematicians as solitary, working away in isolation. And, it’s true, many of them do. But Paul Erdos never followed the usual path. At the age of four, he could ask you when you were born and then calculate the number of seconds you had been alive in his head. But he didn’t learn to butter his own bread until he turned twenty. Instead, he traveled around the world, from one mathematician to the next, collaborating on an astonishing number of publications. With a simple, lyrical text and richly layered illustrations, this is a beautiful introduction to the world of math and a fascinating look at the unique character traits that made “Uncle Paul” a great man.

My Review: I have been on a great streak of picture book narrative biographies and this is another one. I love how the author so cleverly combined Erdos’s story and mathematics without ever overloading the story with numbers. This book is so much fun (and the colorful illustrations add even more playfulness to it) yet teaches so much within its story. What impresses me the most is just how much the book makes you think about math, want to learn more math, and want to play with numbers. Even in book form, Erdos is making math understandable.

Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: What a great book to use in a math classroom (or elementary classroom). This book makes math sound fun and would definitely be a jumping off point for many different mathematical ideas (such as prime numbers, harmonic primes, amicable numbers, odd/even numbers, Euclid’s Proof of the Infinity of Prime Numbers, Sieve of Eratosthenes, Euler’s map of Konigsburg, negative numbers, the Party Problem, Erdos distinct distances problem, Erdos number, epsilon). Many of the ideas are shared in a fun way and would help be a foundation for scaffolding.

Discussion Questions: What math idea/activity do you find to be the most fun?; Use math to complete Paul’s trick- how old are you in seconds? Minutes? Hours? Days?; What are the answers to Paul’s questions about prime numbers? Do they go on forever? Is there a pattern to them? Why is it that the higher you go up, the farther apart the prime numbers are?

We Flagged: “Paul played with numbers. He added them together and subtracted them. One day he subtracted a bigger number from a smaller number.
The answer was less than 0.
How could a nubmer be <0?
Mama told him numbers below zero are called NEGATIVE NUMBERS. Paul thought that was so cool.
Now he knew for sure he wanted to be a mathematician when he grew up. But first he had to tackle another big problem…” (p. 9)

Read This If You Loved: On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne, Jim Henson: The Guy Who Played with Puppets by Kathleen Krull, Lost Boy: The Story of the Man who Created Peter Pan by Jane Yolen, Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein by Don Brown, A Wizard from the Start: The Incredible Boyhood and Amazing Inventions of Thomas Edison by Don Brown, Sandy’s Circus: A Story about Alexander Calder by Tanya Lee Stone, Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell

Recommended For:

This book just makes me want to learn more!

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow & The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

October 13, 2013September 14, 2013 by Kellee

These two books are my favorite fiction/nonfiction companion books, so I wanted to share them with you together.

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow
Author: Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Published April 1st, 2005 by Scholastic Nonfiction

Goodreads Summary: In her first full-length nonfiction title since winning the Robert F. Sibert Award, Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores the riveting and often chilling story of Germany’s powerful Hitler Youth groups.

“I begin with the young. We older ones are used up . . . But my magnificent youngsters! Look at these men and boys! What material! With them, I can create a new world.” –Adolf Hitler, Nuremberg 1933

By the time Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, 3.5 million children belonged to the Hitler Youth. It would become the largest youth group in history. Susan Campbell Bartoletti explores how Hitler gained the loyalty, trust, and passion of so many of Germany’s young people. Her research includes telling interviews with surviving Hitler Youth members.

My Review: During World War II, Hitler controlled more than just the military; he controlled the entire country of Germany. Much of what this book explains are parts of the WWII history that is not taught in our schools and shows the true extent of the power that Hitler had over everyone.

The Hitler Youth began as a voluntary organization to support Hitler, but it quickly became a way for Hitler to control the youth. Soon the Hitler Youth was not voluntary and they were being used in much the same way as the military.

This book tells true stories of children in the Hitler Youth and children that were brave enough to speak up. It is truly horrific and fascinating. Susan Campbell Bartoletti uses a combination of narrative and expository writing to take her reader on a journey through Nazi controlled Germany starting with their depression and taking us through the the end of World War II. By intertwining true stories of the youth of Germany with historical fact, Bartoletti pulls at your heart strings and shows the true effect that Hitler had on the entire nation. It also takes you through the steps that Hitler took to brainwash the entire population, starting with the most desperate citizens, including the youth.

Although many nonfiction books are hard to get through and are dry, this one has a voice to it that is deeper and more sensitive than most. You become connected to the people of Germany and the youth of the story, so it doesn’t matter if that I already know the outcome- you have to know how they make it out of their deceit filled situation.

The Boy Who Dared
Author: Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Published February 1st, 2008 by Scholastic Press

Goodreads Summary: Bartoletti has taken one episode from her Newbery Honor Book, HITLER YOUTH, and fleshed it out into thought-provoking novel. When 16-year-old Helmut Hubner listens to the BBC news on an illegal short-wave radio, he quickly discovers Germany is lying to the people. But when he tries to expose the truth with leaflets, he’s tried for treason. Sentenced to death and waiting in a jail cell, Helmut’s story emerges in a series of flashbacks that show his growth from a naive child caught up in the patriotism of the times , to a sensitive and mature young man who thinks for himself.

My Review: Helmuth Hubener thought that Hitler was going to fix Germany, but the longer Hitler was in power, the more Helmuth realized that there was social injustice happening.

Based on a true story, The Boy Who Dared, accounts Helmuth’s life and the choices he makes. Told in flashback, I felt that some of the suspense is taken away since you know Helmuth’s current situation right from the beginning of the story; however, even with knowing the outcome, I wanted to read to figure out how Helmuth got there.

The exposition of the book helped me understand the extent of Helmuth’s society at the time which made me even more sympathetic then I would have been just jumping into Helmuth’s life. Although we all know about World War II and the Holocaust, unless you have read other books on World War II Germany, you may not understand the extent of Hitler’s power and brainwashing. With The Boy Who Dared, we follow Helmuth through his feelings about Hitler and the decisions he made.

This book is fabulous to read with the nonfiction book by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Hitler Youth, which recounts the history around the Hitler Youth and what Helmuth was living through.

* * * * *

Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: If I taught a grade level where the Holocaust or WWII was taught in history, I would love to use these books supplementally in English class. These books tell a story within WWII that isn’t normally taught in history and really shines a light on a different side of the story. It would be a great way to discuss point of view, persuasion, and propaganda. I can also see these being used in thematic sets and then in lit circles. Each book adds to a whole look at WWII.

Discussion Questions: After reading both books, why was Hitler able to manipulate and affect the youth of Germany the way he did?; How did Helmuth affect those around him? History?

We Flagged: “The dark streets were already flooded with thousands of excited people, who, like Melita, were running out to watch the victory parade in honor of Adolf Hitler… Melita couldn’t understand why her parents didn’t support a great man like Adolf Hitler, who said that a person’s money and titles didn’t matter. All that mattered was whether a person contributed to the well-being of the people.” (Hitler Youth p. 15-16)

“It’s morning. Soft gray lights slips over the tall redbrick wall. It stretches across the exercise yard and reaches through the high, barred windows. In a cell on the ground floor, the light shifts dark shapes into a small stool, a scrawny table, and a bed made of wooden boards with no mattress or blanket. On that bed, a thin, huddled figure, Helmuth, a boy of seventeen, lies awake. Shivering. Trembling.
It’s Tuesday.
The executioner works on Tuesday.” (The Boy who Dared p. 1)

Read These If You Loved: Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayers, Alfons Heck & Helen Waterford, Briar Rose by Jane Yolen, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Resistance (series) by Carla Jablonski, London Calling by Edward Bloor, Once (series) by Morris Gleitzman, The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow, Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Recommended For:

Review and Interview!: Star Challengers: Moonbase Crisis by Rebecca Moesta and Kevin J. Anderson

April 14, 2018September 13, 2013 by Kellee

June Scobee Rodgers presents
Star Challengers: Moonbase Crisis
Authors: Rebecca Moesta and Kevin J. Anderson
Published October 22nd, 2010 by Catalyst Game Labs

Goodreads Summary: After an exhilarating space simulation field trip at the local Challenger Center, a group of students are hand-picked by the mysterious Commander Zota for a special adventure: to travel to the future and a real moonbase in trouble, where they will learn skills to save the human race.

My Review: Since I live in Florida, I am right in the middle of the NASA debate. Some feel that the science behind NASA and space exploration is not worth the money where others completely disagree. There are others who are somewhere in the middle, not knowing. To me, losing the space program is terrifying and the authors of this book take the same stance as me.

Moonbase Crisis is a book written by Rebecca Moesta and Kevin J. Anderson but it is presented by June Scobee Rodgers, the widow of a commander on the Challenger, and endorsed by many NASA legends such as Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Sally Ride. It is also a direct endorsement for Challenger Centers which are centers across the US that teach kids about space and hope to inspire them by letting them experience simulated space missions. That is where this book begins.

JJ and Dylan Wren are invited to a special space simulation after going on a field trip to the Challenger Center. When they arrive the find out that they are 2 of 4 young people chosen to be part of this mission. They are taught how to use actual communication devices and even put on real space suits. Then Commander Zota, the man who invited them, asks them to step into a room and next thing they know they find themselves on a Moonbase. In the future.

Then on top of all of this, it is a pretty good story with some major suspense. I look forward to the 2nd book as this was obviously an exposition for more to come.

Teacher’s Tools For Navigation: Throughout this book, science is definitely a main topic. It is sprinkled throughout discussing astronomy, botanical sciences, chemistry, and more I am sure. Though the book is science fiction, the science within in pure fact. The book shows a future where science and space exploration are not priorities and hopes to promote science by showing how important it is.

My father gave me this book as a gift and was kind enough to connect me with Ms. June Scobee Rodgers who helped make this book happen. Ms. Scobee Rodgers is the widow of Challenger Space Shuttle Commander Dick Scobee and has spent her life making sure his legacy and NASA continue for years to come. I was lucky enough to be given an opportunity to interview her about the Star Challengers series and the Challenger Center programs:

Kellee: After the Challenger tragedy, yourself and other family members of lost Challenger astronauts opened the Challenger Center to honor them. Why was it decided to use their memory to focus on the education of children?

Ms. Scobee Rodgers: The Challenger 51-L mission soon became the “Teacher in Space” mission. The teacher Christa McAuliffe and I had a great deal in common as teachers. My husband Dick Scobee the Commander had always been mission oriented. So after we lost the “mission” the other family members of the shuttle crew joined with me to create an opportunity to reach the students and teachers around the globe still waiting for their lessons from the beloved school teacher who died along with my husband.

Kellee: What is your goal when it comes to the Challenger Centers?

JSR: Our board of directors and staff as well as all the Challenger Learning Centers all want to continue to reach students to inspire them with the importance of STEM education and the pursuit of careers with a tremendous shortage in those fields.

Kellee: How did the Star Challengers books come about?

JSR: Introduced through a mutual friend to famous author Kevin Anderson and his wife Rebecca, we explored opportunities to tell the Challenger story and STEM education with real science fiction that would both entertain and teach as well as inspire our youth across the country.

Kellee: As an educator and advocate for children’s education, what do you say to those who don’t believe that NASA and space exploration is beneficial for the future?

JSR: The largest concerns facing us as citizens right now are jobs and the economy. Job and economy growth is the direct outcome of new businesses, products and processes which since the end of World War II were created from our focus and investments in technology, engineering, research and science. And that can only happen when you have a citizenry and workforce with the talent to perform this vital role. Since 50% of all potential future scientists, engineers, technicians and similar key workforce tend to decide by the early age of 10-13 years that they either cannot do it or do not want to, we need to continue to expand our efforts to inspire and engage all of them. Even if they choose not to enter those fields. We need a STEM literate citizenry to ensure we hold the correct values for our society.

Kellee: What do you hope comes from the publication of the Star Challenger books?

JSR: I hope to inspire a whole new generation of “Star Challengers” – young people like our main characters who want to make a difference for our planet and who will reach for the stars no matter their circumstances.

Kellee: How do you hope they are used in the classroom? With children?

JSR: Students are now creating book reports and reading the books for pleasure. It would be terrific if the books could be made available in classroom sets to allow for classroom discussion.

Kellee: I loved Moon Base Crisis and cannot wait to read the second one- how many books are planned in the series?

JSR: The second book is titled Space Station Crisis, and the third is Asteroid Crisis. We need students to write the follow on books. For example, Mars City Crisis is waiting to be written by an enterprising young person.

**Thank you so much to Ms. Scobee Rodgers for taking part in this interview!**
Links to information about the Challenger Centers and NASA For Educators:

Discussion Questions:

Currently, there is a search for a young writer to write Mars City Crisis for the Star Challengers series- what would you make the book about?
If you had the chance to go live on the space station, would you?

We Flagged: “Also,” the commander pointed out, “the Moon is near a quarter of a million miles from Earth, while the speed of our signal – the speed of light – is a mere 186,282 miles per second. Therefore it takes 1.3 seconds for a message to travel from Earth to the Moon, which will produce a noticeable lag when you talk to anyone at Moonbase Magellan.” (p. 26)

“Zota continued as if he hadn’t heard. “Because of the Moon’s lack of atmosphere, walking on its surface will be like stepping out into a hard vacuum Your spacesuit maintains your body’s integrity. If your suit fails, your tissues explode and freeze. We wouldn’t want that now, would we?” The cadets shook their heads.” (p. 37)

Read This If You Loved: Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke, The Softwire by PJ Haarsma, C.H.A.O.S. by Jon S. Lewis, Nonfiction books about space

Recommended For:

I think this book is a great resource for the classroom;
I hope you fill find a way to use it!

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

April 23, 2015September 12, 2013 by Ricki

Title: Rose under Fire
Author: Elizabeth Wein
Expected Publication: September 10th, 2013 by Miramax (Disney)

Summary: While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women’s concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that’s in store for her?

Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Code Name Verity, delivers another stunning WWII thriller. The unforgettable story of Rose Justice is forged from heart-wrenching courage, resolve, and the slim, bright chance of survival.

Review: Out of the thousands of books I’ve read, this one is going to sit among my all-time favorites. There is a phenomenal balance of history and narrative that will engage readers while offering harrowing lessons in history. I am not an air and space girl. My husband loves planes, and he was giddy when we went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. As much as I want to love planes, I don’t find them to be interesting. This book changed my outlook.

Rose under Fire has many similarities with Wein’s Code Name Verity. They are both written in an epistolary format, involve pilots/airplanes, and are set during World War II. Both offer wonderfully complex themes about friendship, loyalty, and the strength of women. However, Rose under Fire focuses more on concentration camps, while Code Name Verity dealt more with the interrogation techniques used during World War II. Neither of these two elements drove the novels, but they are two plot features that make the texts quite different from one other. I found CNV to be a bit slow in the beginning (which isn’t the case with all readers), but I was hooked to Rose under Fire from the very first page. Wein writes characters so vividly that I still feel their presence in my life, long after I finish the books. I recommend this book to everyone. It will appeal to readers of all ages, backgrounds, genders, and interest levels.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Teachers, this is a MUST-HAVE book. It is phenomenally written and shows the truly complexity of young adult literature. It can be used to teach elements like setting, character, dialogue, the epistolary format, imagery, voice, and theme. Students might write letters back to Rose, or they could analyze one of the many well-developed characters in this story. It would also make for a great research unit of topics like the Nuremberg Trials, female WWII pilots, flying bombs, or the experimentation on Holocaust prisoners. History teachers will also find this text to be invaluable.

Discussion Questions: What loyalties did the Holocaust prisoners have for each other? What are some examples of incidents that showed this loyalty?; Why were the Rabbits so important to the concentration camp? What did they add to the story as a whole?; How does Maddie’s friendship with Rose differ from her friendship with Julie?; Why was Nick’s character important throughout the story? How does his level of importance change, and why?; Rose has very different friendships with many of the characters. Describe how three of these friendships differ from one another.; Does the novel end in a hopeful way? Why or why not?

We Flagged: I marked so many passages that it is hard to choose just a few, so I selected two longer quotes that show the quality of Wein’s writing.

Incredible Imagery:

“…and the reason everyone in there was trying to get out in the rain was because they were dying of thirst.

Really dying of it, I think.

Hands and arms and heads stuck out anywhere there was a gap—cupped hands collecting rainwater, some holding bowls or even just a piece of cloth to collect moisture—I saw one woman lying on her back with her hair in the black cinder mud at the tent’s edge, her mouth open, letting a rivulet of water stream down the canvas and into her mouth.”

And Beautiful Figurative Language:

“Hope—you think of hope as a bright thing, a strong thing, sustaining. But it’s not. It’s the opposite. It’s simply this: lumps of stale bread stuck down your shirt. Stale gray bread eked out with ground fish bones, which you won’t eat because you’re going to give it away, and maybe you’ll get a message through to your friend. That’s all you need.

God, I was hungry.”

Please note: The above quotes are from the Advanced Reader Copy. The e-book (a galley) did not provide page or chapter numbers. The quotes may change when the book is published.

Read This If You Loved: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb, Night by Elie Wiesel

Recommended For:

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney for sending me the Advanced Reader Copy!