Student Saturday: My Cousin's Keeper by Simon French

 

Sttudent Reviewer: Humberto G.

Genre: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

The characters in "My cousin's Keeper" are Benn,Kieran, Renee, and Gina The setting takes place at his home and school.

Kieran, and Ben are related. At the start of the school year a boy shows up, which is Kieran ' cousin he doesn't know. Ben is in a really bad conditiona at home and at school. There are people at school who bully him. Kieran wants to be in a popular group with teh popular kids. When seh found out that they were relatedhe feels embarassed because of the way Ben looks. At home Ben has a mom who doesn't take good care of him. Ben has long braids, a babyish hat, and has a funny voice. Ben has an only friend which is Julia who likes Kieran.

Things I would do in this situation would be stand up for family. As we know Kieran and Ben are relatives and Kieran feels embarrassed to be Ben's cousin. Kieran lets people bully his cousin. I I was in this situation I would stand up and not be embarrassed over family and the way they look. This story has a big meaning to it and would recommend it to people who dealt with this tough time. I would also recommend this book to people who love drama.

Alias Anna by Susan Hood

Gene:  Middle Grade, Biography

Source: I own a copy

I knew I couldn’t get through Spring Break without reading at least one Holocaust book. I had five selected. This is the one I got to. We learn that this book came about when Zhanna’s granddaughter had to write about her grandparent’s history and any major thing that had happened in their life. The story is co-written by her son Greg Dawson, whose daughter sent the letter.

Zhanna Arshanskaya was a child when she, her sister, mother and father and grandparents were sent on a death march. Her father was a candymaker and played violin. He helped his daughters Zhanna and Frina develop a love of music, playing the family’s piano. They were sent to a music conservatory until Jews were no longer welcome.  Their father offers a bribe to one of the guards while on the march to look away so his daughter Zhanna can step out of the line. A while later she was joined by her sister. They changed their names to better blend in. Zhanna became Anna and Frina became Marina.  The help from a Christian family, an orphanage and believe it or not the Nazis themselves helped them to survive. This is a story that must be read and recommended to students everywhere. I strongly recommend it.

Make sure you check out all of the resources at the end of the story. There are websites, books, etc to help you learn more.

Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin

Genre: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction
Source: I own this book

I think I am drawn to books with characters who are on the autism spectrum because I have a grandson who is on the spectrum. I have taught many students that fell somewhere on the spectrum and it has been a pleasure. I was even more thrilled to see that I can keep this book on my shelf.  If you don’t know what I am talking about go back and read my posts for January 19 and March 20.

I love the main character in this story. Rose has what I call autism quirks. She loves homophones. If you don’t remember what they are they are words that sound alike but have different spellings and different meaning. An example would be “write/right, or the title rain/reign”.   I have met parent’s like Rose’s dad who don’t understand or want to understand their child’s “condition”. Often they are in denial that their child is different, or they blame someone else for their child’s condition. In Rose’s case she is often left at home while her dad goes out drinking.  Then there is her teacher.  I wanted to scream at her and ask why she was a teacher.  I have loved teaching every autistic child I have had. I have learned so much from them.  Rose has an ally, her Uncle Weldon. He is more like a father to her than her on dad. Of course she has her best friend in the world her dog Rain, who goes missing. Rain was a stray her dad brought home to her. This book is emotional and hard to put down. I would definitely recommend it to my students if for no other reason to help create empathy in them.