THE BRAID

Frost, Helen. The Braid. NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.
ISBN: 0-374-30962-0; $16.00 US; Hardcover.

(Image Credit: http://www.sarahmillerbooks.blogspot.com/)

AWARDS/HONORS/REVIEWS

ALA Best Books for Young Adults

School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

Kirkus Reviews Editor's Choice

NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts

Lion and the Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry Honor Book

ANNOTATION:

Through narrative poems, the story of separated sisters, who each carry a braid of their woven hair, is portrayed.

BOOKTALK:

Sarah and Jeannie face an insurmountable obstacle when their family must be separated. Sarah chooses to remain behind with grandmother in Scotland; Jeannie will travel to Canada with the rest of the family. How can two sisters, two girls who in spirit have become one, ever say goodbye?

"Then Sarah braided my hair with my own, close and tight, so our heads were touching...She must have stayed awake until I slept. She must have had her sewing scissors tucked into her pocket. She'd cut the braid close to our heads, tucked half into my hand-You/me/sisters/always."

A small braid of hair; yet, a token that forever binds Sarah and Jeannie as they grow up. Both experience sadness and first loves, but more importantly, develop the courage to stand up in life and demand more. Will Sarah and Jeannie ever see each other again? Find out what happens when love and hope is woven into The Braid.

THE SLAVE DANCER

Fox, Paula. The Slave Dancer. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1973.
ISBN: 1-4169-7139-4; $6.99 US; Paperback.
(Image Credit: http://www.underagereading.wordpress.com/)


AWARDS/HONORS/REVIEWS

Newbery Medal, 1974
Starred Review, School Library Journal: "Spellbinding...will horrify as well as fascinate."
Starred Review, Booklist: "Movingly and realistically presents one of the most gruesome chapters of history."
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

ANNOTATION

13-year old Jessie Bollier finds him kidnapped and thrown aboard a slave ship where his job is to provide music for the slaves.


BOOKTALK

"At midnight...I heard a sound as though a thousand rats were scrambling up the hull of The moonlight. I heard the cold dead clang of metal striking wood. I heard one piercing scream. My teeth began to chatter."

Such are the sounds heard on a slaver; a ship destined to make profit by transporting slaves from Africa to Cuba, and eventually The United States of America. Jessie Bollier dreams of New Orleans at night; his mother and sister why by now must think he is dead. But dreams are rudely shattered when Jessie must stand on deck and watch the crew whip the slaves into movement when he begins playing his fife.

Is this really what slavery is? How Africans are brought to America? If so, Jessie Bollier wants nothing to do with it. In horror, Jessie Bollier will leave his innocence in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and question what it means to be an American.

Sadness marks the journey of The Moonlight. Yet, a spark of hope is ignited that not even the ship's captain and his crew can contain. To understand what makes us human and long for freedom, pick up The Slave Dancer and forever be changed.

THE BRONZE BOW

Speare, Elizabeth George. The Bronze Bow. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1961.

ISBN: 0-395-13719-5; $6.95 US; 45th Anniversary Paperback.

(Image Credit: http://www.randombuzzers.com/)

AWARDS/HONORS/REVIEWS

Newbery Medal, 1962

Starred Review, School Library Journal: "A moving, vivid, and well-written picture of the spiritual vs. the material, vengeance vs. love."

Boston Herald: "The characters vividly real, the story gripping."

Booklist: "A dramatic, deeply felt narrative whose characters and message will long be remembered."

ANNOTATION:

David bar Jamin, a young Jewish rebel devoted to driving the Romans from Israel, finds his heart beginning to change when he meets Jesus of Nazareth.

BOOKTALK:


Burdened with the deaths of his parents at the hands of the Romans, and a sister who has gone insane with fright, David bar Jamin finds himself content living in the hills with a band of thieves. Food and money are plentiful if one has the guts to steal it. And don't forget to throw away your conscience while you are at it, because there is no room for thoughts of remorse when one is buildling an army to one day reclaim a lost country.

Yet, David's interest veers in another direction when he hears talk of a carpenter from Nazareth who gathers crowds of more than a hundred when he speaks. Could he be the one who is destined to save the Jewish people? But why is he preaching that one should love their neighbor? Only hate and blood can drive the Romans back to their country; not stupid feelings of respect and tolerance.

What was once a lust for vengeance becomes a tangled web of love and hope in David's heart that only he can unweave in order to save himself. Be prepared for another vital piece of history vividly portrayed by Elizabeth George Speare. Whether one is Jewish, Christian, or athiest, every reader will walk away with the desire to purge thoughts of hatred and revenge from their souls.