Defiance by Carla Jablonski and Leland Purvis

Defiance is the second book in the Resistance trilogy by writer Carla Jablonski and artist Leland Purvis.  It begins in 1943, a year after Book 1 ends.   Tensions are now higher and supplies are lower.  To make matter worse, the Germans have formed a paramilitary group of Frenchmen called the Milice to do their dirty work, as well as instituting a policy of sending young French men and women to labor camps in Germany to help in their war effort. Paul Tessier, his older sister Sylvie and younger sister Marie are still working underground with the French Resistance.

Paul is still posting his anti-Nazi pictures around the village, but now he is also directing his skills towards the Milice.  And he is getting impatient with the resistance movement using propaganda instead of weapons, on orders from Charles DeGaulle in London.  

One day, after making a propaganda delivery, Paul finds the house empty, and his mother in their winery cellar demanding more wine to convert into fuel.and pouring heating oil into the ancient casks used to age the wine, and ruining them, infuriating Paul even more.

Paul’s older sister Sylvie is asked by her boyfriend Jacques to cozy up to the Germans to try to get information for the resistance.  But Sylvie storms off because she feels she is being used.  Jacques tells Paul about the Marquis, resistance workers who are hiding out in the woods, and that he wanted Sylvie to find out how much the Germans know about Marquis.  

Jacques is sent to Germany for labor service, but when she finds out he escaped and is hiding out with the Marquis, Sylvie changes her mind about helping the resistance by gathering intelligence through flirting.  

Paul finally is seen hanging up one of his anti-Nazi posters and realizes he, too, must go into hiding.  But will he be able to find the Marquis and even if he does, will they allow his to become one of them?

Once again the combination of Jablonski, Leland and Sycamore have produced an excellent graphic novel about events effecting the French in World War II.  I have read some criticism of this second book in the Resistance trilogy that it does not stand alone.   Yet, if you read the brief description at the beginning of the story and the Author’s Note at the end, Defiance can easily be read as a stand alone novel, though, of course, it is better if read after reading Book 1, Resistance.

Another criticism is that the artwork depicting the female characters is confusing.  I also thought this when I read Resistance, however, after a few pages I realized there is an each way to tell everyone apart.  Each character wears the same color throughout.  So - Paul wears a blue shirt, little sister Marie wears pink and though Sylvie and Aunt Celia both wear green, they are easy to tell apart.

The only thing that mars this otherwise excellent graphic novel is a lack of explanation about who Marshall Petain and General DeGaulle are and the role they played for France in World War II.  On the other hand, if you are using this as a text in a class, it is definitely a teachable opportunity.  Otherwise, Defiance is a exciting, informative novel based on real events in France while it was under Nazi occupation.  

Book 3, Victory, will be available on July 17, 2012 and I am really looking forward to reading it.

This book is recommended for readers age 12 and up

This book was borrowed from the Webster Branch of the NYPL

Defiance

Carla Jablonksi, author

Leland Purvis, illustrator

Hilary Sycamore, colorist

First-Second

2011

Sunday Funnies - Comics for Defense, Part I

One of the ways that the government financed World War II was by selling war bonds.  Beginning in December 1942, a series of eight war bond drives began, the last one held in December 1945.  Advertising for the sale of war bonds was donated and, when it was all over, more than $156 billion was raised in the 8 bonds drives held, despite the fact that money was so tight for the average citizen.  

To encourage already strapped people to buy war bonds, the government employed all kinds of publicity.  Movie stars, radio stars, singing stars and sports stars were all enlisted to help, often appearing at massive rallies or sporting events during bond drives.

Left: a bond drive on Wall Street
Center: 1943 three day Cavalcade of Stars bond drive
(how many stars do you recognize?)
Right: 1943 Brooklyn Dogers war bond honor card

Kids were also encouraged to do their bit for the war and to buy bonds at school.  But how do you get kids to part with their hard won nickels and dimes?  One way was by having some of their favorite comic book/scomic strip characters sound the appeal.  And these characters all got into the swing of it, as you can see here:

Batman, Superman and a host of other superheroes, as well as
Willie and Joe by Bill Mauldin, a particular favorite comic strip
during the war

Jane Arden was a reporter like Lois Lane and Brenda Star
who was involved in the war from the very beginning

Even Santa was enlisted to sell war bonds to children:

Coming Attractions: Walt Disney and friends.

The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines

Veteran mystery writer Kathryn Miller Haines has penned her first YA mystery and like her adult mysteries, it is set in New York City during World War II.  And though it is war time, the war seems to play the part of another character.  The story isn’t war related, but the action couldn’t happen if there wasn’t a war happening. 

It is the first day at her new school for 15 year old Iris Anderson and she is understandably nervous.  A former student at the post Upper East Side private girls’ school, Chapin, she is about to begin public school on the Lower East Side. 

Just before her Pop came home from the war, having lost a leg at Pearl Harbor, her mother had inexplicably committed suicide.  Now, out of money, Iris and her dad have moved into a cheaper place downtown, where he has resumed the detective business. 

At school, the first person Iris meets is Suze, a tough girl smoking in the girls‘ room with her friends.  But Iris and Suze actually manage to bond - Suze has a boyfriend in the army and Iris lies about her dad being home.  She also meet Tom Barney, good looking guy who helps her find her class.  

At home, Iris overhears a client telling her father he is dissatisfied with proving his wife’s unfaithfulness.  Iris decides to help out, manages to get photos of the cheating wife, but her father gets angry instead of appreciating her efforts.  He wants her to stay out of his business because she doesn’t know or understand how to properly detect.

But when Tom Barney goes missing, and Iris has capitalizes of her bond with Suze to get in good with Tom’s friends, she find she can’t stay out of her father’s business, especially when she learns there is a connection between Tom and her best friend from Chapin, the very well to do Grace Dunwitty.

Kathryn Miller Haines has created a realistic historical fiction novel and a good mystery, though in this first book od a series the mystery falls a little flat.  But that is ok, because the real purpose of this novel is to introduce and familiarize the reader with Iris, her family, her friends, and her environment and Haines has done an excellent job at recreating 1942 New York.

And Iris is an interesting character.  Once a happy, carefree girl who had whatever she wanted, she is now forced to become more ‘street smart‘ with her change of circumstances and, yes, she has taken up lieing to her father.  Haines does a good job of making this change seem plausible.  It doesn’t just happen, Iris makes all kinds of mistakes right from the start because she is impulsive and doesn’t always think things through very well.  But she learns from her mistakes.  Originally, I didn't care much for Iris, but she grew on me and I ended up finding her a very likable character.  

Zoot Suit Dancer

I even liked the Rainbows, even though they were supposed to be the school badies - teens who cut classes, went dancing at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, and even smoke a lot and drink not so much. The girls dress suggestively. the boys go dancing in Zoot Suits.  Haines includes a disturbing but realistic episode about the Zoot Suits, which were considered very unpatriotic because the large amount of material used to make them should have gone to the war effort.  And there are other realistic touches throughout the book, adding to its appeal.  When I was in high school in NYC, there were groups just like the Rainbows, even that many years later.

The story is fast paced, full of 1940s slang and so New Yorkish, I kept wanting an egg cream while I read it.  Haines brings up and deals with issues around race, class and touches on religion, all very much a part of the time.  

This book is recommended for readers age 12 and up.

This book was purchased for my personal library.


This trailer is great:

My Family for the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve

For a short time between December 2,1938 and September 1, 1939, trainloads of Jewish children under the age of 17 were sent from Germany to Great Britain for safety.  Altogether, almost 10,000 children and teens made the trip.  My Family for the War is a novel about how the Kindertransport changed the life of one child.

Frnaziska Mangold,10, thought of herself as a Protestant girl living a comfortable life in Berlin. Her family, originally Jewish, had converted generations ago, and though she considered herself to be Christian, now the Nazis don’t.  Marked as a Jew, life has become precarious for her and her best friend Bekka Liebich.  They have even mapped out as many hiding places as they could find in their Berlin neighborhood, just in case they needed to escape from some Nazi bullies.  

When a sponsorship to come to America fell through for the Liebich family, Bekka is registered for the Kindertransport, and at the last minute, so is Ziska.  But only Ziska is chosen.  Just before she leaves for Britain, her mother gives her the cross she had received years ago at her confirmation to remember her by.  Ziska promises never to take it off until they are together again.

It takes a while in Britain before Ziska finally finds a place in a family.  The Shepards, Matthew, Amanda and the teenage son Gary are orthodox Jews, so when Amanda sees Ziska’s cross, she doesn’t really want her to stay with them.  But it is Gary who decides he wants her as a sister, and Anglicizes her name to Frances.  

Life eventually settles down for Frances, and becomes even better as she begins to learn English.  But it is not without its troubles, too.  First, Frances has to contend with the guilt she feels about being chosen to go to Britain and leaving Bekka behind.  

Later, remembering her promise to try to find a way to get her family sponsored to come to England, Frances starts sneaking off to the Cafe Vienna, a expat hangout for Germans and Austrians.  She never finds help there, but she does meet Professor Schueler, who becomes a good friend to her.  Frances had been told about the Cafe Vienna while crossing the English Channel to Britain by a boy named Walter Glücklich, who, with his father, also becomes good friends.  

As the war begins in earnest, and things go from bad to worse, Ziska must struggle to grow up and survive the war at the same time. An the surrogate family she has surrounded herself with as the war intensifies help her do this?   

For the most part, I found My Family for the War to be a very interesting novel, though I had a few problems with it.  There is a long bit about Ziska mistaking the Mezuzah hanging on the door frames in the Shepard house for the mailbox, which seemed somewhat forced to me, given that a Mezuzah is only about 2 inches long as a rule.  I was also disturbed by a feeling that Ziska’s real family receded into the background too quickly, and too easily replaced by the Shepards.

On the other hand, this novel is a real coming of age story, showing Ziska/Frances‘ transition from childhood to young adulthood, but it is more than that.  Condemned for being a Jew in Germany, she discovers this part of herself living with the Shepards, proudly learning what being a Jew really is about.

    

To her credit, however, Voorhoeve has provided the reader with a perspective of the Kindertransport program that is rarely written about for young readers.  Though not everything is easy for Ziska/Frances from the beginning, the point is made that she has a better life with her foster family than many of the other Kindertransport children have, case in point is her friend Walter Glücklich.

This book is recommended for readers age 12 and up.

This book is an ARC received from the publisher

Read an excerpt of My Family for the War here.

More information on the Kindertransport program can be found at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

and at The Kindertransport Association

    

My Family for the War (originally Liverpool Street)

Anne C. Voorhoeve

Trans. Tammi Reichel

Dial Books for Young Readers

2012

412 Pages

Bloggiesta 2012 - It's Coming Soon

This years Bloggiesta will be taking place March 30, 31 and April 1, so if you have been thinking about a little blog spring cleaning, or just a little blog sprucing up - this is the blogathon weekend to set aside for just this kind of thing.


If you do decide to participate, here are some of the things you can expect:

• to spend time that weekend (as much or as little as your schedule allows) working on your blog
• to create a to-do list to share on your blog and link up with other participants
• to hopefully participate in several mini challenges and learn something new
• to connect with other participants through blog hopping or twitter
• to make new blogging friends!
• to come away at the end of the three days with a spiffed up blog!

This year Bloggiesta is being hosted by Suey at It's All About Books, so head on over there and sign up to participate.

Book Care Advice from the Girl’s Own Annual

Cover: September 1941

Between 1880 and 1956, a British paper for girls was published called The Girl's Own Paper.  The paper contained all kinds of stories, many by well know authors like Angela Brazil and Noel Streatfeild. At first published on a weekly basis and later becoming monthly, The Girl's Own Paper also contained articles on such topics as sports, clothing, hobbies, travel.  An annual was also published every year, conveniently in time for the Christmas season, that contained only the stories and articles, all advertising was eliminated.  

But after World War II started, paper was in short supply and war economy standards were imposed on printed matter.  The Girl’s Own Paper became a much smaller monthly and the annual was no long published.  The last annual was Volume 62, printed covering October 1940 to September 1941  

I have a small collection of Girl’s Own Annuals, that only consists of the last 6 years they were published.  I was looking through Volume 62 the other day, when I got to the last page of this last volume and I found this bit of sage advice on the care of books, which I now share with you:

A much more complete history of The Girl’s Own Paper can be found here.  

Welcome to Non-Fiction Monday

It is my turn to host Non-Fiction Monday today, so please simply leave your link in the comments section below and I will update throughout the day.  

Today I have chosen a book by David A. Adler, who is one of my favorite children’s authors and who is an extraordinarily prolific writer.  No only has he written numerous Can Jansen mystery books for young readers, but he has also a number of biographies and Holocaust books.

In his Holocaust books, Adler has always managed to take a frightening subject like the Holocaust and make it accessible to children without trivializing it.  A Picture Book of Anne Frank is an excellent example of his ability.

This biography is meant as an introduction for readers who may be too young to know much about the Holocaust and may not ever know who Anne Frank is.  It covers all the important aspects of Anne’s life, from her birth in Frankfurt am Main, Germany on June 12, 1929 to her death in March 1945 in Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp.  

Interestingly, Adler does not make any one area of Anne’s life more importance than any other area.  Often, writers will stress the diary, hiding in the attic or her personality and even her crush on Peter Van Daan, but here she is presented as a whole person, and these things, while important, are aspects of her life, no one thing is what defines Anne.  I like that as an introductory biography.  

Accompanying the text are illustrations by Karen Ritz.   A Picture Book of Anne Frank was her first picture book assignment and, she writes, the first time the Holocaust was illustrated in picture book form so teachers did not have to resort to historical photographs to teach young children about the horrors of the Holocaust.  For this book, she used watercolor to portray the story, and included graphic pencil drawing to look like photos of Anne’s life, which were based on actual photographs.  

The mixing of Karen’s art mediums and David Adler’s text are an excellent, effective way of writing about Anne’s life in this highly recommendable book.


This book is recommended for readers age 6 and up.
This book was borrowed from the Wakefield Branch of the NYPL.


An activity guide for A Picture Book of Anne Frank is available here.


And be sure to visit David Adler's website for more information about his many books, as well a Karen Ritz's website to see more of her outstanding artwork.


A Picture Book of Anne Frank
David A. Adler, author
Karen Ritz, illustrator
Holiday House 
1993
29 Pages


Be sure to check out these excellent Non-Fiction reviews:


Jeff at NC Teacher Stuff has an iPad App review at http://ncteacherstuff.blogspot.com/2012/02/nonfiction-monday-polar-bear-horizon.html

Natalie is offering a review of Raggin' Jaxxin' Rockin' and an interview at http://bibliolinks.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/raggin-jazzin-rockin/

The Swimmer Writer has a review on A Leaf Can Be,,, at http://theswimmerwriter.blogspot.com/2012/02/wonder-of-leaves.html

Tara has a review at A Teaching Life on two picture books at
 http://tmsteach.blogspot.com/2012/02/nonfiction-monday-and-ya-roundups.html

Lisa at Shelf-employed has a special announcement about Kidlit Celebrates Women's History Month at http://shelf-employed.blogspot.com/2012/02/womens-history-month-blog.html

Peggy at Anatomy of NonFiction also has an interview with the author of A Leaf Can Be... at
http://anatomyofnonfiction.blogspot.com/2012/02/interview-with-laura-purdie-salas.html

At SimplyScience, Shirley has a post on Filling the Earth with Trash at
http://simplyscience.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/filling-the-earth-withtrash/

At the Jean Little Library, Jennifer has a review on Prairie Dong's Hideaway at
http://jeanlittlelibrary.blogspot.com/2012/02/nonfiction-monday-prairie-dogs-hideaway.html

Myra tat Gathering Books has a review of My Hands Sing the Blues at
http://gatheringbooks.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/my-hands-sing-the-blues/

Scope Notes offers a review of Giant Squid at  
http://100scopenotes.com/2012/02/27/nonfiction-monday-giant-squid-by-mary-m-cerullo/

Books4Learning has a review of Multiply on the Fly at http://books4learning.blogspot.com/2012/02/picture-book-math-science-multiple-on_27.html

Today, Laura Thompson has an interview with Cynthia Levinson, author of We've Got a Job: the 1964 Birmingham Children's March at http://lauriethompson.com/2012/02/27/interview-author-cynthia-levinson/

Jeanne at True Tales & A Cherry On Top is featuring Magic Trash - A Storu of Tyree Guyton and his art at http://jeannewalkerharvey.blogspot.com/2012/02/magic-trash.html

Heidi at Geo Librarian is highlighting All the Water in the World at http://geolibrarian.blogspot.com/2012/02/nonfiction-monday-all-water-in-world-by.html.

Amanda at A Patchwork of Books talks about What We Wear: Dressing Up Around the World at
http://apatchworkofbooks.blogspot.com/2012/02/non-fiction-monday-what-we-wear.html

Over at Ms. Yingling Reads you can find reviews on both Little Rock Girl and Quarter Horese Are My Favorite at http://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2012/01/greenberg-david-t.html

At Apples with Many Seeds Tammy is looking at 13 Art Inventions Children Should Know at
http://applewithmanyseedsdoucette.blogspot.com/2012/02/breaking-ground.html

At Booktalking, there are two books you might like - Underground and Fort Mose and the Story of the Man Who Built the First Free Black Settlement in Colonial America at http://wp.me/pa8jB-1n6

And finally, Nonfiction Book Blast offers What Lies Beneath? Exploring the Subterranean Fury of Plate Tectonics at http://wp.me/p1o4au-eG

Caryl's first non-fiction Monday post is about Candace Fleming's Amelia Lost at http://leaningtowerofbooks.blogspot.com/2012/02/book-8-amelia-lost-life-and.html

Beth at Literary Chicken takes a look at Girl Hero: Claudette Colvin Twice Towards Justice at
http://libraryfrog.blogspot.com/2012/02/girl-hero-claudette-colvin-twice.html