The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis

If you like gutsy girl characters, The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis might be the book for you.  Set in the time of the Great Depression, you can revisit Deza Malone, who Curtis introduced in his Newbery Medal winning book Bud, Not Buddy.  The book revolves around Deza, a plucky, smart, African American girl.  Her family is beset with problems, but it seems that nothing makes Deza stop fighting back, not bullies, not moving away, not illness, not poverty.  Read along and watch her triumph over the issues of her time.

Reviewed by Mrs. Castro

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck is an excellent book.  It’s all about two children going to an Illinois town and visiting their grandmother.  They end up doing some crazy things.  For example, when Mary Alice, Joey, and their grandmother trespass into a field and end up seeing the sheriff in his underwear.  Sometimes I go to my grandmother’s house, but we don’t do much.  If you like books that have adventurous stories you should read this one.   I would recommend this book.    

Reviewed by Yes123

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool is the Newbery award book of 2011 about a young girl named Abilene who lived in Kansas during the great Depression.  But the book is less about the Depression or history, and more about a young girl who is living in a strange place, without the comforting presence of her father.  Abilene misses her dad and looks for signs of him in the town where he grew up.  The story line jumps back and forth between Abilene's experiences meeting new friends and her search for a mysterious ghost-like character called the "Rattler", and the story of the people who lived during the town's past when her father was just a boy.

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

Turtle in Paradise is one of the 2011 Newbery honor winners.  The author also wrote two other books that received Newbery honors, Our Only May Amelia and Penny from Heaven.  The setting for the book is Key West in Florida during the depression.  Turtle's mom is a housekeeper and when she gets a job with a woman who doesn't like children, she chooses to send her daughter Turtle to stay with her sister, Turtle's aunt. 

I think I liked this book because of Turtle's character.  She's a tough little girl, who lives in a tough world.  But true to her name, she has a soft inside.  This is really a book about family; cousins, aunts and uncles, grandmothers, mothers and fathers.  Turtle has to deal with all of them, and all of the complications that stem from family relationships.  Read this book and I guarantee you'll find yourself cheering for Turtle.

If you would like to listen to a short excerpt from this book, click on the link for my podcast Podcast of Turtle in Paradise  hosted at Podomatic.