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1946

Editor's Note: Many of the books are out of print. The header information will be as complete as I can make it.

Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski (Lipincott, Williams & Williams, $14.36, fifth-grade level). ISBN: 039730109X	The Medalist A young girl and her family live in turn of the century rural Florida. Good historical and regional document, but some of the people in it are so excruciatingly ignorant it is nearly impossible to read as an adult.
Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry (Econo-Clad, $11.70, fifth-grade level). ISBN: 078575024X.	Honor Book A boy grows to manhood while trying to gain ownership of a horse he's loved his entire life. The story is kind of trite, but she knows how to pull heartstrings. Historical elements about the founding of the Morgan Horse will be of great interest to horse lovers.
The Moved-Outers by Florence Crannell Means (Walker & Co., $7.95, paperback, fifth-grade level). ISBN: 0802773869.	Honor Book A Japanese-American family copes with mixed feelings after being shipped to a relocation camp in the U.S. during World War II. This is an amazing books, considering that it was written during WWII. She grimly describes the betrayal that Japanese-Americans felt when their loyalty to America was questioned. I find it far more effective than the more popular Farewell to Manzinar.
Bhimsa, the Dancing Bear by Christine Weston (Charles Scribners Sons, fifth-grade level). Out of print	Honor Book Two Indian boys enjoy a series of adventures that teach them a little about themselves and a lot about human nature. The boys, one a poor child from the foothills of the Himalayas, the other a rich child from the flatlands, use their wits, the help of a few kind people, and of course the talents of Bhimsa the bear. There isn't really much to say, bad or good, about this story. The reader learns little about life in India. The moral of the story is simple, too: Families must stick to together.
New Found World by Katherine Shippen (Viking Press, sixth-grade level). Out of print	Honor Book The author provides readers with a brief overview of the exploration, colonization and development of Latin America. Shippen begins with the exploits of the Portuguese and Spanish explorers who first developed Latin America then moves forward in time to detail the pain of expansion and then later the national independence movements that racked three continents. Modern readers will realize that Shippen's scholarship on the Aztecs, Mayans and Incans is woefully out of date. And because the book was written in the height of the patriotic fervor of World War II, little mention is made of American intervention south of the border. That said, this book is a wonderful introduction to the study of Latin America. Shippen has a marvelous talent for distilling key events and for promoting key individuals. With some modern polishing this book deserves to return to print. Note: Works well with Americans Before Columbus.

Copyright David Ross 2003