:yeah: :high5: :yeah: :high5:

Or just email me with your snail mail address. I’ll get this puppy in the mail for you. I’m happy to give it to you because the thing I like best after reading good books is giving good books away.

:yeah: :high5:

And for those cryptogramically challenged among my readers, the answer was the first paragraph from the book:

The two people Ellie hated most were Adolf Hitler and Victoria Gandeck. Hitler lived in Germany, but Victoria was just across the alley. And right now, Ellie hated Victoria more.

I have nothing new to add to the mix today. I’ve been reading all the blog posts instead of coming up with my own.

So I’ll send you to my three favorite posts today:

1. First go to Becky’s Book Reviews and start the playlist.

2. Next go to Maw Books Blog and mix up a cake.

3. While the cake is baking trot on over to a Christian Worldview of Fiction and consider how much joy you can let out if you read kids book with great characters, including great adult characters.

After that go and see what fun facts the rest of these bloggers have gotten from Mary Ann in their interviews and reading.

01 Charger, A Childhood of Dreams, A Christian Worldview of Fiction, A Mom Speaks, All About Children’s Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Book Review Maniac, By the Book Reviews, Dolce Bellezza, Fireside Musings, Homeschool Buzz, Looking Glass Reviews, Maggie Reads, Maw Books, Small World Reads, The Friendly Book Nook

I highly recommend the book. It’s entertaining, moving, educational… it hasn’t got any car chases but short of that, it has it all–great, living, breathing characters; well-painted story world; and thought provoking, and compelling story problem.

If you want your own copy of Jimmy’s Stars, solve the cryptogram and mail me the answer at Sally at paraklesis dot com by Next Monday. I’ll put all the correct answers in a hat and pick a winner.

Winners have to be in the US or Canada and have to be willing to give me their mailing addresses so I can send them the book.

Easy, huh?

Here’s the cryptogram:

Uft ura vtavet Teext fbutm kalu rtqt Bgaec Fxuetq bog Dxsuaqxb Gbomtsz. Fxuetq exdtm xo Jtqkboi, wyu Dxsuaqxb rbl pylu bsqall uft beeti. Bog qxjfu oar, Teext fbutm Dxsuaqxb kaqt.

(Oh that was fun on the old spell check. )

I will also be posting a review of Jimmy’s Stars in a few hours, so check back here.

For now, go on over to KidzBookBuzz.com for a breakdown of what other bloggers on the tour are doing, or just click on the links below to go to their blogs.

01 Charger, A Childhood of Dreams, A Christian Worldview of Fiction, A Mom Speaks, All About Children’s Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Book Review Maniac, By the Book Reviews, Dolce Bellezza, Fireside Musings, Homeschool Buzz, Looking Glass Reviews, Maggie Reads, Maw Books, Small World Reads, The Friendly Book Nook

For the next three days we’ll be talking about Mary Ann Rodman’s middle grade historical novel, Jimmy’s Stars.

Jimmy’s Stars tells the story of Ellie McKelvey and how she relates to World War II and in particular how she handles her brother Jimmy’s being drafted. I liked this book a lot. It’s a character-driven book with a plot that I found compelling. I’ll post my review on it tomorrow.

For today I want to look at what some of the other bloggers are saying about this book.

April at a Childhood of Dreams says:

This is a story geared toward the 9 – 12 age range, however, I think that anyone of any age would deeply enjoy this stirring work.

I agree. Both of my parents, 86 and 89, read the book and loved it. It brought back memories and it made them cry.

Kyle, at Book Review Maniac really loved the book, which should make Ms. Rodman proud because Kyle is a teen boy and they’re not the easiest folks to please. Besides loving the book, Kyle said:

I also got to know more about World War II, which I have studied before but after reading this book I got a unique perspective of the war from Ellie, an eleven year old girl

The story wasn’t just Ellie’s, though it’s seen through her eyes. It’s also Jimmy’s story. It’s the story of young men being called away from their homes and families to fight and die in foreign lands. Maybe that’s why Kyle, a teen boy, was compelled the read the book every chance he got.

At Dolce Bellezza we read:

It couldn’t be published at a more apros pos time; even if it is set during World War II, wars are essentially the same in their devastation

Read the next post down–August 16–and you’ll see why she really means this.

Natasha, at Maw Books said:

What made Jimmy’s Stars so great for me was the raw emotions that Ellie had. She really stepped right out of the pages of the book for me. I was also swept away into a different time and place as Mary Ann Rodman’s attention to historical accuracy and detail was superb.

OK, I can’t keep going on or we’ll be here all day. I will say this: as a homeschooling mom I’m loving this book. It’s on the list of books we’re going to read this year. This is the best way to teach history, I think. Through story. This method has been handed down for generations, from the beginning of time. In reading this book, my school kids are going to think about life, war, family, kindness, self-sacrifice, hatred, and I don’t even know what else. They are going to consider these things in the context of family, neighborhood, city, country and world. They are going to be moved as they think about history and as they consider the present world they live in. I can’t be happier with a book than I am with Jimmy’s Stars.

Please visit all the participants on the KidzBookBuzz.com tour for Jimmy’s Stars!

01 Charger, A Childhood of Dreams, A Christian Worldview of Fiction, A Mom Speaks, All About Children’s Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Book Review Maniac, By the Book Reviews, Dolce Bellezza, Fireside Musings, Homeschool Buzz, Looking Glass Reviews, Maggie Reads, Maw Books, Small World Reads, The Friendly Book Nook