This month's book reviews

A colorfully illustrated Christmas book
for kids that tells a serious story

The title, "Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters," pretty much tells you what this book is about. The "Big House" is the huge mansion with white pillars in front where the family of the Virginia plantation owner lives. The "Quarters" is made up of the little cabins that are the homes of the slaves that work the plantation. Both of the groups, the plantation master's family and the slave families had their own ways of preparing for Christmas and celebrating the holidays. Although their celebrations are quite different, the Christmas season was meant to be a time of feasting and joy for both.

Underlying all the feasting, singing, dancing, and apparent good will, however, was a quiet recognition that a system based on the ownership of slaves was under serious challenge. Both the slave owners and the slaves themselves could feel the tension that in a few short months led to the outbreak of the Civil War. Many of the traditions described in the book have endured, but never in quite the same way they existed in that Christmas of 1859.

This book was written by Patricia and Frederick McKissack of St. Louis. They are a husband and wife team of authors who have written numerous prize-winning kids books. They also are teaching a local video-conference class on writing, using this book as an example. (You can read about kids who are taking that class in the January, 2002, edition of Young Saint Louis.com.)

A kid's view of the Civil War

James Pease was only fifteen years old when he signed up for service in the Union Army (the North) in the war between the North and the South. His parents had died when he was very young. An old uncle and aunt, who frequently reminded him what a burden he was for them to feed and clothe, raised him. In the summer of 1862, there was not enough rain for the crops; so many farm families had a hard time finding enough to eat. James' aunt and uncle made him feel that he was the reason there was not enough food on their table. Sorrowfully, James left the only home he had ever known and tried to find a way to support himself. Since a war was going on and soldiers were needed to fight, James ended up enlisting in the army. He lied about his age as many young soldiers had done during the Civil War.

Although James' early life had not been easy, at least he had learned to read and write. Many soldiers in that period could not. Because he could write, he was ordered by his company commander to keep a record of what went on as his company trained for war and fought its way across Virginia. He was even supposed to write a brief history of each of the men in the company.

He griped a lot at first about having to do it, but James found out that he was pretty good at keeping a journal or record of wartime events. When he started drawing pictures to go with his writing, he found out he was a pretty good artist also.

As we read his journal, we find out that his writing didn't keep him from taking part in battles. James was part of some of the fiercest fighting that took place in the Civil War. He hated fighting battles, but he wanted to be a good soldier. Although he was young, he was promoted from private to corporal, and later made a sergeant. He saw many of his friends wounded or killed in battle and was wounded himself. Through his journal, we are able to get a good picture of what it was like to be a Union soldier in the Civil War.

If you think you are interested in becoming a Civil War "buff", "The Journal of James Emond Pease" by Jim Murphy is a good place to start your reading.

What if life was a multiple choice test where wrong answers got you in trouble?

Monica Devon is a seventh grader who has a problem. She spends most of her time obsessing. She worries constantly about saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing, wearing the wrong clothes, whether the other kids like her or not. She still worries about the word she misspelled in a spelling bee in fifth grade. (It was "mediocre.") She worries about whether the girl next to her in class notices that the socks she wore today don't quite match.

Monica has even turned word games into an obsession. When she writes, "What is my problem?" on top of her notebook page, she has to move the letters around to make anagrams like SWAMPY BIRTH MOLE, WISPY MARBLE MOTH, AND PHIL MYER'S WOMBAT. Sure, she's great at scrabble and other word games; it's just her everyday life that seems out of control because of her obsessions.

In order to make herself more interesting and her life less predictable, Monica comes up with a daily game she plays. She got the idea from taking tests in her classes. She sets up a multiple choice each day. The rules are as follows: Choice A is normal, something she might do anyway. Choice B is just plain dumb. Choice C is mean, completely out of character. Choice D is a charitable, sacrificial thing. In addition, there can only be one game per day, there is no backing out, she must do what the letters say, no matter what. It's amazing how messed up her life becomes when she continues to play the game!

There are word games scattered throughout Monica's story. These may get you into setting up anagrams and playing other word games. Such games can be fun if they don't become an obsession. Of course, the main issue in the book "Multiple Choice" by Janet Tashjian is how will Monica deal with the real problems she gets into as a result of letting multiple choice take control of her life.

A pioneer girl ends up at the
famous battle of the Alamo

Jessie McCann is an eleven-year-old girl with a big brother who is sixteen and a baby sister who is two years old. When her story begins in the year 1835, her family is living in a log cabin in Kentucky. Her father, who moves his family around a lot, has decided to move to Texas. He hears that land there is cheap and he thinks that he can make a better living there than he has been able to in Kentucky. Jessie is tired of moving and having to make new friends all the time. Her mother is also against the move, but they all have to pack up and move, anyway.

Their journey was partly by wagon and partly by riverboat. When they reached Texas, they found out that it was not as pleasant a place as their father had believed. For one thing, the Mexican general, Santa Anna, was trying to drive all the American settlers out of Texas. Texas was part of Mexico, and Santa Anna really did not want citizens of the United States making their homes in Mexican territory.

The story is concerned with all the troubles the McCann family had on its journey and after the family reached Texas. The family had just settled down near San Antonio, when the war caught up with them. They lived near the Alamo, which was an old Spanish mission that had been turned into a fort. American settlers were told to go to the Alamo for protection from the invading Mexican army. There at the Alamo, the men of the San Antonio area decided to take a stand against Santa Anna. Among the defenders were legendary heroes like Davey Crockett and Jim Bowie.

Unfortunately for the few dozen Americans, they were outnumbered by the Mexican army, which had several thousand men. After a few days, the American defenders were defeated. All of the men were killed defending the fortress. However, General Santa Anna allowed the women and children who were inside the Alamo to go free. Jessie McCann and her mother were among those allowed to leave.

The book "I Remember the Alamo" by D. Anne Love tells about the famous battle in the words of an eleven-year-old girl who lived during that period of history. It also tells about how these early pioneers, both American and Mexican settlers, went on to create what eventually became the state of Texas.