A Historical Interlude

Rose and I have just gotten back from a trip to Pennsylvania to see Lehigh University, and also Gettysburg. I hadn't been there since I was little, and Rose never had. We loaded up Molly the Little Red Truck for another camping adventure, and drove 9.5 hours the first day, making it all the way to Caledonia State Park (which is a great place to stay for Gettysburg--a straight shot of about 20 minutes to the park.) It was a good four-day trip, including the thunderstorm and the 2 bears. Of course, I had to keep reading...

Nurse, Soldier, Spy by Marissa Moss (ISBN 978-0-8109-9735-6)

Fascinating story of Sarah Emma Edmonds, one of the many women who dressed, and fought, as men during the Civil War. One of the most curious facts about her was that she was dressing as a man for 2 years before joining up--as a way to escape an unwanted marriage. Bold caricature-like illustrations will read well at a distance. Extended resources and bibliography in the back are great for filling in the details.


Voices of the Civil War (Stories from the Battlefields Series) by Jason D. Nemeth (ISBN 9780-1-4296-5625-2) Brief profiles of real-life participants in Civil War battles. Good-sized print and fairly low reading level will make this book interesting to fourth and fifth graders. Resources in back.
This series would be good to get in library bindings for the boys who want a "war book." While there are some gruesome details in the text, there are no photos of death.
Summer's Bloodiest Days: The Battle of Gettysburg as Told From All Sides by Jennifer L. Weber (ISBN: 978-1-4263-0706-5)  Describes the 3 day battle in some detail, including strategies and troop movements. Main text is suplimented with interesting sidebars and fact boxes. The technique of pulling out "dramatic" moments in the story by putting them in a mix of larger fonts is somewhat distracting. The print is smaller and the reading level higher than the book above. This one would be mostly for 5th graders and up.

Of course, we needed something to do on that long drive, so we listened to this year's Newbery Award Winner,  

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (audiobook)

Who do I think I am? One thing about an "expert" reader-alouder (that would be me,) listening to an audiobook is that I am thinking constantly about how I would have said that sentence. In this case, since it's Jack Gantos himself who is reading his own book--who am I to quibble? But really, Gantos does a great job with this book, modifying his voice just slightly for different characters, emphasizing the right words to clarify meaning, strategically pausing at dramatic moments. Some authors, strangely enough, are terrible at reading their own writing. I wonder if it matters how much time has passed between finishing the book and doing the audio? I know that for a good long time after I write something, I can't see the story for the words.
Dead End in Norvelt won the Newbery this year, and I'm cheering to see another "boy book" get the win. (There's a fascinating commentary on Newbery history in this month's Horn Book Magazine) "Boy book" is my shorthand for a book that has something in it to appeal to reluctant (most often boys, lets face it,) readers who can't stomach a book that's all interior monologue. In the case of Norvelt the "something" is blood, dead people, and big moments in history. That doesn't mean that girls wouldn't like this book too--Jackie's mom, and Miss Volker are wonderful characters with strong, clear voices--they might just be turned off by all the gore and not really pay attention to the story. Jackie is about 10, growing up in the small western PA town of Norvelt. Norvelt (real place, lots of real details from Gantos life,) was founded by Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1930's to help poor people "get a leg up." It was founded on the principle that everyone deserves a decent place to live, and a means to make a living. Now Norvelt is (literally,) dying off, and Jack the Everykid is stuck between his Mom, who grew up in Norvelt and believes deeply in its communal values; and his Dad, who is suspicious of anything "commie" and wants a better living someplace else. Jack has just been grounded for the whole summer, but one of the only things he's allowed to do outside the house is help his elderly neighbor, Miss Volker, write the obituaries of the town's founding residents--and they're dying like flies.
This story, like most Newbery winners, is about a kid trying to figure out who he is supposed to be, while only half understanding what's really going on around him. And that's an experience that every kid has. Personally, I found this book inspiring and uplifting, as well as laugh-aloud funny. I don't know if Gantos wanted to make a political statement (since it's semi-autobiographical, I know he's not just pontificating,) but Miss Volker's history lessons are mostly about social justice. About how once-upon-a-time it was OK to help people without judgement, and how everyone has "an inherent worth and dignity" as the UU's would say. That concept gets dismissed as Socialist these days, sadly. Some of this will go over kids' heads. That's OK. They can just enjoy the story's humor, pathos, and mystery. And an awful lot of nosebleeds. I highly recommend Dead End in Norvelt.