How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Bibliography
Rosoff, Meg. 2004. How I Live Now. NY: Wendy Lamb Books. ISBN 0385746776.

Plot Summary
Rejection, anorexia and a possible war are just a few things that Daisy is currently dealing with when she is sent to London to live with her cousins (Obert, Edmond, Isaac, and Piper)that she has never met. Since Aunt Pen is busy with work Edmond meets her at the airport and drives her to the family farm. Work keeps her aunt away most days until the war breaks out and Daisy and her four cousins soon realize that Pen is not able to make it home at all. At first, this new freedom is everything the children hoped for but that soon changes when soldiers separate the boys from the girls and sends the girls to live with a different family in a neighboring town. Determined to be reunited, Daisy and Piper try everything to find their way back home.

Critical Analysis
How I Live Now is set in modern day London and is about 15 year old Daisy who is dealing with alot...rejected by her father and step-mother, her own anorexia, a possible war, and being sent with cousins she has never met. Once in London, Daisy is instantly drawn to Edmond, one of her cousins, and falls in love with him.

War quickly breaks out and the children are first separated from their aunt and then from each other. Determined to get back to Edmond, Daisy and Piper, try everything to find their way back home. During their journey, they encounter very rough circumstances including no food, water, shelter, or a change of clothes.

Rosoff's writing is simple and direct. Readers will find courage in the strength that Daisy displays on their journey to be reunited with Edmond and her determination to keep Piper alive along the way. Teens will easily identify with Daisy's inner struggles.

Reviews
Booklist: "More central to the potency of Rosoff's debut, though, is the ominous prognostication of what a third world war might look like, and the opportunity it provides for teens to imagine themselves, like Daisy, exhibiting courage and resilience in roles traditionally occupied by earlier generations."

School Library Journal: "Though the novel has disturbing elements, Rosoff handles the harshness of war and the taboo of incest with honest introspection. This Printz award winner is a good choice for book discussions as it considers the disruption of war both physically and emotionally and should be on every high school and public library shelf."

Connections
*Have teens compare this novel to other Michael Printz Award Winners in an effort to find common themes that may be discovered in the novels.
*Have teens create a disaster kit that may come in handy if they were forced to survive during a war.

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Bibliography
Hiaasen, Carl. 2002. Hoot. NY: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0375921818.

Plot Summary
Hoot is the story of how one person can truly make a difference. Roy Eberhardt is the new kid in town; Dana Matherson is the school bully. On Roy's first day of school, he gets into a fight with Dana on the school bus. During the fight, Roy notices a shoeless boy running down the street. To curb his curiosity, Roy decides to look for the shoeless boy. What he discovers is a new friend and a cause to fight for.

Critical Analysis
Hoot is a great story that offers a little bit of everything: the awkwardness of moving and starting a new school, making new friends, defeating the school bully, and discovering how one person can truly make a difference. After Roy Eberhardt's family moved to Florida from Montana, he meets a shoeless boy nicknamed Mullet Fingers and they become friends.

At the same time, Hiaasen includes the on-going vandalism on a local construction site in the storyline. Someone is trying to delay or stop the building of Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House by uprooting the survey stakes, spray painting the windows of the police car while the officer slept, and putting alligators in the porta potties. These pranks are all in an effort to save the burrowing owls who make the construction site their home.

These two story lines eventually cross when the underdog, Roy Eberhardt, saves the day (the owls) and exposes the companies' efforts to hide their knowledge of the owls' home. Hiaasen does a great job creating a story with believable characters (who hasn't either moved or been picked on) fighting a realistic environmental cause. An excellent read for both older children and adults.

Reviews
Booklist: "The story is full of offbeat humor, buffoonish yet charming supporting characters, and genuinely touching scenes of children enjoying the wildness of nature. He deserves a warm welcome into children's publishing."

Publishers Weekly: "Though readers will have few doubts about the success of the kids' campaign, several suspenseful scenes build to the denouement involving the sitcom-like unraveling of a muckity-muck at the pancake house. These, along with dollops of humor, help make the novel quite a hoot indeed."

Connections
*Have children choose an animal listed as endangered and research ways that they could help protect them.
*Plan a field trip to a local zoo to learn more about animals and their habitats.

Worth by A. LaFaye

Bibliography
LaFaye, A. 2004. Worth. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc. ISBN 0689857306.

Plot Summary
When Nathaniel Peale's leg is crushed in an accident, his father decides to bring John Worth, who recently lost his family to a fire, home from the orphan train to help him on the farm. Since Nathaniel is no longer able to help his father on the farm, he is sent to school to learn. Nathaniel dislikes John and resents the time that John gets to spend with his father while he is at school. John once had a dream of getting a diploma and working for a bank dislikes Nathaniel for having what he wants...a family and a chance at an education. However, they are able to come together when a conflict between the ranchers and farmers threatens the family's farm and financial stability.

Critical Analysis
LaFaye writes a powerful story of family, friendship, and character in Worth. During a farming accident, Nathaniel Peale is injured and no longer able to help his father on the farm. Unable to pay for hired help, Nathaniel's father brings home John Worth from the orphan train to help on the farm. Both boys immediately dislike and distrust the other one. Nathaniel is jealous of the time John is spending with his father and John is jealous of Nathaniel because he has his family and the opportunity to get an education. As Nate points out, "each of us hates the other for being what we couldn't be (pg 96)."

A love for mythology and a local conflict between the ranchers and farmers bring the boys together. They soon realize that they could "make do with what they had and what they had was pretty darn good (pg 144)."

Worth has something for everyone. It is a story of family, community, and healing. LaFaye does a wonderful job bringing this often forgotten about time in our history to life. Both children and adults will fall in love with it.

Reviews
Booklist: Starred Review "The short, spare novel doesn't need the heavy heroic parallels; it tells its own story of darkness and courage. A great choice for American history class."

Kirkus: "It's a lively story of two boys set against a backdrop of the Orphan Trains, range wars, lynchings, drownings, and sheep killings. Something for everyone."

Connections
*Have students research the orphan train along with other major events during this time period and create a timeline mapping out the events.
*Create a map of the possible routes the orphan trains took from the larger cities to the Midwest.

A Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

Bibliography
Cushman, Karen. 1995. A Midwife's Apprentice. New York, NY: Houghton Mufflin Company. ISBN 0395692296.

Plot Summary
Set in 14th century England, A Midwife's Apprentice, is a powerful story of how Beetle (aka Alyce) overcomes life's circumstances to become a person with a name and a place in the world. The story opens with Beetle using the dung heap for warmth and a place to sleep and is awakened by the local midwife who assumed she was a dead beggar. Beetle talked Jane, the midwife, into a job in exchange for food. Thus began Beetle's journey and how she became the midwife's apprentice.

Critical Analysis
A Midwife's Apprentice is a set in the 14th century England and looks at the forgotten profession of midwives. Beetle is homeless and hungry when she is discovered by Jane, the midwife. Jane sees a perfect opportunity to receive cheap labor and offers Beetle work as her apprentice in exchange for food.

Lacking self confidence, Beetle does whatever Jane asks of her in exchange for two meals a day of onions, turnips, dried apples, cheese, bread, and bacon. However, as time passes Beetle slowly learns the way of the midwife and also develops a friendship with Will Russet. After a failed attempt to deliver a baby on her own, Beetle runs away but returns after learning the importance of "how to try and risk and fail and try again and not give up."

Cushman's simple writing adds authenticity to the story. Beetle and Jane are simple people, living in simple times and Cushman does an excellent job portraying them in the story. She is also honest about the times and living conditions of the poor during 14th century England. The author's research of the profession is evident in how she describes the different techniques Jane uses with different women. She adds an author note at the end of the story explaining the profession of midwives and how it has changed throughout the years.

Reviews
Publishers Weekly: "Earthy humor, the foibles of humans both high and low, and a fascinating mix of superstition and genuinely helpful herbal remedies
attached to childbirth make this a truly delightful introduction to a
world seldom seen in children’s literature."

School Library Journal: "Characters are sketched briefly but with telling, witty detail, and the very scents and sounds of the land and people's occupations fill each page as Alyce comes of age and heart."

Connections
*Read other Newbery award winning novels that are historical fiction and compare plots, characters, and settings.
*After reading A Midwife's Apprentice, have the students research 14th century England and find an occupation that they may be interested in.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Bibliography
Lowry, Lois. 1989. Number the Stars. New York, NY: Houghton Mufflin Company. ISBN 0395510605.

Plot Summary
In Number the Stars, Lowry brings to life the terrible truth of the holocaust and how if affected everyone. Set in Denmark, it is a story of Annemarie Johansen and her family's attempts to help Annemarie's Jewish best friend, Ellen Rosen, and family to escape the Nazi relocation. During their escape, Annemarie is put to the test when she is asked to deliver her uncle's lunch to his fishing boat and discovers it is better to not know the whole truth at times.

Critical Summary
Lois Lowry describes the holocaust through the eyes of 10 year old Annemarie Johansen in Number the Stars. Set in 1943 Denmark during the Nazi relocation of the Jewish people, Lowry uses the real events and creates an unforgettable story of courage and friendship. Because the main character, Annemarie Johansen, is 10 years old at the beginning of the story, young readers will be able to immediately identify and relate to the story.

Johansen and Ellen Rosen are neighbors and best friends when the Nazis take control of their country. After learning about the Nazis' plans to relocate the Jews, the two families work together to plan the Rosen's escape to safety. During their escape, Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission and discovers the strength within her. Young readers will love the fact that a 10 year old saves the day and will long to learn more about this time in history.

It is evident by the details included in the story that Lowry spent many hours researching 1943 Denmark. She describes this research along with what part of the story is fact and what part is fiction in her author's note at the end of the book. A must read!

Reviews
Publishers Weekly: "The whole work is seamless, compelling, and memorable -- impossible to put down; difficult to forget."

School Library Journal: "Readers are taken to the very heart of Annemarie's experience, and, through her eyes, come to understand the true meaning of bravery."

Connections
*A great introduction to a WWII and holocaust unit in Social Studies.
*Interview a holocaust survivor after reading Number the Stars. This will help the children to understand the Johansen's and Rosen's bravery.