London Calling
Martin Conway, a middle-school scholarship kid, becomes intrigued with a WWII art deco radio her grandmother bequeaths him. He embarks on a time travel adventure that takes him back to 1940 and the London blitz. A boy named Jimmy befriends him and begs him "to do his part." In his own time Martin begins an independent study project on WWII. He starts learning about the people and things Jimmy has shown him. Some of his research is about his own grandfather and one of the revered local heroes and it begins to threaten family and community myths. He is propelled through the story in his hope to learn what "doing his part" is about. Despite some heavy topics like alcoholism, and death this book isn't heavy at all due to the wonderful story telling of Bloor. Through this book you learn about Winston Churchill, how the British felt about the Americans in 1940 (prior to their entry into the war), the significance of the title, and December 29, 1940. It is an excellent history text and really a good story.
A friend reminded me about this book last night. It is a great story of a 12 year old named Hetty and her family who leave CA for the gold fields in the Klondike. The book is about the grueling and arduous journey of transporting 3 tons of supplies through the mountains, over Chilkoot Pass, and onward another 500 miles north to Dawson. In addition to combating the terrain and weather, there is a mystery for Hetty to solve because valuable and personal items keep disappearing. There is just the right mix of mystery, adventure, and historical fiction to make readers, young and old keep turning the pages. I read this out loud and really enjoyed it. I'd recommend Jack London to anyone who thoroughly enjoys this book.
Landed, by Milly Lee, is an interesting story of coming to America. Usually our immigration stories are focused on Ellis Island, but in this story about a boy leaving his village in China and coming to join his brothers in America, the entry point is via Angel Island off the coast of San Francisco. The process of gaining entry is difficult because of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and so the focus is on entry and not the journey itself. The story starts with his preparation for the exam and shows beautifully ho difficult it was to immigrate from China. There is a very informative author's note about the history of Chinese immigration and has additional resources.
