Historical Fiction

Bibliography
Erdrich, Louise. 2006. The Game of Silence. New York. HarperCollins. ISBN 0064410293










Plot Summary
Omakayas is a 9 year old Ojibwe girl living on an island in Lake Superior in 1850. A group of people arrive on her island frightened, starved and weather-beaten. They have been displaced by the chimookomanag, or white people, who have run them off their homes and lands. Omakaya's community begins to fear that they are next to be run off their lands. The children play "The Game of Silence" so that their elders can discuss what they need to do to stay safe and keep their lands. Four messengers are sent to further investigate and the book chronicles the year the tribe anxiously awaits their return. During this time Omakayas discovers she has a unique gift and she learns to accept it. Their messengers return and their worst fears are confirmed, they must move to new lands. The Game of Silence is no longer a game, it is a matter of life or death as Omakayas and her family now have to cross enemy territory to reach their new homes.

Critical Analysis
This is the sequal to The Birchbark House. Lousie Erdrich is planning to write a series of books about Omakayas and her family that will span several decades. This book is the second in the series. The story is set in 1850 on an island on Lake Superior. Omakayas is "9 winters old" and white settlers are forcing the Native Americans to move from their lands. The story is rich in culture and what life was like for the Ojibwe nation as they struggled to keep their way of life as white pioneers were overtaking their lands.

The story is third person narrative and told from the viewpoint of Omakayas. The everyday life of Omakayas and her family is described using authentic Ojibwe language and clear details that depict the clothing, food and customs of the Ojibwe people. The book avoids sterotyping all white people as greedy settlers. There is a young girl that Omakayas is friends with, the "Break-Apart Girl", despite a difference in culture and language. There is a good balance of adventure, humor and historical details that tells the fictional story of Omakayas' during this turbulent time of change for Native Americans. The story ends with hope so that the reader will want to continue reading about the life and adventures of Omakayas. "Here, after all, was not only danger but possibility. Here was adventure." Omakayas is ready for the next stage of her life and the reader is ready to read more about it.

Pencil illustrations drawn by Erdrich are sprinkled throughout each chapter depicting the objects, clothing and physical characteristics of the Ojibwe people in the mid 1800's. Erdich is an Ojibwe descendant and this story is a "labor of love" for her as she states in her letter from the author. A glossary and pronunciation guide of Ojibwe terms is included at the end of the book with references provided for further study of the Ojibwe language. The end of the paperback book contains EXTRAS such as a letter from the author, a map of Omakaya's adventures and a guide for readers to create their own family tree.

For young readers in grades 5-8.

Awards
*Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction 2006
*Kirkus Editor’s Choice
*Horn Book Fanfare
*ALA Notable Children’s Book
*ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice
*New York Times Notable

Review Excerpts
The New York Times Book Review v. 110 no. 25 (June 19 2005) p. 14
"Louise Erdrich, the author of many acclaimed books for both adults and children, has embarked on a series nearly parallel to [Laura Ingalls Wilder's ‘Little House’ series] and for the same audience of middle grade readers, but told from an altogether different angle. . . . The first book in the series, ‘The Birchbark House,’ was published in 1999 and covered Omakayas's seventh year. . . . In ‘The Game of Silence,’ the second book in the series, Omakayas discovers with some dismay that she has a special connection with the spirit world. The connection will shape her destiny. . . . In these first books, has Louise Erdrich matched Laura Ingalls Wilder's achievement? I think so. She has created a world, fictional but real: absorbing, funny, serious and convincingly human."

The Horn Book v. 81 no. 4 (July/August 2005) p. 469
"On one tense night, when she has a powerful dream that saves her father's life, Omakayas finally starts to understand her destiny and her gifts. Erdrich's own gifts are many, and here she has given readers another tale full of rich details of 1850s Ojibwe life, complicated supporting characters, and all the joys and challenges of a girl becoming a woman."

Connections
*read other books about Omakayas and her family by Louise Erdrich
Erdrich, Louise. 2002. The Birchbark House. New York. HarperCollins.
ISBN 0756911869

Erdrich, Louise. 2010. The Porcupine Year. New York. HarperCollins.
ISBN 9780064410304

*read "The Little House on the Prairie" series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
compare and contrast the lives of Omakayas to that of Laura Ingalls.

*research the history and culture of the Ojibwe nation

*create a family tree of your own family





Bibliography
Schmidt, Gary D. 2007. The Wednesday Wars. New York. Clarion Books. ISBN 0618724834







Plot Summary
Holling Hoodhood is a seventh grader living in Long Island growing up in the 1960's. Holling is a normal 13 year old boy, he has family pressures, sibling rivalry, he has run ins with bullies, he expereinces his first crush, he thinks his teacher hates him and he has to take a standarized state test.

Intially Holling thinks his teacher Mrs. Baker hates him because he is the only student left on Wednesday afternoons because the rest of his classmates have to attend religious education classes and he doe not. She starts off giving him mundane cleaning chores but then introduces him to the world of Shakespeare. She becomes his mentor and close confidant as she helps him out throughout the school year with the various struggles he encounters. He learns to like reading Shakespeare, he joins the track team, saves his sister a couple of times and comes of age during his seventh grade year.

Critical Analysis
This realistic fictional novel is historical fiction in the sense that it is set during the school year of 1967-1968. Historical people such as President Lyndon Johnson, the Beetles, Bing Crosby and Walter Cronkite are mentioned several times throughout the novel. The assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr, atomic bomb drills and the Vietnam War play minor parts of the story that makes it historical as well. Although prominent historical people are mentioned throughout the novel and the Vietnam War does have an effect on the lives of some of the characters in the story, they could easily be replaced with contemporary counterparts of today. Politicians, musicians, celebrities, newscasters, sports players, color coded terror alerts and the war in the Middle East today can replace the historical ones and the basic plot and the theme of the story would not change.

It is simply a story about a seventh grade boy growing up and learning how to deal with the problems that come up in his life. This story is also about the difference a teacher can make in a young person's life. Mrs. Baker is that teacher that has a huge impact on Holling's life. The relationship between Holling and Mrs. Baker is what drives the story. She is there for him when his parents are not and she helps him deal with dating issues and coaches him in running. She introduces him to the world of Shakespeare and Hollings relates the plays to what is going on in his life. Most middle school boys and even girls can relate to some of the experiences Holling has during his seventh grade year. Holling has a very sarcastic sense of humor and it is cute how he uses curses from the Bard. "Toads, beetles, bats" and "pied ninny" are a couple of his favorite ones. It is a clean wholesome coming of age story that young readers will find both funny and poignant.

Awards
*Newberry Honor Book 2008
*ALA Notable Children's Book 2008
*ALA Best Book for Young Adults 2008
*Booklist Editors' Choice 2007
*National Parenting Publications Book Award 2007
*NY Public Library, 100 Titles for Reading 2007
*Book Sense Award Finalist 2007

Review Excerpts
The New York Times Book Review v. 112 no. 50 (December 16 2007) p. 23
"While ‘The Wednesday Wars’ was one of my favorite books of the year, it wasn't written for me. Sometimes books that speak to adults miss the mark for their intended audience. To see if the novel would resonate as deeply with a child, I gave it to an avid but discriminating 10-year-old reader. His laughter, followed by repeated outbursts of ‘Listen to this!,’ answered my question. Best of all, he asked if I had a copy of ‘The Tempest’ he could borrow."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books v. 61 no. 1 (September 2007) p. 52
"Mrs. Baker would feel right at home in the same faculty room with other such 1960s paragon teacher types as Sandy Dennis and Sidney Poitier, and it's no surprise that Holling comes to appreciate Shakespeare as deeply as he does Mrs. Baker, but running plotlines of both the manic and tender varieties—from rats behind the ceiling tiles to strained attitudes toward a Vietnamese classmate—keep the story racing along. Fans of the author's Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy may be pleasantly surprised to see Schmidt's lighter, even sillier side."

Connections
*read plays by Shakespere
--The Tempest
--The Merchant of Venice
--Macbeth
--Julius Cesear
--Romeo and Juliette
--The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
--Much Ado About Nothing

*research the historical people and events mentioned in the book
--The Vietnam War
--Mickey Mantle
--Martin Luther King Jr.
--Walter Cronkite
--Bobby Kennedy
--The Beetles
--Bing Crosby Christmas Special
--President Lyndon B. Johnson
--Atomic bomb drills





Bibliography
Napoli, Donna Jo. 2006. Bound. New York. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0689861753






Plot Summary
A Cinderella story set in the Northern Provinces of China during the Ming dynasty.

Xing Xing lives with her Stepmother and half sister Wei Ping. Her parents have passed away and Stepmother is desperately trying to find a husband for her daughter Wei Ping. After the girls father's death, Stepmother has decided to go against his wishes and bind Wei Ping feet so she would be suitable for marriage. Stepmother has no intentions of finding Xing Xing a husband because she is not her biological daughter. Xing Xing is a strong girl who can complete the chores of both girls since Wei Ping cannot due to her foot binding and the pain and infections it has caused her.

Xing Xing finds a little white fish in a nearby spring which grows to be a beautiful white carp. The beautiful fish always goes to her when she goes to the spring and seems to follow her when Xing Xing has to travel to another village to sell dates as medicine to a wandering doctor. Xing Xing believes that the fish is the reincarnated spirit of her mother, who has come to watch over her.

Then the step mother commits an act that dearly hurts Xing Xing so they can attend a local cave festival to find Wei Ping a husband. Xing Xing finds some treasure her mother left behind for her and pretends to be ill so as not to attend the festival with her stepmother and sister. She puts on the green dress, pearls and gold shoes her mother has left behind and decides to attend the fesitval on her own. Fearing she has been seen by her stepmother and sister, Xing Xing runs off and loses a shoe as she flees from the festival. The shoe is discovered and rumors abound that it belonged to a beautiful young girl. The prince hears the rumors, buys the shoe and searches for it's owner and plans to propose marriage to the one whom it fits. He arrives at Xing Xing's cave home, she presents the other shoe and it fits and the prince proposes marriage and Xing Xing accepts.

Critical Analysis
The story follows the basic plot of a typical Cinderella story. Deceased parents, Step mother, step sister, forced to complete manual labor, fairy godmother, (reincarnated spirit of mother), big celebration, from rags to beautiful dress, missing shoe and prince in search of the owner of the shoe ready to propose marriage.

But there is so much more to this Cinderella tale that makes it it's own story. The setting for one is distinctive and rich in the description of the Chinese culture and customs of the time period, the early Ming dynasty in the 1300's. The characters are fully developed characters and not typecast as the typical characters in a Cinderella story, but instead bound by the time and place of the setting of the story. The stepmother is not evil, she is only following the customs and tradtions of her culture and society. The respect for their ancestors spirits and elders and the status of women shows the beliefs of the Chinese culture and the reasons why the step mother is the way she is and the choices she makes. Nor is the step sister bad, she is suffering from the pain of the binding of her feet. Xing Xing and Wei Ping have a close sister relationship and clearly care for each other. Their conversations and the things Xing Xing does for her sister show how much love she has for her. Xing Xing wants to ease her sister's pain and tries to bring joy to her when she brings in the beautiful white fish in a bowl as a pet.

This retelling is also a coming of age story as Xing Xing finds herself and her strength through her experiences. A postscript from the author, Donna Jo Napoli, is included that explains her inspiration and how her version differs from traditional Chinese Cinderella tales in setting and time. She wanted to include the cave homes, foot bindings and "social revolutions of the first Ming emperor". This version is a very interesting retelling of the classic Cinderella tale and introduces readers to a different culture and time through a familiar story.

Awards and Nominations
*ALA Best Books For Young Adults
*CCBC Choices (Cooperative Children's Book Council)
*Charlotte Award Suggested Reading List (NY)
*Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best
*Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Master List (VT)
*Kansas State Reading Circle Middle School Titles
*Kentucky Bluegrass Award Master List
*Kirkus Editor's Choice NYPL "Books for the Teen Age"
*PSLA Fiction List Publishers Weekly
*Best Books School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
*Thumbs Up! Award Master List (MI)
*Westchester's Choice

Review Excerpts
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books v. 58 no. 5 (January 2005) p. 222
"A retelling of one of the oldest tale types, this deftly written novel creates a unified set of folklife rhythms and nuances and makes them accessible to the modern reader. Xing Xing is a dutiful, honorable daughter who does not think to question most of the customs that bind her to her fate; even when she speaks out for her own welfare in the final scene, her bid for freedom is a moderate one, limited by the opportunities given women in her world. However, her bravery and intelligence, couched in the author's lilting prose and the absorbing details of the historical period, will win her many fans among today's readers."

School Library Journal v. 50 no. 11 (November 2004) p. 150, 152
Gr 5-9-Napoli takes the elements of the traditional Chinese version of "Cinderella" and creates a powerful and moving story........ Napoli retains the pattern of the traditional Chinese tale with only a few minor changes: she sets the story in the northern province of Shaanxi during the Ming dynasty rather than in a minority community in southern China. She fleshes out and enriches the story with well-rounded characters and with accurate information about a specific time and place in Chinese history; the result is a dramatic and masterful retelling.

Connections
*read picture book Cinderella stories of different cultures
* research the Ming Dynasty of China
*research the practice of binding feet in ancient China
*write your own version of a Cinderella story set in modern times or based on your cultural heritage.