The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale, Young Adult

Source: I purchased a copy

 

I absolutely loved this book. This is a retelling of the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel with a Holocaust twist. A Jewish family fleeing the Nazis must make a real-life decision. They stop and drop their children off near a forest and tell them to run into the forest and hide. They are then to make their way through the forest, find a kind farmer who will take them in until they can be reunited again. From the very beginning you get the feeling that the step-mother doesn't like them. However, this book is darker than the original fairy-tale because of it's connection to the Holocaust. The children stumble upon a woman the village accuses of being a witch. The love she has for the children is obvious. There were surprises around each corner as you read. Full of tension this book takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride. Will the young active boy give them all away?  Will the young girl be able to control him?  Even that had a dark and unexpected twist to it. I found myself irritated everytime I was interrupted because I needed to find out how this would turn out.  Most of Grimm's Fairy tales didn't have a Disney type happy ending. That is probably why I enjoyed them so much. This author had all the darkness you would expect when reading a story involving the Holocaust yet was just as much about hope.  I highly recommend this book. Great for the older teens to adults due to very mature scenes.

Tea for Dragons by Kandi J. Wyatt

Kandi Wyatt has done it again. Another book about dragons. The difference is that this book is a picture book. After all there are a lot of dragon loving children out there. You might want to pick up this book and read it to your little one and ask them, "What would you serve a dragon if he came for tea?" In this cute book not only are the pictures charming, but Kandi's play on and with words is delightful. It made me sit and wonder what I would serve a dragon if he came to tea. I agree with Kandi, anything it wants. If you have a young one interested in dragons, or you want to get them interested in dragons that are not scary then check out this book.  You can find it on Amazon.

 

Hear The Wolves by Victoria Scott

Genre: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Adventure
Source: I purchased a copy. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I buy books for my students. However, unless they ask for a specific title I choose them based on whether I want to read it. Unfortunately, this addiction has built up my TBR (to be read) pile faster than I can read them. I don't want to hold them back from my students. When they bring the card up to check them out I tell them to let me know their thoughts because I haven't read it yet the results vary. With this book, one of my "I'm not going to read unless you make me" students checked out the book because she liked the cover. She had to read because I gave them the entire period to do nothing but read. She returned the book the next day saying I had to read it. She had read it from cover to cover in one day. I took it home and did the same. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I kept wondering what I would do if I was in the main character's shoes.  Sloan is left behind while her sister and father go on a trip. This is the first time she has been without one of them beside her in a long time. This is their way of helping her. She sets off to get more fuel to keep her house warm. She meets her teacher at the church and they both check the cellar for the extra supply of fuel only to find it empty. In stumbles Ethan and Mrs. Wade. She has been injured and needs medical help. Sloan goes to the village store to get supplies when Pilot, the store owner's son walks in. Together they will try to get Mrs. Wade to the river to get her to medical help. Along the way they pick up Pilot's abusive father Nash. They are sure they can get Mrs. Wade help until the wolves start stalking them.  

I understood why this student couldn't put this book down. Between the tension amongst the group and the fear of the wolves you had to keep reading to see if they would survive and how. This was a rollercoaster of a ride. I have recommended it to all of my students as one of the best reads of this year.