Picks by Julie D. Archive - Staff Picks 4 Kids

Staff Picks 4 Kids

Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a story about three girls working in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory during the horrible fire there in 1911 that killed almost 200 people. People were unhappy with the poor pay and terrible working conditions and had gone on strike. One thing the owners of the factory would do was lock the girls in because they were worried they might steal things and run away. The first girl is Bella, from Italy, who is trying to send money home to support her mother and siblings. The second girl is Yetta, a Jewish girl from Russia who is living with her sister and is active in the strike movement. The third girl is Jane, a rich widower’s daughter, who is tired of having a governess and having to deal with silly social engagements. Who survives the fire and who does not?

Book read by Julie D., Elementary School Liaison

By MPPL on September 2, 2008 Categories: For Grades 4-6, Historical Fiction, Picks by Julie D., Realistic Stories

Rules by Cynthia Lord

I read Rules by Cynthia Lord.

If someone says “Hello”, say “Hello” back. Say “Thank you” when someone gives you a gift (even if you don’t like it). Don’t stand in front of the television when other people are watching it. No toys in the fish tank. Rules, rules, so many things David doesn’t understand! It’s hard enough for any twelve-year-old to make her way in adolescent society…but so much harder when you have an autistic little brother! Catherine loves David deeply, and protects him all she can, but his embarrassing behaviors present a real challenge in her search for the ideal best friend. One day, as Catherine sits sketching in the waiting room during one of David’s many doctor visits, she meets someone who really throws her for a loop and changes her whole perspective on who she is and what kind of relationships matter most. What was it that turned her world upside down, and what is “normal” anyway?

Book read by Julie D., Elementary School Liaison

By MPPL on July 7, 2008 Categories: For Grades 4-6, Picks by Julie D., Realistic Stories

Thunder From the Sea by Joan Hiatt Harlow

Thunder From the Sea by Joan Hiatt Harlow takes place in Newfoundland in 1929. Thirteen-year-old orphan Tom Campbell has just found a much longed for home on Back O’ The Moon Island with fisherman Enoch Murray and his wife, Fiona. Tom is shy and nervous when he first arrives at their home but is overjoyed when he rescues a dog during a storm at sea and is allowed to keep him. He names the dog Thunder. Tom and Thunder really start to feel like part of the family until the Murrays find out that Fiona is pregnant. Then to make matters worse, a mean neighbor and his son think Thunder should belong to them. What will happen when the sea captain, the original owner of Thunder, comes to the Island? Will Tom get to keep him? Will Tom even be staying on the island once the baby is born? I’m not telling. Read Thunder of the Sea to find out!

Book reviewed by Julie D., Elementary School Liaison

By MPPL on March 24, 2008 Categories: For Grades 4-6, Picks by Julie D., Realistic Stories

MVP: Magellan Voyage Project* by Douglas Evans

MVP*: Magellan Voyage Project by Douglas Evans is a 2008 Rebecca Caudill nominee that was very clever and action packed. Adam Story is dared to the be the first boy to go around the world in 40 days, and he takes the challenge. This book is a fast paced, adventurous trip, with a mystery thrown in too. All of the word play was hilarious! Even though girls would like this, it’s definitely a great recommendation for boys. Do you think it will win the Caudill Award this year?

Book reviewed by Julie D., Elementary School Liaison

By MPPL on December 6, 2007 Categories: For Grades 4-6, Picks by Julie D.

Yankee Girl by Mary Ann Rodman

Did you ever wonder what it was like for kids during the civil rights movement in 1964? In Yankee Girl, by Mary Ann Rodman, a white sixth-grader named Alice Ann Moxley moves to Mississippi from Chicago. She is surprised and dismayed at how she is treated by the people in the South because of her accent and her ideals. It is very difficult for her to make friends. When the first of two black students at her school arrive, she ends up in the midst of racial turmoil, especially because her dad is an FBI agent sent to Mississippi to help keep peace. She has a hard decision to make—whether to follow the crowd or to follow her heart. As you’re reading the book, see if you would make the same decisions that Alice did.

– Book reviewed by Mary Lou H., Youth Library Assistant

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Accents and Southern custom, it turns out, are the least of Alice Ann Moxley’s troubles in her new Mississippi hometown in the novel Yankee Girl by Mary Ann Rodman. The year is 1964, and Alice’s FBI-agent father has been reassigned from Chicago to Jackson to protect black people who are registering to vote. Alice knows from the news that down South the Ku Klux Klan has burned down Negro churches and that civil right workers have been murdered. She is torn between reaching out to the one black girl in her class in a newly-integrated school and doing what it takes to hang out with the popular crowd. And when you’re finished reading the book, I’m sure you’ll be wondering, “What would I have done in her place?”

–Book reviewed by Julie D., Elementary School Liaison

By MPPL on September 17, 2007 Categories: Historical Fiction, Picks by Julie D., Picks by Mary Lou H.