A historically detailed but slow-paced set of vignettes that captures the feel of rural Maine during the War of 1812.
Gray (Finding Mettle, 2007) continues to explore the history of her family in this exciting children’s tale of a small island threatened by warships in 1814.
After young Amos helps keep the sheep out of the family pumpkin patch, he and his Wabanaki friends Pial and Azo spot a ship off the coast of their hometown of Squirrel Island, Maine. Later that night, Amos’ older brothers talk about the dangers posed by the British ship, and Papa encourages the boys to fight: “Now, Francis and you Henry be old enough to hold off the jack tars if it comes to that. I’m not telling you to go; I’m saying that if you’ve a mind, I won’t stand in your way.” The next day, as Amos daydreams of being a soldier, two British troops try to kidnap the family’s sheep. Luckily, Amos’ mother’s bravery, and her large gun, scare the looters away. This book is less a story than a series of vignettes loaded with historical details. Amos observes all of his family’s chores during the day, for example, and two wonderful illustration spreads show family life around the house after dinner. The inclusion of Amos’s Wabanaki friends is another unusual, refreshing element. Gray’s attention to detail in her prose and illustrations is admirable, and the list of resources at the end will provide young readers with ways to get more information about the War of 1812 or the story’s Maine setting. But although the details are very strong, the story has little sense of urgency, in part because its central character, Amos, doesn’t truly grasp the danger. As a result, young history buffs may be intrigued by the fact that the story is based on a true account, but more adventure-seeking readers may be disappointed by the lack of action.
A historically detailed but slow-paced set of vignettes that captures the feel of rural Maine during the War of 1812.Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2013
ISBN: 978-1490521930
Page Count: 38
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Nov. 29, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.
Sandy and his family, Japanese Canadians, experience hatred and incarceration during World War II.
Sandy Saito loves baseball, and the Vancouver Asahi ballplayers are his heroes. But when they lose in the 1941 semifinals, Sandy’s dad calls it a bad omen. Sure enough, in December 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in the U.S. The Canadian government begins to ban Japanese people from certain areas, moving them to “dormitories” and setting a curfew. Sandy wants to spend time with his father, but as a doctor, his dad is busy, often sneaking out past curfew to work. One night Papa is taken to “where he [is] needed most,” and the family is forced into an internment camp. Life at the camp isn’t easy, and even with some of the Asahi players playing ball there, it just isn’t the same. Trying to understand and find joy again, Sandy struggles with his new reality and relationship with his father. Based on the true experiences of Japanese Canadians and the Vancouver Asahi team, this graphic novel is a glimpse of how their lives were affected by WWII. The end is a bit abrupt, but it’s still an inspiring and sweet look at how baseball helped them through hardship. The illustrations are all in a sepia tone, giving it an antique look and conveying the emotions and struggles. None of the illustrations of their experiences are overly graphic, making it a good introduction to this upsetting topic for middle-grade readers.
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel. (afterword, further resources) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0334-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A deftly told story that dramatizes how Danes appointed themselves bodyguards—not only for their king, who was in the habit...
The author of the Anastasia books as well as more serious fiction (Rabble Starkey, 1987) offers her first historical fiction—a story about the escape of the Jews from Denmark in 1943.
Five years younger than Lisa in Carol Matas' Lisa's War (1989), Annemarie Johansen has, at 10, known three years of Nazi occupation. Though ever cautious and fearful of the ubiquitous soldiers, she is largely unaware of the extent of the danger around her; the Resistance kept even its participants safer by telling them as little as possible, and Annemarie has never been told that her older sister Lise died in its service. When the Germans plan to round up the Jews, the Johansens take in Annemarie's friend, Ellen Rosen, and pretend she is their daughter; later, they travel to Uncle Hendrik's house on the coast, where the Rosens and other Jews are transported by fishing boat to Sweden. Apart from Lise's offstage death, there is little violence here; like Annemarie, the reader is protected from the full implications of events—but will be caught up in the suspense and menace of several encounters with soldiers and in Annemarie's courageous run as courier on the night of the escape. The book concludes with the Jews' return, after the war, to homes well kept for them by their neighbors.
A deftly told story that dramatizes how Danes appointed themselves bodyguards—not only for their king, who was in the habit of riding alone in Copenhagen, but for their Jews. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: April 1, 1989
ISBN: 0547577095
Page Count: 156
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1989
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