The Courage of Sarah Noble

By Alice Dalgliesh

(1954, 1986) ISBN 0684188309

Even before Laura Ingalls Wilder there were other Lauras and some like Sarah Noble started even further back in the eastern portion of what was to be the United States before the birth of our country.

In this story,  Sarah has to truly be brave by accompanying her father as the two of them set out alone from the family home in Massachusetts to build the future home of the family in a new settlement in Connecticut.  Sarah is brave enough to the point where she agrees to live with a family of Native Americans while Sarah’s father goes back to Massachusetts and fetches the rest of the family.  Sarah and her father have made friends with the family of Tall John, a Native American and as it turns out Sarah learns much from the family and she is happy living with these new friends.  Nevertheless Sarah is overjoyed to see her family return safely for her.

Readers, especially tween readers for whom this book is designed, will receive much in history lessons from this engaging work.  The illustrations are well done, add immensely to the story retelling with the beauty they contribute.

The Courage of Sarah Noble was a Newbery Honor Book in 1955.

Little House in the Big Woods

By Laura Ingalls Wilder

(1932. 1994) ISBN 0064400018

On this return visit, decades after the first reading, the reader is just as charmed by Laura Ingalls and her family and their world as happened in the first visit.  Memories of specific incidents may have faded but the warmth of the Ingalls family circle has maintained itself over time and this reading after years of absence has been even more pleasurable by this revisit.  While one can realize that this recounting of American pioneer days is somewhat romanticized, this shortcoming is a minor detail swept along to the side due to the overall strengths of the writing by Ingalls.  The details about just how a family survived on the American frontier that Ingalls includes are just the right amount of information and never lead one to boredom.  The illustrations are quite welcome in getting a better understanding of the times of Laura and her family.  The modern reader is aided quite a bit by these illustrations of a historical time.

During this delightful re-reading of this book, one of the things that struck this reader for the first time was the sense of humor that Ingalls employs in her storytelling.  This has added further to the appreciation of this author’s work by this returning visitor to her childhood memories.  As a child the humorous aspect of Ingalls’ writing was not recognized in anywhere near the same degree.  Perhaps today’s readers, especially tween readers, may also undergo the same experience if as they progress in their lifetimes they also decide to pay a return visit to the Ingalls family.  With so much wealth to bestow on their readers may the Ingalls and their loved ones continue to thrive!

The Whipping Boy

By Sid Fleischman

(1986) ISBN 0688062164

In a land far away and a time long ago young princes were punished for their transgressions, punished very severely.  Every blow administered however caused no pain at all to the offending princes.  This was due to the fact that the princes had surrogates for their whippings.

As we arrive on the scene, the prince of the land has again earned a sound thrashing for the whipping boy, Jemmy.  Jemmy, an orphan snatched from the streets for this duty is too proud to utter a cry of pain.  This further infuriates the spiteful prince, known as Prince Brat behind his back.  When Prince Brat forces Jemmy to runaway with him they come across some cut-throat ruffians who look to take advantage of the two runaways.  Together with the resourcefulness of Jemmy, help from some relocated friends and changes that Prince Brat undergoes, fortunes change for Jemmy for the better as we leave this land of far away and long ago.

This book's illustrations do much to carry the story along as well as bring to life the secondary but hilarious and picturesque ruffians, Hold-Your-Nose Billy and Cutwater.

For tweens with an interest in the fantasy world of folklore and of”medieval times" this book will provide an alternative an entertaining choice to the overly present graphic novel genre.  For tweens working on making sure they are given a fair shake, like Jemmy, this will be a reassuring read.

1987 Newbery Award winner.

A Day No Pigs Would Die

By Robet Newton Peck

(2001) ISBN 0394482352

We meet Rob, full name Robert Peck, as he has struggled again to live with the ways of the Shaker holdings of his family.  How he longs to let go and light into a classmate who ridicules him.  Rob in handling the situation by leaving school in mid-morning encounters a situation that will bring about some good changes in his life and routine.  When Rob comes to the aid of a neighbor’s cow, he is rewarded with his own piglet who he raises in the hopes that she will become a brood sow and bring some financial relief to his family’s standing.  After becoming fond of Pinky, the pig, Rob finds that he must endure some of the pain of growing up as he realizes that he need to place the survival of his family above that of his beloved pet.  This is a touching and well-told story.  This is a recommended work for introducing young readers to the realities of farming with its hardships, its joys and the feelings of accomplishment that are a natural part of that style of life.  The recounting of farming life and the way that children cope with its aspects reminds one of the children’s life in the Laura Ingalls Wilder books although not as cheerful a tale.  This book deals more with the progression into adulthood than did the Little House in the Big Woods. 

ALA Notable Children's Books, 1995

Number the Stars

By Lois Lowry

(1989, 1998) ISBN 0440227534

Two friends are walking home together with a younger sister, or running as the mood strikes them when they are confronted by the realities of their world.  Their running catches the attention of German occupation soldiers patrolling the streets of Copenhagen and stopped for questioning.  No, they have done nothing illegal or threatening to the occupiers but have committed a tactical error by calling attention to themselves with their running.  It is 1943 and Denmark has been occupied since 1940 when as a survival tactic it surrendered to Germany.  Annemarie Johansen and her family are neighbors of the Rosen family whose daughter, Ellen is Annemarie’s friend.  Before we progress very far in the story we see Annemarie’s family and circle of friends endanger their lives to insure the safety of the Rosen family.  The Rosens and all Jewish people are being targeted by the occupiers for “relocation”, a term which in fact pertained to the attempts by the German occupiers to annihilate the Jewish People. Newbery Award 1990.

A Single Shard

By Linda Sue Park

(2001) ISBN 0395978270

We meet Tree-ear, approximately eleven years of age, during the twelfth century in Korea.  Tree ear is an orphan and has no house.  One day as he goes about foraging for food he notices the work of Min a potter and he longs to be trained by Min.  Due to a mishap Tree-ear does start to work for Min.  When an emissary from the royal court informs Min that if Min can send another example of his work to the royal court that he will be considered for a commission.  Tree-ear volunteers to travel the long distance with the pottery but after this potter is broken during the trip, Tree-ear delivers a single shard and with this delivery Min wins the commission.  This story deals with the desire to create beauty.  It seems so fitting that the mere telling of this tale is beauty itself.  It is a thoroughly convincing story and absolutely holds the reader’s interest.  A wholehearted recommendation is given this book.

Newbery Award winner of 2002