Review: Stella by Starlight

Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Stella and her family live in North Carolina in 1932. The are a black family and the Klan is raising its ugly head in their small town. This book is the story of a few months of their lives.

This is one of the best children's books I've read this year. The author deals with racism in a way that is accessible to middle grade readers, yet paints a realistic portrait of what is must have been like to be black and living in the south at that time in our country. This story is at times heartwarming and scary. It filled me with anger and still made me laugh. I couldn't stop turning the pages, but I didn't want the book to end.

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Review: Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America

Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mary Mallon is usually credited with causing New York's typhoid epidemic in the early 1900s. She was identified as the US's first asymptomatic carrier of the disease. This nonfiction books tells us her story. Because it's nonfiction, there are holes in her story, and the author makes her best guess as to what happened. When she does this she always alerts the reader to the fact she is making an educated guess.

I learned a lot while reading this. Epidemiology was a new science back then, and it was fascinating learning about how the typhoid outbreak was traced to Mary Mallon. It was very eye opening to see how Ms. Mallon was treated, especially in light of how other typhoid carriers were treated - especially the males.

I love the trend I'm seeing in narrative nonfiction for middle grade readers. The books I've read lately have been outstanding.

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Review: Full of Beans

Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Beans is a "conch" who lives on Key West during the depression. Times are tough for the island and the people living on it. Beans and his buddies do whatever they can to make a little money. Some of their schemes are clever and some are dangerous.

I enjoyed learning more about Bean, who I met as a character in Holm's book Turtle in Paradise. I learned quite a bit about Key West and how the island came to be the way it is today. It was an enjoyable book.

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Review: The Wild Robot

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Roz is a robot who washes ashore after a hurricane. She watches the wildlife around her and learns and adapts. Her life is changed when she is tasked with caring for a gosling. What does a robot know about love and being a parent?

This is a story of survival, persistence, understanding, and loss. I loved almost everything about this book (Any book with a beaver who shouts Huzzah! when excited had got to be a winner!!), except that the ending is blatantly setting up the reader for a sequel. I will read the a sequel, I just don't like feeling like I'm being set up for one.

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Review: Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon

Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Steve Sheinkin is the bomb!! This is the story of how the US went about building the atomic bomb and preventing enemies and allies alike from stealing the science and technology that went into making it. This book is well researched and written. I knew almost nothing about this subject. Sheinkin is able to weave everything together to make a narrative that is hard to put down.

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Review: The Detective's Assistant

The Detective's Assistant by Kate Hannigan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Nell Warne finds herself in the care of her Aunt Kitty who DOES NOT want her around. Once Nell learns that Aunt Kitty is the first female Pinkerton detective, Nell wants to help her aunt with her cases, but it's a dangerous job. One of her cases brings her to Baltimore and it's fun to read about what our city was like just before the start of the Civil War.

This author blended fact and fiction together to make an enjoyable story.

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