This month's book reviews

A twelve-year-old is faced with hard
choices in pre-revolutionary war days

Peter York lived in Pennsylvania on farmland close to Jersey Colony just across the Delaware river. When his family was afflicted with fever, Peter was the only one to survive. Neighboring heads of families met to decide what was to happen to Peter. An elderly farmer, leader of the Quaker community and township Justice of the Peace, offered to take the orphaned Peter into his family. The farmer's name was Everett Shinn and he was noted for being a man of few words. Peter suspected the farmer was taking him in to provide free labor on the farm. He also believed the farmer was interested in his horse, Jumper, Peter's only inheritance.

Peter was expected to do his share of the work but he was treated well in the Shinn family, which included Mrs. Shinn and three children, all younger than Peter. Peter was resentful that Mr. Shinn treated the horse, Jumper, as if it belonged to him rather than Peter. He especially resented Jumper's being used by the younger children to go on unimportant errands.

About six months after being taken into the Shinn family, an alarm was sounded in the neighborhood. Two indentured servants had run away from across the river and were expected to try to escape over the river to Pennsylvania. Their owner was offering twelve pounds for the capture and return of the two runaways. Peter realized that was enough money to buy another horse for the Shinn family, so that he could keep Jumper for his own exclusive use.

Mr. Shinn, after some pleading on Peter's part, agreed to let Peter go with the men to help search for the escaped servants. After a series of mishaps, Peter accidentally discovers one of the runaways - a girl of about eleven years, who is even younger than he is. He rescues her from the raging river. He hides her from the searchers and promises to bring her back some food.

At home, Peter finds that the other runaway has been captured and is locked up in Mr. Shinn's barn awaiting arrival of his owner. Peter is surprised that the prisoner is a boy who is even younger than the girl. They were running away to be free and intended to work as servants someplace where they would not be treated as slaves.

Peter wants to help the runaways. In fact, he even considers running away with them. Even though Everett Shinn doesn't mistreat him, Peter feels that he is not free to be himself. How can he help the runaways when he knows that, if caught, he will be seriously punished for committing a crime? If he helps them, then he must run away himself. What a dilemma!

The story ends in surprises for everyone involved - Peter, Mr. Shinn, and the two runaways.

 

A book that asks the question can
a fourth grade weirdo be loved

Dexter Plum is the second smartest kid in fourth grade. He likes school. He really likes math best of all. For him, things ought to be orderly and neat. He even likes worksheets better than hands-on activities in class. Does that make him weird? Well, probably to be honest, yes, it does!

Mr. Ditzwinkle, the fourth grade teacher, is popular with the kids. He is pretty unpredictable. He doesn't like schedules. Arithmetic might be in the morning. It might be just before recess or it might not happen at all. Mr. Ditz calls it being "spontaneous." Dexter calls it crazy.

Mr. Ditz is the only teacher Dexter ever heard of who stands on his hands to get the class' attention. Of course, his glasses fall off and he is likely to step on them again. Thank goodness for masking tape!

Dexter thinks his teacher doesn't like him because Mr. Ditzwinkle is always trying to get Dexter to "loosen up." Dexter tries hard to not like Mr. Ditz. Still, he is really shocked when Mr. Ditz is suspected of stealing money - $200 - out of school funds. Dexter knows his teacher may be crazy but he's honest. How can Dexter prove that his teacher is innocent? Can a fourth grade weirdo hope to catch the real thief? If he could, he would be a hero instead of a weirdo! This is a short book with big print and it's really fun to read.

 

A suspense-filled tale with a surprise ending

Jackie Holt is only eleven, but her father takes her with him to Italy on a three week business trip. Jackie is really enjoying the time with her father and the chance to see beautiful Italy. Her joy comes to an end, however, when one evening while returning to their hotel from dining out, her father has a stroke or a heart attack. Jackie is frantic in her attempts to flag down assistance from cars racing along the highway. Finally, one car stops with two men in it. Perhaps they can provide help for Jackie and her lifeless father.

Jackie finds it unbelievable when she is forced into the car with the two men and they drive for hour after hour headed to an unknown destination. It takes a while to soak in but Jackie realizes she has been kidnapped. When they finally arrive at an isolated location somewhere in rural Italy, Jackie comes to realize that she can't escape. She doesn't even know where she is or what the intent is of those who have abducted her. How can she ever let her mother back in Minnesota know that she is okay, but needs help right away?

Young readers of this paperback will be kept on the edge of their seats until the final page.

 

A famous novel retold in a shorter
and easier-to-read version for kids

"A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens takes place at the time that the thirteen American colonies were breaking away from England and creating a new democratic nation. Over in Europe, in the two cities of Paris in France and London in England, life was very different. Both countries were ruled by kings. In these two great cities, the rich nobility were powerful and lived lavishly, while the poor barely survived and were treated badly.

In France, resentment was growing against the nobility, and those who would bring down the rich and the powerful were plotting revenge. In his classic novel, Charles Dickens creates characters that bring the era to life for his readers.

Charles Darnay, who is really a member of the French nobility and heir to great riches, has turned away from his cruel family and fled to England. There he has tried to earn his living by teaching French to English schoolboys. Darnay, when falsely accused of spying for France, is tried in an English court. He is acquitted of the false charge when a young lawyer named Sidney Carton points out that Darnay and he, Carton, looked enough alike that the witnesses could not tell them apart.

Charles Darnay, before the trial, has fallen in love with Lucy Mannette. Lucy is the daughter of a French doctor, who had been unjustly imprisoned for eighteen years by Darnay's relatives back in France. Dr. Mannette had been freed from prison and slipped out of France to join his daughter in England. The young couple had married without knowing that Darnay's family had been the ones responsible for Lucy's father's unjust imprisonment. To complicate things even further, Sidney Carton, the young attorney, had also fallen in love with Lucy Mannette. He knows his love is hopeless and he remains in the background, a sad onlooker.

The couples' happy life is threatened when Charles Darnay is lured back to France. The plotters of the bloody revolution want him back in their hands so that they can execute him as they have seen to the execution of the rest of his family. There seems to be no way to free Charles from his dungeon and keep him from death under the blade of the Guillotine.

There are many other vividly drawn figures who play supporting roles in the suspense filled novel. Many young readers, after reading this retold version of "A Tale of Two Cities," will want to read the original classic at some point in the future.