A Time of Miracles

A Time of Miracles
Book Review III

Author: Anne-Laure Bondoux
Translator: Y.Maudet
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Historical
Primary Characters:
Secondary Characters:
Publishing: Delacorte Press 2010
Awards: Mildred L. Batchelder 2011

Theme: Relationships can hold strong even as the world crashes down around you.

Summary: During the war in Caucus, Gloria and Koumail are refugees running from one shelter to the next. Gloria has a terrible cough and Koumail's real name is Blaise Fortune. Gloria tells him that she adopted him after a terrible train wreck where his real mother died. He goes by Koumail in order to fit in with the others. At their first sheter, Koumail attends a poor school in an elderly lady's shack. When they are forced to flee to the next safe place, Koumail experiences love for the first time. Here they are paid to dig wire out of a junk yard. Unfortunately, Gloria and Koumail are forced to flee again. This time they are headed to France with false passports that Gloria has made.  Somehow the pair got separated on their way across the border. Koumail was sent to a foster building and was put through so that he could be come a French citizen. When he turns eightteen, he goes on a hunt for Gloria. He finds her back in the Caucus in a hospital due to her coughing spells.Once reunited, Gloria tells Blaise Fortune the truth about his childhood. He is in fact Gloria's child and was not adopted. The train wreck did happen, and Gloria had a hand in it. She felt terrible about it and decided to make up a story about the life of Blaise Fortune in order to protect him as a person.

Uses with students: In a classroom, this novel can be used in a discussion concerning the effects of war on people in history. Also, students can pretend to be Blaise and write letters to those whom he had to leave behind.

Bink and Gollie

Bink and Gollie
Book Review III

Author: Kate DiCamillio and Allison McGhee
Illustrator: Tony Fucile
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Graphic Novel
Primary Characters: Bink and Gollie
Secondary Characters: their pet goldfish
Publishing: Candlewick Press 2010
Awards: Theodor Seuss Geisel Award 2011

Theme:  A perfect friendship can overcome any obstacles be it personalities or differences.

Summary: Bink and Gollie are best friends despite their many differences. They spend a lot of their time in their super tree house. Bink has it stocked full of peanut butter and Gollie makes the best pancakes in the world. The two girls are always on the go, roller skating to all of their destinations. They have a pet goldfish who Bink and Gollie toss into the lake. Months later they see the same goldfish frozen in the ice of the lake. In another adventure, Bink and Gollie go looking for socks and create a sock bonanza. This graphic novel tells of the many adventures of two best friends who overcome their differences and spouts of jealously.

Uses with students: In a classroom, this graphic novel brings an excellent introduction of graphic novels. A teacher can have students discuss how it was a story even though there were limited words.

Holes

Holes
Book Review III

Author: Louis Sachar
Illustrator: Jeff Newman
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Fantasy
Primary Characters: Stanley Yelnats and Hector Zeroni
Secondary Characters: Mr. Sir, Warden, Mr. Pendanski, Xray, Armpit, Zigzag, Katherine Barlow, and Sam the onion man
Publishing: Farrar, Straus,and Giourx 1998
Awards: Newbery Award 1999

Theme: One's family history determines one's destiny.
Friendship is something to always value deeply.

Summary: Stanley Yelnats is wrongly accused of stealing a pair of tennis shoes due to his family's curse. He is sent to a correction facility named Camp Green Lake. At the camp, boys have to dig holes in order to build character or so they say. Stanley meets a boy named Zero, and they become friends. Little do they know, their ancestors once had interactions as well. They eventually get fed up with digging holes and decide to flee into the desert. They find refuge under a rowboat and survive of Sploosh, onions, and muddy water. The two boys find a buried treasure in a hole. Unfortunately, the Warden knows they found it, and try to take it away. However, an attorney comes to release Stanley and sees that the hidden treasure had Stanley's great-great-great grandfather's name on it. Stanley used the treasure to buy his family a new house, Zero used his money to find his mother, and Camp Green Lake was ultimately turned into a girl scout camp.

Uses with students: In a classroom, this book can be used as a silent reading book. Also, it could be used in a lesson on flashbacks in literature.

Maniac Magee

Maniac Magee
Book Review III

Author: Jerry Spinelli
Illustrator: Carol Palmer
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Juvenile
Primary Characters: Jeffery Magee "Maniac Magee", Mars Bars Thompson, and Amanda Beale
 Secondary Characters: John McNab, Earl Grayson, and James Hands Down
Publishing: Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers 1990
Awards: Newbery Award Medal 1991

Theme: People from all different backgrounds and races can be friends.

Summary: Jeffery Lionel Magee's parent died in a car wreck when he was only three years old. He is sent to live with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan. After a few years, Jeffery has had enough and runs away to a town called Two Mills. The town is divided into two sections: one for black citizens and one for white citizens. He runs everywhere, and one day he runs into a girl named Amanda Beale, and they become really good friends. Jeffery earns the nickname "Maniac" because of the crazy tasks he does around town. He is constantly moving from place to place: Amanda's to the zoo with Earl Grayson. He meets a black boy named Mars Bars who challenges him to a foot race. Maniac Magee wins despite every one's belief. Every morning, Mars Bars begins running with Maniac, and the two become good friends. In the end, Mars Bars tries to persuade Maniac Magee to move back in with Amanda after he rescues Russel from the same railway where Maniac's parents had died.

Uses with students: In a classroom, this novel could be used as a silent reading book. It could also be used to aid in a discussion about the importance of being friends with everyone and overcoming tragedies.