Two more books!
Yes, I've finished two more books, and after having just posted yesterday. Before you look too shocked -- these were short. One was 105 pages, told in free verse, and the other was a picture book. I finished both in less than an hour.
However, just because they were quick reads doesn't mean they didn't have a profound impact. Both of these just left me stunned by the beauty and heartfelt emotion told through a few words.
39. "T4" by Ann Clare LeZotte. Tiergartenstrasse 4, or T4, was the edict handed down by the Nazi Party to remove disabled children from their homes to have them "evaluated" at local hospitals and institutions, and their quality of life "analyzed." That was the official story. Bluntly, this was part of Hitler's eugenics program. Many, if not all (I'm not sure on this point) sent to these places were euthanized, deemed "useless eaters," and "not fit to live." This novel is told in free verse from the point of view of a young teen who is deaf. Her life with her family is turned upside down in 1939, when T4 is announced. She is forced to go into hiding with a Catholic priest, where she goes from shelter to shelter until Hitler repeals the unpopular law a few years later. The book shows Paula's struggles to communicate and find acceptance in her neighborhood as a girl, and her growing understanding as a teen as to what the Nazis are doing. What is very profound is that many characters in the book preach against these actions, and wonder how something so horrible could take place. But when you read between the lines -- you see why. This is most poignantly told with the introduction of one character, who isn't as he seems. Anything more than that will spoil the story. Highly recommended for teens studying World War II. It's a fast read; even the more reluctant readers should find this easy to manage. But there's a lot of story told in these pages.
An interesting note is that the author herself is profoundly deaf, so it's little wonder Paula's thoughts and frustrations come across so believably. This is LeZotte's first novel; hopefully the first of many.
40. Silent Music: A Story of Bagdad, by James Rumford. A really neat story! Ali, a young boy who lives in Baghdad, is in many ways like most boys: he likes soccer, playing with his friends and "parent-rattling music" (that line made me laugh). But he also loves the art of calligraphy. Through the book, the reader sees various items from Iraq, in a sort of collage format. But the most interesting thing was the breakdown of some of the Arabic words. Another nice touch was how warm and vibrant the pages are when Ali is talking about his day-to-day activities, and how dark and subdued they are when he is talking about the war, which started in 2003. One of the most profound things was when Ali mentioned how easy the calligraphy was for "war," and how hard it was for him to write "peace," and he wonders how much he will have to practice to get that one correctly. Wow.
However, just because they were quick reads doesn't mean they didn't have a profound impact. Both of these just left me stunned by the beauty and heartfelt emotion told through a few words.
39. "T4" by Ann Clare LeZotte. Tiergartenstrasse 4, or T4, was the edict handed down by the Nazi Party to remove disabled children from their homes to have them "evaluated" at local hospitals and institutions, and their quality of life "analyzed." That was the official story. Bluntly, this was part of Hitler's eugenics program. Many, if not all (I'm not sure on this point) sent to these places were euthanized, deemed "useless eaters," and "not fit to live." This novel is told in free verse from the point of view of a young teen who is deaf. Her life with her family is turned upside down in 1939, when T4 is announced. She is forced to go into hiding with a Catholic priest, where she goes from shelter to shelter until Hitler repeals the unpopular law a few years later. The book shows Paula's struggles to communicate and find acceptance in her neighborhood as a girl, and her growing understanding as a teen as to what the Nazis are doing. What is very profound is that many characters in the book preach against these actions, and wonder how something so horrible could take place. But when you read between the lines -- you see why. This is most poignantly told with the introduction of one character, who isn't as he seems. Anything more than that will spoil the story. Highly recommended for teens studying World War II. It's a fast read; even the more reluctant readers should find this easy to manage. But there's a lot of story told in these pages.
An interesting note is that the author herself is profoundly deaf, so it's little wonder Paula's thoughts and frustrations come across so believably. This is LeZotte's first novel; hopefully the first of many.
40. Silent Music: A Story of Bagdad, by James Rumford. A really neat story! Ali, a young boy who lives in Baghdad, is in many ways like most boys: he likes soccer, playing with his friends and "parent-rattling music" (that line made me laugh). But he also loves the art of calligraphy. Through the book, the reader sees various items from Iraq, in a sort of collage format. But the most interesting thing was the breakdown of some of the Arabic words. Another nice touch was how warm and vibrant the pages are when Ali is talking about his day-to-day activities, and how dark and subdued they are when he is talking about the war, which started in 2003. One of the most profound things was when Ali mentioned how easy the calligraphy was for "war," and how hard it was for him to write "peace," and he wonders how much he will have to practice to get that one correctly. Wow.