My Family for the War by Anne C Voorhoeve

My Family for the War by Anne C Voorhoeve was originally published in Germany in 2007. It was published in the United States in 2012. A few years ago, I first read about Nicholas Winton and his role in the Kindertrasnport that helped rescue Jewish children during WWII. This book, My Family for the War is a historical fiction of this event.

Franziska is a Christian child, but because her grandparents were Jewish, her family becomes a target of Hitler's regime. Fraziska's parents work desperately to find a way to get her out of the country to safety. She is given a spot on the Kindertransport and must make a new life in England. She must learn a new language, and learn more about her Jewish ancestry in order to fit in with her new foster parents.

I enjoyed this story. I liked that although it is fiction, the story is plausible. I liked the growth I saw in Fraziska and her struggles as she tried to come to terms with the loss of her family and her struggle to determine who her family was now that she lived in England. The relationships in this story are well developed and realistic.

Thank Heavens for the families who were willing to take these children into their homes and treat them well.

Here is an article I used in my classroom that tells more about Nicholas Winton. He was an amazing person who worked hard to save as many children as he could. He saved the lives of 669 children.

My sweet mom donated another 100 zip bags to our NICU book project. These 2-gallon bags allow us to package the books in a way that keeps them safe from possible spills at baby's bedside. Thanks, Mom.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

13 Treasures Series by Michelle Harrison

The 13 Treasures series by Michelle Harrison was published in 2009, and I would have loved these books as a young girl.

The first book is called 13 Treasures and we meet Tanya who has grown up being able to see fairies. When she was little, her parents thought it cute, but now the fairies are determined to keep their existence secret and and they cause her all sorts of trouble - trouble that is blamed on her because imaginary friends and fairies don't exist.

Tanya's fairy troubles have pushed her mother too far, and Tanya is sent to stay with her maternal grandmother who lives in a wonderful old mansion with locked doors, secret passageways, and many, many, many fairies, trolls, goblins and other creatures. Tanya finds ways to limit the strength of the fairies, but will it be enough to keep her safe? Whom can she trust to help her?

Tanya along with the groundskeeper's son, Fabian, must solve a mystery or Tanya could be forever lost in the realm of the fairies.

This story has just the right amount of mystery and scary to go along with the fun. I was kept guessing nearly until the end. The character development is good, and Tanya seems like a real person complete with her often prickly personality.

I went ahead and checked out the Kindle versions of 13 Curses and 13 Secrets from my library because I wanted to know the rest of the story.

In 13 Curses, we get to know Red better as the story focuses on her. Tanya and Fabian are in this book. Red is trying to get her baby brother back from the fairy realm, but in order to do so, she must complete a task set for her by the fairy rulers. Red is a fiery character whose impetuous nature often gets her into trouble, but often that same quality saves the day.

In 13 Secrets, someone is killing people who help those caught in the changeling trade. Red, Tanya, Fabian and others must try to figure out who or what is the enemy. I found this one a bit more predictable, but not entirely predictable.

If you have a reader who loves fairy tales, they will like this series. 13 Secrets is pretty dark, so it is for a little more mature reader. The entire series shows the value of friendships and the consequences our actions can have.


A quick shout out to Michelle and Janet for bringing books for the NICU. Thank you both so much.

Janet brought this bunch over, and I was so thankful for the board books as we are out of them again.

Michelle found a Mo Willems book in Spanish. Hooray for fun Spanish books. 

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Sahara Special by Esme Raji Codell

Sahara Special by Esme Raji Codell was published in 2003 and is a good book for middle grade students. Sarhara is a student who because of personal trauma in her life is not doing well in school, so she has been placed in special education. She refuses to do any work at all. She doesn't want her work to end up in her file in the office, so she does nothing.

Her mother pulls her out of special education and Sahara is placed in a classroom with a teacher who is able to reach out to Sahara and help her.

I loved the parts with the stickers - Sahara longing for a sticker but trying to pretend it didn't matter to her. I loved the advice the teacher gave to Sahara, like: If you hear a good word that belongs to someone else, write it down somewhere so it belongs to you, too (85).

I enjoyed the friendships in this story and the character development. Every child needs a teacher like Miss Pointy.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

Read to a child today even if that child is you.