So Far From Home

So Far From Home

A Dear America Book

by Barry Denenberg (1997)

Irish girl escapes the potatoes, sails the ocean blue, works in the mills, dies of a cough... I've been very impressed with the "Dear America" series, so I'm glad I didn't pick this one up first. It didn't start out too bad, maybe a little rushed, yet melodramatic, but the 2nd half must have been written right after reading Lyddie ... really does not measure up to the quality of the other books.

Journal of Joshua Loper

The Journal of Joshua Loper

a Dear America Book

by Walter Dean Myers (1999)

Driving cattle along the Chisolm Trail, keeping a diary of battles against the elements, stubborn steer and horses, racism, and the difficulty of being a cowboy.

Dear America

I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly

The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl

by Joyce Hansen (1997)

Coretta Scott King Award Honor

So far these books have all impressed me, they don't seem too hokey or preachy; they must get good writers who know the historical period, although in this one the language was sometimes a bit much* for a slave girl who secretly learned to read and write from children's books... but I liked it, cared about the character, complex/believable storyline, great message of determination, self-awareness, personal strength...

*I started reading Flowers for Algernon this morning and thought of this book, in that it must be hard for a writer to present the story as if coming from a 6 or 10 or 15 year old, or a retarded man, and have the voice adhere strictly to how that person would be able to communicate... unless you're Faulkner, you have to bend the rules (suspend disbelief) to communicate to your readers through your characters, but not exclusively by/from your characters...

hmmm, not sure that makes sense...

The Journal of James Edmund Pease

The Journal of James Edmund Pease

from the Dear America series

by Jim Murphy (1998)

A Civil War Union soldier keeps a journal chronicling his troops' personalities and activities, and his fears regarding fighting and leadership... very well done, historically accurate and reads authentic, great sense of the confusion and senselessness of battle ...reads like a much longer/deeper book...

connections: Civil War, Red Badge of Courage, Harriet Tubman, The Valley of the Shadow (civil war letters)

The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow

The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow
from the Dear America series

Ann Turner (1999)

A story of the Navajo people forced from their homes, as told from a young girl's view; tragic, but not harsh, some danger but with the book beginning as the girl a grandmother telling her story, we know it has a "happy" ending... strong on family values and respect for elders, also with encouraging journal writing...

the folks at Oyate ( http://www.oyate.org/books-to-avoid/theChased.html ) don't like the book, because it doesn't adhere to Navajo storytelling tradition, but it seems like nitpicking -- it's more important to get the story told and sometimes changes need to be made to appeal/communicate to the intended audience; although this could be brought into a discussion with students, as well as reviewing historical accuracy...

connections: Native Americans, southwest US, origin myths, Sing Down the Moon, diary/journal writing, oral storytelling

The Journal of Biddy Owens

The Journal of Biddy Owens / the Negro Leagues

by Walter Dean Myers (2001)

Part of a series, "life as it was" through diaries of people in America, Biddy Owens is the clubhouse attendant for a Negro League baseball team in 1948. Not fluff, very well written; poignant in touching on race, family, and even the realization of not being good enough to make the team. It helps to know baseball for this one, to follow the action (reminds me of those old-time sports stories for boys) and for the real world characters that populate the book (Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, the new center fielder Willie Mays)... there are even photos of baseball in the 40's, and historical notes on baseball integration and the Negro Leagues. I did not like the "Epilogue" detailing the fictional lead and his family's life after the story, it rang false, almost like trying to trick me into thinking Biddy was real, and unnecessary.

(some comments and an interview with the author here)