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GREENHORN

Name: GREENHORN
Author: Anna Olswanger
ISBN: 978-1-58838-235-1

by Anna Olswanger & illustrated by Miriam Nerlove ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2012

A book to be read by adult and child together.

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In 1946, a young survivor of the concentration camps comes to America from Poland with nothing but a mysterious box that never leaves his possession.

Daniel is one of a group of boys who have lost their parents in the Holocaust and have been brought to live and study in a yeshiva in New York City. Daniel is overwhelmed by past horrors and finds adjustment to his present circumstances difficult in the extreme. He is befriended by Aaron, who tries to ease his way into this new life. Many of the boys at school are not exactly kind and considerate; they mercilessly tease Aaron for stuttering, and they keep pushing at Daniel to reveal the contents of the box. They force the issue by taking the box from him and opening it. What they find stuns them, as do Daniel’s heartbreaking reasons for keeping the object. Based on a true story, the narrative is told in Aaron’s voice, with copious use of dialogue to further the plot. Nerlove’s softly hued, full-page illustrations mostly depict quiet, calm moments, making the depiction of the attack on Daniel more startling. Olswanger’s deceptively simple tale can jump-start a discussion of the Holocaust, as well as the repercussions for those who survived and, indeed, for all humanity.

A book to be read by adult and child together. (afterword, glossary) (Historical fiction. 10-14)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-58838-235-1

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Junebug/NewSouth

Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2012

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

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THE SEVENTH MOST IMPORTANT THING

by Shelley Pearsall ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 8, 2015

Luminescent, just like the artwork it celebrates. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

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Traumatized by his father’s recent death, a boy throws a brick at an old man who collects junk in his neighborhood and winds up on probation working for him.

Pearsall bases the book on a famed real work of folk art, the Throne of the Third Heaven, by James Hampton, a janitor who built his work in a garage in Washington, D.C., from bits of light bulbs, foil, mirrors, wood, bottles, coffee cans, and cardboard—the titular seven most important things. In late 1963, 13-year-old Arthur finds himself looking for junk for Mr. Hampton, who needs help with his artistic masterpiece, begun during World War II. The book focuses on redemption rather than art, as Hampton forgives the fictional Arthur for his crime, getting the boy to participate in his work at first reluctantly, later with love. Arthur struggles with his anger over his father’s death and his mother’s new boyfriend. Readers watch as Arthur transfers much of his love for his father to Mr. Hampton and accepts responsibility for saving the art when it becomes endangered. Written in a homespun style that reflects the simple components of the artwork, the story guides readers along with Arthur to an understanding of the most important things in life.

Luminescent, just like the artwork it celebrates. (Historical fiction. 10-14)