The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox

The Slave Dancer was the Newbery Award winner for 1974; it's an old school book, written in an old school style. Therefore, for people who love modern style writing that's quick or not too prosy, this one probably isn't the one for them. It miiiight not hold the attention of an action-driven kid who is more
interested in racing around the yard than reading, but I think it is a good teaching tool or a launching point so that parents or teachers could talk to kids about slavery, slave ships and the Middle Passage. I think it's also a good novel to give kids who might be interested in learning more about slavery.

This is the story of Jessie, a boy musician who plays his fife for the wrong people and ends up getting shanghaied. He winds up on a slave ship, where he is forced to play his fife while the slaves are on deck so they can dance for exercise. It's also the story of the slaves who are forced aboard the ship as prisoners and property and made to endure a unimaginably awful journey. The pain and suffering and madness of this book is enough to make the hairs on the back of your head stand up. The men who work the slave ship are a tough and terrible lot, and their captain is practically psychotic. They are senselessly violent and few, if any, have any moral qualms about their line of work. The slaves...you can feel their anguish. Many of the scenes are disturbing; they stayed with me long after I finished the book. From the point in the story where the slaves are loaded onto the ship to the point onward is especially difficult to get through due to the exhibitions of cruelty. There is a hopeful ending for more than one character at the end of the book. I thought it was a weighty and powerful read, but it might go over the heads of younger kids. I think middle school/high school would be the most appropriate age group for this book.

Alive!

Hey, I haven't disappeared! I just finished grad school classes for the semester, finally, so all the reviews I put on hold will be coming soon. Huzzah and verily! Meanwhile, my list of to-reads grows ever longer, and the library has gotten a bazillion more books in. This is a great problem since every time I finish a book I feel like...

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

A tale of adventure, treasure, a talking dragon with a funny name, dwarven companions and discovering courage during trying circumstances, The Hobbit is a story that kids, teens and adults have been enjoying for
going on a century. It's the story of a small, fussy little hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, who loves his cozy home in the Shire, where no one goes on any adventures or does anything very daring or dangerous. However, they all know what's going on in the town and who's who and who's related to so-and-so and what they ate for breakfast that morning. It's rather like a small Southern American town, actually. Bilbo's a homebody but there's a small spark in him that is still adventurous, thanks to his Took side (shout out to Peregrin Took, Tookishness rule!), and it is this little bit of boldness and a good shove from Gandalf that leads him to join the company of Thorin Oakenshield. This group of dwarves is heading off to the Lonely Mountain (aka Erebor) on a quest to reclaim their treasure from the dragon, Smaug, who took over their kingdom quite a few years back. Dwarves are a proud folk, but eventually Bilbo wins their approval and they actually start looking to him for answers and plans and the like. Their adventures include battling goblins, trekking through a creepy forest, being imprisoned by an Elven king, sneaking back into their own kingdom and then a massive battle. It's easy to sort of lose track of which dwarves are along for the journey (there are 13, so it's a lot of names and many rhyme), but if you do decide to watch The Hobbit movie, they're given rather distinct character traits and appearances. A few stand out in the book, like Thorin, Dori, Balin, Fili, Kili and Bombur; many of the others, poor fellows, sort of fade into the background. Overall, I love this book to pieces, and I would recommend it to basically anyone with a healthy love of fantasy.