Historical Fiction and Biography Reviews

1. Bibliography
Park, Linda Sue. 2000. The Kite Fighters. New York, NY: Dell Yearling Books. ISBN 0440418135.

2. Plot Summary
This book is set in Korea in the year 1473 and involves the sport of kite fighting. Two brothers named Kee-sup and Young-sup trying to fly a kite in the countryside when the younger brother realizes he has a knack for flying and also finds out how much he enjoys the sport. The older brother Kee-sup isn't as talented at flying the kites but later realizes how talented he is at making them. The two brothers spend any extra time they have out flying kites that they have made, Young-sup's kite does not turn out very well and he asks his older brother to make him one but Kee-sup says he will only help his brother to make one. They end up with beautiful coordinating Tiger kites that they practice flying with on the hillside.



One day the young king come out to the countryside to see who the tiger kites belonged to and commissions the young boys to make a kite for him. The boys struggle with what would be a deserving design for the king for may weeks. Finally, they decide on a dragon and their father, knowing that the kite is for the king, acquires paint with flecks of gold in it to add to the design. Once the kite is finished they present it to the king, who has now become a friend to Young-sup because of his interest in flying. He asks Young-sup to fly the dragon kite in the New Year festival kite fighting competition and he agrees. The boys' father says that Kee-sup, the older son should represent the family instead and young-sup is understandably upset. Kee-sup ends up convincing his father that Young-sup is the better choice to represent the family in the competition and he ends up winning in the last second of the competition by cutting the current champion's line just before Young-sup falls out of the competitors circle and is declared by the judges to be the new champion.

3. Critical Analysis
Linda Sue Park teaches the reader much about the Korean culture at this time in history throughout the story. She vividly describes the designs of the kites and the landscape of the countryside where the two brothers spend much of their time. She also spends quite a bit of time explaining about the duties the boys must complete in their family. Each brother was to study the teachings of Confucius but it was especially important for Kee-sup, as the elder brother, to be well educated because he was expected t take an examination to be in the royal court of the king. The father in the story is spoken of quite frequently but the mother is not mentioned as much. She plays a smaller domestic role in the book and does not have any say in the decisions about whether the boys will fly the king's kite and who will represent the family. The younger son is expected to act and speak respectfully toward the elder because he has had a capping ceremony and is now a man. These instances are described with detail and give the impression that this was indeed the way the family worked in this time in Korea. The section of the book that takes the reader through the New Year festival gives one the sense of the importance of this holiday to everyone in the country and shares the rich traditions that probably still occur there even today. Park connects the reader to the characters by showing a strong sense of family, friends, traditions and loyalty throughout the story.



4. Review Excerpt
From the Publisher
"In a riveting narrative set in fifteenth-century Korea, two brothers discover a shared passion for kites. Kee-sup can craft a kite unequaled in strength and beauty, but his younger brother, Young-sup, can fly a kite as if he controlled the wind itself. Their combined skills attract the notice of Korea's young king, who chooses Young-sup to fly the royal kite in the New Year kite-flying competition--an honor that is also an awesome responsibility. Although tradition decrees, and the boys' father insists, that the older brother represent the family, both brothers know that this time the family's honor is best left in Young-sup's hands. This touching and suspenseful story, filled with the authentic detail and flavor of traditional Korean kite fighting, brings a remarkable setting vividly to life. "

Publishers Weekly
"Tradition and family loyalty come into question in this book by the recently named Newbery Medalist, set in Seoul, Korea, in 1473. Two brothers anticipate the annual New Year's Kite competition, wondering how to balance convention and love for one's talent. Ages 9-12."



5. Connections
This book is a great opportunity for students to be exposed to a culture that they may not be aware of, many students are exposed to Hispanic traditions and literature but not usually Asian cultures. This book fits into any multicultural unit one may be teaching.

Another idea is to have the students actually make kites after reading this book as an enrichment activity.

1. Bibliography
Lisle, Janet Taylor. 2000. The Art of Keeping Cool. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689837879.



2. Plot Summary
The main character Robert has a father who is fighting in World War II, so he and his mother and sister move from their farm in Ohio to Rhode Island where his grandparents live. He has never met his grandparents, aunt and uncle and his cousin Elliott before because of a family secret that his father has never told them. When they arrive in Sachem's Head, Rhode Island they have to learn a a new way of life, his mother gets a job working long hours to pay her father-in-law rent for the cottage just down the street. The reason Robert's grandfather owns the cottage is because Aunt Nan and Uncle Jake were about to lose it so her father bought it and the family of three moved in with the grandparents.

This story hinges on the uncertainty of the war and the dangers of fighting occurring on US soil. The families live near a base that has large guns that have test rounds that require the nearby houses to lift their windows and secure their China so that nothing gets broken. A once famous German artist that the town is skeptical and even afraid of is a character in the book that Elliott becomes friends with. They are both artists and the German, Abel Hoffman, was terrorized in Germany for his type of art before he made it out to the US. He paints the ocean and the scene of the guns firing and stores them in a shed in the woods where he lives in a boat he has converted into a home. Eventually Hoffman kills himself by walking into the fire that the townspeople have set in his shed to burn his paintings because they fear he is a spy for Germany. The two cousins, Robert and Elliott, who seem to be opposites become very close during the events that take place in their lives. Eventually, Robert's father comes home from the war for good, they family moves back to the farm in Ohio and Elliott comes to live with them. Robert goes off to medical school while Elliott studies art and becomes a painter.

3. Critical Analysis
Janet Taylor Lisle writes the book from the perspective of Robert, an adolescent male who has a good deal of responsibility due to his father being away at war. Lisle truly captures the male perspective in the book as Robert, the main character, narrates the story. In fact many of the main characters are male in the story which makes it fascinating that it was written by a woman. The topic is very heavy because the United States is just going to war in World War II and the sense of dread and fear is portrayed as the events unfold. From the vivid description of the guns being fired and the precautions that had to take place so that the windows and dishes did not get broken to the sense of fear on every one's mind, Lisle takes you through what it must have been like at the time. The main characters are well developed, the reader gets a good sense about Robert, the responsible, hardworking boy, and Elliott, the young artist who is kind of a mess and everyone thinks is sickly and peculiar. Grandpa Saunders is downright scary with his explosive temper and the story of shooting his son hanging over his head. The book gives a look at what the part of the country who didn't go off to war had to face from money and supply shortages to the sense of panic and fear most of the time.

4. Reviews
Publisher's Weekly
"The intimate first-person narrative brings universal themes of prejudice and loss to a personal level as the boys and their artist friend discover the destructive power of war on the home front. Ages 10-14."

School Library Journal
"The focus is clearly on the men of the household, and cursory treatment is given to the women's feelings and thoughts. Although women in such situations are indeed often overshadowed by their husbands or fathers, the emotional depth of this story is undercut by their portrayals. Still this is a heartfelt story about family dynamics and the harmful power of prejudice and hatred."- Cyrisse Jaffee, formerly at Newton Public Schools, MA



5. Connections
This book connects to the history of the Holocaust and could serve as a fictional piece to go along with a unit on that theme.

This book could also be used as part of a character education lesson on prejudice and hate.

1.Biography

Freedman, Russell. 1985. Cowboys of the Wild West. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0899193013

2. Plot Summary

The book Cowboys of the Wild West is a biography of the origins of the cowboy and explains what they did with cattle and history of the trade. The book begins with a chapter entitled " A cow herder on horseback" which explains how the original "cowboys" were called vaqueros and that this job originated in Mexico with the Indians. Ranchers trained the highly skilled horsemen to coral the cattle that roamed on the open plains of Mexico. Next we learn that the cowboys of the 1860's wore a loose fitting shirt and wool pants that were probably lined with leather on seats and inner thighs to prevent the cloth from wearing. Levi's were not a popular cowboy item until the 1890's and even then, they were brown and not blue. Hats and chaps were also staples of the cowboys to protect them from the sun, the brush and the cold. Spurs were attached to boots that enable the rider to spur on the horse to a faster speed. Professional broncobusters were men who broke a wild horse and taught it to carry a man with a saddle and to follow commands.

Cowboys were called cowboys because they were working with cattle and they were seldom over the age of thirty. Part of their job was to wrestle a calf to the ground in order to brand it, or put a hot piece of iron on the hide to leave a mark that was a symbol of the ranch where it belonged. Delivering cattle to Kansas, Wyoming, Montana or the Dakotas from Texas was extremely difficult and took many months. The cowboys who worked on these trail drives would have to face weather conditions, stampedes, outlaws and Indians. A chuck wagon moved along the trail along with the cowboys and their horses to carry supplies and food for their survival. Meals included beans, bacon, biscuits, coffee and dried fruit and was typically the same for the whole trip. At the end of the trail the cowboys would celebrate in the saloons and dance halls. From the 1860's to the 1890's the American cowboy flourished, however, with the invention of barbed wire and closed off ranching in settled areas the old cowboy way of life faded away and gave way to new endeavors.

3. Critical Analysis

Russell Freedman captures the time and the spirit of the late 1800's cowboys. He takes the reader on a journey of the west through the eyes of the men who spent their days tending cattle over the American landscape. In his biography of the American cowboy, Freedman gives a clear description of where the cowboy originated and provides a history on the clothing, food, and work of the time. He also provides historical information from the time period about how much the livestock cost, the amount the cowboys were probably paid and how they spent it on celebrating when the trail was complete. Freedman explains how every cowboy had a job on the trail and was responsible for certain chores, such as cooking or being the night watchman which usually shifted by pairs every night.

The historical photographs that are included in the book give so much to the story of the American cowboys. They derive from many different sources, but are all authentic photos capturing a legendary time with legendary men. Freedman explains that it was the tradition of the day to take a photograph with your cowboy group when you arrived at the town after the ride and many of these photographs still exist. The cowboys would bring or send them back to family and loved ones to proudly show what they were doing and where they were. Some of the photographs come from studios and were still shots of posed cowboys and many are candid photos of work being done or cowboys sitting around a campfire eating or posing on the trail. These photos are invaluable to the telling of this piece of American history.

4. Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Freedman's careful research and inviting texts have made his nonfiction can't-miss titles in homes and libraries. Here is a sequel to Children of the Wild and the author's other award winners. He has selected over 50 photos from the Library of Congress and state archives to illustrate his chronicles of life on the range. Cowboys, readers discover, were really boys. Many were teenagers, a few "old hands" were in their early 20s; and they were responsible for driving great herds across the plains in the 1800s."

From School Library Journal

"Grade 7 Up Large type; clear , historic black-and-white photographs and no-nonsense but readable writing give this volume style, punch and character. Basic information is sufficient to satisfy casual readers as well as school researchers, and the good bibliography could lead one to more extensive, adult literature, such as William W. Savage, Jr.'s Cowboy Life: Reconstructing an American Myth (University of Oklahoma Pr, 1975). The genuine vividness of some of the illustrations may escape readers unfamiliar with the terrain and working conditions of the cowboy; however, such pictures can be read at several levels, and primary impact is satisfying. Certainly a book to linger over and to turn to again and again. "

5. Connections

This is a great connection for Texas History teachers who teach about the vaqueros and the cowboys as part of the curriculum.

This is also a great book to use in conjunction with a novel like Smokey, the Cowhorse by Will James or Kate DiCamillo's Mercy Watson Fights Crime.

Nonfiction Literature

1. Bibliography
Simon, Seymour. 1997. The Brain, Our Nervous System. New York, NY: Morrow Junior Books. ISBN 0688146406

2. Plot Summary
Seymour Simon writes The Brain to explain the purpose and function of the human brain and provides a multitude of pictures as well. The book begins by explaining the Central Nervous System and the brain's part in that system. Simon moves on to the different parts that make up the brain and the part the nerves play in sending messages to the appropriate section. The structure of the skull and how it protects the brain is then discussed along with a CAT Scan of a human head.

Midway through the book, Simon displays a photograph of a real human brain and points outs the three sections, the cerebrum, cerebellum, and the brain stem. The next few pages detail the three sections and show more visuals of the areas, including a cross section of a human brain. A dissection of the brain stem and how it is connected to the spine is displayed to explain how the spinal nerves connect to the rest of the body. Finally, Simon explains about memory and some of the different things that can go wrong with the nervous system and most importantly that the brain is what makes a person who they really are.

3. Critical Analysis
Seymour Simon writes to inform readers about the brain and the nervous system in an easy to understand vocabulary. The book was printed with larger font and many of the pages being black with white print as well as the opposite. Many of the pictures are from a microscope view and also from machines that show detailed views of the brain. Although some of the pictures include captions, not all of them do, but many are printed on the entire page to show the details.

Certain words that may be new or difficult to a reader are printed in italics and defined. There are over fifteen photographs and visuals to go along with the explanations, which are very helpful in showing where the different parts are located. One of the most useful parts of the book is the explanation of how the brain and nervous system work and exactly how the information travels from the nerves to the brain. The dissections of the real body parts also leads to the authentic learning that the book The Brain provides.

4. Review Excerpts
School Library Journal
"Gr 3-6--In this most recent effort, Simon brings his deft touch to an explanation of the brain and the nervous system. His clear, concise writing style is complemented by stunning color images taken with radiological scanners, such as CAT scans, MRIs, and SEMs (scanning electron microscopes.)"

Children's Literature
"Stunning, computer enhanced images of the human brain and nervous system fill the black pages of this dramatic examination of The Brain. Parts of the brain are identified, neural operating procedures are outlined, and current brain research is described. "

5. Connections
This is a very useful book for any teacher who is teaching a science unit, or helping students research for a science fair.

This book could also be useful for reading teachers to hook a reluctant reader with the high interest material and the detailed, graphic pictures.

1. Bibliography

Montgomery, Sy. 2002. Encantado, Pink Dolphin of the Amazon. Photographs by Dianne Taylor-Snow. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0618131035

2. Plot Summary

Ecantado is a book about the mysterious pink dolphin that lives in the Amazon River. The dolphin is related to the more commonly known Bottlenose dolphin. These two dolphins have many differences, however, such as the pick dolphin of the Amazon is much more flexible than its relative because it has to meander around so many obstacles in the river. The Encantado also doesn't have a dorsal fin like the Bottlenose dolphin because it would hinder its mobility.

Montgomery takes the reader through an expedition in search of the pink dolphin. He writes about all of the wildlife that exists in this area while Taylor-Snow shows examples of all the critters through her photography. Scientists are cited throughout explaining the history of the area and how this information relates to the Encantado. The perspective of the native people is also explained throughout the voyage as Montgomery takes the reader along on the trip.

3. Critical Analysis

The book Encantado, Pink Dolphin of the Amazon is an informational text about this mysterious creature where not a great deal is known. There are scientists who have researched the animal and they know some information about the origins of the dolphin. The book is a reliable source for research but it is written in a story like way. Sy Montgomery takes the reader on a voyage through the Amazon River. While he does this, he introduces the reader to many people along the way.

One of the most interesting things about the book is that you feel as if you get to know the tour guide, Moises Chavez, as the book moves along. The reader also gets an up close and personal look at all of the animals that are mentioned as the tour goes on, thanks to the photography of Dianne Taylor-Snow. The reader also meets other naturalists besides Montgomery on the voyage and also gets the story of the Encantado from the native people. The story of the Encantado, as told by Juan and Ilda Huanakiri is one of the most interesting parts of the book because it gives the reader an idea if what this animal not only means from a science perspective, but also shows what the dolphin means to the people.

4. Review Excerpts

From School Library Journal
"Grade 3-7-A stimulating text and vibrant, full-color photographs entice readers on this trip down the Amazon to meet these freshwater rain-forest creatures. Written in second person and in a light, conversational tone, the narrative evokes a magical environment as readers accompany the author and a guide on a voyage to investigate these little-known animals. Different physically and behaviorally from the more common bottle-nosed variety, pink dolphins are hard to observe as they swim low and never leap out of the water."

5. Connections

This is an excellent book for students who are interested in animals that live in the water. It could be used as a read aloud for beginning a unit about the Amazon River to get the kids hooked into the mysterious and interesting facets of this subject.

The book can be used for research purposes for students completing a science project for class or a fair, because it is reliable and full of scientific tidbits.

1. Bibliography
Armstrong, Jennifer. 1998. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World, The Extraordinary True Story of Shakleton and the Endurance. New York, NY: Crown Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0517800136

2. Plot Summary
The book Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World is about the explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew of the ship Endurance. This expedition was one to Antarctica with the quest to be the first to cross the continent. Shackleton and his twenty-seven man crew set sail from England where World War I was beginning to affect Great Britain. The crew was granted permission by Winston Churchill to continue on their journey. They finally left England on August 8, 1914.

Shackleton and crew got a surprise when they reached the South Georgia Island. The Norwegian outpost had a whaling station there with men who warned the crew of the Endurance that the ice was not melting as fast as it had in previous years. this would mean that the trip was going to be harder and longer that originally thought. Shackleton and his men pushed on. The eventually get to a place where the boat can no longer proceed. The ship, Endurance breaks up from the ice an eventually sinks. All of the crew are able to keep on the expedition and make it to Elephant Island, a previously unexplored area. Shackleton and five of the crew eventually travel 800 miles to get a ship to rescue the rest of the crew and they eventually all make it back to England.

3. Critical Analysis
Jennifer Armstrong tell the story of Shackleton and the endurance in a way that allows the reader to "see" the expedition very clearly. She is aided by the photographs taken by the expeditions photographer, Frank Worsley. She obtained historical sketches of the ship Endurance and includes them at the beginning of the book so that the reader can get an accurate picture of the make-up of the ship that will be the setting of, virtually, the entire book. Armstrong begins the book with a photograph of many and a list of all of the crew members of the Endurance and tell what their positions on the ship were. She also provides maps Antarctica and a detail of the path Shackleton and his crew made from 1914 to 1916.

Jennifer Armstrong writes the book in a series of sections that follow the sequential order of the expedition. The book is written is a way that is easy to understand and is written in a style that is reminiscent of story-telling. The story is so magnificent and unbelievable that the reader, side from all of the historical facts, might actually think it to be fiction at times. Armstrong evokes strong emotions as she portrays the dangerous struggle of these twenty-seven men and the reader leaves the book with an abundance of knowledge on this time in history.

4. Review Excerpts
From School Library Journal
"Grade 6 Up-When their ship, Endurance, became icebound in Antarctica and sank in 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton and his 27 crewmen were 100 miles from land. Unbelievably, they all survived. At first, the men played on the ice to kill time, but after Endurance sank, they took to their life boats, and spent a year and a half traveling over ice, water, and mountains to reach safety. Taylor Mali's narration of the book by Jennifer Armstrong (Crown, 1998) is riveting, and his shifts from one accent to the next are effective and not at all distracting. The text moves from diary entries to explanations of how to read the sun, and the descriptions of the terrain and weather are superb. This is a very effective presentation of not only how the disaster occurred, but of the toll it took on the crew and how they rose to the challenge. "

5. Connections
This book could be used as a read aloud in any class. It is historical nonfiction but it reads like a novel and students would really appreciate the danger and the suspense that befalls the crew of the Endurance.

I also think that this book would greatly enhance any research project about shipwrecks in general or this shipwreck in particular. Great for research or for pleasure reading.

Poetry Reviews

1. Bibliography

George, Kristine O'Connell. 2002. Swimming Upstream, Middle School Poems. Illustrated by Debbie Tilley. New York:Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0618152504.

2. Plot Summary

This book, Swimming Uptream, is about a girl who is just beginning middle school. The reader is taken through the entire school year, from the first day to the last. The story of this middle school girl is told from her perspective about various occurrences such as, learning to play the flute, making friends, taking tests, and liking a boy.

3. Critical Analysis

George takes the reader through the life of an adolescent girl from the first day of middle school through the end. The author uses the perspective of the middle school girl to tell the story of her experiences. The effect this has is that the reader feels as though they are in the mind of the girl and are invited into her thoughts. The middle school girl makes observations about other students and describes what it feels like to go to a new school and feel insecure about herself. She states in the poem School I.D. Card, "Is my nose that big?" George really has a sense of what it is to be an adolescent in middle school and uses humor in the poems to create a light feeling about what these students are feeling as heavy. The author also makes use of different types of poetry, such as acrostic in "SNOB", and rhyme in "Is it Monday Again?".The only color to the illustrations by Debbie Tilley exist on the cover art. The rest of the book is illustrated with black white pictures of scenes of students in a school. They take up two pages at a time and the scenes depicted include kids opening lockers, eating in the cafeteria, playing in the band and gossiping in the classroom.

4. Review Excerpt

From Booklist Gr. 5-8. "These tiny poems--rhymed, free verse, haiku, even an acrostic--cover the first year of junior high--sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. The unnamed female narrator sees the first "jigsaw year" as refitting and recombining old friends and new, old ideas and new."

From School Library Journal Grade 4-7-"Middle school, with all its trials, tribulations, and triumphs, is portrayed humorously and poignantly through the eyes of one girl. Some of the more mundane topics include a locker that won't open, being late to homeroom, carrying around a large piece of wood as a hall pass, and deciding where to sit in the lunchroom. The book also delves into significant issues, from making new friends and a first crush to teasing, gossip, and a bully who may not be so tough after all."

5. Connections

-Teachers could use this book at the beginning of the school year, when students are feeling anxious about the new school year to lighten the mood.

-Students could create their own middle school experience poems after listening to Swimming Upstream.

1. Bibliography

Prelutsky, Jack. 1994. a PIZZA the size of the SUN. drawings by James Stevenson. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN 0688132359.

2. Plot Summary

In a Pizza the size of the sun, Jack Prelutsky has a collection of poems that span a wide range of topics. He writes about pizza, of course to begin but he also talks about animals and made up things like "doddies". Most of the poems are of a silly nature and geared toward a young audience. The purpose of the poems are strictly entertainment. The poems collected in the book are not linked to one another and they don't tell a complete story from beginning to end like some other poetry books.

3. Critical Analysis

Prelutsky's poems have many different styles, and they range from short to medium length to two pages long. Many of the poem's names are also included in the first line of the poem, like "I did a nutty somersault". When Prelutsky writes "I am your mirror image", he writes all it backwards so that when you hold it up to a mirror, you can read it the right way ( I tried it, it works). "A Triangular Tale" is written in the shape of a triangle with the words becoming increasingly larger at the bottom. "I'm All Mixed Up" is a poem written with mixed capital and lower case letters about not quite feeling like yourself.

On every page there is a corresponding illustration to the poem. The illustrations were drawn by James Stevenson, who draws the pictures to this book in black and white. The pictures are simplistic and humorous, they are very literal interpretations of the poems. The only poem without a picture is "I'm drifting through negative space", it is simply printed in white on two black pages, which is an artistic expression in itself. In the poem "The Improbable Emporium", Stevenson draws several of the animals mentioned in the lines, such as a centipede with sandals, a flossing hippo, and a frog working out with barbells. Aside from the lack of color, the pictures contribute much to the meanings of the poetry in Prelutsky's book.

4. Review Exerpt

From Publisher's Weekly, "Once again Prelutsky demonstrates a robust appreciation of the absurd?and an uncanny knack for turning every possible subject on its head. Here his verse ranges from the short and sweet ("My mother makes me chicken,/ her chicken makes me cough./ I wish that when she made it,/ she took the feathers off") to poems of Jabberwockian silliness (the entry that begins " 'I'm ceiling fad!' a money boned./ 'Alas!' a carrot pride" is just one example). The pages are peppered with kinetic black-and-white drawings; like Thurber, Stevenson wrings a wealth of humor and emotion out of a few dashes of ink. If a laugh is what's needed, just hand over the keys and let these two drive. "

From School Library Journal, Kindergarten-Grade 6 "Yet another masterful collection of poems by the prolific Prelutsky, filled with zany people, improbable creatures, and rhythm and rhyme galore, all combining to celebrate the unusual, the mundane, and the slightly gruesome."

5. Connections

-This book of poems can be used on an ongoing basis in the classroom. Teachers can read a couple of poems out loud everyday just for fun.

-These poems can also be used as good examples of rhyming poems and be modeled by the students in their own poems.

1. Bibliography

Hesse, Karen. 2001. Witness. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0439271991.

2. Plot Summary

Leonora Sutter is an adolescent girl in a Vermont town, she is the main character in the story. However, there are ten other characters represented to tell the story from their own perspective. The story begins with poems that introduce the place and the characters in this town. The Ku Klux Klan is a new addition to the Vermont town and is met with mixed feelings. Leonora Sutter is an African-American in this town, and Esther Hirsh is six years old and she and her family are Jewish. Leonora Sutter is being harassed at school by her white peers but her father tells her, "no low down white boy's gonna stop Leonora Sutter from getting and education." The story takes place in the 1920's during a time when this Vermont town is figuring itself out after the invasion of the Klan.

3. Critical Analysis

Karen Hesse writes the poems in Witness in free verse, they are broken into stanzas. The structure of the poetry allows the reader to move quickly through the text. Each poem begins with the name of the character whose perspective will be represented. There are eleven total characters, Leonora Sutter, Esther Hirsh, Sara Chickering, Percelle Johnson, Fitzgerald Fitt, Harvey Pettibone, Merlin Von Tornhout, Johnny Reeves, Viola Pettibone, Iris Weaver, and Reynard Alexander. The book is split into five acts that take the reader through different stages of the story. The setting is Vermont in 1924.

The story is emotionally charged because it deals with race and bigotry. The main reason that it is so sensitive is because children are involved. This tends to bring about a protective feeling in whoever is reading the material because no one wants to see people hurting, especially children. Hesse uses Leonora and Esther as the main characters to evoke that sense in the reader. The author uses strong language in the poems for emphasis, such as when Merlin Von Tornhout says, "put a colored girl in the paper, call her a hero, just cause she saved a kid from being hit by a train. A jew kid." The perspective of each character is truly represented by having each poem written in the first person of that citizen. The last poem from Leonora Sutter lets the reader infer that Merlin gets what he deserves and some justice is served.

4. Reviews

From Publisher's Weekly

"Hesse offers glimpses of the world at large through references to Prohibition, the Leopold and Loeb case and a letter Leanora pens to Helen Keller. The author distinguishes the characters (whose pictures appear in the front of the book) not only by their varying opinions but also by their tone of speech. The simpler, candid language of the two youngest cast members, Leanora and Esther, effectively crystallizes their gradual loss of innocence. Easily read in one sitting, this lyrical novel powerfully records waves of change and offers insightful glimpses into the hearts of victims, their friends and their enemies."

5. Connections
-This is an excellent book to use for character education lessons on tolerance.

-Would go well with a unit for Black History month in February.

-Also could be used in connection with lessons on the Holocaust.