Historical Fiction Pick: The Lacemaker and the Princess

After taking one month off from blogging to finish writing a novel, I figure I'd better get back to doing some recommending!

I just finished reading The Lacemaker and the Princess by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, a sumptious tale of a young girl who witnesses the French Revolution firsthand.

Isabelle is a poor lacemaker who, through an extraordinary turn of events, becomes the playmate of Therese, daughter of the King and Queen of France (better known as Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette).

Bradley does a wonderful job of painting a picture of the French Revolution both from the side of the disgruntled, starving citizens of France and the blissful ignorance and extravagance of the royalty. Isabelle is put in the interesting position of understanding both sides of the battle -- Therese is her friend who lavishes riches on her, but outside of the walls of Versailles, Isabelle's family lives in squalor.

I'm a great fan of literature set during this period, but this book presented such a unique vantage point that is rare in a novel for kids. We sympathize with all the characters in the book -- through the eyes of an innocent young girl who tries to see good in everyone. We are also left with a vivid picture of France at the time -- from the poorest sections of Paris to the opulence of Versailles with its blood-red marble walls.

What a wonderful book for any middle schooler through high schooler. I love it when an author can make history come alive -- and author Bradley has done just that in The Lacemaker and the Princess.

Robert McCloskey and Some Great Books for Girls

If you are in search of great picture books for girls, give Caldecott Medal -winning Robert McCloskey a try. His classic stories feature curious, sweet characters who are portrayed through detailed illustrations and lyric prose that is perfect for read aloud.

Start with Blueberries for Sal, with beautiful illustrations that are tinted a deep blue. Adorable Sal spends goes blueberry picking with her mother -- only to inadvertently end up trailing a mama bear who is out with her cub doing the very same thing.

Both Sal and the cub are so engrossed in eating their juicy treasures that they don't even realize the mix-up. It's a funny story with a satisfying ending -- a tribute to girls who love adventure -- and filling their tummies!

My personal favorite McCloskey book is One Morning in Maine, the perfect book for girls who happen to be losing their teeth! Sal again makes an appearance as an older girl whose loose tooth disappears in a sandy pile of clams. Now she has nothing to make a wish on (ah, the good old days, when the Tooth Fairy didn't have to dig in the bottom of her purse for four quarters!)

After a futile search, Sal finds a gull feather and realizes that, like her tooth, the gull has lost something that will grow back. She decides to make a wish on the gull's lost feather.

The rest of the morning is spent running errands with her father and her cute baby sister, Jane in their quaint Maine village. You'll get plenty of warm fuzzies meeting the characters who inhabit the town -- hearkening back to a Norman Rockwell-like era.

You'll love it -- and your girls will love it too -- especially when Sal's wish comes true. Enjoy these two great books for girls by Robert McCloskey -- whose stories and illustrations are just utterly charming (he also wrote the timeless classic Make Way for Ducklings -- definitely worth a read!)

Much Ado About A Great Book for Girls

I'm fairly certain that when I was ten I had no idea what a scrotum was ....

Paying attention yet?

Lots of people paid attention when The Higher Power of Luckyby Susan Patron, won the Newbery Award for 2007. On the first page of this novel, the word is used to describe a snake-bite injury to a dog. The story is overheard by the book's heroine Lucky Trimble, who happens to be listening in on an AA meeting. The use of this word by Patron (herself a school librarian) caused quite a stir in the children's book world.

With references to male parts AND alcoholism, you may be wondering if this is the right book for your girl reader. Well, if you want my opinion (which I hope you do) -- I say go for it.

This middle grade novel (ideal for 9-12 year olds) fits in the realistic fiction genre (for all those school reading programs) and is a sweet story with a cast of endearing, quirky characters. The amusing menagerie of characters -- citizens of Hard Pan, California -- are not the best part of the book, however.

The best part is the story -- the plight of Lucky to come to terms with her mother's death (hit by lightning) and find her "Higher Power" (a term she's learned -- along with scrotum -- from eavesdropping at AA).

Lucky becomes convinced that her guardian, Brigitte, is about to desert her, and she isn't sure what to do. She prepares to run away and spare herself the heartache of being left by yet another mother.

Who wouldn't love a girl who owns a dog named HMS Beagle and packs a "survival" kit that contains, among other things -- "a brand new tooth brush from a teeth cleaning, ... still in its original wrapper so that if she started to lose heart ... she could get out a beautiful never used toothbrush and make herself feel better."

Of course, all is made right at the end of the book and Lucky does indeed discover her higher power. As books for girls go, this one is a must-read ... and well-deserving of the prestigious Newbery Medal.

Do your girl a favor and don't worry about the brief anatomy lesson that caused such a brouhaha when the book won the prize -- what will stay with them is a sweet, courageous soul named Lucky and her search for the true meaning of love and family.

Enjoy this great book for girls -- and have a great Monday!

Historical Fiction Pick: A Friendship for Today

School's back in -- and for many girls that means finding books of different genres as specified by their teacher.

This can be a difficult choice -- my own 4th grader has to read one realistic fiction book and one biography this month. Already she's stressing about possible book selections. So for my own peace of mind and yours -- in the next few weeks, I'll be recommending books from many genres that your girls should enjoy. AND hopefully these recommendations will help them fulfill classroom reading requirements with no stress.

Let's start with A Friendship For Today, by Patricia McKissack. This book would qualify as either realistic fiction or historical fiction, and is a fast-paced, thoughtful story recommended for 9 year olds through middle school age.

The setting is 1954, in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkland. Young Rosemary has always attended a "colored" school in her neighborhood. But as she prepares to enter 6th grade she finds herself affected by the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision that will desegregate public schools. Her school will be closed down and she will be sent to one of the traditionally white public schools.

In the midst of this turmoil in her life, she must deal with her parent's crumbling marriage, her best friend J.J. being stricken with polio, and racist white neighbors, especially her arch-nemesis, Grace.

When Rosemary finds herself the lone African-American in her new classroom, readers can feel her alienation. When she is seated next to Grace, her frustration and anger boil over.

McKissack weaves a fine story here -- one where we see that not every situation in life is ideal or fair. Rosemary's parents do split up, and J.J. returns from the hospital in a leg brace, but through it all, she perseveres, holds her head high and convincingly forms a true friendship with Grace.

This book addresses many important issues from the 50s that are still relevant today. The fight for civil rights, medical advances to eradicate disease, divorce, and growing pains are all aspects of life that kids face on a daily basis.

This story is a great book for girls -- entertaining, realistic, a real joy to read-- and they will learn about a part of American history that should never be forgotten.

Have a great weekend!

Family, Friends and Fun in the Year of the Dog

Here's another one... one of those books that every girl should read. The Year of the Dog, by Grace Lin, is the story a young Taiwanese-American girl who feels that she doesn't fit in anywhere.

Inside of her tight-knit, traditional Taiwanese family, she is known as Pacy. At school, they call her Grace. She doesn't go to school with any other kids of Asian descent, until the arrival of Melody. With Melody's help, Grace begins to see that she can embrace both her heritage and her life outside of her family.

But even within her own culture, Grace is caught in the middle between Chinese and Taiwanese divisions. When she attends a camp for Taiwanese families and is treated by some girls as an outcast, her pain is almost too much to bear.

Despite her inner conflict, Grace begins to discover herself -- she realizes her love of art and writing, forges a bond with Melody as well as her other school friends, and understands the rich love that bubbles over within her family. The reader can see Grace grow and learn and truly blossom.

The story is helped along by tales that Grace's immigrant mother tells her of her own childhood, which are very poignant and sweet. These stories help Grace, and the reader, see that while we all face self-doubt and adversity, we must strive to rise above it.

I want my girls to rise above adversity and nay-sayers and understand their own self-worth -- don't you? Give your girls a copy of The Year of the Dog for a wonderful example of how to be true to themselves -- and appreciate everything that they have. And be prepared to laugh -- especially during the Science Fair scene!

I read this aloud to my girls, and they loved it -- but it's also great for independent reader from 3rd grade on up.

On a side note, the author of this fantastic book, Grace Lin, lost her husband, Robert, to cancer last week. According to her website, the best way to send condolences is to donate to the Jimmy Fund (the Dana Farber Cancer Institute) or to participate in the Robert's Snow for Cancer's Cure auction, an event orchestrated by Grace and Robert in 2004.

My deepest sympathies to Grace and her family.

Classic Picture Book: Brave Irene

Every two weeks my girls and I go to the library and check out an enormous pile of books (though I do encourage the girls to store them in one place it can get awfully difficult to keep track of them all!). I am often surprised by the amount of picture books that they bring home and dismiss relatively quickly -- I keep a close eye on these things and take note of the books that they want to read again and again.

One of the books that they can't get enough of is the picture book classic Brave Irene, by William Steig. Perhaps best known today as the author of the original Shrek!, Steig hits the nail on the head with this sweet picture book -- and in my capacity as a "girl book" reviewer, I see tremendous value in this story. Why do my girls like this picture book so much? I think they can see themselves in the main character, Irene.

Irene is a good daughter, who must deliver a dress that her sick mother has made for the duchess. On the way to the duchess' house, Irene encounters a fierce snowstorm. The storm becomes a character in the story that battles against Irene's equally fierce determination. But just when the storm seems ready to declare victory, Irene's ingenuity shines through and she finds her way past the trouble.

Steig's illustrations bring Irene to life, and I love the writing especially as Irene shouts at her nemesis, the wind. But my favorite part is the end, when we see so clearly the love between Irene and her mother.

This book makes a great gift from one generation to the next -- my own mother sent my oldest daughter a copy several Christmases ago. It's a wonderful story of adventure, hope and determination -- a wonderful message to send to any girl.