Sarah's Reads

Friday, December 31, 2010

Zora and Me by Victoria Bond

Zora and Me by Victoria Bond

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Carrie and Zora are best friends in the small, all-black town of Eatonville, Florida around the beginning

of the 20th century. Zora is considered one of the most creative people in their town, although she’s also known to be a frequent liar. When a young man gets killed trying to wrestle an alligator, Zora’s imagination runs wild with stories of gators—including one about her claiming to see a local elderly man appearing to be half man, half gator.

Her stories grow even wilder when a man is found murdered just outside of their town; Zora, naturally, believes that the gator man did it! All of this is going on while they deal with issues in each of their families; Zora’s father doesn’t want Zora to “act white”, while Carrie’s father left for a temporary job in Orlando a year before and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. Together, the girls face what new challenges life seems to be handing them in a world that isn’t as small and safe as they had once thought.

This is an interesting story based on Zora Neal Hurston, the author of well-known books such as Their Eyes Were Watching God, and her childhood best friend Carrie. Included at the end of the book is a short biography of Hurston’s life. Readers who enjoy stories that take place around the turn of the 20th century might also enjoy The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Kelly) and The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had (Levine).

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The Death-Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean

The Death-Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In mid-twentieth century France, Pepper’s malicious aunt claims to have had a vision of his death the night before he was born; in it, Pepper dies at age fourteen. Always the well-behaved child, he never thinks to question this and takes it as fact—along with the rest of his dim-witted family. Therefore, he’s forced to spend his childhood confessing his sins at church, memorizing the last rites, and learning about the saints. But when his fourteenth birthday arrives, he realizes that he’s not ready to die, so he decides on a whim to run away to become someone else—and so elude death.

Pepper begins his quest to escape death on board a ship where he pretends to be his own father, who is a captain. Other roles he later steps into include a deli meat slicer, journalist, telegram deliverer, member of the Foreign Legion, and more. He constantly wonders how he’s able to step into these parts so easily: “Well, people see what they expect. Don’t they? Or do they see what they choose?” (16). Despite all of the misfortune Pepper faces during this time, he retains his kind nature towards others, always putting their needs before his own. Luckily, there’s a person out there who’s keeping an eye out for Pepper’s best interests too—unbeknownst to him.

This is an excellent book, full of adventure and humor. Pepper is such a likable character that the reader can’t help but root for him from the very start. Those who enjoyed this book might enjoy Peter Pan in Scarlet, also by this author.

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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Picture books for mock Caldecott

Some recent posts here are going to include picture books that are on the mock Caldecott book list that I'm trying to read before there's an actual winner. The winner will be announced on January 10, 2011. More information about this and the books involved can be found here.

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy)

The Extraordinary Mark Twain by Barbara Kerley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book! The pictures were neat and the colors really pop. There are also pages from the journal written by his daughter Susy attached to some of the pages...and a note about Mark Twain and Susy at the end of the book.

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