In the final of three blogs prompted by the “Getting There” article in Smithsonian magazine, I think about those who had no bus at all – neither the yellow one with a lengthy ride on which I did homework nor the farm wagon converted to school transportation ridden by my mother. Two favorite writers reached into the truth of their ancestors to produce fiction that tells this story well.
The Little Princesses
Whether or not you recall my promise back in September to give a review of The Little Princesses after I had reread it, I remember, and you get it today. The book was written by Marion Crawford, who was the governess to Elizabeth and Margaret, and published in serial fashion in magazines in the 1950s where I read it in Mama’s Ladies Home Journal.
Sort of a School Bus - Two
Nowhere Better Than Here
Yellow School Bus - One
In the Shadow of a Queen
Heather B. Moore sets her book, In the Shadow of a Queen, in the time of Queen Victoria. The novel is based on the life of Victoria’s fourth daughter and sixth child, Princess Louise, using original sources research. The princess has a reputation of being the most beautiful and most talented child of Victoria and Albert.
Unplugged
Front Country
Story of a Friendship
The Ways We Hide
If You Give a Writer . . .
Lucy by the Sea
The Look
In her book that I read recently, Katherine Paterson tells the story of her short experience in teaching. When she had no problems with a class that had previously caused great difficulty to a strong authoritarian male teacher, one of the students gave this explanation, “She had this Look. When she fixed it on you, you knew to stop what you were doing and straighten up.”
Stories of My Life - Again
Queen Elizabeth II and Me
Duet
Rightfully, music becomes an underlying theme in Duet, Phillip Hoose’s newest book focusing on the mockingbird. Five states, including my home state of Mississippi, have chosen it as the official bird. Mockingbirds have their own music and also borrow from other birds, sounds in nature, and even noises that humans make.
Topics to Avoid
The Other Side of the River
Author Alda Dobbs read my review of The Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna and took pity on my impatience for the sequel and sent me an advance reading copy of The Other Side of the River to cut my wait. In this sequel, twelve-year-old Petra must find a way in this world that is totally new to her, beginning with the immigrant camp with double death threats of smallpox and hunger.