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THE CRIMSON CAP

Name: THE CRIMSON CAP
Author: Ellen Howard
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2152-7

by Ellen Howard ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2009

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In 1687, when LaSalle’s attempted French settlement in present-day Texas foundered, ten-year-old Pierre Talon left his family to go with the explorer for help but got no further than a Hasinai Indian town, where he grew into manhood before Spaniards came to “rescue” him and he had to choose an identity. Frightened at first by the Hasinai’s strange ways, Pierre is won over by their care during his illness and comes to admire and emulate their skills, becoming part of the community, complete with appropriate tattoos. He learns that people can be complicated: Friends can also be murderers, “savages” may simply be people whose customs are different. Based on historical record and the little information available about the people of the Caddo Confederacy, this moving coming-of-age story is told in third person with the historical background smoothly integrated and supplemented by a character list, map and author’s end note. Like Pierre, readers will find the Hasinai more civilized than the Europeans and sympathize with his difficult choice. A well-imagined window into a little-known past. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-8234-2152-7

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Holiday House

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2009

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CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LOG CABIN WEDDING
by Ellen Howard & illustrated by Ronald Himler

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LOG CABIN CHURCH
by Ellen Howard & illustrated by Ronald Himler

- BOOK REVIEW
THE GATE IN THE WALL
by Ellen Howard

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THE BLETCHLEY RIDDLE

by Ruta Sepetys & Steve Sheinkin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 8, 2024

A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates.

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Siblings decode familial and wartime secrets in 1940 England.

Headstrong 14-year-old Lizzie Novis refuses to believe that her mother, a U.S. embassy clerk who was working in Poland, is dead. After fleeing from her grandmother—who’s attempting to bring her back to America—Lizzie locates her 19-year-old brother, Jakob, a Cambridge mathematician who’s stationed at the clandestine British intelligence site called Bletchley Park. Hiding from her grandmother’s estate steward, Lizzie becomes a messenger at Bletchley Park, ferrying letters across the grounds while Jakob attempts to both break the ciphers generated by the German Enigma machines and help his sister face the reality of their mother’s likely fate. With a suspicious MI5 agent inquiring about Mum and clues and codes piling up, the siblings, whose late father was “Polish Jewish British,” eventually decipher the truth. Shared narrative duties between the siblings effectively juxtapose the measured Jakob with the spirited Lizzie. Lizzie’s directness is repeatedly attributed to her being “half American,” which proves tiresome, but Jakob’s development from reserved to risk-tolerant provides welcome nuance. The authors introduce and carefully explain a variety of decoding methodologies, inspiring readers to attempt their own. A thoughtful and entertaining historical note identifies the key figures who appear in the book, such as Alan Turing, as well as the real-life bases for the fictional characters. Interspersed photos and images of ephemera help situate the narrative’s time period.

A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates. (Historical mystery. 10-14)