WENCH by Dolen Perkins- Valdez

Harper Collins Publishers
Copyright: 201
Review copy provided by publisher

After I reviewed Kathryn Stockett's THE HELP, a publisher sent me WENCH, the debut novel of Dolen Perkins-Valdez. "If you loved THE HELP," she said, "you'll loved this one too." And she was absolutely right.

WENCH is the story of Lizzie, a slave owned by Master Drayle. Drayle's wife, Francesca, is unable to have children, and Drayle has chosen Lizzie as his mistress or wench. She has borne him two children. Each summer, Lizzie and Drayle travel to Tawawa, a resort in Northern Ohio, where wealthy slave owners live openly with their slave mistresses. At Tawawa, Lizzie becomes friends with Reenie and Sweet, two women in similar circumstances. Even though Ohio is a free state, Lizzie, Reenie, and Sweet, do not question their lives. They are treated reasonably well by their owners. They have left their own children and other family members at their respective plantations and look forward to returning to them. All of this changes, however, the summer Lizzie, Reenie and Sweet meet Mawu, another slave. Mawu wants to be free, and she knows how it can be done. She pushes the others to consider their choices and accompany her to escape to freedom.

I love historical fiction because it brings me to whole new understandings of different times and places, and this book was no exception. Yeah, I knew that slave owners did whatever they wanted with their slaves and often had children with them, but I never thought much about the men having long-term relationships, or taking their slave mistresses on vacations. Lizzie, Reenie, and Sweet have to make hard, hard decisions about freedom, about family and ultimately about who they want to be as human beings. And then there is the whole women and friendship aspect, which I always love…

Yeah, I totally agree with the person who provided me with this book, "If you loved THE HELP, you will also love WENCH…

ALFIE RUNS AWAY- Kenneth Cadow

Alfie does not like to take baths, make his bed, eat potatoes, or set the table. When his mother tries to throw away his favorite red shoes, Alfie decides things have gone too far, and makes plans to run away. He packs a water bottle, a box of crackers, a flashlight, three books, and his teddy bear and heads out to find a place where people don't make kids throw away their favorite, albeit too-small red shoes. The bag is a little heavy, however, so he settles down on a blanket in the yard…

I read ALFIE to a first grade class on the last day of school. It was 90 degrees outside, and almost that warm in our hundred year old, non air-conditioned building. The kids were excited and/or worried about getting out of school for the summer. Even so, this book brought forth lots of rich conversations. Everyone, of course, had a running away story to tell. There were also several favorite shoe stories. The kids had lots of great wonderings and comments about the book. J thought the mom was not really doing her job- she wanted the mom to lock the door and tell Alfie he couldn't go anywhere. K thought the mom should just tell Alfie they could go get new shoes, exactly like the old ones if he wanted them. M thought the mom should sneak into Alfie's room while he was asleep and replace the old shoes with new ones. P said, "I bet his mom is just trying to outsmart him. She probably knows he isn't going anywhere very far. Or if he does, she will follow him and bring him back when he gets tired."

Books as a way of helping kids explore big issues like the love of a parent or growing up… Could there be anything better?

POETRY FRIDAY.

Poetry Friday.
The last day of school.
Lots and lots and lots going on.
And in the middle of it all,
I need to stop
and breathe
and say thank you
to my amazing colleagues,
who not only teach
with huge passion
and great intellect
and enormous skill
every single day
but also
love and encourage,
and buy tennis shoes
and baby dolls,
and organize lacrosse teams
and take kids to art shows
and movies
and farms.
Because kids should have those experiences.
It is a privilege
and an honor
to share each day with you.

"Encouraged"

Because you love me I have much achieved,
Had you despised me then I must have failed,
But since I knew you trusted and believed,
I could not disappoint you and so prevailed.
Paul Laurence Dunbar

Read more Paul Laurence Dunbar here.

POETRY FRIDAY at MISS RUMPHIUS EFFECT.

PIGS TO THE RESCUE- JOHN HIMMELMAN

On Monday, Farmer Greenstalk's tractor breaks down. Pigs to the rescue! On Tuesday, Mrs Greenstalk gets a leak in her garden hose. Pigs to the rescue! On Wednesday, Jeffrey Greenstalk's kite gets stuck in the tree. Pigs to the rescue!

John Himmelman, author of KATIE LOVES THE KITTENS, is back again! The crazy antics of this herd of exuberant, overly helpful pigs are sure to hook primary grade kids. Days of the week, simple text, and supportive illustrations will make this book extra friendly for beginning readers. The surprise ending is reminiscent of Betsy Lewin's CLICK CLACK MOO series.

LULU'S PAJAMAS- LUCIE PAPINEAU

Each night, when it is time to go to bed, Lulu the mouse puts on her favorite pajamas, the ones that smell "as good as a pink dream" and are "as soft as a butterfly kiss," then snuggles in with Lili-poo, her pet ladybug (who never wears pajamas). One morning, Lulu decides she likes her pajamas so much that she will wear them to school. Things do not go quite as well as Lulu had hoped, however. The other children laugh at her. She gets fingerpaint, then glue, then spaghetti on her favorite pajamas. The bottoms get dusty when the class does the fairy dance. Lulu feels very sad and decides she will never wear her pajamas again…

This is a fun story, sure to be a hit with the preschool/kindergarten crowd, also a great "big sister" present for baby showers. Lulu is a spunky little thing, not unlike Kevin Henke's Lily, of purple plastic purse fame. She is strong willed and a little stubborn, but well-intentioned. Mama and Papa deal with Lulu firmly (only little mice who wear pajamas get bedtime stories) but also with humor (when Lulu decides to wear her pajamas to school, Papa wears his pajamas to drive her there). Stéphane Jorisch's detailed water color illustrations match the story perfectly.

POETRY FRIDAY

When I was a little girl, summers were times of huge fun. My sisters and I spent the long hot days splashing in the community pool, riding our bikes, having picnics at the top of a bluff behind our house, and playing endless games of neighborhood hide and seek in the dusky early evening. And there was always a vacation, usually back to the midwest to see grandparents and aunts and uncles.

My urban students' reality, however, is far different. Many of my kids will spend their summer in pieced together day care, or locked inside apartments with worried parents that call every 30 minutes to make sure that their kids are ok, because they can't afford day care. Some will spend part of their summer hungry, because they rely heavily on the school lunch program for sustenance. There won't be any swimming lessons, or soccer camps, or art clubs, let alone cross country vacations.

This week, at the poetry recital, our school psychologist shared a Langston Hughes poem that was new to me…

Merry Go Round
Where is the Jim Crow section
on this merry-go-round
Mister, because I want to ride.

…there ain't no back
To a merry-go-round
Where's the horse
For a kid that's black?

Langston Hughes

Read the rest of the poem here.

Laura Salas is hosting Poetry Friday here.

THE BIRTHDAY BALL- LOIS LOWRY

Hmmm. How to describe my latest read? OK, well, imagine a fairy tale with a strong and independent princess, a touch of Roald Dahl (including the bodily functions humor that causes 8-10 year olds to roll on the floor in glee), throw in a little bit of mistaken identity, and a little word play, and you pretty much have Lois Lowry's THE BIRTHDAY BALL.

THE CAST:

• Princess Patricia Priscilla- a bored adolescent princess, five days from her 16th birthday, where she will choose a husband
• King Lepodoptera- the Princess' butterfly-studying, naturalist father
• Queen Romelda Rebozo- the Princess' somewhat deaf mother
  
• Suitor #1: Duke Desmond of Dyspesia- so ugly a team of Royal Splashers do synchronized swimming exercises in lakes so the Prince will not see his own reflection
  
• Suitor #2- Prince Percival of Pustula- a black-clad, black-hearted prince who spends his days admiring himself in the mirror. The prince's valet, Hal, spends his days brushing dandruff off the prince's shoulders
• Suitor(s) #3 and #4- The Conjoint Counts, Colin and Cuthbert, who have never agreed on anything, except the fact that they want to marry Princess Patricia Priscilla

THE STORY:
The Princess, accompanied by her cat, Delicious (the one liners associated with the cat could provide weeks of word study- It's nutritious, Delicious! Stop looking avaricious, Delicious! No need to be surreptitious, Delicious!) decides to liven up her life by attending school with the peasants in the village, where she meets Rafe, the schoolmaster. The Princess invites the entire village to her birthday ball at the castle, where she declares her love for her true prince and they begin a not-so-typical happily ever after…

This book works for me on lots of levels- great story, terrific humor, well-crafted. I love Princess Patricia Priscilla's independence and also her compassion. I love the vocabulary and the word play-- this is the kind of book that makes kids fall in love with language. The pen and ink illustrations by Jules Feiffer (his best known work is probably THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH) are perfect for the story.

I wonder if I can squeeze this read aloud in somewhere in the the last ten days of school!