Great Books, part 1

I have started reading for the Great Books Workshop in April. This is an annual workshop featuring a noted children's author or illustrator as the speaker (this year, Bruce Coville) and 3 discussion sessions. What this means for my reading project is that I'm stepping away from adult genres and am taking a look at some children's titles.

This month I tackled my "Great Books for Kids" books. This category is for upper elementary and middle school books. I chose the "Little Intrigues" group.

1. The case of the left-handed lady by Nancy Springer features 14 year old Enola Holmes (the younger sister of Sherlock) trying to evade discovery by her brothers (since she is living on her own) and trying to locate the missing Lady Cecily. Enola is extremely clever and capable and does "quite well on her own". I like this book and think that it will appeal to middle school girls looking for an independent heroine who is having a great adventure.

2. Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R. L. LeFevers features another clever, capable and independent heroine. This time it is 11 year old Theodosia, who spends most of her time in the Museum of Legends and Antiquities in London, where her father is head curator and her mother is traveling the world (currently concentrating in Egypt) looking for artifacts. Theodosia can feel the black magic emanating from the artifacts and must embark on a true adventure to recover and return a most powerful amulet, the Heart of Egypt. There a little Indiana Jones feel to this one and enough skulduggery that boys, able to look beyond the female title character, may enjoy this as well as the girls will.

3. In The Theft & the Miracle by Rebecca Wade, 12 year old Hannah Price is not particularly popular. She is a little overweight and acne prone. And she is a wonderful artist. One day she finds shelter from the rain in the local cathedral and, as if in a trance, draws a remarkable likeness of a statue of the Virgin and Child. The next day the Child is stolen and Hannah is caught up in the effort to find it before it is destroyed. This is an interesting story and was a quick read. It has an underlying message of esteem and self acceptance which may be of interest to girls of this age.

4. The Secret of the Priest's Grotto: A Holocaust Survival Story by Peter Lane Taylor chronicles the true story of a group of Ukrainian Jews who survived the Holocaust by moving into a series of gypsum caves. The book details an expedition to explore the caves and recover artifacts with the true story and recollections of the survivors themselves. Photographs document both time periods. This is a tremendous story of people working together to ensure the survival of the whole group. It is almost unimaginable to conceive of how they accomplished this. A good story for the history and the inspiration for both boys and girls.