Last weekend's doings, bookish and otherwise

Todd and I saw Les Miserables live for the first time last Friday. It was wonderful performance, amazing singing, staging, etc. It would have been a magical night, except for our seats. We were high up on the extreme right and the conductor had a light that turned upward. I think the purpose of the light was to make his arms visible on the TV monitor that the actors use. But where we were, it glared in our eyes for the entire performance, flashing as the conductor waved his arms, resulting in a disco-ball effect. We finally figured out how to hunker down in our seats enough to reduce the blinding glare (which was harder for Todd because he's tall), but then of course we had to bob and weave our heads around the heads of the people in front of us in order to see what was going on. Can I just say, Javert's suicide scene Blew.Me.Away. That scene was so amazingly clever. And now I really want to read the book.

Todd's mom came from Nashville to watch the girls for our night on the town. She came bearing the gift of books for the girls: the most coveted 7th Ivy and Bean book, and some Magic Treehouse books that my girls have just started getting in to. The girls had a blast with their Gammy. She also brought bubbles and a huge plethora of bubble wands. And even 8 year old Olivia, who is starting to express scorn for "baby" activities (as she calls them), cheerfully abandoned her jaded attitude for the magic of bubble play.

On Saturday we got up planning to go to the Airshow in Millington, TN. But after inching along three tenths of a mile in one hour (I'm not kidding) toward the exit, with another 3 miles to go to the airbase, we abandoned the idea and went to lunch followed by book store browsing at Hastings (where they sell new and new-to-you books), which resulted in the following very inexpensive and thrilling purchases:

• A Coal Miner's Bride: The Diary of Anetka Kaminska by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. I borrowed this from the library the first time I read it. I really liked this fictional account of the life of an immigrant Polish girl who becomes a coal miner's wife in 1896. I love Bartoletti's work. She writes very compelling, thoroughly researched non-fiction and historical fiction (and some picture books, too). It's hard to believe I only discovered her books this year.
• Mistwood by Leah Cypess. I read this book for the first time last September and really liked it. (See here for my brief synopsis.) I'm sending this copy to my mom.
• Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal by Mal Peet. This one sounds fascinating to me. I was just introduced to his work through Cloud Tea Monkeys, so I'm eager to read this YA novel about a WWII Resistance fighter in Holland.
• When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. I read this book before it won the John Newbery Medal, and was very happy when I heard it won. So well-written, gripping, and mind-spinning, and features a protagonist who LOVES one of my favorite-ist books ever: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. (One might say that the entire concept of the book is a loving homage to A Wrinkle in Time.)
• Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R.L. LaFevers. The first book in the Theodosia series. I've been wanting to read this series for a while. I like books that feature clever girls solving problems. One of the things I lamented while I was growing up was the lack of adventure stories featuring girls. I'm glad to see that there are authors rectifying that now. I'm hoping Olivia will get interested in this book.
• The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan (An Enola Holmes Mystery) by Nancy Springer. Another fascinating sounding series featuring a clever girl, the much younger sister of Sherlock Holmes. This book is actually number 4 in the series. No, I don't have any of the others. But I couldn't pass up such a good price. I'll have to get the others from the library.
• A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. A new-to-me author. But I've heard good things around the web about this book.

Sunday morning, we got up early and drove to the Airshow, with no traffic problems. We spent the day walking through the aircraft static displays, before hunkering down to watch the aerial displays and eat lunch. The girls did amazingly well. I was sure the day would be full of groans and complaining, but they were troopers. We found a great spot on the grass to watch the airshow. Whenever they got tired of sitting, either Todd or I would go walking with them for about 10 minutes, and then they'd happily settle down to an hour more of watching the flying stunts. The highlight of the day came at 1530 (3:30 pm), when the Blue Angels flew. Then home, supper, playing and bedtime.
After that full day, bedtime was a cinch. In fact, they asked to go to bed. Glory, glory halleluiah!

Book Review: They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

They Called Themselves the K.K.K.

The Birth of An American Terrorist Group

By Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Children's Non-Fiction
Ages 12 and up
(Published in 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing)

A marvelously well-presented, thoroughly researched book! And boy, was it difficult, scary, and sickening to read! Not because of Bartoletti, but because of the subject matter. If one wants to read horror stories, one need look no further than our own human history, at "man's inhumanity to man."*  In her book They Called Themselves the K.K.K, Susan Campbell Bartoletti lets you know up front what you're in for. She says in part of her note to the reader at the front of the book:

"Whenever possible, I have let the people of the past speak in their own voices. Some of these people use crude language. No matter how difficult it is to see the offensive words in print, I have made no attempt to censor these historical statements.
  You will see images from pictorial newspapers such as Harper's Weekly and Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper and other sources. These images depict people, events, and viewpoints of the time. Some of the depictions are caricatured and racially offensive. I deeply regret any offense or hurt caused by the images, but again I have chosen not to censor."

I appreciate Bartoletti's bold, unflinching and compelling account of this era of history. She puts a terrifyingly human face on the subject of the K.K.K.'s terrorism, by her liberal use of both the victims and the Klan members' first-person accounts (the Slave Narratives of the 1930's), diaries, historical journals, newspaper reports, etc. Also included are a multitude of photographs and newspaper images from the day. Bartoletti doesn't whitewash anything.
She does an excellent job of explaining the many factors surrounding the beginnings of this group, things you won't find well-explained in school history books. This highly readable book will teach you a lot I'll bet you never learned before.

*From a poem by Robert Burns (1759-1796) entitled " Man Was Made to Mourn: A Dirge".

Many and sharp the num'rous ills
Inwoven with our frame!
More pointed still we make ourselves
Regret, remorse, and shame!
And man, whose heav'n-erected face
The smiles of love adorn, -
Man's inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands mourn!

Please note that the publishers have labelled this book as suitable for ages 8-12, grades 4 through 6. My library has listed this as Young Adult and I would have to concur. I think the subject matter is too graphic for an 8 year old, but of course you as the parent must make your own determination.

Read what other are saying about this book:
Becky from Becky's Book Reviews
Sharon from Outside of a Dog
Angela from Bookish Blather

Two Excellent Books About Hitler's Youth by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow

Written by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Non-Fiction, Newbery Honor
Ages 9 and up

An excellent, clearly written,  powerfully impactful book on real youth in Hitler's Germany. Chockful of photographs, this compelling book gives an in-depth look at the Hitler Youth organization itself, and real teens who both supported or opposed it, even to the sacrificing of their own lives.

A must-read if you want a clearer understanding of the youth of Hitler's Germany, the appeal of Hitler's message, and the courage of those who opposed it.

The Boy Who Dared

Written by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Middle grade/YA Biographical Novel
Ages 9 and up

Helmuth Hubener is an ordinary young man caught up at first in the National emotional fervor for the Fuhrer. But when his eyes are opened to the horrors he sees going on around him, will he have the courage to take a stand?
Compelling and powerful, this is "a novel based on the true story of a Hitler Youth." In reading it, don't be surprised to find yourself pulled into Helmuth's life. I couldn't put it down, even though I knew (having read another account of Hubener) what ultimately happens.

And don't forget to read the author's notes in the book.

Book Review: The Flag Maker by Susan Campbell Bartoletti; illustrated by Claire A. Nivola

The story of the flag that came to be known as The Star-Spangled banner, told from the perspective of the flag maker's daughter.

The prose is poetic. Ms. Bartoletti inserts snippets of phrases from Francis Scott Key's poem into the text, and it was fun to watch my girls make that connection as we read. Here is an example from the book:

Evening came.
The sky darkened with storm.
Rain fell.
Soon thunder and lightening joined the cannon and rockets.
Ships and fort and sky boomed and flashed together.
Each time the sky lit up, Caroline saw that her flag was still there.
At midnight, the bombing stopped.
One minute.
Ten minutes.
An hour, and all was still.

Included at the end is an author's note, which my children insisted on reading. (I've trained them well.) She lists some excellent sources that we will be taking advatage of to learn more about the subject. The author tells at the back of her book that her inspiration for this story came from seeing the flag displayed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. She says, "Awestruck, I wondered whose hands had sewn such an enormous flag. When I learned that a thirteen-year-old girl named Caroline Pickersgill had helped her mother, Mary, sew the flag, I wanted to tell their story." And she has, beautifully.

I love the illustrations by Claire A. Nivola. I think they fit the story perfectly. They remind me of early American sewing samplers.

This book was a definite hit with my three girls and it was a treat to read aloud. Even my three-year old listened intently to the story, and pointed out various things in the illustrations. We liked it so much we purchased it for our own library.

Educational Themes: War of 1812, Battle of Baltimore (1814), Star-Spangled Banner, America's History, Stories about real people