An Unlikely Friendship by Ann Rinaldi; Harcourt Children’s Books: New York, 2007; $17 Imagine a lonely white girl, raised in a wealthy and prestigious family, who lived her dream of becoming First Lady in the White House. Now, imagine a black girl, born into slavery mistreated and overworked, who in the end was able to purchase her own freedom. Two women, different in skin color and social status, yet similar in their persistence to achieve their goals. In the novel An Unlikely Friendship, author Ann Rinaldi describes the unlikely yet unique friendship between two historical women, Mary Todd Lincoln and Elizabeth Keckley. In the beginning, I was excited how Ann Rinaldi immediately drew me into the historical happenings that occurred on Friday, April 14, 1865. The Civil War was finally over, which brought an end to slavery Suddenly, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Mary, emotional and shocked about her husband’s sudden death, only desired to see Elizabeth (Lizzy) because she was the only one who understood her. From here, the author takes us back into the past to the childhoods of Mary and Lizzy, beginning with Mary’s upbringing. Mary experienced a troubled childhood. Her mother passed away when she was young and she was raised by a selfish and cruel stepmother. Mary always put up a fight with her stepmother’s orders and was persistent in her beliefs. Even though her life was unhappy, Mary continued to believe in herself and never gave up on her dream of living in the White House. There was one person in Mary’s life that meant the world to her. Her name was Mammy Sally, a black slave and the family’s cook. When Mary experienced hardships, Mammy Sally was always there for her, like a mother. They developed a trusting relationship that Mary always cherished. In my life, I am fortunate to have two grandmas that I consider my Mammy Sallys, who care for me like Mammy Sally cared for Mary. Lizzy, born into slavery, was raised by her black mother on a southern plantation which was owned by her white father. She learned how to sew at age four. Lizzy wished for the day that she could sew for a grand lady. Later, she experienced the hardships that go along with being a female slave. This section of the story reminded me of when my class studied slavery I became furious while reading about the intense mistreatment of Lizzy, like whippings and other abuse. Through Lizzy’s hardships, she never gave up and she became a great seamstress. Later, after setting up her own business, Lizzy became Mary’s seamstress in the White House. Mary continued to live a difficult life because she dealt with depression, the death of her two sons, and the struggles of being First Lady. She looked to Lizzy for support and Lizzy was always there for her. Mary considered Lizzy her Mammy Sally. This unlikely friendship makes me think of the pen-pal friendship I have with a girl from Zambia, Africa. The friendship is special to me even though we live different lives and communicate with each other from one side of the world to the other. I would highly recommend this book to those who enjoy reading historical fiction. Ann Rinaldi presented the information so well that I have a strong understanding of the characters’ lives. She really allowed me to feel the amazing relationship between Mary Todd Lincoln and Elizabeth Keckley. Ashley Johnson,10West Linn, Oregon
Book-Reviews
Swordbird
Swordbird, by Nancy Yi Fan; HarperCollins: New York, 2007; $15.99 Imagine you live in a world of birds, of flight, of complete freedom. Imagine an evil hawk comes along and tries to steal your freedom and make you his slave. Imagine being caught up in a pointless, bloody war, for which your family and loved ones are sacrificing their lives. Well, that’s a lot of imagining to do, but with the help of Nancy Yi Fan, the amazing twelve-year-old author of Swordbird, it becomes an enthralling learning experience. Fan makes you laugh and cry with the birds and you feel like your life depends on bringing this war to an end. Swordbird is a very important book. All too often books about war for kids are gruesome and depressing or silly and shallow. Not because the subject of war has to be incomprehensible, but because making the subject of war accessible to kids is not at all easy Fan does it perfectly Not only that, she brings it all together in a moral in the front flap: “What does fighting bring us? Fear, hatred, misery and death.” By the time you finish the book you completely understand and agree with that statement. The book tells the tale of two flocks of birds, the Cardinals and the Blue Jays. They have been peaceful friends for decades. Suddenly they see their eggs being stolen by what they identify as each other. After a bloody war ensues, they realize that it is an evil hawk, Slimebeak, who is stealing. He is hoping they will fight each other so that he can capture them without them standing up for one another. Then he plans to enslave all of them and become king of the forest. The two flocks become friends again and join in a fight for freedom. Soon they realize that all that can save them is the mythical hero and king of peace, Swordbird. United, the Blue Jays and Cardinals send two birds, Aska and Miltin, on a quest for the stone that must be present to summon Swordbird. The gentle blue jay, Aska, was my favorite character. She was living in a war-torn world and yet she was the heroine of the story, she was strong and resolute, she went on the key mission and saved the day I really felt for her and cried for her when the brave robin, her love, Miltin, died, and it was because of her that I was really engaged in the book. I think Aska is a perfect role model because she is so good and kind in all ways. I, however, found it confusing how new characters just kept coming. I thought that only half of them really needed to be there and I thought the extras just made it more complicated for me. I think the book would have been better with only the main characters and a few extras. Swordbird is a magical book, a real page-turner, and though I won’t spoil the end I’ll tell you it’s really satisfying. Fan says that the book is supposed to convey her feelings about terrorism and September H. She says that she was in the towers of the World Trade Center a month before they were destroyed and that it made a very big impression on her. You can definitely see that in the book, though it is set in a fantasy world. As Fan is a not a native English speaker and she is only twelve years old, it has inspired me, and I think it will inspire more kids, to see that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
Travel Team
Travel Team by Mike Lupica; Penguin Young Readers Group: New York, 2004; $16.99 Hello, I’m Zach Hoffman and I’m twelve years old. I’m going into the seventh grade and I love to read and play sports. I like reading books in which kids play sports with their friends and teach you lessons on confidence, pride, and teamwork. When I read the book Travel Team, by Mike Lupica, I was taught all of those lessons. Danny Walker, age twelve, is the smallest but best seventh-grade basketball player in Middletown. To Danny’s misfortune, when he arrives at the tryouts for Middletown’s travel basketball team, he finds out the Vikings are looking for a bigger team this year. After two nights of exhausting hard work, Danny is told after the tryout that he didn’t make the team. Danny is told up front by the coach, Mr. Ross, that he didn’t make it because he knew his dad as a kid. Everyone else got a phone call at home. Danny takes his tryout misfortune too personally and thinks about quitting basketball altogether. Danny’s parents are divorced. Danny lives with his kind mom, who’s an eighth-grade teacher. His dad, who was a basketball child star and former NBA player, lives out of town. When Richie Walker hears his son didn’t make his old Middletown travel team, he arrives back in Middletown and at Danny’s side. Danny’s confidence is beginning to rise back up to start playing again. His dad creates another travel team. This immediately boosts Danny’s confidence and he can’t wait to start. Danny is put in charge of contacting all of his friends that didn’t make the Vikings and all the other kids he wants to play on the travel team. Last summer, my dad created a basketball team and put us in a summer basketball league. Like Danny’s team, we didn’t start out too hot. But throughout the season, we got better. I realized that it isn’t always about winning, but having fun and getting better at what you love to do. It was my first year to try out for my school’s A team in basketball last fall. I was really nervous that I wouldn’t make it and everyone would make fun of me. I practiced really hard every day. Every day I practiced, I got a little better. By the time the tryouts came, I knew I was ready to show the coaches what I could do on the court. After the two nights of tryouts, I waited a long week for the call to finally come. I had done it. I had made the A team! After all the hard work I put into it, I had succeeded at reaching my goal. Up to this day, my confidence has stayed with me and I know I can accomplish anything. There was one part of Travel Team that I especially liked. Danny’s Middletown Hawks had made it to the play-offs. To the Hawks’ disadvantage, they would have to play the Middletown Vikings, the team Danny had originally tried out for. Mr. Ross’s son is equally as good as Danny and is also a very good friend of Danny’s. Ty got mad at his dad for not letting him hang out with Danny and his other friends on the Hawks. So before the big rivalry game, Ty becomes the newest member of the Middletown Hawks. When the game starts, the Vikings go up by a couple points. But Danny and Ty work up some plays to get the Hawks right back in the game. In the end, the game is won by the Hawks, after Danny makes a left-handed pass to Ty for a layup. I really enjoyed this book and hope to read another one by the magnificent author and ESPN sports reporter, Mike Lupica. Zach Hoffman,12Cincinnati, Ohio
