Children's Chapter Books
Leo and the Lesser Lion
2009-08 - Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Everyone's been down on their luck since the Depression hit. But as long as Mary Bayliss Pettigrew has her beloved older brother, Leo, to pull pranks with, even the hardest times can be fun. Then one day, there's a terrible accident, and when Bayliss wakes up afterward, she must face the heartbreaking prospect of life without Leo.
Finding hope after a tragedy
Review by Eliza Born
Mary Bayliss Pettigrew and her older brother Leo are “cut from the same cloth—six of one and half a dozen of the other.” They are growing up during the Great Depression in rural Alabama, but the 11- and 16-year-old are up to their usual shenanigans, playing tricks on neighbors and sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night.
Everything changes after Bayliss’s 12th birthday. In a tragic accident, Leo is killed. Bayliss miraculously survives, although her reality is grim. She wakes up in the hospital to find life without Leo, guilt and the nagging feeling that she has been spared for a special purpose from God. It’s a heavy burden for any 12-year-old girl, and Bayliss deals with the weight in an unusual way: she decides to become a nun. What ensues is alternately heartbreaking and funny, since we know that Bayliss is better suited for wearing overalls than a habit (the better for “traipsing through the jungles of Africa,” which is what she really longs to do).
Sandra Forrester, who is also the author of the Beatrice Bailey Magical Adventure series, is adept at portraying life after a tragedy—when supper must be made, the clothes washed, sadness confronted. It is a strange and confusing time, and Forrester characterizes each member of the healing Pettigrew family with depth and realistic imperfection. There is Bayliss’ dad, who is kind but fearful; her sister Kathleen, who possesses quiet strength; grandmother Tommie Dora, who is firm but filled with goodness. Each personality becomes richer and more likeable as the novel progresses.
Just when we think that the Pettigrews have faced enough hardship, there is a twist. The family takes in two orphan girls: precious five-year-old Isabel and steely eight-year-old Gwen. Bayliss reacts to this development with anger—she may be on the road to piety, but she refuses to replace her brother. Then, something cracks. Readers young and old will sympathize as Bayliss struggles with doubt and redemption.
Though it portrays pain, Forrester’s novel is enlivened by Bayliss’ snappy narration and the amusing, colloquial retorts by her family members. The Pettigrews will be an inspiration to any person who has dealt with loss.
Eliza Borné writes from Nashville.
© 2008, All rights reserved, BookPage
Publisher Comments
"A heartwarming family story set during the Depression that reads like a classic."
Everyone's been down on their luck since the Depression hit. But as long as Mary Bayliss Pettigrew has her beloved older brother, Leo, to pull pranks with, even the hardest times can be fun. Then one day, there's a terrible accident, and when Bayliss wakes up afterward, she must face the heartbreaking prospect of life without Leo.
And that's when her parents break the news: they're going to be fostering two homeless little girls, and Bayliss can't bear the thought of anyone taking Leo's place. But opening her heart to these weary travelers might just be the key to rebuilding her grieving family.
Children's Chapter Books
Matisse on the Loose
07-2009 - Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Eleven-year-old narrator Matisse's mother is head of security for the local art museum, where an exhibit of Henri Matisse's paintings is scheduled at the same time as a security-system overhaul. While the alarms are turned off, Matisse gives in momentarily to temptation, replacing his namesake's Portrait of Pierre with his own convincing copy. Events that overtake him before he can put the original back in its frame turn his childish misdeed into an inadvertent heist.
Publisher Comments
"A kid. A famous painting. A cool moment. A prison sentence?
"Have you ever done something you shouldn't have? But you're a good person and you don't think that it's going to cause any real harm? But then something bad happens and it turns out that you were wrong? Welcome to Matisse's world.
Matisse has finally got the chance to come face to face with the work of his namesake, the great French painter Henri Matisse. The museum where his mom works as head of security is hosting a Matisse exhibit. Matisse thought it would be cool to hang his own artwork--a copy of a famous Matisse painting, "Portrait of Pierre"--on the museum wall just for a minute.
But then a tour group thinks that it's a "real "Matisse. So now Matisse's painting hangs in a museum--while the priceless original hangs on Matisse's eccentric family's den wall. A sixth grader should not get caught up in a museum heist. But . . . what if he does?
Children's Chapter Books
When You Reach Me
2009-07 Wendy Lamb Books
From the author of First Light comes this engaging novel in which four mysterious letters change a young girl's world forever.
Miranda's perplexing mystery
Review by Dean Schneider
“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious,” said Albert Einstein, and that’s exactly what 12-year-old Miranda has. In fact, her whole story is a mystery. Readers know from page one that Miranda is telling this story to someone in particular. She narrates the story and stops every now and then to address the unknown person: “Just like you said” or “You asked me to mention the key.” Then there’s Sal, Miranda’s best friend—only friend, actually—who is hit in the stomach and face on the way home from school one day, and that ends their friendship, but we don’t know why that should be. And Miranda begins finding mysterious notes that say things like, “I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own” and “The trip is a difficult one. I will not be myself when I reach you.” The notes indicate that she is being watched and that whoever is writing them knows about things before they happen.
The book’s cover gathers some of the clues: a key, a shoe, a two dollar bill, a mailbox with a person’s shadow extending from it (but there’s no person), a green coat, a book, a sack of bread. All of these things play into the story, though readers will just have to keep reading if they don’t understand everything right away. They can trust Rebecca Stead’s masterful plotting. She sprinkles clues, and readers must collect them along the way, as Miranda does.
In the midst of all the mysteriousness is an expertly crafted realistic story perfect for intermediate readers. The setting—New York City’s Upper West Side in 1979—is well drawn, and Miranda’s mother lets her navigate the streets of her neighborhood, teaching her to avoid those older boys hanging out and that mysterious laughing man always saying crazy things.
What could be better: a great setting, believable characters and a mystery deftly woven by a fine writer. This is a book to be reckoned with come Newbery season.
Dean Schneider teaches middle school English in Nashville.
© 2008, All rights reserved, BookPage
Children's Chapter Books
