These talented authors use unique formats to tell their unforgettable life stories. Don't miss these two outstanding additions to the memoir genre.
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
In this lyrical novel-in-verse, Newbery Honor/Coretta Scott King/Edwards Award winning author Woodson tells her story of growing up in the 1960s and 70s in two completely different places - Greenville, South Carolina and Brooklyn, New York. Most of Woodson's early years were spent with her mother's parents in South Carolina. There, Jackie saw firsthand the prejudices and racial injustices that still dominated the South. But she also experienced a stable, loving home with her grandparents full of home cooking, starched dresses, and weekly visits to church. When she moved to Brooklyn with her siblings and her single mother, she entered a different world. The big city of New York was concrete and cold without gardens and nights on the front porch. But, there Jackie also found more diversity, less prejudice, and dear new friends. In addition to expressing her search for her place in two different worlds, Woodson's soulful poems also explore the struggles of growing up in a single parent home and living in the shadow of a brilliant older sister. While her sister seemed to excel at everything, Jackie wrestled with learning to read. In spite of this initial difficulty, she developed a love for words and stories. When she received her first composition notebook, Jackie discovered that "words [were her] brilliance" and dreamed of one day becoming a writer. Brown Girl Dreaming is an eloquent memoir that beautifully explores a young girl's search for home and for her own unique voice. Fans of Woodson's writing will love getting to know the observant, spunky young Jackie and learning what sparked her writing journey. Those new to her work will want to read everything else she's written. And everyone will want to reflect on their own memories and tell their own story ... most likely in a crisp, new composition book! Watch this video to hear author Jacqueline Woodson talk about writing Brown Girl Dreaming:
El Deafo by Cece Bell When Cece Bell was four years old, she contracted meningitis which resulted in a severe hearing loss. This began a struggle with hearing aides, feelings of isolation, and a search for a friend who would treat her as an equal. In this creative graphic novel, Bell tells her touching, relatable story. As a kindergartner, Cece was able to attend a class with other deaf students. But then her family moved and her new school didn't offer separate classes. It's hard enough that she has to go to a new school and try to make new friends, but she also worries about her hearing aide. The Phonic Ear connects to a microphone worn by her teacher which makes hearing easier, but it is also bulky and makes Cece feel so different from the other students. She soon discovers, however, that her teacher would forget about the microphone so Cece could hear her when she was talking in the teacher's lounge or even in the bathroom. :) These "special powers" and an After School Special led her to imagine an alter ego El Deafo who helps her through difficult days. Over the next few years with the help of her loving, supportive family, friends who appreciate her for who she is, and El Deafo who gives her courage, Cece begins to grow in confidence and acceptance of her disability.
El Deafo is a true autobiographical achievement. The graphic format is perfect; the depiction of the characters as rabbits puts an immediate focus on ears (genius!), and the dialogue bubbles allow the reader to experience what Cece is hearing ("eh sounz lah yur unnah wawah!"). The book explores the struggles unique to one with hearing loss, but also explores universal experiences of wanting to fit in, searching for true friends, first crushes, and self-discovery. All are handled with honesty and humor that make for an unforgettable memoir that soars right into your heart. The book ends with a thoughtful author's note telling more about Cece Bell's later experiences and how she has now come to see her disability as a gift, noting that "Our differences are our superpowers." El Deafo will make you want to grab your red cape and celebrate what makes you special! Watch this video of author Cece Bell talking about The Phonic Ear and El Deafo:
Fun fact: Author/Illustrator Cece Bell is married to Tom Angleberger who created the amazing & hilarious Origami Yoda series and other terrific books (Crankee Doodle is another one of my favs which was illustrated by CeCe). Holy smokes, Batman. That is one power couple!
Stories from the Jewish Holocaust during WW II continue to captivate readers. As difficult as it is to read about the depths of human evil reached during this time, it is also incredibly inspiring to read of those who held onto hope in horrific circumstances and ultimately survived to tell their story. It is also so vitally important to read these narratives and remember how simply and subtly these dreadfully evil initiatives began. Below are three 2013 releases, two nonfiction and one fiction based on a true story, that tell the hopeful, heroic stories that came from this time of persecution:
Odette's Secrets by Maryann MacDonald
Odette's Secrets tells the story of a young Jewish girl living in Paris during the Nazi occupation. Her father joins the French army, her mother joins the Resistance, and Odette is sent to the French countryside for safety.
Throughout the frightening time, young Odette is both terrified and confused. She fears the soldiers, worries about her father, and runs from those who bully her for her yellow star. She also wonders about her Polish roots, her Jewish faith, and later the Christian values of the foster family that cares for her while she seeks refuge in the country. She gets used to silently observing, keeping secrets, and hiding in plain sight.
I never thought of what these young people must have endured as they tried to make sense of the terrifying world around them as well as their own identity. And what extremes their parents went to for their protection! This moving novel also shows what the survivors faced when they triumphed over their persecutors, but then tried to return to their homes and to their former lives.
Author Maryann MacDonald was deeply moved by Odette's story and asked her family permission to share her experience in a book for children. She ultimately chose to tell the story as a first person novel-in-verse instead of a factual biography to allow a more intimate view into the young poet-to-be's thoughts and feelings. The result is a accessible, personal narrative that immediately pulls the reader into Paris in 1942 and provides another perspective from this time. Odette's Secrets is a selection on the 2014-2015 Texas Bluebonnet List.
The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson Leon Leyson was the youngest survivor on what became the world famous "Schindler's List." This memoir tells how Leyson's life went from a happy childhood to a terrible nightmare at the hand of the Nazis and their occupation of his Polish homeland. Leon's family was forced to move to the Krakow ghetto, but through determination, luck, and ultimately the attention of the man named Oskar Schindler, Leon, his parents and a few of his siblings' avoided placement in the horrific concentration camps.
Constructed from Leyson's personal notes and speeches, The Boy on the Wooden Box tells of how he survived in Schindler's factory with almost nothing to eat but holding onto hope and believing in Oskar Schindler, who became his lifelong hero. Leyson tale's is honest and reflective, but told without bitterness and hatred. It is a powerful, moving memoir that celebrates the risks taken and the perseverance necessary to survive during this time of persecution.
The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi by Neal Bascomb After WWII ended, one of the highest ranking Nazi officers, Adolf Eichmann, vanished. Believed to have eradicated over 700,000 Jews from Hungary and to have been responsible for millions of Jewish deaths, Eichmann was a prime war criminal to be brought to justice; but he had not been seen or heard of in years. Until a clue finally surfaces from a blind Argentinean man and his teenage daughter. Then the manhunt begins. The Nazi Hunters tells the riveting true story of how the Eichmann case went from a desire to find the man to promising leads to dead ends to the forming of an elite team of Israeli spies to plan and execute an incredible capture. This team - all of whom had been directly affected somehow by Eichmann's crimes - would have to secretly enter Argentina, capture Eichmann, and smuggle him out of the country and return him safely to Israel so he could be brought to justice on Israeli soil.
Neal Bascomb has crafted a work of narrative nonfiction that expertly provides historical facts and reads like a spy novel. I was on the edge of my seat reading this book! It is truly fascinating. The author does an outstanding job of introducing the young, powerful Eichmann, later showing what he has become during his years in hiding and his views of his actions, and finally showing what an impact the time with Eichmann has on his captors. Bascomb also effectively weaves in the story of an Auschwitz survivor, Zeev Sapir. The reader meets him early in the book when he has an encounter with Eichmann; later Sapir has a chance to testify against Eichmann. It's quite powerful to see one survivor get to face his tormenter and get to share his story with the world. Photographs and documents are included throughout the book that add intrigue and authenticity to the captivating account.
This is a must-read for anyone interested in WWII, Jewish and Holocaust history, narrative nonfiction, and/or page-turning tales of spying and intrigue.
