A touching novel, part historical fiction and part family story, from Karr (The Great Turkey Walk, 1998, etc.); the protagonist is based on her father, whose family fled Hungary before WWI. Istv†n Csere’s parents immigrate to South Jersey and begin the hard struggle to make a living running a chicken farm. Istv†n’s first job is to baby-sit his four younger brothers and sisters. When his father goes away to work, Istv†n gradually takes over. His mother insists that he continue with school, violin practice, and farm chores; in the meantime, many hardships befall them. The incubator, set too hot, kills the baby chicks after they’re hatched, the mortgage man has to be dealt even though there is no money, and Istv†n’s mother is so homesick that she can’t eat. When Apa (the father) returns, the family’s life improves, but only temporarily; Apa grows sick and dies. Istv†n, at age 11, attends his father’s funeral and becomes the man of the family. This is a moving tribute to a fragile American family; Karr writes with feeling of the trials and tribulations their new homeland holds out, and the bittersweet triumph of their survival. (glossary) (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 21, 1999
ISBN: 0-374-34764-6
Page Count: 179
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1999
This novel from Love (Three Against the Tide, 1998, etc.) wonderfully enlivens Texas history but falls prey to a few flat characterizations and obvious plot manipulations. Jessie is 11 when her father, Luther, suddenly moves the family from Kentucky to Texas. In San Antonio, she meets Angelina, a Mexican girl who immediately gives Jessie her most precious possession as a measure of her sympathy for the death of Jessie’s baby sister, Callie. Luther and Jessie’s older brother, Yancy, leave to fight the Mexicans, while Jessie, her mother, and her little brother take refuge in the Alamo. After the battle, which takes up four pages, they join the trek of the refugees in “the Runaway Scrape.” Jessie again meets Angelina, and, afraid to be seen with a Mexican, denies their friendship. Undaunted, Angelina takes Jessie to Yancy whom she saved after he escaped a battlefield massacre. Luther is dead, but only after winning a large farm through gambling, ensuring his family’s future. Several episodes in the book, especially the journeys, evoke the life of the early “Texians” quite well, and Love deftly weaves real people from history into the story. Her characters, however, frequently act without ready motivation and develop personal qualities rather serendipitously to satisfy various plot points. The pacing is fast, and the historical details captivating; some readers will ride right over the bumps. (chronology) (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Dec. 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1426-4
Page Count: 156
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1999
A deeply satisfying story of longing and hard work fulfilled, inspired by an obscure historical photograph. Bee loves the railroad: the sound and color, the sweep past the wide world into the cities, the wonderful engine names, such as True Heart and the Coyote Special. When her parents die, she finds that, with eight siblings to care for, loading freight for the Union Pacific in Cheyenne in 1893 pays far better than taking in wash. She’s strong, and gets hired to load the trains. But what Bee loves most is to pepper Ole Pete, the engineer, with questions; he lets her drive the train a bit, back it up, and couple it to other cars. When Bee gets the chance to drive a train, she takes two of her female crew to stoke the engines, “blowing my whistle for all the sky to hear.” The language is homespun and direct, with Bee’s desire and love for the railroad clear. The text faces the full-page illustrations; occasional double-page spreads float the text on top of the image, as in one dramatic scene where ghostly wagon trains parallel the train on its run. The mixed media paintings have a burnished quality, while the textures are beautifully tactile. The text never mentions Bee’s gender, but Moss provides a note about her inspiration and preserves another tessera from the mosaic of women’s history. A rousing and romantic tale. (Picture book. 5-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201344-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
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