Told in a series of letters between young freed slave Liza Bowser and Miss Bet (Elizabeth L. Van Lew), who freed young Liza and sent her from Richmond, Virginia, to Philadelphia to be educated, this is fiction based on facts. Set before and during the US Civil War, a picture of those years, personalities, and conditions emerges in scrapbook form, with period illustrations, articles from newspapers, other documents, letters, and diary entries. Miss Bet, a wealthy Virginia abolitionist cared deeply for Liza and could not abide slavery. When War commenced, Liza, now back in Richmond and considerably grown, joined with Miss Bet and they became spies, providing the Union with news of the capital city of Confederacy, and other information. The latter is from the home of Jefferson Davis, where Liza served as a house slave taking care of the Davis children. Rather than being identified by their real names, the two are known as Ellen Bee. Always informational in a non-didactic way, with strong characterization and sometimes fraught with suspense, this tale delivers a view of that time in a different way. At times, diction slips into a very modern style (“yakked,” “pitch a fit”) and an oddly long and detailed letter from Miss Bet to Liza, in Confederate Richmond, is so full of important information that if found by enemies, it could destroy the entire Union spy ring and send the spies to their deaths. It is an expository device, but makes Miss Bet appear unintelligent. The “scrapbook,” with incidents from the lives of two real people, should hold readers and be of special use when the Civil War is studied. A map of Richmond would have been a nice addition. (Historical fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-689-82379-7
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Taking a page from Avi’s The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (1990), Kehret (I’m Not Who You Think I Am, p. 223, etc.) pens a similar story of a girl who goes to sea. Determined not to be separated from her seriously ill mother, Emma, 12, embarks on a plan that results in the adventure of a lifetime. Sent to live with Aunt Martha and her arrogant son, Odolf, Emma carefully plots her escape. Disguising herself in her cousin’s used clothes, she sneaks out while the household slumbers and stows away on what she believes to be a ship carrying her parents from England to the warmer climate of France. Instead, the ship is the evil, ill-fated Black Lightning, under the command of the notorious Captain Beacon. Emma finds herself sharing quarters with a crew of filthy, surly, dangerous men. When a fierce storm swamps the ship, Emma desperately seizes her chance to escape, drifting for several days and nights aboard a hatch cover and finally carried to land somewhere on the coast of Africa. Hungry, thirsty, and alone, Emma faces the daunting prospect of slow starvation, but survives due to a relationship she builds with a band of chimpanzees. This page-turning adventure story shows evidence of solid research and experienced plotting—the pacing is breathless. Kehret paints a starkly realistic portrait, complete with sounds and smells of the difficult and unpleasant life aboard ship. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-671-03416-2
Page Count: 138
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
PLB 0-531-33140-7 Ketcham’s first book is based on an allegedly true story of a childhood incident in the life of Johann Sebastian Bach. It starts with a couple of pages regaling the Bach home and all the Johanns in the family, who made their fame through music. After his father’s death, Johann Sebastian goes to live with his brother, Johann Christoph, where he boasts that he is the best organist in the world. Johann Christoph contradicts him: “Old Adam Reincken is the best.” So Johann Sebastian sets out to hear the master himself. In fact, he is humbled to tears, but there is hope that he will be the world’s best organist one day. Johann Sebastian emerges as little more than a brat, Reincken as more of a suggestion than a character. Bush’s illustrations are most transporting when offering details of the landscape, but his protagonist is too impish to give the story much authority. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30140-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
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