Brainstorm Vol 76: Newish books that feel like old classics

Here's a few relatively recently published books that portray some feels of old, beloved classics.

Picture Book Resources

Blue on Blue by Dianne White, ill. by Beth Krommes
Follow a family on a farm through a day that starts out sunny and blue through a thunderous storm, to a quiet night. A fantastic celebration of a good ol’ thunderstorm. Thanks to the setting on a farm and little modern conveniences highlighted, this has a timeless classic feel.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Poetry/Rhyming: This book is written in fabulously done rhymes. A great addition to any poetry or rhyming unit. 
• Word Choice: Writing poetry that evokes a storm takes careful planning, and White demonstrates that beautifully with her word choice. Read this to delight in carefully chosen vocabulary that wonderfully complements the illustrations to bring the sunny moments, thunder, and quiet to life. 
• Art: The illustrations in this are amazing. They involve interesting points of view and style, as well as careful color choice to bring the storm to life. 
• Stormy Day Read: We’re in the middle of rainy season here in Thailand, which means we’ve been getting torrential downpour thunderstorms pretty much daily. This is the perfect read to go with pattering rain and crashing thunder.

Mama Seeton’s Whistle by Jerry Spinelli, ill. by LeUyen Pham
Every day as the Seeton children grew up, they're mama would call them home to dinner with her simple but effective whistle. It didn't seem to matter where they were in the neighborhood, they could hear it. As the children grow and spread out farther around the world, Mama Seeton misses her children. Papa tells her to go ahead and do like she always used to to see if it would make her feel better. At first it seems it did nothing, but then her four children return from all over the world and Mama Seeton's whistle appears to still work. Eventually her children carry on the whistle with their kids.

It is really hard to convey in a summary the emotional power of Spinelli's words and LeUyen Pham's illustrations in this book. It is sweet and lovely, and has wrapped up in it all the love of a close-knit family. Spinelli says in the back that the story is based on the Mrs Seeton who lived next door to his family growing up. I also loved reading LeUyen Pham's notes in the back on how she had to research this book and plot out the timeline since it covered so many years so she could appropriately have hair styles, clothing, home electronics, etc change correctly. Her researched paid off. The book is very impressive and sweet.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Intergenerational Family Reads: This is the perfect book for a family reunion read, whether with grandparents or aunts and uncles. Talking about the Seeton family traditions can open the door to talking about your family traditions.
• Historical Changes: This book gives a brief look at different changes through time in the life of one family. Read the illustrator’s note on the research she had to do to correctly portray this. Ask children how things have changed just since they were little, and perhaps have adults share some things they’ve seen change just in their lifetimes.
• Sweet Read: If you are looking for a sweet and loving read, this is just the ticket.

Middle Grade Fiction Resource

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
One day, a hurricane sinks a cargo ship carrying robots fresh from the factory. One robot's crate is washed onto an island and some playful otters accidentally turn her on. Roz meanders the island figuring out how to survive and where she is. Most of the creatures fear her as a monster. Over time, Roz's careful observations allow her to catch on to the language of the animals and she starts to communicate. They still fear her. When an accident happens while Roz is climbing, an entire family of geese is accidentally killed except for one egg. Roz takes care of the egg since she was responsible for the accident, and soon finds herself the mother to a little goose dubbed Brightbill. Roz's care of Brightbill helps other animals realize that Roz isn't so bad, and soon Roz finds herself with a whole island of friends. She helps them as best she can, and they in turn help her. The island is a better place for the arrival of Roz, until one day other robots come to the island to retrieve Roz and take her back to the factory.

This was an adorable and sweet story about an outsider robot who soon becomes beloved by the entire island. Roz is relatively unemotional as befits a robot, but she is also programmed to be helpful. It is fun to see how her helpfulness eventually wins her friends all over the island, and how they help her when she gets into tight spots too. The ending is a little bittersweet, but hopeful. The entire time I read this I pictured it in my head as a cartoon from the 60's or 70's for kids. Perhaps it was the influence of the illustration style or maybe it was the light feel of the story. Even the serious parts don't feel overly heavy. It's cheery and happy and sweet. It would appeal to a variety of ages. Everyone will fall in love with Roz and Brightbill.

I recently featured this in Brainstorm 73. See Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers there.

Young Adult Fiction Resources

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schilz
Joan Skaggs is stuck in a dead end life. Her father has taken her out of school and expects her to do all the female jobs on the farm. He doesn't think she deserves any money of her own, and doesn't expect her to ever marry. When he decides she's wasting too much time reading (even though she does it after her chores are done) and burns her books, Joan decides to run away. With money secretly left for her by her dead mother, Joan escapes to Baltimore and finds a position with the Rosenberg family as their hired girl to help their aging servant Malka. In order to secure her position, Joan changes her name to Janet Lovelace and says she is 18 instead of 14. Through her diary entries, readers watch Janet, a Catholic, adjust to city life in a Jewish household, and follow her on all the ups and downs of a teenage girl trying to make it on her own in the 1911s.

Joan/Janet reminded me of a mix of Anne Shirley and Pollyanna. She has pluck and determination, but is also a bit naive at times. She craves more knowledge and longs to be loved, and finds both in the most unexpected ways. She does the best she can, often bungles it in a well-meaning way, but also inevitably ends up helping those around her in unexpected ways. So the book reads like a classic historical fiction. I loved the first half of her story, found the bits on Jewish customs interesting as well as the way Janet and the Rosenbergs work out their differences of faith, rolled my eyes a little at her "falling in love" towards the end (though it is oh so believable of a teenage girl), but liked the way the book wrapped up.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Jewish Life/Multicultural Read: This book provides an eye-opening education on what a Jewish household of early 1900s America was like. You learn a lot about their faith and practices through Joan’s working there.
• Historical Fiction Fans: A traditional-feeling historical fiction set in 1911s Baltimore. 
• Fans of Anne Shirley, Jo March or Pollyanna: Joan/Janet reminded me a lot of these classic heroines. If you like their adventures, you should give this book a try.

Hattie Big Sky (Hattie, #1) by Kirby Larson
Hattie Brooks has been tossed from family member to distant family member ever since the death of her parents. She feels like she has never felt settled or really part of a family, and her present position with the overbearing Aunt Ivy and sweet (but mostly too quiet for Hattie's good) Uncle Holt is getting more and more tenuous when she gets a letter from Montana. The letter is from her mother's brother Charlie telling her that he is passing on his claim to her as he is dying, "all" she has to do is prove up on it...oh, and bring a cat. Eager at the chance to have something of her own, Hattie boards the train and sets out from Iowa to Montana. She arrives and finds out in order to prove the claim she will need to put up a LOT of fencing and plant and harvest 40 acres. Hattie has never done any of this before, but she thanks God for some kind neighbors He's placed near her who do know about all this stuff. Hattie arrives in January and has until November to prove the claim. Some of those in the area scoff at the 16 year old trying to make it on her own, and it soon becomes clear the Martin family has their eyes on adding her land to theirs. That might not be so bad, but Traft Martin leads a gang of cowboys who are enforcing patriotism in the area to support the WWI effort. Their methods are a bit suspect, and it sure seems they only believe settlers of German heritage are the "unpatriotic" ones. Hattie doesn't like the way they treat her friend Perilee and her husband Karl one bit, and it could land her in trouble with Traft and gang. Can the town and surrounding area make it through the war without tearing each other apart, and can Hattie make it to proving her claim in November? Oh, and how about Hattie's friend Charlie off in France, will he make it home in one piece?

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Little House/Historical Fans: Hattie’s story feels quite a bit like a Little House story for teens. It is quite interesting, especially knowing that the author based it on her great grandmother's life. And a heartfelt read, telling a story of a teen girl gaining some grounding and learning who she is through the trials and joys of one year. I was a little surprised at part of the ending, but I appreciated the realism of it. I was also pleasantly surprised by the portrayal of Hattie's faith in God. I didn't expect it in a "secular" book, but enjoyed it and felt it fit the time period well too.
• WWI Era in the US: It is unusual to find a ranching/out west story during the time of motor cars and WWI. Larson did a great job of weaving in current events from 1918. I learned a lot about prairie life during the first world war from this.
• Work Ethic: There’s a lot modern teens could learn from Hattie’s work ethic. Suffice it to say, she isn’t one to laze about and she isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. A great discussion question for teens would be whether or not they would be willing to try what Hattie tried to have a place of their own. Would they be willing to work that hard for something else, or do they feel they already have?
• Characters to Love: Hattie is a spunky, character easy to cheer on.

Hattie Ever After (Hattie, #2) by Kirby Larson
Hattie Brooks is finishing off her work as a chamber maid in the Vida, Montana hotel when she suddenly gets the chance to go to San Francisco with a traveling group of vaudeville players as their wardrobe manager. She also has an offer of marriage from her long-time friend Charlie, and though she deeply cares for Charlie, Hattie feels like she really needs to figure some things out before committing to settle down. Getting her little letters home about life on a claim published has given her the writing bug, and Hattie dreams of writing for a newspaper, though she knows that her chances as a female reporter are slim. Once in San Francisco, Hattie stumbles on a chance to start from the ground floor in the newspaper business, working as a cleaning lady at night. She jumps at the chance to get her foot anywhere in the door. Also, seeing that the newspaper has a "morgue" (storage room of past issues) motivates Hattie to do research on her Uncle. Because Uncle Chester recently received a piece of mail from San Francisco that included a love token. Hattie determines to track down this Ruby from her Uncle's past. First of all, to let the poor woman know that Chester is dead, and secondly, in hopes that Ruby can shed more light on this mysterious man. Hattie quickly moves up the ladder in the newspaper office, when she uses her time in the morgue to help answer a reporter's scribbled question on his desk. Ned, a reporter whose sister worked in the vaudeville troupe with Hattie, champions her cause and eventually helps get her writing skills noticed as well. As Hattie moves up in the newspaper world, she also eventually learns more about Uncle Chester and Ruby, and eventually more about her true heart's desires.

Whereas Hattie Big Sky felt like a Laura Ingalls Wilder story for the YA crowd, this book felt like reading the book equivalent of a 1930-40s black and white movie. It had all the flavor and feel of a movie that would star Barbara Stanwyck or Ginger Rogers as the undaunted and precocious Hattie, and I loved it. Parts of it, like the truth about Ruby, were easily predicted. But other parts, like where Hattie would eventually end up and with whom, were a little harder to pin down beforehand. Overall, a fun historical fiction with some good subtle messages along the way.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Fans of Black & White Movies: This book reads like a movie from the 1930s starring a plucky young woman eager to prove herself as a reporter and solve a family mystery along the way.
• Historical Fiction: This is a fun, clean historical fiction set in early 1900s San Francisco for teens with touches of romance, some great life lessons, and just enough mystery to keep the pages turning.
• Reluctant Readers: I know, historical fiction isn’t super popular with teens right now. But the size of this and it’s predecessor will be tantalizing for teens. This is a fairly quick read compared to other YA lit out there two or three times its length. It will only take a few hours to read, and it is hard not to start cheering for Hattie.

A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier
When the Spanish flu hits Cleo Berry’s city in Oregon in the fall of 1918, her brother and sister-in-law are down in San Francisco and their house keeper is visiting her family and Washington. The mayor has ordered the closing of all schools, and Cleo decides to return to her empty home rather than wait for her brother at boarding school. That night she sees an ad in the newspaper from the Red Cross asking for help, particularly those with cars and/or nursing backgrounds. Cleo doesn’t have a nursing degree. In fact, she can’t figure out what she’s going to do after graduation from high school in the spring, but she does have a car and her own past makes her eager to make sure there aren’t people out there suffering alone. So the next day she finds herself signed up with the Red Cross, armed with an armband, information brochures, gauze masks and a neighborhood to check. She goes door to door making sure everyone at home is fine, or if someone is sick that there are healthy people able to take care of them. As the days go by, the intensity of the situation helps her form fast friendships with others working to save whoever they can. She becomes good friends with another 17 year old volunteer, Kate, the motherly woman in charge of the nurses, Hannah, and a young medical student who was injured in the war, Edmund (and who has an annoying/endearing habit of trying to make sure Cleo is safe). Many volunteers barely make it through one day canvasing neighborhoods and working in the make-shift hospital. Cleo is definitely tempted to quit, but even when tragedy strikes close to home, she finds herself driven to help. And Hannah thinks Cleo may have found some future direction in the midst of this horrible pandemic.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Historical Fiction/Spanish Flu: I devoured this in just a few hours. It was so well written, the history elements are spot on, and I loved the balance of revulsion at the horror but hearts deep enough to persevere on and do something. The horrors of the flu are conveyed but the book doesn’t smoosh readers’ faces in it or overdo it. 
• Count Your Blessings: The mortality rate of the flu is sobering, yes, but the way the book is done should leave readers still hopeful, challenged to do more with their own lives, and with a better appreciation for what they do have.
• Normal Girl Doing Extraordinary Good: Cleo could have given up several times, but she chooses to do what is right and loving, even if it costs her. Her back story provides a very believable drive for this, but she still goes above and beyond even what you might expect. She’s also very relatable in feeling like she is too ordinary to be good for any occupation, something I think a lot of young adults wrestle with. And even though she feels ordinary, she is anything but. I love her heart and what an incredible role model she is. 
• Light/Classic Historical Romance: The little romance that develops between her and Edmund is sweet and spunky (shades of Anne and Gilbert), and adorable. My only qualm with the book is that I wanted a little more from the ending. But I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

Nonfiction Resource

Everybody Paints by Susan Goldman Rubin
The author introduces readers to three generations of the Wyeth family, focusing on N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth, and Jamie Wyeth (though other artists in the family also frequently appear, like N.C.’s sister Carolyn). You also get little looks into the life of Howard Pyle (who apprenticed N.C.).

A big part of classics are the illustrations that brought them to life. I’ve always been a fan of the illustrated classics N.C. Wyeth is famous for illustrating. I found the information on the entire Wyeth family fascinating. This book just focuses on main points of their lives, but it was sufficient to give a good introduction to each generation. I learned a lot.

Activity Tie-in/Target Readers:

• Art Lovers/Potential Artists: The best part about this book is the way it has been put together, it feels like a serious work of art itself. Numerous painting reproductions, photographs of the family, the glossy paper, and full color pages make this a feast for the eyes as well as a highly readable biography. It also gives great insight into how much work is required of painters. Several Wyeth family members’ daily routines are included, and all were hard working. It’s a good dose of reality for want to be painters who think its going to be all fun and ease.
• Biography Fans: This is a very readable biography about people whose work you have probably come across at some point in your life whether you realize it or not. For example, that picture you have in your head of what A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court's hero looks like? I don't know about you, but mine came from an illustration by N.C. Wyeth.