The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Selznick, Brian. The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Scholastic, 2007. Tr. $22.99, ISBN 978-0-439-81378-5.

 

What’s it about?

This gorgeous, cinematic cross between a picture and a novel, features the orphaned Hugo Cabret, who is a thief and a scavenger heavy with secrets. When the grand-daughter of a toy-maker befriends him, Hugo begins to unravel the mystery behind the automaton his father left him, and its creator.

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Twelve-year-old Parisian orphan Hugo Cabret’s father died in a fire at a museum and left his son with a damaged automaton. He went to live with his abusive uncle, who teaches him to steal. When his uncle disappears, Hugo doesn’t let on. Instead, he lives in the train station, becoming a thief and scavenger, and keeping up with his uncle’s job of keeping the city’s clocks running.  Then Hugo is caught stealing from a toy-maker, who is curious about the automaton pictured in Hugo’s notebook (which he initially thinks was also stolen).  Intrigued, he hires Hugo at his shop. The toy-maker’s grand-daughter Isabelle befriends Hugo. Together, the two eventually unravel the mystery of behind the automaton—and the real identity of Isabelle’s grandfather.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is such a unique book, it is tough to categorize. When it won the 2008 Caldecott Medal, it was the first novel to win, and surprised a lot of people because the Caldecott is awarded to picture book illustrators, not novel or graphic novel artists. It's tough to call a novel, though, when half the book is comprised of Selznick's detailed, breath-taking, cinematic pencil sketches. There are also reproductions of drawings as well as film still from the mind of innovative film-maker Georges Meilies, one of the first to employ special effects in his work. The text and pictures are integrated seamlessly. This is a page-turner with a well-paced storyline that is just as intricate as the illustrations, with each character and detail clicking together to form a complex, mind-boggling narrative. This book is so cinematic in feel that it was a question of when, not if the book would hit the big screen. Martin Scorsese directed the film, which is in theatres now.  

   

Genre label: Mystery/suspense, historical fiction

Reading level: 5^th grade

Interest level: Grades 4-9

Subjects: Orphans, film-makers, automatons, Georges Meilies

Read-alikes:

This book is so unique, there are no true read-alikes. Readers who enjoy this book, however, will probably also like Konigsberg’s From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

Awards:

Caldecott Medal (2008)

Backwoods Feudin' in Lois Lenski's Strawberry Girl

Lenski, Lois. Strawberry Girl. Illustrated by the author. Harpercollins, 2005 (c 1945). Paperback $5.99, ISBN 978-0064405850.

What’s it about?

Ten-year-old Birdie Boyd and her family have moved to the Florida backwoods to grow strawberry crops on their new land, but their neighbors, the Slaters, led by the mean, hard-drinking Sam Slater, dislike them on sight and are set on a feud. Will these neighbors be forever enemies?

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Birdie Boyd is excited about her new home, a small farm in backwoods Florida. She and her family will be planting strawberries and other cash crops.  What the Boyds didn’t count on were feuding neighbors. Bitter because of the Boyds’ nice belongings, the Slaters make life difficult for them by refusing to keep their animals from destroying Boyd crops, cutting their fences, poisoning their mule, stealing one of their calves, and ultimately trying to burn their house down. The saving grace for the Boyd family is two-fold: when Mrs. Slater and her three youngest children become seriously ill, Shoestring asks Mrs. Boyd for help. Mrs. Boyd nurses the Slaters back to health, even though her family has been hurt by the recent despicable actions of Sam Slater.  Mr. Slater is luckily out of town, presumably on a bender.  While Mrs. Boyd and Birdie are helping out at the Slaters, a preacher stops by, and Mrs. Slater tells him about her husband’s drinking problem. The preacher prays for Mr. Slater and later counsels Mr. Slater, who does a 180 and finds God.

Lenski’s forward describes the basis for this story—firsthand accounts by Florida “crackers,” toned down somewhat for her intended audience. Despite this toning down, the impact of the story is incredible and almost unbelievable. Slater’s actions seem to escalate toward possibly murdering Birdie’s father. Only Mrs. Boyd’s selflessness saves these two families. After this happens, Mr. Slater examines his conscience and is rather suddenly converted. His conversion wraps the story up with a tidy bow, something that doesn’t jive with the rest of the story, which beautifully portrays the complexity of the back-and-forth struggles between these two families.  I’m not saying dramatic conversions don’t happen, or even that this aspect of the plot was wrong for the story. The pacing just seemed a little too abrupt toward the very end of the story. This is the only small flaw in this otherwise amazing book, which seamlessly and authentically incorporates the regional dialect and customs into the speech and action of its characters. Lenski’s illustrations are a delightful treat as well. They accompany, never overpower her stellar show-don’t-tell style of writing.  

Genre: Historical fiction

Subjects: Farmers, Neighbors, Florida backwoods, Strawberry crops, Agricultural workers, Alcoholism, Revenge, Feuds, Poverty, Religious conversion, Selflessness

Reading level: 5^th grade

Interest level: Grades 4-7

Awards: Newbery Award Winner (1946)

Read-alikes:

Ryan’s Esperanza Rising

Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie series

Caddie Woodlawn

Characters:

Birdie Boyd—Ten-year-old protagonist, a strong, hard-working girl who sympathizes with the younger Slater children’s plight.

Jeff “Shoestring” Slater—Twelve-year-old sometimes friend of Birdie, ashamed of his father’s drunkenness yet resentful of the Boyd’s success.

Mr. Boyd—Strong-willed head of the Boyd family, tries to keep peace with the Slaters initially, but when this fails, stoops to their level.

Mrs. Boyd—Good-natured woman who turns the other cheek when it comes to the Slaters, nursing the children and their mother back to health even after their father killed the Boyd’s mule and tried to burn their house down.

Mr. Slater—drunken, irascible neighbor who dislikes the Boyds and refuses to keep his animals off their farmland.

Mrs. Slater—Initially seems very bitter toward the Boyds, calling them “uppity” because they are better off than her family, later warms up to them largely because of Mrs. Boyd’s and Birdie’s unrelenting kindness.  

Defiance

Jablonski, Carla. Defiance. Illustrated by Leland Purvis. First Second, 2011. Paperback $16.99, ISBN-13 978-1596432925.   

What’s it about?

In this sequel to 2010’s Resistance, 1943 France is a perilous time to be part of the French Resistance, thanks to the Milice, the French Military Police. This doesn’t stop Paul, Marie and Sylvie Tessier, three courageous young siblings, from continuing to risk their lives through acts of defiance and espionage.  

 Find out more:

Defiance is the second book in a planned trilogy about the acts of ordinary citizens supporting the French Resistance. This second installment continues the story of the Tessier siblings, particularly Paul, whose new acts of defiance, inflammatory caricatures of German soldiers and anti-German propaganda, place him in danger. When Paul is nearly caught red-handed by the Milice, (French Military Police), he flees to the forest where he knows there are members of the French Resistance. Meanwhile, Marie is suspended from school for refusing to sing a song praising the treasonous Chief of Vichy France, Marshal Petain, and Sylvie is acts as an intelligence agent, dating and duping a young German soldier into telling her key information that ultimately saves several members of the Resistance.

This book, like Resistance, is does a great job of expressing the wide range of emotions experienced by its main characters—joy, tension, terror and anger. The artwork isn’t stand-out, with the exception of the black and white sketched panels that depict Paul’s caricatures, but it is adequate, and the storytelling and pacing is outstanding. Jablonski does an excellent job at providing readers with historical context in her forward about the occupation and the French Military Police (Milice) and her author’s note about Charles de Gaulle.  Defiance is a great follow-up to Resistance, and will interest older kids and teens interested in history and historical fiction, particularly those that enjoy graphic novel formats. 

   

Reading level/ Interest level: Gr. 5-12

Genre:  Historical fiction, Historical graphic novel

Subjects: World War II, French Resistance, Occupied France, Nazi Germany

Series information:

Book 1: Resistance

Read-alikes:

 The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography

Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campell Bartoletti

Esperanza Rising

Ryan, Pam Munoz. Esperanza Rising. Scholastic, 2000. Tr. $ 16.25, ISBN-10  0-439-12041-1.

What’s it about?

Esperanza Ortega, a very wealthy girl in Aquascalentes, Mexico, has a sudden change in fortune when her father dies and her family must flee the country to find work in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley in California. 

Find out more: Esperanza Ortega is about to turn thirteen. She lives a life of luxury on a beautiful plantation called El Rancho de las Rosas in Aquascalentes, Mexico. Servants do everything for her, even bathe her. But everything changes for her when her beloved father, Sixto, is murdered. The house and its contents were left to Esperanza’s mother Ramona, but since women couldn’t inherit land, her uncle, Luis, the banker on the loan, owns it. He tries to force marriage upon Ramona so that he can own the house as well. When she doesn’t consent, he sets fire to the house, nearly killing Esperanza’s grandmother. Ramona sees no choice but to flee. With the help of her servants Alfonso, Hortensia and their son Miguel, Esperanza and Ramona go up north to become agricultural workers. Esperanza is shocked by the poverty and grueling work that she must face, but just as she begins to adjust, her mother becomes extremely ill and strikers threaten the jobs of her friends. Despite these trying times, Esperanza stays strong and keeps the seeds of hope alive.

Ryan’s characters are compelling and believable, and her writing style is simple yet poetic, and flavored with Spanish words and phrases. Ryan tells her readers that the real Esperanza is her grandmother in the afterward and gives the reader more historical context, and includes the startling fact that the Mexican Repatriation removed more people than the Native American and Japanese-American removals. This is a story of hope in the face of extreme tragedy and struggles. Esperanza changes quite dramatically during the course of this novel—she is definitely a bit high and mighty, even as the family is fleeing up north. She won’t even let a child on the train ride to the valley touch the beautiful doll her father gave her, because the girl is dirty. It is clear that she feel that she is better than “peasants,” even though she is now an impoverished migrant worker. Her attitude changes as she realizes that how hard life can be, and how important her help is. She is humbled by the knowledge and strength of eight-year-old Isabel, who must teach Esperanza how to do something as basic as washing clothing. The change in Esperanza is clear when she generously gives her doll to the little girl, as consolation for not becoming the Queen of May.

Genre: Historical fiction, Multi-cultural fiction

 Reading level: 5^th grade

Interest level: Grades 4-10

Read-alikes:

Lenski’s Strawberry Girl

Subjects: Agricultural laborers, Strikes, Poverty, Immigration, Mexican workers, Mexican Repatriation, Racism

Awards:

Pura Belpre Award (2002)

2002 Notable Children’s Book (ALSC)

Characters:  

Esperanza Ortega—13-year-old who grews up a priveleged  “reina” (queen) and lost everything when her father was murdered 

Miguel—Alfonso and Hortensia’s 16 year old son and Esperanza’s childhood friend

Isabel—the energetic eight year old child of Juan and Josephina, a very capable worker who shows Esperanza how to take care of the babies

Josephina—Alfonso’s sister in law, lives in the labor camp where Esperanza, Hortenisa, Miguel, Alfonso, and Ramona settle

Juan—Alfonso’s brother, lives in the labor camp where Esperanza, Hortenisa, Miguel, Alfonso, and Ramona settle

Marta—a 16-year-old who lives in the same camp as Esperanza. A leader of local labor strikes who is hateful towards Esperanza

Hortensia—the Ortega’s housekeeper, later helps and flees with the family

Alfonso—the boss of the field workers on the Ortega plantation, later helps and flees with the family

Ramona Ortega—Esperanza’s mother, who is later stricken with Valley Fever

Sixto Ortega—Esperanza’s father, murdered by bandits

Tio Luis—Esperanza’s evil uncle, who tries to force Ramona into marriage

Abuelita—Esperanza’s beloved grandmother, who stays behind in Mexico because of her health

Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself

Blume, Judy. Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself. Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books, 2000 (c.1977). Tr. $18.99  ISBN-10: 0689840896 ISBN-13: 978-0689840890

What’s it about? The year is 1947, and 10-year-old Sally J. Freedman is convinced that Hitler is alive—and in Miami Beach, masquerading as an old Jewish man named Mr. Zavodsky.

Find out more:

Sally is a ten-year-old Jewish girl from New Jersey who spends the school year away from her father in Miami Beach because of concerns about her older brother’s health. Sally has an active imagination, and loves to tell stories to herself, stories where she plays the lead role (usually as an actress or detective hunting Hitler). She misses her father, whom she nicknames “Doey Bird” and hates her new school, which has no bathroom doors, and a mean lunch monitor. Eventually, Sally adjusts and makes new friends. There is a dark shadow looming over Sally, though, and this is the specter of the Holocaust, which took the lives of her cousin Lila and aunt Rose.  Many of her fantasies feature the Holocaust, and when she suddenly realizes that her neighbor Mr. Zavodsky bears a resemblance to Hitler, she begins to believe he actually is Hitler in disguise, hiding in plain sight. 

This is a rich, often humorous novel with underlying dark tones. In many respects, Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself is an even stronger offering from Blume than her better known Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. While Sally doesn’t go through the same soul searching as Margaret does, this book explores serious topics such as the Holocaust through the eyes of a child touched by loss, though in a removed way.  Sally’s understanding of adults is touchingly naïve. When the sixteen-year-old daughter of her neighbors, who are Orthodox Jews, becomes pregnant, Sally is confused. “Buts she’s not married,” she points out. The book her mother gave her to explain sex presented pregnancy as something that only occurred between married couples. There are plenty of moments when older readers will see more to the situation than Sally does, although younger tweens may also misunderstand things like paying under the table.

Another serious topic, though dealt with in a removed way as well, is segregation. Sally grew up in New Jersey, and doesn’t understand why there are two different drinking fountains. She took a drink from a “colored” drinking fountain and was yanked away by a strange woman. Sally writes to her father, asking if black and white people have different germs or something. He responds by saying that he thinks people have more similarities than differences, and that the North isn’t much better than the South. In the North segregation was just more subtle than in the South, which was very candid about its racism. 

One criticism I have about this book, which is otherwise amazing, is the non-stop overuse of ellipses in conversations. I understand that Blume is trying to convey conversational pauses on the page, but readers already do this mentally, don’t they? It’s a stylistic complaint. . . . but it drives me nuts! . . . . I adore this book . . . so I can overlook this flaw. . .  

Genre: Historical Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Humor

Reading level: 4^th-5^th grade

Interest level: Grades 4-7

Subjects: Jewish-Americans, Moving, Friendship, Story-telling, Imagination

Read-alikes:

Yee’s So Totally Emily Ebers

Cleary’s Emily’s Runaway Imagination

Characters:

Sally J. Freedman—the imaginative protagonist, a 10-year-old storyteller

Arnold Freedman, aka Doey-Bird—Sally’s beloved dentist father

Louise Freedman—Sally’s anxious and neurotic mother

Douglas Freedman—Sally’s genius, loner brother whose health is fragile

Ma Fanny—Sally’s witty grandmother

Andrea—Sally’s close friend who lives in the same apartment complex; she is in 6^th grade and acts as though she is light years older than Sally, who is just a year younger

Georgia Blue Eyes—Andrea’s crush

Peter Hornstein—Teases Sally mercilessly, but Sally eventually realizes she likes him

Mr Zavodsky—Sally thinks he is not a nice, older Jewish man, but Adolf Hitler in disguise

Queen of Hearts: "Coming of Age--in a Hospital Bed"

Martha Brooks, Martha. Queen of Hearts. Groundwood Books Limited, 2010. Tr. $17.99 ISBN 978-0-3743-4229-6

What’s it about?

Imagine having tuberculosis and living in a sanatorium, not knowing if you will survive. This is fiery sixteen-year-old Marie-Claire’s life, and she is fighting to live it.  

Find out more:

It’s the year 1940, and French Canadian Marie-Claire’s itinerant uncle Gerard is staying with the family. He contracts tuberculosis, and continues to stay with the family because there are no beds at the nearby sanitarium. He finally gets a bed at the Pembina Hills Sanitarium, but he does not recover. After he passes away, Marie-Claire and her two younger siblings are also diagnosed with the disease, and are sent to the sanitarium as well. The treatments are nearly as harsh as the disease—collapsing of the lungs, removal of ribs, overnight exposure to icy cold winter air—and nothing can prevent Marie-Claire’s brother Luc from succumbing to the illness. Marie-Claire becomes very ill as well, but she eventually begins to mend, and becomes friends with her much sicker roommate, Signy. When she gets stronger, she begins to notice a boy—Jack Hawkings—who is a musician, and a fellow patient. He is near recovery, and as Marie-Claire’s health continues to improve, their relationship also gains strength.

Queen of Hearts is a sad book, and very realistic. Brooks doesn’t shy away from the tragedy and ugliness of tuberculosis, or its treatments. The descriptions of the frail Signy, in particular, who has had nine ribs removed and is forever deformed—if she lives—is haunting. The prose and complex characters make for high quality writing, which makes up for the somewhat uneven pacing. Marie-Claire struggles with being an invalid, and her headstrong nature makes her relationships more difficult. She is initially quite unfriendly to Signy because of she dislikes her Pollyanna-esqe demeanor. How could anyone be happy in a sanatorium? Marie-Claire eventually seeks her friendship, and opens her mind and heart to a romantic relationship as well. Queen of Hearts is not likely to fly off the shelves, but may find a niche audience among historical fiction fans grades 6 and up. The target audience will definitely skew female, although boys may relate to the feisty Marie-Claire. The romance in this title is poignant, and doesn’t begin to build until two third of the way through the book, not enough to truly bill this as a romance.  

Genre label: Historical Fiction, elements of romance

Reading level: 4^th-5^th grade

Interest level: Grades 6-12

Read-alikes:

Joan Blos’s A Gathering of Days

Laurie Halse Anderson’s Fever 1793

Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Subjects/themes: Tuberculosis, sanitariums, dying, death, chronic illness, grieving, friendship, romance

Awards: Starred reviews in Kirkus, School Library Journal and Horn Book

Character name/descriptions:

Marie-Claire—the protagonist, an impetuous teen stricken with tuberculosis

Jack—Marie-Claire’s eventual boyfriend

Signy—Marie-Claire’s roommate and eventual friend

Resistance

Jablonski, Carla. Resistance. Illustrated by Leland Purvis. First Second, 2010. 128 pages. Tr. $16.99, ISBN 978-1596432918.   

What’s it about?

In 1942 France, it is dangerous to be Jewish—and to help the Jews. Paul, Marie and Sylvie Tessiers, three young siblings, risk their lives by joining the resistance movement to help their Jewish friend Henri reunite with his parents.

 Find out more:

Resistance is a graphic novel, the first book in a planned trilogy, set during World War II in 1942 Vichy France. This compelling story centers around thirteen year old Paul Tessier, an artistic boy whose father is a P.O.W. Paul and his younger sister Marie hide their Jewish friend Henri from the Germans after his parents are taken away by the Germans. When a French Resistance member, Jacques, discovers their secret, the children, along with Paul’s older sister, Sylvie, join the resistance movement. The three siblings risk their lives to help Henri reunite with his parents.

What is unsettling about this book is the ordinary scenes taking place amidst a backdrop of tension and hatred always potentially ready to boil over. One scene, toward the beginning, depicts a group of children goofing off, splashing water from a fountain on each other, and then gleefully dumping a bucket of water on a girl passing by. This girl screams, “I’ll denounce you!” Her face, contorted with hatred is rendered into a black and white rough sketch, stylistically very different from the colorful comic style panels that form the majority of the artwork. This happens throughout the book, an interesting way to not only emphasize a character’s extreme emotions, but also to imply that Paul may be channeling his struggles and those of his country into his art.  This book is exciting, rich, and the artwork, though not stellar, deftly conveys a wide range of emotion.  

For readers unfamiliar with the French Resistance, there is a helpful introduction explaining the German occupation and the French response. The author differentiates between para-military groups and the Maquis and people who took action whenever could to oppose German occupiers, noting that is more apt to call these people part of the resistance movement rather than members of “The Resistance.” The author’s note at the end is very interesting as well, noting that “living history is messy, filled with missteps, confusion, mistakes, and choices made on the fly, in the moment, on the spot—with consequences that can be unpredictable and intended.”  Resistance is a great title to hand to tweens interested in history and historical fiction. Interest in graphic novels isn’t necessary, but may be helpful.   

Reading level: Gr. 2-3

Interest level: Gr. 5-12

Genre:  Historical fiction, Historical graphic novel

Subjects: World War II, French Resistance, Occupied France, Nazi Germany

Awards:

Sydney Taylor Honor Book (2010)

 Booklist starred review

Read-alikes:

 The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography

Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campell Bartoletti

Characters:

Henri—Jewish boy whose parents, hotel owners, are taken away by the Germans

Paul Tessier—an artistic boy & best friend of Henri; his parents have taken over the hotel during the war so that Henri’s parents could come back to it after the war

Marie Tessier—Paul’s younger sister, an intelligent girl whose great memory and attention to detail may prove useful to the French Resistance

Sylvie Tessier—Paul’s older sister, also becomes involved in the Resistance movement

Jacques—A Resistance member, who catches Paul and Marie hiding Henri