Ed Young
Seven Blind Mice
This story opens our eyes to see the whole and to recognize connections.
Very understandable and clear for children, adolescents and adults (or for every age group), it shows that you sometimes have to distance yourself in order to see the whole picture and that you can easily lose sight of the meaning when examining something in a dissecting, piecemeal manner.
BH
One day by their pond, seven mice discover something strange and large.
“It’s a pillar,” says the red mouse.
“It’s a snake,” says the green mouse.
“No,” says the yellow mouse, “it’s a spear.”
A picture book for children ages 5 and up, “about the search for truth,” as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote.
The author and illustrator, who was born in China and works in the USA, dedicated his book to the person “who, during these years of searching, opened my eyes to the joy of knowledge and wisdom.”
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Tomie de Paola
Now One Foot, Now the Other
Grandpa Bob and grandson Bobby – it’s great how they help each other. First, grandpa is there to help the little one. And years later, after Bob has a stroke, Bobby is there for him.
RK
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Michael Morpurgo
Dear Olly
For weeks, Olly and her older brother Matt, a high school graduate, have been watching swallows that have built a nest in their garage and are now incubating their eggs.
One day Matt reveals to his younger sister that he doesn’t want to study, but rather he wants to make people happy: He wants to be a clown, a real clown. And now he also knows where he wants to work, he wants to go where our swallows are going, to Africa.
His relatives are shocked by this decision, but Matt cannot be stopped. He finds a job in an orphanage in Africa, in an area with landmines where the war has raged.
And one of the young swallows from the nest accompanies readers on their flight to their wintering grounds in Africa.
An outstanding story set in Europe and Africa. Morpurgo, with his simple style, is a great narrator.
The illustrations by Christian Birmingham are very fitting.
Ages 12 and up. Can be read in one day.
GK
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Michael Morpurgo
Friend or Foe
England during World War II: Due to the constant bombing raids on London, school children have been evacuated to the countryside where attacks are not expected. Two classmates, David and Tucky, are lovingly taken in at a small farm by Mr. Reynold and his French wife. One evening, the children witness a German fighter plane crash behind the hills. They go out into the moor in search of possible survivors. David falls into the raging river and is drowning when a German pilot pulls him out of the water and saves him.
The pilot, who also speaks English, asks the boys to help him and his seriously injured Air Force comrade; he asks if they can get some food and two warm blankets.
How should David, whose father died in the war, and Tucky decide? Help the two “enemies” seeking aid or tell the British police about their whereabouts? Will prejudice and aversion win out over understanding and helpfulness?
An exciting, short and convincing read with many good characters. Highly recommended. Ages 11 and up.
GK
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Eva Ibbotson
Journey to the River Sea
Maia is an orphan girl, and in 1910 she has to move with a governess from England to Brazil, where she will be taken in by distant relatives. A lot of the unexpected things happen and the story has you on the edge of your seat until the last page of the book.
RK
Before Maia leaves England to live in Manaus, a city in the middle of the Brazilian jungle, her classmates regret that she will soon be living in an area with alligators, piranhas, disease-carrying mosquitoes, unbearable humid heat and native Indians with poison arrows. But Maia is not frightened because she has read in a book in the school library:
Those who think of the Amazon as a Green Hell bring only their own fears and prejudices to this amazing land. For whether a place is a hell or a heaven rests in yourself, and those who go with courage and an open mind may find themselves in Paradise.
On the ship crossing to Brazil, Maia and her governess Miss Minton get to know the boy Clovis, a member of a company of actors. Each of the three wears a mental “corset” or has let themselves be put in one. But as their lives continue and they encounter the half-Indian Finn, the three are aided in freeing themselves from the constriction.
Maia is a fresh, sunny girl who initially suffers a great deal at the hands of her foster parents, who only took her in for the money. Above all, the twin girls in the family, who are the same age as Maia, pester and torment her wherever they can.
The author, Eva Ibbotson, knows how to not only let the reader participate in the external events, but also lets them empathize and understand internally. For example, with the young, desperate Clovis, when he first sees the three girls sitting next to each other:
The twins were pretty, but Maia was special with her serious face and kind eyes … Just looking at it made him feel safe, as if he could hold on to it and be all right.
Despite all the drama, the book is also funny and easy to read. It vividly describes how fate gives all those involved exactly what they need.
Highly recommended for older children, teenagers and adults.
GK
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Rosemary Sutcliff
Dawn Wind
A historical novel set in the 6th century that depicts the development of an adolescent boy up through the age of 26.
Together with his father and older brother, 14-year-old Owin goes to battle against the Saxons, who are conquering more and more areas of Britain. Owin is the only survivor and is seriously injured. He is joined by one of the British war dogs, who from then on remains his devoted friend. Soon the two meet the orphaned, almost starved twelve-year-old Regina. In order to save the sick girl’s life, Owin brings her into the care of a peasant family and buys her survival by hiring himself out as a slave to one of the warring Saxons, who takes him to his far-off estate.
It is a long time before he sees Regina again. The book describes Owin’s close relationship with horses, dogs and his fellow human beings, all of whom he feels obliged to help. Owin is fearless and selfless; he remains true to himself and his ideals in all situations.
By always making the best of his serf situation and doing every job conscientiously, he wins the of his master and “owner” who finally releases him and gives him his freedom.
This book has something for boys and girls alike. Rosemary Sutcliff knows how to depict, in addition to action and fighting, the sensations, feelings and inner struggle that comes with it in a very moving way.
Ages 12 and up.
Pu
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