Little Catfish and his buddies are too young to remember when their rundown urban neighborhood was full of thriving businesses and stellar entertainment, but Odell Davis, an “old as dirt” neighborhood fixture, keeps the memories alive. Like the one tall tree left on the street, Odell is a living connection to that past. Little Catfish befriends Odell after seeing a picture of him and Paul Robeson posing under the tree. A father figure to Little Catfish, Odell tells him stories about Robeson and the other great actors, musicians and poets who graced the stage of the former Regal Theater, now the site of the neighborhood’s community center. Little Catfish enlists his buddies to participate in the retrospective Odell creates to celebrate the history of the Regal. But Lamar, one of Little Catfish’s “hanging around” buddies, is jealous and angry of the attention Odell receives and vandalizes the theater. Shocked by this senseless act, the community rallies to restore the Regal to its former glory, which leads to a further revitalization of the neighborhood. This appealing and touching, if overly wishful, tale about what can be accomplished when a community works together conveys the value of remembering and embracing the past. (author’s note, biography websites, resources) (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-06-052749-5
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2008
Although this new Holocaust survivor novel tells much the same story as some of the other books about a family’s trials during WWII, the style is slightly different. It’s told from the point of view of 12-year-old Eva Zilverstijn, and is in the present tense. But it is told about Eva, as though the subject is also the observer. The result is that the narration captures the inner thoughts of the child while remaining somewhat distant. Eva and her sister Lisa, nine years old, were born in Groningen, Holland, the great-great-grandchildren of Polish-Jewish emigrants. Now it’s 1940, the Germans have invaded Holland, and the lives of Jewish residents will never be the same. Eva and Lisa must now think of themselves as Marie-Louise and Marie-Jeanne Dutour, Huguenots. They will spend the next five years in hiding, fleeing from one house to another, never really sure whom to trust. The people who hide them are ordinary citizens who have no special feelings one way or the other about Jews, but will “do whatever it takes to go against those Nazis.” The girls are separated from their parents soon after they begin to hide, and they won’t know what happened to them until the war ends. Living through experiences that would surely destroy them if they did not have a tremendous amount of inner strength, by the end of the war they have proven themselves unusually resourceful as well as brave. On the other hand, they are still children, and find that when they are finally free to go outside, they can’t. Not for a day or two, anyway, since it is still too scary. Outside, and without a star! Two poems included in the book were written by Vos’s mother, and Vos and her sister carried them from one house to another, much as Lisa and Eva do in the story. This is a compelling tale, interestingly told, and will be a useful addition to the growing body of children’s literature about the Holocaust. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: May 31, 2000
ISBN: 0-688-16283-5
Page Count: 192
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A child’s experience on a whaling ship in 1851 is brought to life in this fictional account based on two real whaling families’ journals and diaries. Nine-year-old Laura and her younger brother William sail with their mother and sea-captain father on an expedition to the Arctic whaling grounds. They won’t return for seven months or until the ship is filled with 2,600 barrels of whale oil. Laura writes in her diary each day, sharing with readers the routines of eating, sleeping, and learning, as well as the adventures and the hardships of living on a small whaling ship. Excitement mounts as the ship enters arctic waters. Whales are hunted and processed. When unseasonably cold weather sets, the boat is caught in the ice and the captain is forced to abandon ship before reaching his goal. Laura and family travel in a longboat until they are rescued at sea, and there, Laura ends her diary. Allen’s (Good-Bye, Charles Lindbergh, 1998, etc.) sepia ink sketches set alongside the text illustrate many objects that may be unfamiliar to the modern reader. These include a chamber pot, sailor’s knots, and a harpoon. Two-page color pencil-and-oil wash illustrations interspersed with the text give the larger context of the whaling scene. These luminous images sharpen the reader’s understanding of a bygone life. Additional information and historical background are included in an authors’ note, and a glossary is placed at the front of the book for easy reference. A good read with an interesting historical background. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: May 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-689-82222-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2000
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