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CHARLEY

Name: CHARLEY
Author: Donna Marie Seim
ISBN: 978-1937721107

by Donna Marie Seim illustrated by Susan Spellman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2013

A well-drawn coming-of-age tale about the loves and losses of a young boy.

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Seim’s debut middle-grade tale of an orphan’s journey in the early 1900s.

In this charming historical novel, Charley, 12 years old, is a street-smart city boy, accustomed to stealing food when necessary and staying out of trouble whenever possible. Roaming the streets of Boston after his mother dies, Charley learns that his father has left him and his siblings to go find work. His older brother George insists that Charley accompany his younger siblings to the New England Home for Little Wanderers, a place that will take care of them until they are placed with a family while George, who’s 14, joins his friends near his job at the wharf. Although Charley and his siblings hope to find a family for the three of them, his younger sister and brother are adopted into two separate families, leaving Charley alone in the orphanage. Before long, the boy’s beautiful voice brings him to the next chapter in his life; while leading a children’s choir on a trip to Maine, Charley sings his way into the hearts of the Worthingtons. He must learn to adjust to life on a farm, where his street savvy is no longer an asset, and new challenges confront him at every turn. His foster parents, though strict, are kind to Charley and endeavor to make him comfortable in his new home. In time, however, a family tragedy compels Charley to run back to Boston and see if he can survive on his own. But a sudden turn of events halts his plans and gives him a chance to prove himself a hero. This gently told story of abandonment and survival is a captivating read, drawing on historical facts to give texture to the tale. Charley’s rambunctious spirit and tenacity pave the way for endless adventures and lessons learned. Young readers, even struggling ones, will find this novel easy to read and an enjoyable way to learn about a different time, and Charley’s emotional roller coaster as he is passed from place to place is affecting.

A well-drawn coming-of-age tale about the loves and losses of a young boy.

Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2013

ISBN: 978-1937721107

Page Count: 208

Publisher: Peter E. Randall Publisher

Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2013

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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NOWHERE BOY

by Katherine Marsh ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 7, 2018

A captivating book situated in present-day discourse around the refugee crisis, featuring two boys who stand by their high...

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Two parallel stories, one of a Syrian boy from Aleppo fleeing war, and another of a white American boy, son of a NATO contractor, dealing with the challenges of growing up, intersect at a house in Brussels.

Ahmed lost his father while crossing the Mediterranean. Alone and broke in Europe, he takes things into his own hands to get to safety but ends up having to hide in the basement of a residential house. After months of hiding, he is discovered by Max, a boy of similar age and parallel high integrity and courage, who is experiencing his own set of troubles learning a new language, moving to a new country, and being teased at school. In an unexpected turn of events, the two boys and their new friends Farah, a Muslim Belgian girl, and Oscar, a white Belgian boy, successfully scheme for Ahmed to go to school while he remains in hiding the rest of the time. What is at stake for Ahmed is immense, and so is the risk to everyone involved. Marsh invites art and history to motivate her protagonists, drawing parallels to gentiles who protected Jews fleeing Nazi terror and citing present-day political news. This well-crafted and suspenseful novel touches on the topics of refugees and immigrant integration, terrorism, Islam, Islamophobia, and the Syrian war with sensitivity and grace.

A captivating book situated in present-day discourse around the refugee crisis, featuring two boys who stand by their high values in the face of grave risk and succeed in drawing goodwill from others. (Historical fiction. 10-14)