Miss Spitfire by Sarah Miller

XIII. Miss Spitfire by Sarah Miller

Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan are a couple of characters you learn about in elementary school and promptly forget about.

Unless, of course, you are Sarah Miller. The story of how Ms. Miller came about writing this book is charming, and after finishing Miss Spitfire in record time, I caught a little of the Helen Keller bug myself.

In case you forgot your elementary schooling, Helen Keller was born in 1880 and was stricken both deaf and blind by an illness at 19 months. Until she was six, Helen was allowed her run of her family’s wealthy estate. She ate food off other people’s plates, threw inconsolable tantrums and was virtually unteachable. Her parents were heartbroken and fearful that their daughter was not living a happy or healthy life in her state. So when they learned of another girl, born deaf and blind, had been taught to read and write, they inquired to his teachings and Annie Sullivan arrived later.

But Miss Spitfire is Annie’s story not Helen’s, and she certainly has a story of her own. I had no idea that Annie Sullivan was once blind. And only after reading this book did I think ever stop to think about what it would be like to live a life free of stimulus – how maddening to have emotions but no way to verbalize them, to have thoughts but no words to think with. This story is powerful because of both its historical context – Annie and Helen would begin as enemies but proceed through life as constant companions – as well as the emotional pull. Could not put it down!

Buy this for: Budding ASL learners, your small siblings or cousins who acted in The Miracle Worker , or teachers of any shape or size.

Sarah Miller Online | Sarah Miller’s Blog | Amazon Link

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

XII. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Consider me Pavlov’s dog, and consider Ms. LHA the bell. I’ll salivate over any of her books. She could write a book about species of mold and I’d drool all over it.

Chains leaves the heartbreaking teenage world of Speak, Catalyst, or Twisted and returns to the frank historical perspectives of Fever 1793, although this time with a healthy dose of moral consciousness. Isabel is a young slave in Rhode Island, but as of yet, her mistress has been benevolent. In fact, her mistress has promised that Isabel and her younger sister Ruth will be freed upon her death. However, this promise does not come true. Instead, Isabel and Ruth are sold to a married couple, two Loyalists living in New York City, who almost seem to take pleasure in mistreating the two girls. Isabel knows that if she can find the right court documents, she can prove she should be free, but at what cost? And should she get involved with Curzon, a male slave of a Patriot master, selling her master’s secrets for her own freedom?

This is a great book to read right now, with politics feeling so darn confusing and polarized. At the dawn of the Revolution, where were the slaves? This book seemed to me the little sister of M.T. Anderson’s The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, every bit as authentic, but without the sinister edge. Like the rest of the Halse Anderson oeuvre, Chains is ultimately a girl struggling to make sense of the world and how they can get the most out of it. Highly satisfying read.

Buy this for: historical fiction loving middle school girls, historical fiction loving high school boys, historical fiction loving grandpas, aunts, and cousins.

Laurie Halse Anderson Online | Author Blog | Amazon Link

Edward’s Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan

XI. Edward’s Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan

So just a disclaimer: I’m not really much of a juvenile fiction reader. In fact, if you are reading this and have some reccomendations for me, PLEASE comment because I’d like to read more next year, as to better provide a little reader’s advisory to my younger patrons.

Anywho. So this was the first solidly “J” book I’ve read since I was a J. Probably before that, since I was one of those obnoxiously precocious reader types during the elementary years. But I read this inside cover of this one and almost fell apart. I had to read it.

Edward is the youngest in a large family. Older brother, Jake, tells us stories of Edward, who stood out as the “special” one in a family full of laughter and warmth. But Edward isn’t the spoiled youngest child you’d expect – his generosity and good nature is apparent even as a child. Through Edward’s eyes, everything is as special as he is. He loves his family, his unborn little sister, and most of all baseball. Until the tragic side of lite intervenes…

This book was definitely written for a younger J – 4th or 5th grade, I’d say – and it was reminscent of Marion Bauer’s On My Honor or A Taste of Blackberries by Doris Smith. However, the focus of this book isn’t the tragedy. It’s about the wisdom of children, the importance of family, and the importance of finding small pleasures in life. An ultimately uplifting read.

Buy this for: elementary school avid readers, or those with parents who still read bedtime stories.

Amazon Link | Meet the Author on BookWire

Side note A: Googling this book’s title results in a few too many Robert Pattinson pictures for my liking. No, I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I miss Cedric Diggory

Side note B: Umm… why didn’t I listen to the audio version of this if it’s read by this guy?

Oh, Jess. I miss you so. Side note B1: why do I hate Jess so much when he’s going out with Rory but then miss him when he’s gone? A mystery.