Barbara Krasner

Genre(s): Historical fiction, MG fiction, World War II, Verse Novel, Dual Narrators

First sentence: It's late spring, almost summer, 1937.

Premise/plot: Facing the Enemy is set in America [in New Jersey] in the late 1930s and early 1940s. It has dual narrators: Benjy Puterman and Thomas Anspach. These two friends will spend years not being friends because of ideology. Thomas's parents want him [essentially] to attend a Nazi Youth Camp right in New Jersey. For years--YEARS--Benjy witnesses his former best-best-best friend from childhood transform into someone unrecognizable. The town the two live in has a large Jewish population, but right in their metaphorical "backyard" they are facing Nazis of their own. There is an author's note about the time period; there really was a Nazi Youth Camp in New Jersey that was eventually shut down early in the 1940s.

My thoughts: I wanted to like this one more than I actually liked it. I did learn something from reading this one. I knew that there were Nazi sympathizers in the United States, and those who were just against the war. I didn't know there were actual-actual Nazi Youth Camps training up young men to hate, indoctrinating them, etc.

This one presents a challenge having dual narrators. Readers spend half their time--at least--living in the headspace of Thomas Anspach. There's this squirmy space. Is it okay ever to empathize with his struggles? I think the answer is yes. But it takes work--a lot of work--to see beyond crisp clear lines of black and white, good and evil. Thomas is more complex than that. His home life is more complex than that. And it isn't that a bad home life equals free forgiveness for life no matter what. Thomas from page one isn't the same Thomas by the end of the book. That arc exists for a reason.… (mehr)

Ethel and her husband Julius Rosenberg were convicted and executed for espionage. They were accused of selling information to the Soviet Union. This book of short poems is from Ethel's perspective. It starts in her younger years and includes her aspirations to be a performer, falling in love with Julius, and starting a family. It continues through the time period where she is accused of spying, her arrest, conviction, appeals, and execution. This fiction book of poems is inspired by the factual life of Ethel. Book contains a detailed timeline and bibliography.… (mehr)

Mistakes happen. If we learn from them, they can lead to great discoveries and improved procedures. Learn about some famous mistakes in medicine and how they actually led to improvements in the field.
The author uses photographs, simple text and information boxes to present a first look into the field of medicine. There are also reference helps such as a glossary, index, table of contents, bibliography and websites for further exploration. This book is recommended for students in grades 2-4 who are doing simple research projects or just interested in medicine.… (mehr)