THE LENGTH OF A STRING by Elissa Brent Weissman, for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

The characters in this story were like real people for me. An interesting and absorbing read!

Description from the publisher:

Imani knows exactly what she wants as her big bat mitzvah gift: to find her birth parents. She loves her family and her Jewish community in Baltimore, but she has always wondered where she came from, especially since she’s black and almost everyone she knows is white. Then her mom’s grandmother–Imani’s great-grandma Anna–passes away, and Imani discovers an old journal among her books. It’s Anna’s diary from 1941, the year she was twelve and fled Nazi-occupied Luxembourg alone, sent by her parents to seek refuge in Brooklyn, New York. 

Anna’s diary records her journey to America and her new life with an adoptive family of her own. And as Imani reads the diary, she begins to see her family, and her place in it, in a whole new way.

The Length of a String, written by Elissa Brent Weissman was published by Dial Books for Young Readers in 2018.

Why you want to read this book… 

I felt so close to the characters of Imani and Anna that I felt sad, disappointed and excited right along with them as I read the story. I’ve always thought that researching your own family is a wonderful way to learn about history, and this novel showed me it’s true. I enjoyed the realistic way the author showed relationships between characters, especially Imani and her mom. I haven’t come across many contemporary stories about girls with a Jewish upbringing, so that was also interesting.

Opening:

Dear Belle,

All my life I’ve shared with you. Before we were born, we shared Mama’s belly, splitting the resources so equally that we weighed the exact same amount at birth.

If you’re a writer… 

This is an excellent mentor text if you’re trying to weave together stories from two different time periods, or if you want to include a series of letters in your novel. I also really enjoyed the writing style and careful use of details. Technology is integrated into the story with limits and as a research tool.

I ran my hand over the old paper until my eyes stopped on a familiar word. A name: Anna. It was at the bottom of the page on the right, the way you’d sign a letter or a diary. My fingers jumped back as though the ink were hot.

If you’re a teacher…

This would be an interesting read aloud to kick off a family history project or to encourage discussion about war, the Holocaust, identity and family. Thinking about real life events from the perspective of how it affects families made this work of fiction seem quite real. There are details about the Jewish faith, as the main character is preparing for her bat mitzvah.

“Can you imagine that? Being your age and going to a new country all by yourself?”

I got a sudden pang of nervousness, like a pinprick in my side. I could tell Mom knew something about Grandma Anna’s family, and I didn’t want to know what it was. Not yet.


Check out more great middle grade reads on Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, hosted by writer & book blogger, Greg Pattridge.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday - MY DIARY FROM THE EDGE OF THE WORLD

When this book came up on my library holds list, I jumped into reading it, not knowing what to expect. Reading about an alternative reality where all kinds of fantasy creatures were part of everyday life was so much fun! I read this one as an e-book.

Description From the Publisher:

 Spirited, restless Gracie Lockwood has lived in Cliffden, Maine, her whole life. She’s a typical girl in an atypical world: one where sasquatches helped to win the Civil War, where dragons glide over Route 1 on their way south for the winter (sometimes burning down a T.J. Maxx or an Applebee’s along the way), where giants hide in caves near LA and mermaids hunt along the beaches, and where Dark Clouds come for people when they die.

To Gracie it’s all pretty ho-hum…until a Cloud comes looking for her little brother Sam, turning her small-town life upside down. Determined to protect Sam against all odds, her parents pack the family into a used Winnebago and set out on an epic search for a safe place that most people say doesn’t exist: The Extraordinary World. It’s rumored to lie at the ends of the earth, and no one has ever made it there and lived to tell the tale. To reach it, the Lockwoods will have to learn to believe in each other—and to trust that the world holds more possibilities than they’ve ever imagined. - See more at: 

My Diary from the Edge of the World was written by Jodi Lynn Anderson and published by Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, in 2015.

My Take:

I don’t think I’ve ever read a story quite like this before – it was quirky and fun, though at times evoked a lot of emotion. It was fun to be on a road trip with Gracie and her family as they tried to save her brother Sam’s life. I really enjoyed being immersed in an alternative world filled with magical and imaginary creatures that were part of everyday life and history, like yetis that live up in Canada and mermaids that lurk in the ocean. It was fun to encounter concepts like quantum physics, superstrings and entropy while I was reading.

For writers, this is a good example of a middle grade novel written in a diary format. It’s also an interesting example of world-building, where fantasy creatures and places are blended into the world the way it exists now.

Opening Line:

“I’m on the top of the hill, looking down on the town of Cliffden, Maine.”

Quotes:

“I’ll tell you in one sentence what it’s like to be the middle child, in case you don’t know: Everyone on either side of you squeezes you until you almost explode, and all the time that they’re smushing you they’re not really noticing you’re there.”

“I suppose one person’s most-boring-lecture-of-all-time can be another person’s “interesting.”

“Maybe out there someone somewhere will read this, maybe even in some other world; maybe someone’s reading it right now.”

Other Info:

 Jodi traveled to different places around the world as she was growing up. She worked as a book editor before she became an author.

When she's not writing she likes to cook, knit, hike and make claymation videos for her friends. (See also 5 Things You Don't Know About Jodie-Lynn-Anderson.)

Teaching Ideas:

Have students write one or more diary entries about an incident in an alternative reality of their choice.

Create a fantastical creature that could inhabit this world and write a news story describing the historical event that your creature had an effect on.

J is for Journal or Diary Format

I recently read that one of the trends in writing for children is the journal or diary format. While I’m not advocating that you write to suit a trend, it’s interesting to explore some of the advantages of this popular format for middle graders.

The thrill of secrets. A story written as a series of journal entries creates an expectation that the reader will be learning the private thoughts of the narrator. Already, there is built-in anticipation. It’s like you’ve already got part of the hook to get your reader to open the book.

Connecting with the reader. The conversational writing style of the journal format brings the narrator close to the reader, almost inviting the reader to share in their experiences and feel the emotions they are feeling. In some schools, students in higher elementary grades keep writing journals, so they may already have sense of the journaling process, or may even keep a diary or journal. I’ve seen this style used to bring to life historical subjects that kids might otherwise consider boring.

Space for imagination. The journal format allows the writer to be creative, possibly including diagrams, letters, lists, margin notes, large or bold text for exciting moments. Breaking up the text in smaller chunks by days or events also can make it appeal to kids who want a lighter read and tend to shy away from dense text.

Passing time. Because journal entries are specific to a certain time period, it provides a convenient vehicle for showing how time is passing.

One challenge of writing in a journal or diary format is the showing vs. telling dilemma. It’s easy to describe an event you are writing to “tell” it to someone and possibly more challenging to “show” actions that allow the reader opportunities to construct their own interpretation. However, trying out a different form of writing could bring a new energy to your story.

A few (of the many) books with a journal or diary format:

Amelia’s Notebook by Marissa Moss
Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel by Ruth McNally Barshaw
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Dork Diaries, Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renee Russell
McKenzie Blue - Friends Forever by Tina Wells
The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger

Links:

10 Trends in Children’s Books from 2010

An article about diaries and The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow from the Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/text/2014403092.html

A perspective on the diary format in children’s books from the Barnes and Noble book club. http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Letter-Blocks-The-BN-Parents-and/Dear-Diary-The-Diary-Format-in-Literature-for-Young-People/ba-p/501165

Have you read any great books with a journal or diary format? Or, have you ever tried using this form in your writing?