Deborah Hopkinson

   Deborah has a very busy life, with a career at Oregon State University where she is director of foundation relations, and as the mother of a son in high school, a daughter in college and the wife of a budding viticulturist. She spends plenty of time during the month commuting between her job and apartment in Corvallis and her family home in Walla Walla. How she manages time to find the time to undertake research and write such wonderful books is truly amazing.

   Deborah told me that she had always wanted to be a writer and all her jobs have included writing in some form, but she wanted to nourish the creative side of her writing. After producing her first story, it took two years for it to sell. Since rejection is also a part of her everyday life in fundraising, Deborah was better prepared than most when that happened to her own creative work.

   As a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Deborah was encouraged to try writing for magazines. It was an excellent suggestion and she knows that really learned the craft while working with an editor and going through the revision process. "It is really important to get accustomed to the collaborative process and the process of revision" and one should not take the comments and criticisms as personal attacks--the purpose is to make the story better

   Her first book was a nonfiction book--Pearl Harbor. It was aimed at the school library market. However it was her picture book Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt that came out in 1993 that really launched her writing career. She and illustrator James Ransome have another book that sounds really interesting. Entitled Sky Boys, it is the story of the construction of the Empire State building. It is also a picture book and it celebrates the 75th anniversary of the building coming up in 2006.

   Deoborah also has taught Children's Literature at Whitman College and does some book reviewing. Since Deborah reads quite a lot, she was intrigued when she read the story of a former slave (Ella Sheppard) who found a way to save Fisk University. She wondered why she and therefore many others did not know about Ella's story. Patricia McKissack had mentioned the Jubilee Singers and their fundraising efforts on behalf of Fisk in one of her books, but apparently she was not in a position to follow up on the story. Deborah did the research and produced A Band of Angels which has received considerable praise. She even had an opportunity to meet the great-grandmother of Ella who is featured in the story. Although Deborah's first draft told the story in the first person through Ella, her editor suggest a revision and it was written from the viewpoint of Ella's great-great granddaughter. Also the title Deborah had originally considered was "Making Book Sing" but the final title, I think is much more appropriate to this heartwarming story.

   Fannie in the Kitchen was an easy book to write according to Deborah and it came about when Deborah who enjoys looking at various source books about women inventors, saw a mention of Fannie Farmer who developed the concept of modern recipes. The whole idea seemed like fun. The art in this book is particularly appealing. The artist scanned old art and created collages from Victorian cutouts and her own watercolors and touches. When Deborah visits schools, she takes laminated copies of book jackets and asks kids to identify the illustrators who have done her books. James Ransome has even given her slides of his work and even some shots of the historical cabins in Williamsburg that he used as the basis for the pictures in Sweet Clara.

   The Klondike Kid trilogy was also based on research that Deborah undertook at the University of Washington. She noted that she had an opportunity to use unpublished material. Deborah also found a book that contained pictures from glass plates of the period. Deborah sent the artist Bill Farnsworth a book of photographs which he was able to use when creating the illustrations in the second book including the cover. It all gives her book a ring of truth about that particular period in time. It triggered a brief discussion about the tug between the value of books and that of new technology in the school libraries. Today, most kids do not turn to books as the first place to undertake research.

   Her latest projects include Up Before Daybreak: People and Cotton in America and Saving Strawberry Farm illustrated by Rachel Isadora. The first book is a social history along the lines of Shutting Out the Sky. Deborah focuses on peoples' lives following them from the cotton fields to the production of the final fabric. It is an overview of that period of time in American history and her sources included photographs, oral histories and other research materials. Having grown up in Lowell, Massachusetts she knows about mill works. (Her most recently published book in the Dear America series -Hear My Sorrow, The Diary of Angela Denoto, a Shirtwaist Worker focuses on similar issues.) The second book, Saving Strawberry Farm is set during the depression and recounts the struggles to save a neighboring farm.

   Deborah as you can see from the sampling below has written many award winning and highly acclaimed books. Her research and ability to write fascinating stories should keep us all reading her books for many years to come.

For more information about Deborah, please visit her website

Contributor: Marilyn Courtot

Reviews

Apples to Oregon
Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
   Hold onto your hats and prepare for the "slightly true" story about how a very determined man had the "most daring adventure in the history of fruit." It was quite simple really; the narrator's daddy loved his fruit trees (especially the apples) so much that when it was decided that the family should travel to Oregon from their home in Iowa, he made plans to take hundred of his beloved trees with him. Thus it was that this extraordinary man and his family set off across the country with two covered wagons, one of which was filled with fruit trees. For the children it was a grand adventure, living like pioneers and sleeping under the stars. Of course, there was more than the usual number of problems to overcome. How, for example, was one to get the "nursery wagon" across the great Platte River? Daddy found a way, but it was his brave and generous children who made the feat possible. In fact daddy's family go through a great deal for those trees and one cannot help admiring them for their dedication to daddy's cause. A tall tale that is based on a true story, this book is sure to entertain the whole family. Fast paced and full of spirited oil paintings, it is perfect for reading aloud. In the back of the book, the author describes the real man who brought seven hundred plants and young fruit trees from Salem, Iowa to a farm just south of Portland, Oregon. 2004, Atheneum, Ages 4 to 8, $15.95. Reviewer: Marya Jansen-Gruber (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 0-689-84769-6

A Band of Angels: A Story Inspired by the Jubilee Singers
Deborah Hopkinson
Ilustrated by Raúl Colón
   Ella Sheppard was born into slavery, but when she reached fourteen, slaves were set free. She gathered what little money she had and headed off to Fisk School, a new school for freed slaves. Times were very hard, and the school was about to close for lack of funds. Ella had a magnificent voice and also could play the piano. Professor White, the music teacher, thought of a way to help. He would take his chorus, with Ella, on tour. However, it seemed that people didn't want to hear popular white songs from a black chorus. In despair one night, Ella began to play and sing one of the slave songs. The audience was mesmerized. From that night on, they sang spirituals, or jubilee songs--songs of hope and freedom. They became successful, traveled the world, and saved the school. While the tale is fiction, it is based on real events and would make a wonderful read-aloud in individual or group settings. Raúl Colón's recognizable watercolor and pencil art in warm browns and golds suits the period and mood of the story. 1999, Atheneum, $16.00. Ages 5 to 9. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature).

   Ella was born into slavery but "no one could chain her voice." Freed in adolescence, Ella longs for an education, and does all she can to earn money to attend the newly founded Fisk School in Nashville. When the school flounders, Ella and others in the chorus take to the road to sing their way to supporting Fisk. Travel is miserable, lodgings and restaurants refuse them and their renditions of popular songs fail to appeal to audiences. Saddened, Ella leads the others in singing hopeful spirituals, and their success leads the singers to tour the world and set a tradition of those who "keep the old songs alive." Ella Sheppard is the focus character in this story inspired by the Jubilee Singers. The effect of the singers on musical history is important, but so are the themes of education and how hard one woman works to attain it. 1999, Atheneum, $16.00. Ages 7 to 10. Reviewer: Susie Wilde (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
   Booklist Book Review Stars, 1999; United States
   Capitol Choices, 1999; The Capitol Choices Committee; United States
   Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001; H.W. Wilson; United States
   The Children's Literature Choice List, 2000; Children's Literature; United States
   Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 1999; American Library Association-Booklist; United States
   Kirkus Book Review Stars, 1999; United States
   Notable Books for a Global Society, 2000; International Reading Association; United States
   Notable Books for Children, 2000; American Library Association-ALSC; United States
   Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts, 2000; National Council of Teachers of English; United States
   Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, January 1999; Cahners; United States
   Recommended Literature: Kindergarten through Grade Twelve, 2002; California Department of Education; California
   School Library Journal Book Review Stars, February 1999; Cahners; United States
   Smithsonian Magazine's Notable Books for Children, 1999; Smithsonian; United States
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
   The Golden Kite Award Award Book 1999 Picture Book Text United States
   Jane Addams Children's Book Award Honor Book 2000 Picture Book United States State and Provincial Reading Lists:
   Delaware Diamonds, 2001-2002; Nominee; Grades 3-5; Delaware
   South Carolina Book Awards, 2001-2002; Nominee; Children's Book; South Carolina
ISBN: 0-689-81062-8

Birdie's Lighthouse
Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by Kimberly Bulcken Root
   In this engaging fictional diary, readers meet ten year old Birdie, on Turtle Island, off the coast of Maine, in 1855. Her seaman father, the lighthouse keeper, becomes ill, and it falls to Birdie to keep the wicks trimmed, the reflectors shined and the oil full. Simply written as a series of journal entries, the story is compelling as Birdie overcomes fear, nor'easters and loneliness. Misty pen and ink drawings reveal a by-gone era and capture the emotions of a brave young lady. Birdie is a composite of several female keepers who are mentioned at the conclusion. 1997, Anne Schwartz Books/Atheneum, $15.00. Ages 4 to 9. Reviewer: Deborah Zink Roffino (Children's Literature).

   Bertha, "Birdie" Holland lives by the sea in Maine with her family. Her father is a fisherman and as she anxiously waits for him to come home Birdie writes about her life in a diary that her father gave her for her tenth birthday. The whole family is afraid for Birdie's father and hope that the lighthouse on Turtle Island will help guide him home. When Birdie's father comes home they discover that they need not worry about him going out fishing any longer for he has a new job as the lighthouse keeper. The whole family will be moving to lonely Turtle Island to begin a new life. It is not easy adjusting to their life on the barren little island and Birdie misses some of the things that she had in her old life. At the same time she discovers new pleasures and treasures in her new home. Perhaps the best part of things is when Birdie has to become her father's helper. Then one night a northeaster blows up and Birdie has to tend the light on her own. This is a spirited tale gives us a picture of a fascinating way of life which is, alas, mostly a thing of the past. It also shows us how a young person can summon up great courage in a time of crisis. 2000, Simon and Schuster, Ages 5 to 9, $14.15. Reviewer: Marya Jansen-Gruber (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
   The Best Children's Books of the Year, 1998; Bank Street College of Education; United States
   Bulletin Blue Ribbons, 1997; Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books; United States
   Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001; H.W. Wilson; United States State and Provincial Reading Lists:
   Maine Student Book Award, 1998-1999; Nominee; Maine
ISBN: 0-689-83529-9
ISBN: 0-689-81052-0

Bluebird Summer
Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by Bethanne Andersen
   Golden seas of wheat, eggshell-smooth piecrusts, mazes of marigolds, long stories, pleasant afternoons in the garden and the happy sound of bluebirds singing are sweet summertime memories dear to Mags and Cody. Now, with Grandma gone, summer is too quiet. Cody was the first to notice that, without Grandma's garden, the bluebirds stopped coming. But this sparks an idea in Mags. Pulling on her jeans and Grandma's straw sun hat, Mags is determined to rejuvenate the little garden of honey suckle, holly and Virginia creeper. This author has a gift for weaving soft, natural imagery with quiet reflection and family love. The accompanying watercolors are equally stirring and sensual. Together, the creators of this picture book have given readers an opportunity to feel hopeful and alive. 2001, Greenwillow Books, $15.95. Ages 6 up. Reviewer: Leslie Verzi Julian (Children's Literature).

   Grieving and healing are the concentrations of Deborah Hopkinson's Bluebird Summer. The viewpoint character is Mags, a tender child who sees and senses changes in her world; these are skillfully rendered with Hopkinson's strong imagery. Mags and her younger brother, Cody, visit her grandfather soon after their grandmother's death. Mags misses the sight of her grandmother rolling piecrust as smooth as an eggshell, or perched on a stool beside the tub reading stories until our fingers pruned up. Her tended garden, once a maze of marigolds, bluebells and sunflowers is now just a tangle of thistle and grass, and the many bluebirds who visited are gone. Hopkinson not only lets us enter the minds and hearts of this hurting family, she sets up a metaphor for healing. Mags remembers that it was her grandmother's garden that brought the bluebirds, and she begins to putter. Her grandfather and Cody pitch in to reclaim the garden, but Cody is more nuisance than help. When Cody goes missing, Mags and her grandfather discover him miles away at a store where he's found a bluebird house. Right there in the store, the three experience one of those moments that gather everything into it--the bluebird, the garden, the love for their grandmother and the laughter and joy that brings back memories of her. Bethanne Andersen's illustrations are soft and bright, as if to accompany the sad tones that are only cloaking the brilliance of the memories this family has to share. 2001, Greenwillow, $15.95. Ages 6 up. Reviewer: Susie Wilde (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
   The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2002; Bank Street College of Education; United States
   Books About Trauma, Tragedy and Loss, 2002; Children's Book Council; United States
   Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts, 2002; National Council of Teachers of English; United States
   Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2002; National Council for the Social Studies NCSS; United States
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
   The Golden Kite Award Honor Book 2001 Picture Book-Text United States
ISBN: 0-688-17398-5
ISBN: 0-688-17399-3

Cabin in Snow: Book Two of the Prairie Skies Series
Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by Patrick Faricy
   Charlie has to learn so many new things. It is hard for him because he has the tendency to daydream, to wander off with his dog Lion and to forget what it is he is supposed to be doing. When Charlie and his father go to town one day they discover that trouble is brewing. Suddenly His father tells him to drive the wagon home with the supplies. His father is worried about Charlie's mother who is expecting a baby at any time. It is up to Charlie to take care of his mother and his sisters. To make matters worse, a blizzard is on its way and Charlie's family has never experience a prairie snowstorm before. On the way home, Charlie runs into trouble and he gets help from a most unexpected quarter. It is Mr. Morgan, the man from Missouri whom Charlie's family has always regarded with disfavor, who helps the boy get back to his cabin. In fact Charlie and his whole family discover that they cannot judge people too hastily, and that preconceptions may in fact be wrong. Even Charlie's stubborn sister Ida Jane has to admit that the people who help them are truly good, even if they are from pro-slavery Missouri. Both families, seemingly on opposite sides of the slavery debate, discover that they have a common ground, Set against the backdrop of the conflict over whether Kansas should be a slave state or not, this second installment in the "Prairie Skies" series, is just as captivating as the first book. 2002, Simon and Schuster, Ages 6 to 8, $3.99. Reviewer: Marya Jansen-Gruber (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 0-689-84351-8

Fannie in the Kitchen
Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
   When Marcia Shaw's mother is about to have a baby, she hires young Fannie Farmer to help out in her home. Marcia is offended. First, although only a child, she considers herself an ideal mother's helper, who can make perfect long candles, scrub laundry, polish lamp chimneys and even bake rather blackened cookies. Second, she doesn't want a new baby. She hopes Fannie can't cook and will soon be gone. The serene, red-haired Fannie, however, can cook like a dream. Marcia is soon fascinated by Fannie's skill and wants to do as well. After disasters with flipped griddlecakes and a rotten egg in her cake, Marcia is ready to learn Fannie's secrets and becomes an apt pupil in the kitchen. As Fannie guides her through culinary intricacies, Marcia persuades her to write all the instructions down. This notebook eventually leads to the creation of the Boston Cooking School Cookbook, perhaps better known as The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. The little-known facts of the story are charmingly embellished, gathered into a logical whole, and recorded in sprightly, easy-to-read prose. Lively full and double page illustrations done in pen and ink and watercolor are computer enhanced by nineteenth century engravings and have a fine period flavor. 2001, Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, $16.00. Ages 4 to 9. Reviewer: Patricia Dole (Children's Literature).

   Deborah Hopkinson takes a lively, child-centered approach in Fannie in the Kitchen. Illustrator, Nancy Carpenter, plays along by incorporating vintage engravings in her exuberant pen and ink and watercolor pictures. The young heroine, Marcia Shaw, feels displaced when her very pregnant mother announces she's hiring a mother's helper. Marcia intends to be a pill, but Fanny appeals to the child's ego and pulls her into the fun of cooking. Fanny asks for Marcia's help in making biscuits, adding "make them nice and small. Small biscuits are more dainty, don't you think?" Fanny is judicious with her tips, attuned to Marcia's curiosity and provides a path to learning. She gives Marcia ample opportunities to fail and waits for her questions, which lead to eventual success. Hopkinson's skills with dialogue animate the biography, celebrate Fanny's spirit, wisdom and passion for cooking, and convincingly depict the growing relationship between Fanny and Marcia. Hopkinson and Carpenter's descriptions and detailing invite readers into this amazing kitchen where there are "mashed potatoes fluffier than clouds" and "blueberry pies sweeter than a summer sky." Just desserts come at the end when the reader is rewarded with a recipe for Fannie Farmer's Famous Griddle Cakes. 2001, Atheneum, $16.00. Ages 6 to 9. Reviewer: Susie Wilde (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
   The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2002; Bank Street College of Education; United States
   Booklist Book Review Stars, 2001; United States
   Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, Supplement, 2002; H.W. Wilson; United States
   Kirkus Book Review Stars, 2001; United States
   Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books, 2001; Cahners; United States
   Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, April 2001; Cahners; United States
   School Library Journal Book Review Stars, May 2001; Cahners; United States
   Smithsonian Magazine's Notable Books for Children, 2001; Smithsonian; United States State and Provincial Reading Lists:
   Beehive Award, 2003-2004; Nominee; Informational Books; Utah
   Children's Crown Award, 2004; Nominee; United States
   Red Clover Children's Choice Picture Book Award, 2002-2003; Nominee; Vermont
ISBN: 0-689-81965-X

Girl Wonder: A Baseball Story in Nine Innings
Deborah Hopkinson
Pictures by Terry Widener
   Deborah Hopkinson's Girl Wonder: A Baseball Story in Nine Innings scores a run! This fictional story was inspired by a real pioneering baseball player, Alta Weiss. Hopkinson's clever organization and engaging first person narrator are hits. Ingeniously, she calls the book's short chapters "innings" and fills nine of them with Alta's humorous, lyrical voice. Both character and the book's rural setting are quickly established with colorful sensory imagery and lots of colloquial conversation. In the first inning, Alta hurls a corncob across the barnyard and bops an old barn cat, and by the second she's wearing a glove as big as "one of Mama's prize sunflowers" and showing herself to be a "real Girl Wonder." Hopinkson strengthens settings, situations, and our caring for Alta by the emotions she pairs with images. In the third inning, Alta practices in a "bitter Ohio cold that couldn't put out the fire inside" her. We come to admire Alta's brains as well as her fast balls. She convinces an unwilling coach to put her on a semi-pro male team by reminding him of potential ticket sales. And by the book's end, in the ninth inning, Alta has become a doctor, again a pioneer, for she is the "only girl in the class of 1914." Hopkinson's love of word play shines through Alta's exuberant expression of her baseball passion. Terry Widener proves he is a major league illustrator. His larger than life figures fit Hopkinson's story like a glove! 2003, Atheneum, $16.95. Ages 5 to 9. Reviewer: Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)

   This is a creative telling of the life of Alta Weiss, a female pitcher on Ohio's semipro male team, the Vermilion Independents. It is divided into nine moments of time, in other words, her nine innings of life. Inning number one tells of her first real pitch at age two when she threw a corncob at a pesky cat, smacking it hard and true. Inning number four describes her ability to strike out every boy in town, and conversations with friends that claim "you're almost a lady...Isn't time you quit playing games?" The seventh inning stretch occurs when her first true attempt as a semipro player is tested. Alta pitches five innings, plays on first, and leads the team to a victory. At the ninth inning and the conclusion of the book, the reader learns of Alta's professional move into medicine and her graduation from an otherwise all-male medical school in 1914. The illustrations accompanying this text consist of broad and bold pastel strokes. There is a good use of shadow throughout, bringing depth and strength to the pages. This book is an excellent resource for anyone wishing to convey the importance of determination and self-truth. 2003, Antheneum Books for Young Readers, $16.95. Ages 5 to 10. Reviewer: Andrea Sears Andrews (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
   Amelia Bloomer Project, 2004; American Library Association-SRRT; United States
   Best Children's Books of the Year, 2004; Bank Street College of Education; United States
   Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, Supplement, 2004; H.W. Wilson
   The Children's Literature Choice List, 2004; Children's Literature; United States Choices, 2004; Cooperative Children's Book Center; United States
   Kirkus Book Review Stars, 2003; United States
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
   Great Lakes Great Book Award Winner 2003 United States
   Jane Addams Children's Book Award Honor 2003 Picture Book United States State and Provincial Reading Lists:
   Red Clover Children's Choice Picture Book Award, 2004-2005; Nominee; Grades K-4; Vermont
ISBN: 0-689-83300-8

The Klondike Kid: Book One: Sailing for Gold
Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
   Davey is struggling to figure out what he should do. Not long ago his beloved momma died and he was left without a relative in site to help him. He knows that he has an Uncle Walt who was in Alaska. Davey writes to his uncle, but gets no reply. He decides to go to Alaska to find his uncle. Then something truly remarkable happens. News arrives that there is a ship arriving in Seattle harbor that carries bags and bags of gold dust and gold nuggets found in Bonanza Creek in Canada's Yukon Territory. Soon Seattle is throbbing with excitement. Men and women from all over the country, planning to head out to try their luck in the Klondike, crowd into the city. In the midst of this chaos and confusion, Davey persists in working toward his dream by earning money carrying bags and selling newspapers. His determination is tested repeatedly as one thing after another goes wrong. Davey refuses to give up and it seems he might get to Alaska after all. Could his uncle have joined the mad dash to the Klondike and does Davey make the grueling journey to Canada to find him? In her customary way, Deborah Hopkinson has created a book that is fascinating, exciting, and historically significant. Hopkinson manages to wed a simple tale of a boy looking for a family to the backdrop of the great Klondike Gold Rush. 2004, Simon and Schuster, Ages 6 to 8, $3.99. Reviewer: Marya Jansen-Gruber (Children's Literature).

   David ("Davey") Hill is an 11-year-old boy living in Seattle in July 1897--the time of the Klondike River gold rush. He is an orphan staying at Mrs. Tinker's rooming house, where he had lived with his mother before she died. Davey is saving the nickels and dimes he makes carrying bags for people arriving in town. His dream is to save enough money to book passage to Alaska and find his Uncle Walt. Davey is an honest kid with boundless energy and a single-minded focus. Readers will find it easy to imagine themselves right there in Seattle alongside Davey during this exciting time in America's history. The vivid writing and excellent dialogue bring the characters to life. The author captures the sights and sounds of a heady period, when hundreds left families and jobs in search of gold and instant wealth. Davey faces several obstacles as he tries to achieve his goal. Readers will identify with and cheer him on. This title is the first book in a trilogy about the Klondike Kid. Readers will eagerly take up the second and third books to see how Davey fares in his quest. This book is also one in the publisher's "Ready-for-Chapters" series. 2004, Aladdin Paperbacks/Simon & Schuster, Ages 6 to 9, $3.99. Reviewer: Jeanne K. Pettenati (Children's Literature).
ISBN 0-689-86031-5

The Klondike Kid: Book Two: The Long Trail
Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
   Davey is finally on his way. A stowaway on a ship bound for Alaska, he is determined to find his only living relative, his uncle Walt whose last letter was written someplace "up north." Davey is sure that his uncle is somewhere in the Klondike, looking for gold, and the boy will not give up his quest to find Uncle Walt even when he is faced with the most dreadful odds. Luckily Davey reconnects with one of his friends from his days in Seattle, a photographer called Erik Larsen who makes wonderful pictures but who needs someone to help out with the more practical side of life. The two friends work hard, save money, buy all the supplies that they need to be allowed into Canada, and finally set off for the Chilkoot Trail. It turns out that hauling a year's worth of supplies up a mountain is even worse than either of them imagined; the exhaustion, pain, and loss of hope that they endure is truly dreadful. It is only when Erik gets ill that Davey really begins to wonder if they are going to make it. Just when he thinks that he cannot possibly manage any longer, help arrives. Davey learns that looks can truly be deceiving and a good heart can lie under a rough exterior. Interesting and gripping, this second book in the "Klondike Kid" series gives the reader a wonderful trip into a time and place that is very remote. We are able to see how hardship can bring out both the best and the worst in people, and how strong willpower can be, even in the young and not so big. 2004, Simon and Schuster, Ages 6 to 8, $3.99. Reviewer: Marya Jansen-Gruber (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 0-689-86033-1

Maria's Comet
Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by Deborah Lanino
   From the intriguing first sentence, its first line set in dark red type, "As darkness falls, Papa goes up to the roof to sweep the sky," Hopkinson deftly uses poetic language and the feel of folktale to tell a story based on the life of Maria Mitchell, America's first woman astronomer. As the author explains in her note, she has "tried to capture Maria Mitchell's wonderful questioning spirit and dedication to women's education by showing a girl who discovers and stands up for her desire to explore the world of science." The book contains notes on astronomy and a glossary. Lanino's gentle, folk-like acrylic paintings, reminiscent of Barbara Cooney, capture not only the homely details of life in an early nineteenth-century Nantucket Quaker home, but also the mystery and wonder of the night sky and young Maria's fanciful imaginings. 1999, Atheneum, $16.00. Ages 4 to 8. Reviewer: Linnea Hendrickson (Children's Literature).

   Loosely based on the childhood of the first female astronomer in the U.S., Maria (pronounced Ma-RYE-ah) Mitchell, this book tells the story of a young girl searching for her own place in a large Quaker family. As one of nine children, she has a lot of chores--starting fires, entertaining the younger children, and sewing. Maria gladly helps her mother care for the family and the house, but she longs to take a special journey like her brother Andrew who leaves home to become a sailor. In end, she begins a life long exploration of the stars under the tutelage of her father. The illustrations have a folksy quality while highlighting the beauty and magic of the night sky. 1999, Atheneum, $16.00. Ages 4 to 8. Reviewer: Alexandria LaFaye, Ph.D. (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
   Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001; H.W. Wilson; United States
ISBN: 0-689-81501-8

Our Kansas Home: Book Three of the Prairie Skies Series
Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by Patrick Faricy
   It seems as if trouble is constantly brewing around Charlie's home and life is hard for his family. The slave dispute that threatens to tear Kansas territory apart is picking up momentum. The biggest threat for Charlie's family is coming from a proslavery sheriff and his men who raid farms, attack settlers, and are bent on causing as much trouble as they can for settlers who don't support their proslavery views. In fact, Charlie's father has to go into hiding for a while to avoid arrest, or worse, by the sheriff. Charlie, once more, has to take responsibility for his family. With his beloved dog Lion by his side Charlie, his mother and sisters discover they have hidden reserves of courage and ingenuity that they never suspected they had. Not only do they have to deal with the sheriff's ruffians, but they also find themselves harboring a run-away slave. For this alone they could be very severely punished, but they help the young runaway girl on her journey to Canada and freedom. It is often hard to stick by your convictions, and Charlie's story shows us how people can truly suffer in this effort. Uplifting, exciting, and superbly researched, this book provides a very satisfying conclusion to the "Prairie Skies trilogy." 2003, Simon and Schuster, Ages 6 to 8, $3.99. Reviewer: Marya Jansen-Gruber (Children's Literature).

   Our Kansas Home is "little house on the prairie" with a bit more history written into its pages. What starts off as a slow, weak chapter with readers wondering if nine-year-old Charlie will get to keep his dog, Lion, ends with a story of security in realizing you are home and the satisfaction of knowing you can befriend people who need you. The setting is 1850's Kansas, with the Underground Railroad as the only means of escape for slaves in your town. The townspeople are divided and border ruffians cause an uproar whenever they felt like it. One such incident causes Charlie's father to escape arrest by hiding out, leaving Charlie and Lion to walk the few miles home. It is on that long walk home that Charlie and Lion find Lizzie, who is hiding from a life of slavery as well as the border ruffians. Charlie's family doesn't need another mouth to feed, but can't abandon Lizzie, especially with their father in hiding. The book is a bit of western, historical fiction, adventure and survival rolled into one easy flowing story. 2003, Aladdin Paperbacks/Simon & Schuster, $3.99. Ages 7 to 10. Reviewer: Elizabeth Young (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 0-689-84353-4

Pioneer Summer: Book One of the Prairie Skies Series
Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by Patrick Faricy
   Charlie Keller loves his home, his dog Danny, and being able to spend time with his grandfather. For him Massachusetts is the ideal place to live. He is therefore very upset when his father explains that the family, without Danny and Grandpa, will be moving to Kansas territory. Charlie's parents are abolitionists and feel that it is very important that they support their anti-slavery feelings with actions. By settling in Kansas they, and others like them, hope to influence whether Kansas becomes a slave state or not. The journey is a hard one for Charlie, but it is made more pleasant when he meets a girl called Flory. Flory and her family are from Missouri and are supporters of slavery. Charlie wonders if he should be friends with Flory because of her background. Shouldn't he just like her for herself? One the other hand Charlie also sees some slave children whose obvious poverty upsets him. How hard it is for a child to be forced to make such decisions because of politics and difficult moral dilemmas that he does not fully understand. This confusing situation and many others make it very challenging for Charlie to accept the prairie and life on it. Hardship is all around the little family as they plant their first crops and sleep under the wagon because they do not have the time to build a house. The author has expertly meshed the bigger problems of the times with the worries, fears, and troubles of a young boy. Charlie's parents may care about the institution of slavery and its ramifications, but their son just misses his grandfather and wishes he had a dog. 2002, Simon and Schuster, Ages 6 to 8, $3.99. Reviewer: Marya Jansen-Gruber (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 0-689-84349-6

Shutting Out the Sky: Life in the Tenements of New York, 1880-1924
Deborah Hopkinson
   Hopkinson follows five "voices" in the person of real immigrants from Belarus, Italy, Lithuania, and Romania to personalize the larger story of life in the tenements for the newly immigrated. The book is wonderfully readable, and beautifully produced with sepia-toned archival photos, creamy white paper, and font designs that enhance the content, part of which is based on oral histories the author researched. Information about education, learning English, the conflicts between the new cultural expectations and the immigrants' assumptions carried from their countries of origin, and life in the street, the home, and the marketplace lend immediacy to the stories of each person, two women and three men. There is an author's note at the end expressing her curiosity about the lives of families as she looked at their photos taken by Lewis Hine. Russell Freedman's Kids at Work (Clarion, 1994) includes Hine's photos, as well, making it a good companion to this more global and at the same time, more personal, view of the era. Hopkinson's backmatter is a model for other researchers with source notes for quotes and photographs, suggestions for further reading (including Freedman's book), an extensive bibliography, index, and rough immigration timeline. 2003, Orchard, $17.95. Ages 9 to 14. Reviewer: Susan Hepler, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)

   At the turn of the nineteenth century, around 17 million men, women, and children entered America through New York City. This informative and fascinating book outlines the lives of five immigrants from Lithuania, Belarus, Italy, and Romania. To make the experience more real to her readers, Hopkinson uses the stories of immigrants who came as children, eager to leave poverty in their homelands and find better conditions, even wealth, in a foreign land. These hopeful children were dismayed to find the tenements of New York full of unemployment and filth. Children were often forced to perform tedious, grueling labor to help their families put food on the table and pay the rent. Mixing five individual stories with many staggering facts and figures, the author illustrates the despair prevalent in New York before laws were created to protect the people from child labor and unfit housing. However, Hopkinson also tells the stories of young people who defied the odds and succeeded in their chosen careers. Leonard Covello, for instance, came to the U.S. from Italy, six years after his father left to earn a better living. When Leonard, his mother, and his siblings arrived in New York, he was shocked to see that very few immigrants had gained the wealth he had heard about in Italy. Like all the other immigrant children, Leonard and his siblings were forced to work at a very young age. Amazingly, he did not lose his desire for learning and managed to go to school at night. He later graduated from Columbia University, became a teacher and a principal, and wrote an autobiography. This book includes many photographs of the tenements and the working conditions of the late 1800s and early 1900s. This would make a wonderful instructional tool in elementary school classrooms as well as an interesting text for avid readers. An interesting companion text would be Tenement: Immigrant Life on the Lower East Side, by Raymond Bial. Bial's words and photographs illustrate the cramped and unhealthy living conditions of immigrants during the early 1900s. 2003, Orchard Books/Scholastic, Ages 9 to 12, $17.95. Reviewer: Meredith Moore (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
   Best Children's Books of the Year, 2004; Bank Street College of Education; United States
   Best of the Bunch, 2003; Association of Jewish Librarians; United States
   The Children's Literature Choice List, 2004; Children's Literature; United States Choices, 2004; Cooperative Children's Book Center; United States
   Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2003; American Library Association-Booklist; United States
   School Library Journal Book Review Stars, December 2003; Cahners; United States
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
   Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Honor Book 2004 United States
ISBN: 0-439-37590-8

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Deborah Hopkinson
Paintings by James Ransome
   When Clara is separated from her momma on the plantation, she vows to be reunited with her some day. With the help of Rachel, an older slave, Clara learns to sew and learns about runaway slaves, Canada, and the value of maps. Her idea is to use her stitching talent to make a quilt that will serve as a guide for escape. This book presents a little-known story of daring and adventure with paintings that equal the power of the story. 1995 (orig. 1993), Knopf, $$16.00, $16.99 and $6.99. Ages 8 to 11. Jan Lieberman (Children's Literature).

   We are accustomed to books about the Underground Railroad in which Harriet Tubman is featured as the strong female figure, as in Faith Ringgold's latest weaving of history and fantasy, Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky (Crown, 1992). An equally exciting addition to study of African-American history is Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, this time with a young girl as resourceful and courageous freedom-seeker. Based on a little-known true story, Sweet Clara was inspired to sew a quilt that would become a map to help runaways escape. Like nothing anyone had ever seen before, her secret quilt pattern soon became apparent to the other slaves who provided her with details of the surrounding landscape to the Ohio River where the Underground Railroad began. Then, leaving the Freedom Quilt behind for others to use, Clara escaped herself by following the route to freedom that she had "the memory of in her head." The first-person text includes dialect which is gentle to the ears and has not been offensive to African-Americans questioned thus far. As author/illustrator Gail Haley notes about Appalachian dialect in her new Mountain Jack Tales (Dutton, 1992), such kinds of "old speech derive not from ignorance but from isolation" and "may sound quaint in today's modern homogenized world [but they are], in fact, a treasure and a heritage that belongs to all English-speaking people." By presenting Clara herself as storyteller, Sweet Clara's author Deborah Hopkinson breathes life into her heroine and other characters with their use of such "old speech" as a rich and valuable early-American oral tradition. Quilts in the nineteenth century were often sewn as family diaries, and artist Ringgold was reminiscent of this tradition in her first picture book, Tar Beach (Crown, 1991), the text of which was originally written on a story quilt about "flying to freedom," which is a metaphor in African-American folk literature for, once again, the escape from slavery. Still more visual information about quilting as an art form is now given by illustrator James Ransome's paintings in Sweet Clara. As it should be, the girl's quilt is not blatantly obvious to us in his pictures as being a map. Meant to be "read" only by those who were to use it, the fact that the map seems obscure for us, the "readers" of his pictures, suits the story nicely. Ransome's painterly style, with its soft edges and loose brush strokes, works well to keep the story's momentum going from page to page. The landscape, interiors, clothes and characters--especially enjoyable are facial expressions--all have a decided ring of authenticity, and Ransome's bright colors are appropriately vibrant for a story with the happy ending of Sweet Clara's brave flight to freedom. 1993, Knopf, $15.00. Ages 5 up. Reviewer: Lyn Lacy (The Five Owls, March/April 1993 (Vol. 7, No. 4)).

   The powerful collaboration of storyteller and artist stitches together the true story of young Clara's courageous plan to map the route to the Underground Railroad in the squares of her quilt, providing a path to freedom for hundreds of slaves. It's a beautiful book of deep love and faith that will impress and inspire young readers. 1993, Knopf, $16.00, $16.99 and $6.99. Ages 5 to 10. Reviewer: Deborah Zink Roffino (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
   Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K--Grade 6, 1997; National Council of Teachers of English; United States
   Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001; H.W. Wilson; United States
   Fighting Bigotry with Books, 1998; Bank Street College of Education; United States
   Kaleidoscope, A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8, Second Edition, 1997; National Council of Teachers of English; United States
   Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of the Social Studies, 1993; National Council for the Social Studies NCSS; United States
   Recommended Literature: Kindergarten through Grade Twelve, 2002; California Department of Education; California
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
   ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Award Winner 1994 Picture Books United States International Reading Association Children's Book Awards Winner 1994 Younger Readers International
   Jefferson Cup Award Worthy of Special Note 1994 United States
   State and Provincial Reading Lists:
   Kentucky Bluegrass Award, 1995; Nominee; Kentucky
   South Carolina Book Awards, 1996; Nominee; South Carolina
ISBN: 0-679-82311-5
ISBN: 0-679-92311-X

Under the Quilt of Night
Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by James E. Ransome
   This story follows a slave girl through the dark of night on her journey to freedom in Canada. The format the author used to write the text gives the appearance that time is short and fleeting. This lends itself well to the subject matter of the book. The illustrations, with their rich colors, also enhance the story line. This would be a wonderful book to include in the discussion of the Underground Railroad. Fiction. Grades K-5. 2002, Anne Schwartz/Atheneum, Unpaged, $16.00. Ages 5 to 11. Reviewer: Dawn Cobb (Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 15, No. 1)).
Best Books:
   The Best Children's Books of the Year, 2003; Bank Street College of Education; United States
   Capitol Choices, 2002; The Capitol Choices Committee; United States
   Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, Supplement, 2003; H.W. Wilson; United States
   Children's Choices, 2003; International Reading Association; United States Choices, 2003; Cooperative Children's Book Center; United States
   Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, November 2001; Cahners; United States
   School Library Journal Book Review Stars, January 2002; Cahners; United States
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
   Paterson Prize for Books for Young People Winner 2003 Grades K-3 United States
   State and Provincial Reading Lists:
   Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, 2003-2004; Nominee; Maryland
ISBN: 0-689-82227-8

Added 10/01/04

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