Thought for the Day:
“A good poem is like a bouillon cube. It’s concentrated and it nourishes you when you need it.”
~ Rita Dove ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
You never want to confuse your readers. HERE Nathan Bransford has an interesting post with Six Reasons You’re Confusing the Reader.
Tracy C. Gold has a good post HERE called How to Write a Picture Book Query with a template and examples.
Looking for a Literary Agent? Tiffany Hawks writing coach, novelist, and editor, has a really good post HERE on How to Find a Literary Agent: the Six-Step Strategy that Works for My Clients.
My daughter Sara and I have been trying to see as many of the Oscar-nominated films as possible, but we haven’t had time to see many. We thought Oppenheimer, The Holdovers, and Killers of the Flower Moon were all great, but we agree that American Fiction is the best movie we have seen in years. What a wonderful surprise it was. I hadn’t heard anything about it, and I think that’s a good way to go into it. The performances were amazing, and the screenplay was so well-crafted. I’m afraid it will be overlooked because other films have gotten so much more publicity. Do yourselves a favor and go find this film. You will laugh and you will cry and you will be very glad you saw it.
I had a visit yesterday from two of my former students. They never dated in high school, but found each other after college and married and now have two kids and an adorable dog. They all came to see me, and it was wonderful. I got the best compliment. Jeremy told me I taught him to like reading. He said before my class, he only read what he had to, but he never liked it. I can’t think of a nicer thing anyone could say to me.
I read a book this week I want to tell you about. It is being marketed as a YA, but I think more mature middle graders will find it and will really appreciate it. I also think it is a terribly important book, especially at this moment in time. So for those reasons, I am choosing to discuss it here where I almost always feature middle-grade books. FACING THE ENEMY: HOW A NAZI YOUTH CAMP IN AMERICA TESTED A FRIENDSHIP by Barbara Krasner is beautifully crafted, extremely well-researched, and built on important themes of friendship, family, and loyalty. And, BONUS, it is a novel in verse. Barbara Krasner is a terrific writer and poet, and her talents really shine in this book.
Benjy Puterman, who is Jewish, and Tommy Anspach, a German American, have been friends forever and do everything together, until, that is, Tommy’s father joins a local bund and decides Tommy should go to Camp Nordland, a summer camp for Nazi youth. At first, Tommy is excited about the camp. He feels like he belongs, and he accepts the warped idea that Jews are a lower class and they are the true enemy. His father is drinking too much and buying into the Nazi ways completely. Benjy is heartbroken and misses his friend. After some time, people start to turn against the Nazi movement. Tommy begins to understand how wrong things are, and he misses his friend, but is it too late for him to get safely out?
Barbara Krasner has written other novels in verse about difficult history. You can see my reviews of ETHEL’S SONG: ETHEL ROSENBERG’S LIFE IN POEMS and 37 DAYS AT SEA: ABOARD THE M. S. ST. LOUIS, 1939 by clicking on their titles. Here she has written a well-researched historical fiction in verse that shines a light on a very dark period in our country, a time we must never forget, now more than ever. Her poetry is extraordinary, mostly free verse but with several structured poems included, voicing both Benjy’s and Tommy’s thoughts and experiences. Each poem tells a little of Benjy’s or Tommy’s story, with a few voicing both boys. Don’t miss this!
Please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.
Rosi Hollinbeck 
Love books willing to take on the tough issues of today. It’s been my experience that kids appreciate it when we don’t dumb things down for them.
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I agree, Pete. Dumbing down for kids is so insulting. They can handle almost anything we offer them. Thanks for the comment.
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Rosi, this sounds amazing. Sometimes, we forget that Nazism was (and is) alive and well outside of Germany. It also sounds like it would be a hit with 12-14 year-old readers, which is a neglected demographic in MG/YA lit.
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I agree. That is a neglected group. There used to be a category called Tweens. I wish publishers would focus on that group again. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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This sounds like such a powerful story – and timely. I agree with Pete Springer’s comment.
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It’s a terrific book. I hope you can find a copy over there. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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This book sounds intense but good. Thanks for featuring it this week. And that’s awesome that your students who got married visited you.
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It’s a great book. I hope you get to read it. It was great to see my students. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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Thanks for the links once again! I won’t get to them until later this week but looking forward to Nathan Bransford’s post the most.
This story set in the WWII era sounds like a winner. The MC’s change of attitude toward the Nazis should really interest readers. I’ve added it to my TBR list.
What fun seeing former students. I tend to think they age but we never do!
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Haha! I’m pretty sure I have aged, but perhaps you have avoided that. You are pretty young! Thanks for the comment. I think you will really like this book.
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Barbara Krasner’s books are always amazing. Thanks for letting us know about her newest one.
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She is a great writer. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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A Nazi Youth camp in America?! Whoa!
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There were many of them, Sue. I hope you get a chance to read the book. It’s great. Thanks for the comment.
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The things I keep learning that blow my mind!
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Yeah. Pretty shocking.
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What a credit to you that you gave your former student a love for reading, Rosi! It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give anyone (IMO) and how nice to hear that he owes it to you! Also lovely that they keep in touch (a credit to you as well!) – I don’t think I want to meet any of my old teachers . It is shocking to think there were Nazi youth camps outside Germany in the 1930s. It’s a really great premise for a story, and great for kids to learn about too. Thanks for sharing!
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I’m still amazed when I think of Nazi youth camps in this country. It is a great premise for a story. I hope it gets wide readership. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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What an honor! I have one teacher I’d like to visit one day. She had a huge impact on my 13-year-old self. As for Nazi youth camps in America? They say truth is stranger than fiction…kudos to Barbara for tackling such an explosive subject. I’m sure by simply exposing the existence of something so unimaginable, Barbara will have, at the very least, planted seeds that will foster friendship and tolerance, rather than hatred and bigotry. At least, that’s my hope. Knowledge is power…
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I hope you go visit your teacher while you can. She will love it. I hope you are right about this book planting seeds of tolerance and friendship. Thanks for the thoughtful comment.
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We need books like this now, more than ever! It’s like people have completely forgotten what happened in our past. Thanks for sharing this one.
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We sure do need these books. It’s so important to keep these stories alive. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
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Barbara Krasner writes really amazing stuff! I’m excited to check this one out. Thanks for featuring it. 😁
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You’re welcome. Yes, Barbara takes on fascinating topics and really does her homework. She is always a treat. Thanks for the comment.
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