Shona by Gary N. van Wyk F

I read this book because Nhamo in Girl Named Disaster was from the Shona tribe in Mozambique. I wanted to understand her culture better. This book helped me with that. I learned that "the Shona make up about 75 % of Zimbabwe's population" 9 (the country Nhamo was traveling to). In A Girl Named Disaster, Nhamo has to worry about the wet and dry season in terms of being able to get to her destination. We usually think of seasons in terms of temperature and the form of recreation we can do or cannot do based on what season it is. There they have to worry about the wet and dry seasons for totally different reasons. For instance, cattle is their most important commodity and is a status symbol for their favor with the gods. If the wet season is too long and wet, the Shona have to worry about the attack of the tsetse flies to that can be fatal to cattle. If the dry season is too long, they have to worry about their animals not having enough food or water to stay healthy. These problems has forced the Shona to "practice transhumance, the seasonal movement of the herds to make the most of the seasons and different environments." 13
A chart on 16 about the kinds of spirits they believe in would have been helpful. I also learned about the Great Zimbabwe, which I had never heard of before.An international trade insert on page 39 would have been a nice supplement to our social studies discussion.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz F

I am not a fan of scary stories. I am not a fan of being scared. It is not fun to me. It reminds me of when I was little and my dad would jump out from behind a snowball bush and scream as I walked by from my grandmother's in the dark...never liked that, but he always seemed to get such a charge out of it! :)

Anyway, I bought the book set at the book fair, because when I was in the media center, these books seem to fly off the shelves (only figuratively of course!). I thought it would be worth my time to check them out.

After reading the first one, I have to say that this book was not what I expected. The author simply takes create for compiling these stories and relying them to us as he found them. He does not seem to take liberties with the stories at all. He goes into explaining multiple endings or possibilities to scare your audience more. The book is organized into five sections with each section having its own organizational focus. My favorite was section two, "He Heard Footsteps Coming Up the Cellar Stairs."(3) These seem to be more historical. My dad would probably liked the first and last sections, "AAAAAAAAAAAH!" These are a collection of stories that end with the storyteller jumping at the audience and screaming!

Leading Lives: Nelson Mandela by Liz Gogerly F

I read this biography because it is connected to our Social Studies content and our South African unit. I have always admired Mandela and his work against apartheid. He seems like a very human hero. He did sacrifice a lot for the people in his country, to fight the wrongs his country's government created in 1948. But he has always seemed very human, not perfect. I was very disappointed when he divorced his wife, Winnie, less than five years after being released from jail. From a distance it always seemed like she was the one who stood by him throughout his 27 years in prison, only for him then to leave her and move on to a younger model. After reading this book, I realize that she, too, was not perfect and am reminded that live can be messy.

I never realized the price Mandela's activism must have cost his children. He had two boys and two boys by his first wife, Evelyn Mase. He later had two more girls by Winnie. The book mentioned how his oldest son would not have anything to do with Mandela while he was in jail. I saw a picture of his inauguration as the first black president of South Africa while only one daughter in the background. This was a very sad result to all his selfless work. I wonder how his children's biographies might read about their father.

No matter the world is lucky to have had a Nelson Mandela. I know he will always be remembered, at least in public, as a great historical figure.

Journey to Jo'Burg: A South African Story by Beverly Naidoo F

This book was written in 1986 by a former South African student who was exiled from the country in 1965 for her own involvement in the resistance movement against apartheid. She lived the story Grace describes in the book of her oldest son, Dumi. Grace's words resonate with Naledi, the book's main character, when she says, "We're pushed all over the place, but it won't be like that forever." 70 Even thought apartheid in South Africa has ended, Journey to Jo'burg serves as a good read to help others understand how things were and why we should never allow its existence again.

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine 90

This is another new book off of this year's Battle of the Book list. It seems to be one of those books that make middle schoolers want to avoid award-winning books. It is a National Book Award Winner and is very hard to follow in the beginning. It is written from the point of view of an 11-year-old girl with Asperger's. You find out in the beginning that her older brother has died, but you have to read to Chapter 5 to find out how he died and how it effects his sister and her struggle to 'be normal' an even harder one. "I see Josh pushing people off of the monkey bars again. Daddy says it's because Josh's cousin was one of the school shooters at Devon's school. The one the police caught right away. And killed. But not before he shot Devon." 27 So there are many layers to this book, several important statements to be made, I am sure. I am looking forward to the rest of this quick read.

A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer F

This Newbery Honor book is an extensive resource on African culture. It is a doosie of a book! Nhamo, the main character, follows her grandmother's advice and learns her village (and everything she has ever known) to find her father's family and avoid an arranged marriage. The story unfolds into a journey of survival that rivals Paulsen's Hatchet or George's My Side of the Mountain.

Nhamo overcomes drought and starvation, crocodiles, a leopard (both real and imagined), dogs and baboons to find her place int he world as she gets help from another one. "The paths of the body are long, but the paths of the spirit are short." 293 The plot in this story take s some interesting twists and turns as Nhamo finds her own place in the world.

Keeping the Moon, Sarah Dessen F

This book is one of the BEST books I have read in a LONG time! So much here to sink my teeth into!! It took me until the last three chapters to figure out the meaning behind the title (I love doing that!) One friend that Colie makes while in California tells a story of when he was young with his father. He camps out one night to see am eclipse. "The moon was gone." He was afraid it wouldn't come back, but his father came outside with him and convinced him it would be okay and the moon would be back. Not only uses this the source of the title, but it exemplifies one of the major themes in this book. Colie learns no matter how alone you might feel, there are always "things" you can count on. She learns to make friends as she learns what it means to be a friend.

I could go on and on, and include the idea of caterpillars becoming butterflies and more, but someone has already borrowed my book - and with this one, you should too! :) I loved it!!