December 7—A Day That Will Live in Infamy

Today, December 7th, is Pearl Harbor Day. On this date in 1941 Japan attacked the United States Navy fleet lying at anchor in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. President Franklin D. Roosevelt went to the Congress the day after the attack to ask for a declaration of war. In his remarks to the members of Congress he called December 7 “a day that will live in infamy.” Congress passed the resolution of war, and three days later Germany and Italy (Japan’s axis partners) declared war against the United States. After years of isolationism, America fully committed itself to participate in World War II.

This largest of world wars deserves the study and understanding by all citizens of a free world. The war had a significant personal influence on my life as a young boy, and its aftermath impacted my military service and civilian employment as I matured.

The Bombing of Pearl Harbor by John F. Wukovits is a book in the World History Series published by Lucent Books. The author, a retired junior high school teacher, knows how to write for younger readers. Wukovits explains the menace facing peace-loving people before the United States entered World War II. Throughout the 1930s, the majority of Americans strongly believed in isolation. They wanted nothing to do with the warfare that Japan, Germany, and Italy were inflicting on their enemies. The book tells how President Franklin D. Roosevelt worked to prepare America for war while appeasing those who opposed him. The book explains why Japan decided to start the war with America and the impact of that choice upon the Japanese people. Photographs provide vivid illustrations of the destruction of the fleet at Pearl Harbor and of airplanes on nearby airfields. Wukovits builds his agonizing story from both primary and secondary sources. He concludes by discussing the effort required following the attack to rebuild the Navy and how the sneak attack changed the attitude of Americans overnight.

World War II in the Pacific by Don Nardo is another book in the World History Series by Lucent Books. The author, having written over 200 books, is recognized as a leader in producing history lessons for younger readers. He contrasts the cultures of the United States and Japan, and delves into the transformation of Japan into a world power. Nardo writes vividly about the attack on Pearl Harbor. Excellent maps enhance the reader’s understanding of how the Japanese pulled off the surprise. He explains the defeat of the Americans in the Philippines, and discusses the horrors of the Bataan Death March. Twenty-two thousand Americans died on the march. My first grade teacher’s husband was one of the few survivors of the Japanese atrocities committed against their prisoners in the Philippines. Nardo appropriately documents the turning point in the Pacific War as the Battle of Midway, when the United States reestablished its supremacy of the seas. The American aircraft carrier USS Yorktown was sunk during that battle. An uncle of mine was one of the survivors of that sinking. Nardo discusses the development of the nuclear bomb and explains why President Harry S. Truman dropped two bombs on Japan. The author concludes by explaining how this horrible event caused the Japanese to surrender.

Kamikazes by Earle Rice, Jr., is a title in Lucent Books’ The American War Library Series. The Japanese high command created the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps late in the war. Rice explains how Emperor Hirohito approved the use of this suicide weapon after determining the war was not going well for his country. Kamikaze means “divine wind” and carries strong religious overtones. The sacrifice of one pilot and one airplane in exchange for sinking one American warship became an acceptable way to die for one’s country. The Japanese Army already had a reputation for seldom surrendering. Japanese soldiers died in banzai charges against the Allied troops confronting them in the Pacific. The author explains how the Japanese warrior had traditionally committed honorable death through seppuku. Disemboweling oneself with a sword, known in the vernacular as hara-kiri, had been the preferred way for warriors to die since the days of the samurai. The book is well illustrated with the destructive actions the Kamikazes inflicted on the American fleet. Today’s younger reader is aware of the suicide bombings committed by radical Islamic terrorists. This book confirms that such a way of attacking an enemy is not new.

Yet another book in the World History Series by Lucent Books is The Making of the Atom Bomb by Victoria Sherrow. The author begins by explaining what led to World War II and how it generated an arms race that resulted in the United States developing the atomic bomb. She provides a section on the science of nuclear physics and the roles played by such famous men as Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi. She writes about the secretive Manhattan Project under the supervision of Robert Oppenheimer, known as the “Father of the Atomic Bomb.” To test this unproven weapon, the Army detonated the first atomic bomb near Alamogordo, a town in central New Mexico. I had recently completed the second grade in Hobbs, New Mexico, when on that July 16, 1945, morning, the first bomb was exploded at 5:30 AM. Those in my town who were awake at that time described an unusually bright light appearing in the sky 200 miles to the west. Ms. Sherrow covers the planning and execution of dropping the first bomb by the aircrew of the B-29, Enola Gay. She delves at some length into the horrific death and destruction to Japan caused by the event. After a second bomb fell on Japan, the country surrendered, and the war in the Pacific concluded. Ms. Sherrow ends her book with a discussion of what might happen to the world if atomic weapons’ development continues. The concerns she identifies impacted me when I served as an Army officer during the Cold War. In the decades following World War II, the threat of nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union resulted in me being stationed in Europe when the Berlin Wall was erected. Later, I was stationed on Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean as part of the U.S. National Nuclear Test Readiness Program. Since then, several nations have acquired the atomic bomb. The question of further nuclear proliferation is pertinent today because of the ongoing disagreement between the United States and North Korea over their desires to possess nuclear weapons.

World War II—Pacific by Barbara Williams is part of Lerner Publications’ America’s Wars Series. This book summarizes the entirety of World War II in the Pacific. Excellent maps allow the reader to follow the war from the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 through the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. The author covers each of the major battles through the intervening years. She provides information on the soldiers and sailors as well as the ships, aircraft, and armaments they used to wage war. A brother-in-law of mine served as a bomber pilot in the battles fought in the South Pacific. Ms. Williams also describes the effort required on the home front to support the war. She includes a short section on the unfortunate Japanese-American internment camps where thousands of men, women, and children were incarcerated in the United States during the conflict. The author writes about the special effort American women provided during the war. Williams’ book includes a timeline of the significant battles and events comprising the Pacific war. Although shorter than the other titles reviewed here, Williams’ book provides the younger reader an easily understood account of the entire war in the Pacific.

Today, December 7, is a good day for middle-grade students to commence or continue their study of World War II. They live in a world created by the results of that mammoth conflict.

TO HOLIDAY or NOT TO HOLIDAY Does making a holiday book limit its relevance? by Eden Unger Bowditch

In The Ravens of Solemano… there is a grand Christmas event. Well, things go a bit wacky, but it is a celebration of a holiday. That said, this is not a Christmas book so the celebration does not stand out or make the book feel ‘out of season’ if it isn’t read in December. Does creating a book around a holiday make it problematic as a reading choice for other times of the year?

For our family, yes and no. We have always had books that are in the winter holiday box, to be read when everyone is cuddling together over hot cocoa. We have books that live in the costume box with other Halloween things and only come out in October. But there are also wonderful, timeless books that may have a special place during Halloween or the winter holidays, but are a pleasure all year round. Chris Van Allsburg’s The Widow’s Broom is one. It is a story that has special meaning during the holidays, but is meaningful anytime, for readers of all ages.

In winter, we read books that take place

in summer. In summer, we read books that take place during the school year. It seems that we don’t discriminate when it comes to seasons Yet, when we feel compelled to write a book that takes place during a holiday, we may encounter resistance from publishers or agents since sales are holiday dependent. Perhaps consider how that book may retain relevance throughout the year and use that in your pitch. As readers, we can consider the same. While it makes sense to gravitate towards holiday-specific books during those holidays, we should consider a ‘Christmas book’ in August or a ‘Halloween book’ whenever we feel spooky!

I’d love to hear from you about books that you love year-round that might be considered specific to a holiday.

- Eden

Great Christmas Books for Middle Grade Readers

  Everyone loves a good Christmas read. Here's a short list of some of the best for middle grade readers.

Jingle Night, the second in The Anderson Chronicles, my series of contemporary novels for middle grade readers. Hector Anderson just can't get in the holiday spirit. He's loaded down with homework, and too broke to buy presents for his family or his heart throb, Sandy. Meanwhile, sister Chloe wants to be the angel of death in the holiday play, a role as silent as younger brother Calvin's been since the loss of his hand puppet, Mr. Buttons. Little brother Stevie can only remember four words from the song he must sing at the Little Leapers Preschool Pageant, but he uses his slingshot to spread Christmas cheer, which Hec's perfectionist Father doesn't appreciate. Hec is determined to solve his problems, and while Mom tries to eggnog and carol everyone into the Christmas spirit, he and his best buddy Eddie embark on a madcap plan to solve Hec's Christmas dilemma.




As if reenacting the game of Clue, The Green Glass House takes place in an old inn that's usually quiet at Christmastime. But this year, it fills with a hodge-podge of quirky guests, all of whom seem to be searching for the answer to a different mystery. Twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers' adopted son, turns into the sleuth who must solve them all. This story is part mystery, part folk tale, and part ghost story, with enough twists and turns to keep even the most finicky reader entertained.

The main character in Richard Peck's A Season of Gifts is twelve year old Bob, the son of a preacher and new kid in town, but the heart of this sequel to the Newbery Award winning A Long Way to Chicago and the Newbery Honor book A Year Down Yonder is the eccentric Mrs. Dowdel, an elderly, grumpy, gun-wielding woman who claims to have no interest in neighboring or in church, but has special gifts to share with both her neighbors and their new church.

 Children of Christmas has six stories by the Newbery Honor winning author Cynthia Rylant that are perfect for reading aloud, if you can control your emotions. Like Hans Christian Andersen's Little Match Girl, these poignant stories of lonely and desperate people are are  guaranteed to make you cry, yet her exquisite writing also conveys the special joy of the season, Stories include one of a lonely man who raises Christmas trees, a stray cat who finds shelter, an elderly widower missing his wife, an Appalachian boy who waits each year for a train bringing gifts, and more.

 From Anna, by Jean Little, begins in Germany in 1933. Anna Solden is the youngest and clumsiest in a large family that treats her like the incompetent baby. After they immigrate to America to escape the worsening political scene, the family discovers that Anna can barely see. A new pair of glasses and a special class for the visually impaired helps her blossom into a proficient and confident child. The climax features a Christmas during the depression that might have been dismal had it not been for the pluck and cheerfulness of the family, and at which Anna comes into her own and proves to her family - and herself - that she can do anything she sets her mind to.

How was Christmas celebrated in 13th century England? Nathaniel Marshall, the son of a knight, spends Chrismas at Glastonbury Abbey in my novel On Fledgling Wings. Nathaniel waits to see if the legend that the animals will speak at midnight is true, wonders if the saints looking down on him from the church friezes are watching him, and gets to serve the roast boar at the Christmas day banquet. But all too soon the peace of the season will pass, and Nathaniel will be embroiled in a battle for power at the manor house.

Real Heroes in #Sports by Elizabeth W. C. Junner

In the category of reluctant reader - surely the bane of every teacher and school librarian - boys usually outnumber girls. How can you coax them into discovering there’s a whole wealth of interesting, not to mention inspiring, information out there in the world of books?

Introducing them to books about real people who came from backgrounds the majority of children can recognise may not complete the transformation from reluctant to eager reader [and more enthusiastic scholar?], but it could be a big step in the right direction.

The brilliant movie ‘Chariots of Fire’, which cleared the decks at the Oscars after its debut in 1981, brought Eric Liddell’s athletic achievements wide recognition. While, of course, the movie focuses on Eric’s famous race at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, it portrays both the athletic greatness and spiritual integrity of the Scottish missionary.

 ‘The Flying Scotsman’ as Eric Henry Liddell was affectionately known, was born in Tiensing, China, where his parents, the Rev. James and Mrs. Liddell, were both missionaries. Eric attended the local elementary school before being sent to join his brother Rob at Eltham College in England. It was here Eric first showed his athletic prowess, particularly his speed on the track. 

While studying for a science degree at Edinburgh University, Eric competed for the university in rugby and on the track.

He was chosen to represent Scotland in both fields; unfortunately, though he was outstanding in each sport, his studies left him no time for both rugby and running. Forced to choose between them, Eric decided on running. His distances were the 220 yards and the 100 yards but he truly excelled at the latter. 

Eric was an automatic choice for the 1924 Paris Olympics; his elation turned to dismay, however, when he learned the 100 yards heats were to be held on a Sunday. In those days many Scots observed Sunday as truly a day of rest. Sunday Dinner would be prepared as far as possible the evening before! Active outside games like football and skipping rope were frowned upon. To run on Sunday was against Eric’s Christian ethics. What could he do?

It was suggested he run the 440 yards, a quarter of a mile. Eric hadn’t trained for this distance, but he had a plan for success. Tension ran high. On the morning of the race, one of the masseuses – from the American team I believe - slipped Eric a folded paper on which he had written an encouraging message and which Eric recognised as the masseuse’s variation on 1 Samuel 2:30: ‘He that honours me, him I will honour’.

Eric’s plan was to sprint the first two hundred yards of the 440 to get as far ahead of the field as possible and then, he is quoted as saying, he left it up to God to keep him fast. He won the gold medal in the 440 handily, and the bronze in the 220.    

The following year Eric returned to missionary work in China where Japanese aggression was making life increasingly dangerous. In 1941, as the Japanese advanced, Eric sent his family to safety in Canada while he remained to work at a poor station with his brother, who was a doctor. They were overworked, lacking much of the medicine, equipment and food they needed to help the desperate Chinese who came day after day seeking help.

In 1943, Eric was interned along with many others when the Japanese invaded the station. Despite the privations, Eric kept up morale; he taught Bible School, taught science to the children in the camp, and organised games. Overworked, exhausted, and undernourished, Eric developed an inoperable brain tumour. His earthly race finished, he died in February, 1945, just five months before the camp was liberated.   

***   

How many Puerto Rican kids or kids of Puerto Rican descent have not heard of the great Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker?

Roberto, born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, was the youngest of seven children. When he was old enough he helped his father, a sugar crops foreman, by loading and unloading trucks. Always interested in baseball, Roberto joined Puerto Rico’s amateur league when he was sixteen years old and played for the Ferdinand Juncos team. In 1952 he signed with the winter team,Cangrejeros de Santuce. This was a franchise of the Puerto Rican

Professional Baseball League. While he was there the Brooklyn Dodgers offered Roberto a contract with one of the team’s Triple A affiliates.

This meant a move to the Montréal Royals farm team for Roberto but he never did play for the Dodgers. When Pittsburgh Pirates scout Clyde Sukeforth saw Clemente, he told the Royals’ manager that the Pirates were going to finish last in the league, therefore had the pick of the rookies, and he was picking Roberto Clemente Walker, no question.

His beginnings in Pittsburgh were not the easiest for Roberto. The winter before his rookie season with the Pirates a drunk driver slammed into his car at an intersection in Puerto Rico and left him with a back injury which forced him to sit out many games while he recovered. Because he was black, and spoke little English, the sports media and some of the team gave him a hard time; announcers kept referring to him as Bob, or Bobby, despite his preferring Roberto.  His response to this was he had been raised never to discriminate against anyone because of their ethnicity. As he proved his worth, Pittsburgh loved Roberto; his number was changed from 13 to 20, the number of letters in his full name.

In 1958 he signed for the U.S. Marine Corps. Under their rigorous training he gained ten pounds and had no back problems. By then Roberto was so invaluable to the Pirates team that State Senator John M. Walker sent a letter to U.S. Senator Hugh Scott requesting his early release from the Marines in 1959. Roberto remained a Marine Reserve until September, 1964. 

His rewards in baseball were many, culminating when he earned the World Series Most Valuable Player trophy, yet far outflanking those are his rewards in how he has lived, in what he has done to help others. He helped financially, never to gain recognition but simply because he could, and wanted to. He cared about children especially; his dream was to build a ‘Sports City’ where young Puerto Ricans would have access to coaching in many sports, facilities, and encouragement. In the off-season he taught baseball and ran free clinics for kids in Puerto Rico, especially those from poorer families. He loved his country and did much to raise the status of Puerto Rico and Latin America in the world’s eyes.

He was involved in a great deal of charity work, and when Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, was hit by a massive earthquake on 23^rd December, 1972 he immediately began arranging relief flights. When he heard the aid on the first three flights had been siphoned off by the corrupt officials and never reached the victims he decided to go on the fourth flight himself, in hopes his presence would shame them into honesty. On December 31^st he set off on an overloaded plane with an incompetent crew. It crashed into the Atlantic Ocean immediately after takeoff due to engine failure. Roberto’s body has never been recovered, but his legacy lives on in the selfless work he did during his lifetime.                

***

And now we come to the last of our sports heroes, who was in his own words a really rotten kid, Louis Zamperini. With co-author David Rensin, in his book ‘Don’t Give Up, Don’t Give In’ he speaks for those kids who are seen to be seriously off the tracks.

 Born in America of Italian parents who spoke Italian at home, he went to kindergarten in California speaking very little English, and very poorly at that. He hated recess when the other kids would surround him to taunt and jeer, to punch and kick him over his poor English, his wiry hair, and big ears. Eventually his father made him a punch bag, so that Louis learned to fight back – and win.

His older brother Pete was the model son who could do no wrong, and Louis the changeling child who could do no right. He felt he could never live up to Pete, so Louis set out to be as bad as he possibly could be. He was forever getting into trouble with the police, with school, and with his parents. One would think Pete might get fed up with Louis but he never did. He loved his little brother and when all three of the authorities mentioned above were at their wits end, Pete took Louis to the local steel mill, where the workers ‘looked hot, greasy, and dirty’. Louis was aghast. He didn’t want to end up like that, and Pete pointed out that’s exactly where he would end up, unless he smartened up. He warned Louis that no one could force him to turn his life around – he had to want to do that himself.

The school officials decided to give Louis another chance, especially after Pete suggested sports. Too small for football, Louis was entered in an interclass race to run the 660 yards with the promise if he ran, his school slate would be wiped clean. He ran. He came in last, in pain and suffering from having smoked since he was six years old. But the running bug had caught him. He ran, and in running and eventually winning, he found self-respect. He set himself to learn at school, recognizing the importance of education.

Adrift on a raft in the Pacific Ocean for many days before being captured by the Japanese in WWll, Louis endured the brutality of their prison camps. Beaten day after day, he stubbornly refused to give in. When he was finally liberated and returned to America, at first it was great and then it appeared Louis was once again on the slippery slopes. Until his wife persuaded him to hear Billy Graham. Louis finally realised hatred consumes and destroys the person who hates, and accepted Christ in his life.  He worked tirelessly to help young people improve their lives, applying Christ’s teaching of love and tolerance, tough yet encouraging. 

 ***

All pictures are, to the best I can ascertain, in the public domain. 

It's Stream of Consciousness Day

by the totally distracted author, Suzanne Morgan Williams

It's my turn on the blog, and perhaps because the whole house is torn apart so painters can work, I'm having a heck of a time focusing on one topic. So I declare this Middle Grade Historical Writer Stream of Consciousness Day. I'm sure you've heard of it. Here goes.

• I have a historical manuscript that I'm waiting to hear back on. I believe I'll jinx my work by speaking too soon, so more on that later - if anything comes of a year and a half of work and a lot of hopes and prayers.
• The painters are nice guys doing a really detailed job of redoing the interior of our home. Most of it is staying exactly the same color. We just needed it freshened up. I decided to change the color of two rooms. That seems fun and gives the whole place a different feel. It doesn't seem all that different from revising a manuscript. You keep the structure and polish up everything. A few sections definitely need to change. Now if you decide to re-write a manuscript, that's like tearing the roof off or adding a second story. The result may be better but it probably won't be recognizable.
• How do I know when I've found the right story? It fascinates me. I can't stop researching. When I tell people about it I get excited, and if I've hit the right note, they do too. If I have the right story, I'm tenacious and bull dog like. I want to give it life and that usually requires revisions and maybe a re-writing or two.
• And here's the thing about choosing to write about heroes and leaders that we know about, stories we learned in school - we already know them. A new topic may not seem important, because we don't know what would be interesting about it, or we might not feel comfortable with the subject. This is how the same history gets told again and again. Readers expect certain themes. Our job as writers is to find important stories that haven't been told, or to tell familiar ones in a fresh way. Both are satisfying and both can add to our understanding of history and our cultural capital.
• Our historical understanding will only be improved by adding more stories, particularly about those people who've been omitted from traditional histories. And, like painting, be it house painting or fine art, the details tell it best. Focus. Sorry about mine, but gee, it's Stream of Consciousness Day.

LeeAnn Wilmot on the Creation of Empathy and Safe Spaces in Historical Fiction

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch tells Scout that

“If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

Atticus is articulating the concept of empathy; the ability to feel another‘s feelings, and understand from their point of view. 

Historic fiction provides a little distance; there is no current or personal issue, and the reader is allowed to imagine feelings, without any personal threat.  Though removed in time and space, Zane in Zane and the Hurricane is someone with whom middle grade readers can identify.  Zane is 12; his life is not unlike our reader’s lives.  His journey through hurricane Katrina sweeps him from his usual life into experiences of joy, loss, sorrow, fear, and bravery.  He meets the grandmother he didn’t know existed and finds that he’s not at all sure that he likes her. He encounters dangerous events and people.

Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team,
 NASA/GSFC - http://visibleearth.nasa.gov
/view_rec.php?id=7938

Many of our children have or will encounter dangerous people and events, and a great many of them will not.  And, maybe more of them fear dangerous people and events which they imagine will come someday. The hurricane setting, oddly, provides some safety when it comes to considering how to respond to danger, real or imagined. Zane recognizes danger and is appropriately fearful, but he also learns to seek safety and guidance. Zane isn’t really heroic--that might remove the opportunity for genuine empathy--but he is honest and caring and helpful, even when he’s scared.

 

Zane encountered realities in his life that many of us might prefer to hide from our children: parents in rehab, parents in jail, caretakers and friends who are not wholesome and protective.  Zane and the Hurricane does not emphasize these aspects of life, but they are mentioned, and contribute to the movement of the story.  Despite these factors Zane (usually) makes good choices; these are just aspects of his life and not a consuming focus. His mistakes in judgement are mentioned casually with the same lack of emphasis as the mention of dead bodies floating in the water; life moves forward. Difficulties and mistakes are absorbed into forward progression. There is no lingering, no berating.

The reader can identify with Zane partly because it’s “just a story,” about something which happened long ago.  Even though these parts of life may be very different for the reader, the reader can also sense that these children are not so very different, and we share feelings across time and space.  I would probably be frightened; I might chase my dog in the storm even though I knew not to. I might make mistakes, but I too will recover from them and manage my situation despite danger and adversity.

When children read about challenging events, hurricanes and wars, it’s common to ask, “How would you feel if……..?” Feelings are not so much evoked in non-fiction exercises. Non-fiction presents the reader with facts and details which can be compartmentalized, perhaps necessarily so. As an adult, even I was overwhelmed by the facts of Hurricane Katrina--all those people on rooftops! Early on, for me,  real people became just dots on rooftops. I just could not think about this. But, fictionalized characters offer a face and words to both free and limit our imaginations, and so I was able to journey with just one person, Zane, to see and feel the event through his eyes. I was able to experience both compassion and empathy--which I avoided when reading or seeing the news--when I looked through Zane’s eyes. I believe that this one brave, frightened, disobedient, and courageous child may create safe space for our middle school readers to feel all those feelings, too.

LeeAnn Wilmot is a youth librarian with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Library. When she is not at the library, she can be found hanging out with her three Rottweilers, and reading, of course.

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Sara K Joiner: Horror Historicals

Are you more likely to see a ghost in October?

photo by Sara K Joiner

October is the time of year when we want to be scared. The weather turns cooler, the trees begin losing their leaves, and we want to sit around a fire (either indoors or out) and give ourselves nightmares with tales of ghosts and devils, murder and mayhem.

Sit back. Relax. And enjoy some of these frightening treats that are all set in the past.

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
Orphaned Irish siblings travel to England and find work as servants in a creepy house. An enormous tree is growing into the house, and the family the siblings work for seems to be growing paler and weaker with each passing day. Will the siblings be able to save their employers from the evil creeping into the house? Or will they only have time to save themselves?

The Shadows That Rush Past: A Collection of Frightening Inuit Folktales by Rachel A. Qitsualik, illustrated by Emily Fiegenschuh and Larry MacDougall
Four stories passed down through generations of Inuit storytellers describe a horrible child-stealing ogress, a monster that is half man and half grizzly bear, an ice-covered polar bear that is ten times the size of a normal bear, and a creature who surprises unsuspecting people by tickling them to death. The illustrations can be horrific and heroic as men and women, children and adults are depicted fighting monsters and suffering their fates.

Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny: An Original African American Scare Tale by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Barry Moser
A boy and his uncle become victims of Wee Winnie, a witch who hangs her skin on a hook by the door and flies around on people. Only the boy's grandmother can save them, but how do you trick a witch, especially one as gruesome as Wee Winnie? The illustrations are wood engravings which up the creep factor even more and will haunt readers.

Forbidden by Eve Bunting
A teenage orphan girl is sent to live with an aunt and uncle she has never met on the stormy coast of Scotland. She finds herself surrounded by people, including her relatives, who are threatening and mysterious. Suspicious and determined to learn the truth about her new home, she finds answers that are more horrifying than anything she could have imagined.

Sara K Joiner is the author of After the Ashes. She is also a public librarian.