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The Valentine Star

The Kids of the Polk Street School

valentinestar#6 The Valentine Star by Patricia Reilly Giff, 1985.

Emily Arrow and Sherri Dent have been fighting ever since Emily refused to play a game with Sherri at recess.  It wasn’t because Emily didn’t like Sherri.  She was just having too much fun running around with her toy unicorn, Uni.  But, Emily made the mistake of running up on top of that huge snow pile near the school fence, the one that the kids aren’t supposed to play on.  Then, Sherri told on her to Ms. Rooney.  After that, it becomes a game of tit-for-tat, each of the girls telling on the other for little things.  While Emily is acting as room monitor while Ms. Rooney is out of the room, Sherri gets out of her seat to get a book instead of doing her work, so Emily writes her name down and tells Ms. Rooney.  Sherri promises that she’ll get even.

Around the same time, Ms. Rooney’s room gets a new student teacher, Ms. Vincent.  Ms. Vincent is very pretty and nice, and Emily likes her immediately.  The kids are making rhyming Valentine’s Day cards for each other because Valentine’s Day is just a few days away, and Emily wants to give a special one to Ms. Vincent.

valentinestarpic1But then, Emily and “Beast” (Richard Best) make a serious mistake.  It was hot inside at lunch, and they couldn’t resist the urge to run outside in the snow for just a couple of minutes without their coats.  Then, they got locked out and had to get Beast’s sister to let them in a different door.  They thought no one saw them, but a neighbor did and contacted the school.  Now, Emily is afraid of what will happen if their teacher finds out that it was her and Beast.  Will the school be angry enough to hold them both back a grade or maybe worse?  Maybe Emily will be spending Valentine’s Day in the school office instead of at the party, watching Ms. Vincent enjoy her special valentine . . . especially if Sherri happens to know what they did.

Many of the The Kids of the Polk Street School books are about the little problems that kids get into but that seem big because they’re young and inexperienced.  Ms. Vincent’s kindness and understanding help Emily and Sherri to work out their differences, and a President’s Day lesson about the honesty of both Lincoln and Washington help Emily and Beast to realize that tattling on yourself makes you a better person than tattling on others.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive (multiple copies).

Posted on by TracyC

Valentine Blues

valentinebluesValentine Blues by Jeanne Betancourt, 1990.

This book is part of the Aviva Granger Stories series.  (It’s the only one I have in the series right now.)

In the last book, Aviva’s best friend, Josh, came to live with her, her mother, and her step-father.  Josh was living in an orphanage before that, and since he and Aviva were close, her mother and stepfather thought that it would be natural to invite him to be part of the family.  At the time, Aviva thought that it was a good idea, but being friends with someone doesn’t mean that it will be easy living with them, and Aviva’s family life is already complicated!

Aviva’s parents are divorced, and both her mother and father are already in new relationships.  Her mother has remarried, and Aviva not only has a stepfather but a half-sister (college age) and half-brother (baby) living in the same house.  Aviva’s father has a girlfriend, Miriam, and Aviva doesn’t get along well with her.  Miriam would like it if she and Aviva’s father had a child of their own.

When Josh comes to live with Aviva’s mother and her family, Aviva realizes that sharing a family and house with him makes things even more complicated.  He takes too long in the bathroom and makes her late to school.  He’s one more person for her mother to pay attention to, so Aviva gets less attention.  Even her dog seems to like Josh better now!

Then, shortly after Valentine’s Day, Aviva overhears Josh and his friend Ronnie Cioffi talking about girls and giving them ratings based on their looks.  Out of 10 points, Cioffi rates Aviva as a 2, and Josh agrees.  Josh has a crush on Louise, a girl they know from school, and she has a much better figure.

It isn’t that Aviva is in love with Josh, who she sees more as a friend/brother, but it hurts that he seems to be taking her place in the family and doesn’t even really appreciate her, joining in with his friend in making fun of her body.  With her time divided between two households, two parents who hardly seem to have time for her these days, and Josh moving in and taking over, Aviva worries that maybe she doesn’t really belong anywhere or to anybody.

It takes a night when Aviva sleeps out in the barn without telling anyone where she is to make the people closest to her realize how much she needs them.  A sleepover at Louise’s house (where the girls candidly discuss their own ratings for the boys they know) and Aviva’s anonymous question in sex ed class also help to put the rating system into perspective for all the kids.

The book has some Christian themes because the children go to a Catholic school, although this book mostly focuses on family life and girls’ and boys’ perceptions of each other.  The kids are eighth graders, and there is also some talk about sex ed.

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Starlight in Tourrone

starlighttourroneStarlight in Tourrone by Suzanne Butler, 1965.

This is a story about a group of children in southern France during the middle of the 20th century, not too long after World War II, who want to stage a special Nativity scene at Christmas. One of the older men in the small village of Tourrone tells his grandchildren about how, when he was young, the village had held a live Nativity scene at the chapel on the hill with the youngest baby in the village playing the part of the Christ child and his mother playing Mary. Then, all the people in the town would climb the hill to the chapel and present gifts to Mary and the baby Jesus in a ceremony called the March to the Star.

However, these traditions have been lost because, following World War II, the village has lost much of its population, and the chapel is an unused ruin. The children and their friends, inspired by the grandfather’s stories, decide that they want to hold the March to the Star and the Nativity scene this year.

starlighttourronemarchAt first, most of the adults in the village are skeptical. Since there are no young couples living there anymore and no babies have been born there for several years, no one knows where the mother and child for the Nativity scene will come from. Many of the adults are too busy with their own problems and worries about the future to help. Still, the children continue to work faithfully on their plans, drawing in the adults in spite of themselves.

starlighttourronepreparationsstarlighttourronelanternJust as people in the village start to feel hopeful again, something happens that threatens to ruin everything, but there is still one more miracle yet to come, thanks in part to the one person who never doubted it would happen.

It’s a beautiful story about the power of faith and how miracles come to those who are prepared for them. The last page of the book contains the music for the Provencal Carol that the children sing along with the English translation.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

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The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

christmaspageantThe Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson, 1972.

The Herdmans are the meanest, toughest kids in town.  They lie, cheat, steal, and when the mood strikes them, set things on fire.  Their father deserted the family, and their mother works all the time, so the six Herdman kids are pretty much left to their own devices, giving them plenty of opportunity to cause trouble.  Certainly, no one ever made the Herdman kids go to Sunday school.

But, to everyone’s surprise, the Herdmans suddenly show up at Sunday school in time to get cast for the annual Christmas pageant.  It wasn’t because the Herdmans suddenly found religion.  They were mostly there because they heard that there would be snacks.  Charlie told them so when they stole the dessert from his lunch at school.  In reality, Charlie exaggerated the snacks just to get back at the Herdmans.

christmaspageantpic1Although the Herdmans don’t get the cake Charlie mentioned and have little interest in Jesus, they begin to be fascinated by the description of the pageant and decide to stick around.  The Herdmans love movies, and the idea of being in any kind of play strikes them as fun.  Although the Christmas pageant basically goes the same way every year, typically using the same kids for the same parts, once the Herdmans make up their minds that they want the starring roles, they manage to push and bully their way right into the center of everything.

All of the other kids in Sunday school already know the story of Christmas and how the pageant usually goes, and they’re usually bored with the whole thing, but this year, the Herdmans make the pageant so unpredictable that even the kids the Herdmans tend to pick on find it fascinating.  The Herdmans are only hearing the story of Christmas for the first time as they assume their new roles of Mary, Joseph, the three wise men, and the angel.  Because they aren’t as familiar with the story and the routine of the pageant, they end up adding their own little twists to their performance.

christmaspageantpic2At first, the more conservative adults in the church are horrified at the prospect of what the wild Herdmans might do on Christmas itself, but the minister and the lady overseeing the pageant decide to give the Herdmans a chance.  As the title says, it ends up being The Best Christmas Pageant Ever as the Herdmans unexpectedly bring out parts of the Christmas story that the other people who had taken the story for granted hadn’t really thought about much: the simple human reactions of a poor young couple who were strangers in a new town, the fear and expectation that accompany doing something great but unfamiliar and confusing, and the sense of wonder and surprise that are at the heart of the Christmas season.

Parts of the book are laugh-out-loud funny, and parts are actually touching.  While the awful Herdman kids stumble their way through the Christmas pageant, changing things, is it possible that the play is also changing them?

This is the first book in a short series about the Herdmans.  It is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive (multiple copies).  There is also a movie version of the book.  Sometimes, you can find it on YouTube.

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Christmas Around the World

christmasworldChristmas Around the World by Emily Kelley, 1986.

This is a non-fiction book that describes Christmas customs from various countries around the world.  There is some history and folklore associated with different Christmas traditions in every country.  The main countries described are Mexico, Iran, China, Sweden, Iraq, Spain, and Norway, although there is a section in the back that briefly mentions a few other countries.

In some countries, children leave out their shoes instead of their stockings in the hopes of receiving small presents in them.  Sometimes, the gifts are from Santa, and sometimes, they’re from someone else, like the Wise Men.  In other countries, people do not give gifts on Christmas, except maybe new clothes for the children.

Some of the traditions described are older ones, based on folklore, like the one about hiding brooms and tools from witches and bad spirits in Norway.  In countries in the Southern Hemisphere, Christmas is associated with summer instead of winter, changing the way people celebrate the holiday.  Each country has their own special foods associated with the holiday, too.

christmasnorway

The book also describes traditions that are associated with other special days related to Christmas, such as St. Lucia Day in Sweden (December 13) and Twelfth Night, when the Wise Men came to visit Jesus (January 6).  These special days are kind of an extension of the Christmas season in different countries.

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The pictures in the book are beautiful.  Some of them are in color and some are in black and white.

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In the back of the book, there are jokes, a craft project, and a recipe for Christmas cookies.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

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December Secrets

The Kids of Polk Street School

decembersecrets#4 December Secrets by Patricia Reilly Giff, 1984.

It’s December, and the kids in Ms. Rooney’s class at Polk Street School are learning about Christmas and Hanukkah.  To get everyone in the holiday spirit, Ms. Rooney has everyone choose someone else in class as their “Secret December Person,” kind of a Secret Santa-style activity.  The kids will give small presents and do nice things for the person they pick.

Emily would have picked her friend Dawn for her person, but they’ve been fighting since Emily wouldn’t let Dawn cut in front of her in line when the fire truck came to school and the kids who were first in line were allowed to actually get in the front seat.  Emily tries to pick someone else to be her Secret December Person, but her other favorite choices are taken.  When she asks Ms. Rooney who is still available, Ms. Rooney suggests Jill Simon.

decembersecretspicEmily doesn’t think much of Jill Simon because she’s fat and a crybaby.  Whenever the least little thing goes wrong, Jill tears up.  She hardly ever smiles.  But, although Emily isn’t thrilled at first to have Jill as her Secret December Person, she then thinks that she can use this as an opportunity to help Jill.  Maybe her presents will help Jill to become a happier, maybe even thinner person.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction

Although Emily wants to help Jill, her first attempts fall flat because she’s focusing too much on correcting Jill’s faults instead of thinking about what would really make Jill happy.  Jill becomes a happier person when Emily notices the good things about Jill and helps her to see them for herself.  The project helps Emily to become a more thoughtful person, and she also makes a surprising discovery about the Secret December Person who has been leaving thoughtful presents for her.

The reason why it has to be “Secret December Person” instead of “Secret Santa” is because there are both Christian and Jewish children in the class.  That’s why the kids learn about both Christmas and Hanukkah.  They don’t want anybody to feel left out.  The name “Secret December Person” is a little cumbersome next to “Secret Santa”, but the sentiment is nice.  I don’t recall doing anything like this as a class activity when I was in elementary school.  I remember that I was in first grade when a Jewish girl and her mother explained Hanukkah to the class.  They gave everyone small plastic dreidels to play with, and I spent the Christmas holidays that year playing dreidel with my brother for peanuts and M&Ms.  They were just little party favor dreidels, but I had a lot of fun with mine, and I still have it.  Sometimes, little presents do mean a lot.

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Cranberry Thanksgiving

cranberrythanksgivingCranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin, 1971.

Maggie and her grandmother like to invite friends to spend Thanksgiving with them.  Grandmother always tells Maggie to invite someone who doesn’t have anyone else to spend the holiday with.  This year, Grandmother has invited Mr. Horace, a pleasant man with an elegant manner staying at the local hotel.  Maggie has invited Mr. Whiskers, a friendly but somewhat scruffy sailor who has been on his own for years.

Grandmother has never really approved of Maggie’s friendship with Mr. Whiskers (whose real name is Uriah Peabody, but is called Mr. Whiskers because of his long, busy beard).  Mr. Whiskers’s unkempt appearance and lack of refinement have always bothered her.  She also suspects Mr. Whiskers of wanting to steal the secret recipe for her famous cranberry bread because he often shows up when she’s making it.  Some people have offered her a great deal of money for her recipe, but she insists that it’s a family secret that she’s leaving to Maggie.  Still, Mr. Whiskers has been a good friend to Maggie, so she allows him to come to Thanksgiving dinner.

As it happens, someone is out to steal Grandmother’s recipe, but not the person that she suspects.  It’s a nice holiday story about how appearances can be deceptive and real friendship is shown through honest behavior.

This book is part of a series, and like all the other books in the series, there is a recipe in the back.  The recipe in this book is for Grandmother’s Famous Cranberry Bread.

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The Blue-Nosed Witch

BlueNosedWitchThe Blue-Nosed Witch by Margaret Embry, 1956.

Blanche is still a very young witch, but because of her magnificent blue nose (which she can make glow at will), she’s allowed to join a group of adult witches, Scurry No. 13.  Their specialty is beautiful flight formations on their broomsticks, and they’re planning a special one for midnight on Halloween.

But, Blanche has a bad habit of being late to everything.  Some of the other witches have started complaining about her, saying that she’s too young and irresponsible to be part of Scurry No. 13.  If she’s late for the flight on Halloween, they might decide to send her back to Scurry No. 2 1/2 with the other young witches, where she’d only be allowed to ride a whisk broom.

To make sure that Blanche will be on time for Halloween, her friend Josephine sets her alarm ahead a couple of hours to give her extra time to get ready.  Unfortunately, Blanche doesn’t know that Josephine did that, so she sets her alarm ahead herself.  When she wakes up on Halloween night, it’s still early evening, instead of late at night.

BlueNosedWitchPic1Blanche looks for her fellow witches but ends up joining a group of trick-or-treaters by mistake.  They love her blue nose and introduce her to the idea of trick-or-treating.  Thinking that even the grumpiest man in town would be impressed by Blanche’s amazing nose, they stop at his house, too.  The old man isn’t impressed by anything and plays a mean trick on the kids.  However, Blanche is a real witch, and she and her cat Brockett give the old man a real Halloween scare.

Blanche is having fun on Halloween, but will she keep track of time well enough to join the other witches in their flight?

Even though this wasn’t written to be an historical novel, in a way, it kind of is now.  One of the interesting things about this book is that you can tell from the way the kids are trick-or-treating that it’s the 1950s.  Kids today don’t get jelly donuts or apples while trick-or-treating, and in this day of giving out only prepackaged treats for safety reasons, the kids would probably have to throw them away if they did (sigh).  Also, there is still the implied threat of Halloween tricks when the kids go asking for treats, something less common today.  Instead of saying “Trick or treat!”, the kids say “Candy or cake or your windows we’ll break!” (although the kids later promise the adults that they’re not going to soap any windows).  My mother said that the popular saying when she was young was, “We are the beggars of the street.  Do we soap, or do we eat?”

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

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Terror on Cemetery Hill

cemeteryhillTerror on Cemetery Hill by Drew Stevenson, 1996.

Halloween is coming, and spooky things are happening around Wilsonburg. Randall Davis, a new boy in town, comes to the diner looking for Sarah because he’s heard that she likes to investigate mysteries. Randall’s mother has recently become the caretaker of the cemetery, and Randall enjoys astronomy, so he decided one night to take his telescope up on top of Cemetery Hill. While he was there, he saw what looked like a hideous monster. Randall asks Sarah to have a look around the cemetery and help him figure out what he saw.

After some persuading, Sarah convinces Clark and Frog to come with her. Not only do they see the creature in the cemetery, but they find Mrs. Biddle, head of the town’s group of psychic investigators, unconscious in the Wilson family mausoleum. The Wilsons are the family that the town was named after. Mrs. Biddle and her group have been told before not to hold any ceremonies or investigations in the cemetery because they disturb people.  She insists that she was investigating the creature in the cemetery and that it pushed her and knocked her out. Something strange is going on in the cemetery, but is it a creature come back from the dead, or maybe something to do with the recent bank robbery in town?

Everyone believes that the bank robbery was just one in a series of robberies staged across the country by a robber known as the Village Bandit because he tends to rob banks in small towns.  However, Sarah has a different theory.

This is part of the Sarah Capshaw Mysteries series.  It is currently available online through Internet Archive.