Tweet Joseph Calderaro is an “eighth-grade optimist” whose “bag of barbecue chips is always half full.” That is until he has a lousy 14th birthday and his teacher assigns a 1,500-word paper called Tracing Your Past: A Heritage Essay. The … Continue reading
Category Archives: Reviews of Books for 11-13 Year Olds
Tweet In the 1300s England, fifteen-year-old Nell has served as an attendant to Princess Joan since Nell’s parents died of the plague two years before. She also protects her nine-year-old brother, George, who is simple but also wise in unexpected … Continue reading
Tweet Evie’s new neighbor Francesca is a free spirit who wears wild clothes, always seems to be upbeat, and has her own ideas about the importance of homework. First thrown together by Evie’s mom and Francesca’s aunt, the two of … Continue reading
Tweet When Lyza’s Mater dies of the flu in the pandemic of 1918, Lyza must figure out a way to keep her relatives from sending her Pater away to a place for people deemed crazy. He’s always been different, but … Continue reading
Tweet Paul and Marie Tessier live in a small village in southern France during World War II. While not officially occupied by Germany, Germans are all around them. They worry for their Jewish friend Henri. Then Henri’s parents go missing … Continue reading
Tweet Fencing is Aliera’s life. Every day she goes to school then heads to fencing practice. She even fences on weekends when she’s not visiting her disabled cousin. Fencing makes her feel strong, and she’s good at it. She takes … Continue reading
Tweet David Greenburg is 11 years old and about to start middle school. He’s not too worried until his older cousin Jack tells him about the horrors he may face, including a toilet-bowl swirlie on his birthday. David has other … Continue reading
Tweet In The Year of Goodbyes, author Debbie Levy takes a fresh approach to memoir and the story of German Jews in the late 1930s. The book takes place in the year 1938, when Jutta Salzberg, Levy’s mother, is a … Continue reading
