Doug and his brother Gordon just don’t get along. But when an emergency arises on a family camping trip, Doug is forced to face his biggest fear to save Gordon’s life.

A good suspenseful juvenile fiction book that stresses the importance of family and facing your fears.

A fictionalized biography of Frederick Douglas’ daughter, Rosetta. Douglas was a former slave who became a strong advocate for equality. He believed that his children should have the right to attend any school they chose, and worked fervently to secure a quality education for them.

A quick read that really personalizes the struggle for integrated education. The way that Rosetta and her family dealt with such prejudice, and the value they place on education, is admirable.

Turner Buckminster moves to a small town in Maine, where his father is the new pastor. In spite of the beauty of the town, Turner is miserable in his role as “the minister’s boy.” Then he meets Lizzie, who lives on nearby Malaga Island. The islanders are former slaves who have very little money, and the townspeople wish they would leave. Turner and Lizzie become good friends, in spite of their differences. Soon the townspeople are plotting to send away the islanders, and Turner must decide how to help.

This book was written by a Calvin prof-Gary D. Schmidt. I generally enjoy his books, and this was no exception. There were some “new-ageish” components involving whales and the ocean, which seemed quite important to the author and the main character. I choose to skim those sections and focus more on the history of Malaga Island and on how Turner changed as he learned to stand up for what is right.

The author of this book is a teacher who teaches children that nobody else will teach. She has written many books about her experiences with her students. In this particular book, she focuses on one 6 year old girl – Sheila – who has been severely abused and abandoned, and is reacting with extreme anger and violence. Hayden works with Sheila over the course of several months and manages to help her deal with the traumas she’s undergone.

This is the type of book that makes me feel guilty for how easy my teaching career has been. I’ve had one student who had some rather severe outbursts, but they were isolated and not the norm. Hayden has had classes full of students with severe needs, and not only survived, but helped her students to thrive. There aren’t very many classes like Hayden’s in existence anymore, due to mainstreaming of special needs students. In spite of the guilt, her books are very inspiring to read.

Fourteen year old Ida has always wanted to become a teacher. But when Ida’s own teacher leaves and is not replaced, Ida has no chance of passing 8th grade and being accepted into high school. Without further education, she can’t become a teacher. So Ida takes it upon herself to finish her eighth grade year as both a student and the teacher in her one-room school house.

Ida’s job as a one-room school teacher was my dream for many years. Realistically speaking though, I’m not sure I would have gone to the lengths that Ida did to secure her education and that of her fellow students. While the premise of the book seems a bit far-fetched to me, it may well have been possible in the early 1900′s.

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