54. Dear America: The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson: With the Right of Angels; Hadley, Virginia, 1954 by Andrea Davis Pinkney

read by Channie Waites, on cd, in the car
6 unabridged cds  (6:37)
2011 Scholastic
336 pgs.
Middle grades Historical Fiction
Finished 9/1/17
Goodreads rating:4.05 - 646 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting:   Hadley, Virginia 1954

First line/s:  "It's early, before the sun even knows she's got sleep in her eyes."

My comments:  Take a seat front and center to learn about the beginning of integration/desegregation in Virginia in 1954.  I listened to this wonderful, inspired story which was incredibly enhanced by the reading of Channie Waites.  Although the Dear America series is not ABOUT real people, I've got to guess they're based on real people, particularly in this case.  Fascinating, disgruntling, ridiculous, unbelievable - the idea that people should be divided because of the color of their skin.  My granddaughter listened to the first two discs with me and was mesmerized.  I'm positive she never had a clue about segregation.  This was an outstanding story, taking the reader inside the head of a young African-American girl who had to break those difficult, scary, almost-impossible boundaries set up by white people throughout history in our country.   Highly recommended.

Goodreads synopsis:  Coretta Scott King winner Andrea Davis Pinkney brings her talents to a brand-new Dear America diary about the Civil Rights Movement.
          In the fall of 1955, twelve-year-old Dawn Rae Johnson's life turns upside down. After the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, Dawnie learns she will be attending a previously all-white school. She's the only one of her friends to go to this new school and to leave the comfort of all that is familiar to face great uncertainty in the school year ahead.
          However, not everyone supports integration and much of the town is outraged at the decision. Dawnie must endure the harsh realities of racism firsthand, while continuing to work hard to get a good education and prove she deserves the opportunity. But the backlash against Dawnie's attendance of an all-white school is more than she's prepared for. When her father loses his job as a result, and her little brother is constantly bullied, Dawnie has to wonder if it's worth it. In time, Dawnie learns that the true meaning of justice comes from remaining faithful to the integrity within oneself.

14. The Warden's Daughter by Jerry Spinelli

listened to on Audio cd in the car
6 unabridged cds, 7 hours
2017, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
352 pgs.
Middle grades Historical Fiction
Finished 3/6/17
Goodreads rating: 3.62 - 680 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: 1959 Hancock County, (Pennsylvania?)

First line/s: (from Chapter 1, Cammie, 1959)
"Breakfast time in the prison.  The smell of fried scrapple filled the apartment.  It happened every morning."

My comments:  I listened to this book.  I don't know if I would have read it.  I seem to be getting particular about the way a story starts, and this one did not immediately draw me in.  But the reader, Carrington McDuffie, with her smoky almost male-sounding voice DID begin to draw me in.  The story takes place in 1959 in Brooklyn New York, where Cammie is being raised by her single dad, who happens to be the warden of the county jail.  This is the story of a motherless girl during the summer before seventh grade, the summer when the loss of her mother becomes too much to bear.  It was a mesmerizing story.  The ending takes place 50 years later, still told in the first person by the protagonist, and I almost wish that it had ended back in 1959.  I'm not sure why Spinelli decided to write it this way.  Perhaps the ending is for the adult readers....  This was definitely a marvelous book, once you get into it.

Goodreads synopsis:  From Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli (Maniac Magee, Stargirl) comes the "moving and memorable" (Kirkus Reviews, starred) story of a girl searching for happiness inside the walls of a prison.
          Cammie O'Reilly lives at the Hancock County Prison--not as a prisoner, she's the warden's daughter. She spends the mornings hanging out with shoplifters and reformed arsonists in the women's exercise yard, which gives Cammie a certain cache with her school friends. 
But even though Cammie's free to leave the prison, she's still stuck. And sad, and really mad. Her mother died saving her from harm when she was just a baby. You wouldn't think you could miss something you never had, but on the eve of her thirteenth birthday, the thing Cammie most wants is a mom. A prison might not be the best place to search for a mother, but Cammie is determined and she's willing to work with what she's got. 
           "Jerry Spinelli again proves why he's the king of storytellers" (Shelf Awarenss, starred) in this tale of a girl who learns that heroes can come in surprising disguises, and that even if we don't always get what we want, sometimes we really do get what we need. 
          "This book is never boring and never predictable. Fame, good and bad fortune, friendship and mental illness all make their way into [Cammie's] narrative."--The New York Times Book Review 
Praise for the works of Jerry Spinelli: 
          "Spinelli is a poet of the prepubescent. . . . No writer guides his young characters, and his readers, past these pitfalls and challenges and toward their futures with more compassion." --The New York Times 
          "It's almost unreal how much the children's book still resonates." --Bustle.com on Maniac Magee

12. The Buried Book by D. M. Pulley

listened on Audible
read by Luke Daniels
2016 Lake Union Publishing
412 pgs.
Adult Historical Fiction/Mystery
Finished 2/28/17
Goodreads rating: 3.99 (3,515 ratings)
My rating: 4.5
Setting:1952 Michigan farm country just outside of Detroit

First line/s:  "Jasper."
"Mmmm," he mumbled.
"Jasper, wake up."

My comments:  Although this book was somewhat slow-going at times, I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next.  There were many things to like about the book:  the storyline, the setting, the point of view, and the characters.  Set in 1952, mostly in the rural farmland of Michigan, the story is told through the eyes of a nine-year-old boy, a nine-year-old who is trying to make sense of his very complicated world.  The world of 65 years ago is very different from the world of today...but it is also very similar.  Corruption, drugs, moonshine, degenerate (in this case) males taking advantage of young females, horrible treatment of Native Americans, poverty, dishonest cops, holier-than-though Christians....oh my, there were some very bleak parts.  But well worth the read.  All in all a very well told story that I will not easily forget.

Goodreads synopsis:  When Althea Leary abandons her nine-year-old son, Jasper, he’s left on his uncle’s farm with nothing but a change of clothes and a Bible.
          It’s 1952, and Jasper isn’t allowed to ask questions or make a fuss. He’s lucky to even have a home and must keep his mouth shut and his ears open to stay in his uncle’s good graces. No one knows where his mother went or whether she’s coming back. Desperate to see her again, he must take matters into his own hands. From the farm, he embarks on a treacherous search that will take him to the squalid hideaways of Detroit and back again, through tawdry taverns, peep shows, and gambling houses.
          As he’s drawn deeper into an adult world of corruption, scandal, and murder, Jasper uncovers the shocking past still chasing his mother—and now it’s chasing him too.

MOVIE - Brooklyn

PG-13 (1:51)

Limited release 11/4/15

Viewed Tuesday, 1/12/16 at ElCon

RT Critic:  98  Audience:  90
Critic's Consensus:   Brooklyn buttresses outstanding performances from Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen with a rich period drama that tugs at the heartstrings as deftly as it satisfies the mind.

Cag:  5.5 Just loved it, top quality, too...

Directed by John Crowley
Written by Nick Hornby

Fox Searchlight

Saoirse Ronan - who was absolutely wonderful!

My comments: A period story, (early 1950s) with excellent acting, lots of giggles, a few tiny sniffles, and wonderful costuming and hairstyles.  The storytelling was superb, not sappy, thoughtful, with a lovely, perfect ending.

RT Summary:  Eilis Lacey followed her sister, Rose's, plan to leave Ireland and find a better future and job in the US. She departs terribly, enduring seasickness and a terrible relationship with her cabin mates. A kind traveler gives her advice to live in Brooklyn, where many Irish immigrants live. Eilis settles in Brooklyn and becomes close to Father Flood, a Catholic priest. She gets a job in a department store and falls in love with an Italian boy named Tony. News from home sends Eilis back to Ireland, away from Tony.

Aunt Mary's Rose - Douglas Wood

Illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Candlewick, 2010
$16.99
24 large pages
Rating: 4
Endpapers: large blossoming pink roses on a huge bush cover the pages

This memoir, told from a young boy's point-of-view in the 1950's (or so) is about family and tradition. Using a rosebush as a metaphor - and to illustrate real events - Auunt Mary raised this boy's father and uncle when their parents died. She goes even farther back to recount how her father had originally planted the bush on their farm. Events from the Depression and WWII are recalled, and the reader is asked to ponder family ties as each generation has a part in caring for the bush.

The illustrations are realistic and lovely, helping depict the historical feel.

Using this picture book in the classroom will open up discussion on a myriad of topics - U.S. history, gardening, family, perhaps even genealogy! Also a good model for dialogue.

Testing the Ice - Sharon Robinson

A True Story About Jackie Robinson
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Scholastic Press, 2009
$16.00
40 pgs.
Rating: 5
Endpapers: Dark aqua
Author's Note

This heartwarming true story about the personal life of Jaackie Robinson is written by his daughter, Sharon. It tells of their home and home life in the mid-to-late 1950's. It includes tidbits about Jackie Robinson's entry into the entirely segregated world of Major League Baseball. In the main storyline, Ms. Robinson weaves her dad's courage in and around and through a story of his fear of water and his inability to swim. It's done quite beautifully and makes for really interesting storytelling.

And the illustrations! Oh my goodness, can this man draw! Completely covering the oversized pages, each and every illustrtation is a masterpiece to behold - most especially his depiction of Jackie Robinson.

Super book!

MOVIE - My One and Only

Very enjoyable!
Limited realease Aug. 21, 2009
PG-13
9/25 at El Con (alone)
RT: 70% cag: 71%
Director: Richard Loncraine

Renee Zellweger, Kevin Bacon

I hurried to the El Con to see Julie and Julia at 5:05, but I didn't make it there until almost 5:15. I would hate to miss the beginning (I still had to buy popcorn after all), so I went in to see this movie knowing only that it starred Renee Zellweger. I'm glad I didn't know any more than that to jade or shade (or whatever) my viewing. I liked this movie a lot, and I'm glad I didn't have any pre-supposed ideas about it when I sat down with my popcorn.

1953. Ann Devereaux comes home to her high-rise NYC apartment to find her husband, a band leader (like Ricky Ricardo), in an uncompromising position with the singer from his band. She takes her two teenage boys, buys a light blue Cadillac convertible with most of the the money she's taken from their safe deposit box, and leaves town.

Ann loves her boys, but doesn't really "know" them. She's beautiful, but the only life she's known is as the beautiful showpiece for a man who will take care of her, and that's what she goes after, whether it's intentional or not. But, oh, the men she chooses! There are four (I think) different suitors and situations that go from funny to sad to pathetic and even to silly. But, oh, what a ride! George, the younger son, watches what happens to his mother and longs for his old life in New York.

There was a surprise at the end which was delightful. It has been told in a few of the reviews I've skimmed, but it was most fun not to know while watching the movie. It would have definitely changed my "watching attitude".