Tag: history

REVIEW: Art of the Swap by Kristine Asselin and Jen Malone

REVIEW: Art of the Swap by Kristine Asselin and Jen Malone

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Hannah lives at the Elms, a turn-of-the-century (1900s) home that once belonged to the Berwind family. Her father is the caretaker, and they live in the old servant quarters of the mansion. A history buff, Hannah can’t imagine a better place to live.

Margaret Dunlap – Maggie – stayed with her aunt and uncle, the Berwinds, in 1905. They even commissioned a painting of Maggie by a new artist, Mary Cassatt. But the painting was stolen before it could be debuted. A servant was suspected of the theft, but neither he nor the painting were ever found.

At The Elms in Hannah’s time, they have a reproduction of the portrait. The mystery of the original’s disappearance is one of her favorite parts of the history of the house. If only she knew what really happened….

Hannah may get her chance to find out when she and Maggie swap places! Now Hannah is in 1905 trying to track down a missing painting and an art thief. And Maggie is in 2018 trying to figure out an unfamiliar world without anyone finding out what has happened.

Review

This was so fun! Hannah definitely got the better end of this swap. As a lover of history, and of Maggie’s story and The Elms, she is more prepared for her new surroundings. Poor Maggie isn’t ready for the social changes of our time – the language, the freedom for young women, the customs – much less the technology. Watching the girls negotiate their environments was a lot of fun.

This was less of a mystery than I expected. Discovering what happened to the painting played a smaller role than the bigger issues of (1) what to do with Hannah’s discoveries in 1905 and (2) how to get switched back to their own time. I would categorize this as historic fantasy moreso than mystery. This is an asset, though, because I think this will appeal to fans of historic fiction, fantasy, and mystery.

There’s a great girl-power piece to this that I wasn’t expecting but I adored. It took the overall story to a higher level for me than if they had not included it. There are recommended resources in the authors’ notes for readers who want to know more.

Thanks to Netgalley and Aladdin for the opportunity to read an electronic review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: The Eagle of Rome by Dan Metcalf

REVIEW: The Eagle of Rome by Dan Metcalf

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

It’s 1928. Lottie Lipton lives at the British Museum with her Uncle Bert who is the Curator of Egyptology there. One day adventurer extraordinaire, Lady Viola, shows up at the museum, announcing she is off to find the Eagle of the Ninth Legion. She’s at the museum to check their library for clues.

Lady Viola is one of Lottie’s idols. But once the reporters are gone, Viola turns from gracious and sophisticated to rude and ruthless. While Lottie would put the missing Eagle into the museum so everyone could enjoy it, Viola wants it so she can sell it to finance her vacations. So Lottie vows to find it first.

Lottie, Uncle Bert and Reg, the museum’s caretaker, will have to solve several logic puzzles if they’re going to beat Lady Viola to the Eagle!

Review

This is a cute, simple book with puzzles embedded into the story (with solutions). Lottie is sweet and values learning and art for the masses. The fast story means we don’t get to know her very well, but she is likable from the start.

The puzzles are fun and appear to be set up so the reader doesn’t see the solution until he/she turns the page (I saw an early electronic arc, so I don’t know what the final version will look like). There are bonus puzzles in the back matter along with vocabulary and facts related to the book.

Good for early elementary elementary classrooms and readers starting to test out short chapter books.

Thanks to Netgalley and Darby Creek Publishing for providing and electronic review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ♥♥♥

REVIEW: Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal

REVIEW: Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Maggie Hope is a bright mathematician, living in London in 1940. World War II has begun, and the British are resignedly waiting for Hitler to focus his attack on them as his troops march across Europe.

While Maggie is more than qualified to be one of the Prime Minister’s personal staff, as a woman, she doesn’t even get a chance to try. She settles for a typist’s job for Mr. Churchill.

But so much more is going on around Maggie! A dead typist, IRA bombings, spies, coded messages and secret plots. Will Maggie’s smarts and her determination be enough to save the day?

 

Review

Wow, I liked this book! I have had the first few books in this series in my TBR pile for years. The covers are gorgeous, and I can’t resist them. But I just wasn’t getting around to reading them! I don’t generally read historical fiction, and I think I was a little afraid the story wouldn’t live up to my expectations from the covers.

I shouldn’t have worried. While I don’t know a ton about World War II from a British perspective, I followed the story without any difficulty. I loved Maggie and her friends. The descriptions of her work were great fun to read. The mystery was top notch. This isn’t the usual “Who killed him?” sort of mystery. The reader sees the plots as they start forming. But there are good twists and lots of “will they make it?” suspense.

I am looking forward to reading more from this series! Book 2 is Princess Elizabeth’s Spy.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Election Books for Kids

Posted on by Jaymie

 

As you have no doubt noticed, election season is here. It’s really unavoidable. Everywhere you look there is a yard sign or a political ad or a social media post about this year’s election, especially the contest for president.

All of this hype leaves kids to wonder what all the fuss about. And it leaves parents and teachers wondering how they can talk about the election in a way that is appropriate for their kids. Here are just a few books that you can use to launch conversation with kids about the role of president in our government, or about the importance of voting. There are also a few books that are just fun fiction aimed at kids about the presidency in general. For the most part, these are generic resources that would work for any family/classroom, regardless of politics. (The book titles are links to Amazon. I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click on one of these links and buy something, I receive a small commission on the sale)

Grace for President

Grace for President– A cute picture book about a girl who realizes we haven’t had a woman president and she wants to see that changed. So she runs in the school’s mock election. This is a popular election season book for kids. I’d be surprised if your local or school library doesn’t have a copy of this one!

 

 

The Kid Who Ran For Presidentthe-kid-who-ran-for-president– A fun story from Dan Gutman about a boy who decides to run for President of the United States. (This book got a lot of press earlier this year when comedian Jon Oliver referenced it in a rant about Donald Trump.)

 

 

Abe Lincoln at Last!

Abe Lincoln at Last!– This is my all time favorite Magic Tree House Book. I love it because the story is great and because it shakes up the usual formula for the series. There are some fascinating tidbits in here about how the White House operated back in Lincoln’s day.

 

 

Liberty Porter, First Daughter The Case of the Rock N Roll Dog
Liberty Porter, First Daughter
The Case of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Dog (First Kids Mystery)
Both of these books are the first in series about being a kid in the White House.

 

 

Who Is Hillary Clinton?

Who Is Hillary Clinton? (Who Was…?)– For families supporting Mrs. Clinton or for students interested in knowing more about the candidates in this year’s election, check out this book from the awesome Who Was series. At this time there is no companion book for Donald Trump. I couldn’t find a good book for kids about Mr. Trump that wasn’t satirical.

 

 

If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution

. . . If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution– As the Constitution is the document that outlines our three branches of government, this could be a good resource for students wondering about how it came to be and what is included in it.

 

 

Grover Cleveland Again!

Grover Cleveland, Again!: A Treasury of American Presidents– A fun look at all of our presidents (including Grover Cleveland who was president, lost the next election, and then was re-elected in the next term). The spreads are lovely and the information is engaging. The only complaint I have heard about the book (and it is accurate from my own read through) is that the author’s personal biases comes through in the storytelling. This would be a tremendous resource both for the content and for the opportunity to talk with students about fact versus opinion.

 

dont-know-much-about-the-presidents

Don’t Know Much About the Presidents (revised edition)– A more objective presentation of the presidents, but the layout isn’t as engaging as the previous book. Both books together would make for a great contribution to a classroom, school or home library.

 

 

 

Do you have any go-to resources you like to use with kids when talking about government or elections or the presidency?