MMGM: Five Fabulous Books for Kids and Tweens Set in Italy

 

Are you excited for the Milan Olympics? We are quite the Italian fans at my house. My older son taught himself some Italian via Duolingo while we were homeschooling. It is a place on our list to travel to someday. My great-grandfather was from Bari, Italy, so I have a family connection as well. And the great art, the food! 

This month, I decided to take a virtual trip to Italy—through books, of course.

If you love learning about math:

 

Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci by Joseph D'Agnese, Illustrated by John O'Brien

This is a picture book, but I think the content would work well in an upper elementary classroom or homeschool to introduce Fibonacci’s numbers in a fun way. Kids will relate to the fact that Fibonacci was called a Blockhead (not unlike Charlie Brown). I loved using books like this when we were homeschooling to make math more fun, but it’d definitely work well in the classroom too.

If you love learning about Leonardo DaVinci, Milan’s famous inventor/painter:

Leonardo’s Horse by Jean Fritz

You could read all of Jean Fritz books in chronological order for a wonderful overview of history (ask me how I know!). But this book is more centered on art and Leonardo’s obsession with creating a horse sculpture. I didn’t know the story, and I really enjoyed learning about how many setbacks he encountered. And there is a modern happy ending to this tale. 

If you Are interested in Italy during World War II:

For younger readers:

Bartali’s Bicycle: Italy’s Secret Hero by Megan Holt and illustrated by Iacopo Bruno

I am late to the game in praising this book.  I saw it recommended by other MMGM bloggers back when it came out. If you’ve missed this one, do not wait to get it. It follows a cyclist who won the Tour de France and when World War II helped get Jews in Italy to safety.  My favorite part, Bartoli was know for saying: 

“Good is something you do, not something you talk about.”

Just a Girl by Lia Levi with pictures by Jess Mason, translated by Sylvia Notini

This book! The voice is so childlike and innocent and yet Lia goes through so much as Italy changes with the rise and fall of Mussolini (unfortunately the fall doesn’t bring immediate relief). She often stopped to explain in short essays how things would turn out (so readers won’t worry). This juxtaposition of the sweet voice and the few parts of her life that were somewhat normal (putting on plays, squabbling with other children) made this so powerful. Even better, this is a translation from the Italian.

And if you'd love to vicariously travel to Venice:  

 

Rosa by Starlight by Hilary McKay

This was such a fun, whimsical read. I thought it was very Roald Dahl in tone with the orphan living with the unimaginative and cruel aunt and uncle. It’s all handled very light-heartedly, but if have a sensitive reader, you might want to preread. However, what I loved was the magical cat Balthazar, which just is the name of my teddy bear growing up. And Balthazar has a special computer where he can order food! This is magical realism, but also a heartfelt story about a girl learning to find true friends. What's not to love about magical cats in Italy?

 

Max’s take (out of a 5 bone scale)

Max, the Reading Dog

 

 

 

 

 

 🦴🦴🦴

I liked Leonardo’s House. But where are the dogs in books about  Italy? I thought they liked their dogs…ah well. But Stella! You know, I’m not a fan of cats, but I want my own computer for ordering food. My mouth is watering! Just think as much…bacon…cheese…turkey sandwiches…Chick Fil’A Sauce…. Can I get one too?
 

Will you be watching the Winter Olympics? What is your favorite winter sport? And, of course, do you have any favorite books about Italy? Or if you've been there, what is your favorite Italian city?

 

Check out other fabulous middle grades at Always in the Middle!  

 

 

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MMGM: If You Love Pippi Longstocking, Try Maria Parr

This week is spring break in Oregon, so I thought I’d feature a series that is full of fun and the joy of being a kid. These would make a perfect spring break or summer read.

Don’t we need more books like that?

If you love stories about fun heroines with silly antics, you will love these books.

Think: Pippi in Norway

Adventures with Waffles by Maria Parr

Lena is Trille’s best friend, even if she is a girl. And there is never an ordinary day when you’ve got a best friend like Lena.

Hardly a day passes without Trille and Lena inventing some kind of adventure that often ends in trouble. Whether it’s coaxing a cow onto a boat or sledding down the steepest and iciest hill with a chicken, there is always a thrill—and sometimes an injury—to be had. Trille loves to share everything with Lena, even Auntie Granny’s waffles. But when Lena has to move away and Auntie Granny leaves the world, it sometimes seems like nothing will ever be right again. The warmth of friendship and the support of family suffuse this lightly illustrated novel, proving that when times are tough, a little taste of sweetness can make all the difference.
(from Amazon)

Lena, the Sea, and Me by Maria Parr

In a charming sequel to Adventures with Waffles, Trille and Lena navigate the rough waters of friendship when a new soccer coach and a new girl in school disrupt their seaside escapades.

Trille and Lena may be getting older, but they still find everyday adventure - and trouble - in their coastal village, including sinking every raft they build, getting little sisters stuck up flag poles, and attending those dreaded music lessons. But that’s not all. The arrival of a less-than-encouraging new soccer coach is putting twelve-year-old Lena's goalkeeping career in doubt. And Trille is wondering how to impress the girl who has just joined his class. As the best friends battle the elements and their own emotions, one thing is for sure: they're not giving up, not if Lena has anything to do with it! 

In Maria Parr’s follow-up to Adventures with Waffles, the acclaimed author returns to Mathildewick Cove with a rib-tickling story of growing up.
(from Amazon)

What I love about this series:

1.Lena! I had a friend a lot like Lena as a kid, although she was a little more like a frenemy than Lena is. Lena has a huge personality and often Trille is just struggling to keep up with what she’s up to. But she also has a huge heart. You’ll love her.

2. The warmth of family: Trille has a big family and a grandfather that lives with them. For Lena, at least in book 1, it is just her and her mom. Both families and parents give their kids a safe place to fall and enough freedom to explore. (Not that they don’t get in trouble at times!) I just loved spending time with these people.

3. Silliness and seriousness: Book 1 is definitely more silly than Book 2. Trille and Lena go on lots of adventures (including the aforementioned chicken sledding incident). Book 2 is a little more upper middle grade in dealing with crushes, jealousy, and girls not being allowed to play on the boys’ soccer team. I loved how Parr could combine all these elements to make a good story and a beautiful picture of growing up in Norway.

4. Norway! I loved learning about cultural traditions and foods and just how life was a little bit different than here in the States. It is so important to read outside your comfort zone sometimes and novels in translation are a perfect way to do that.

5. Humor! You can probably guess from the description that these books are both laugh out loud funny, which are my favorite types of books to read, and yet are often hard to find. I know it is a key element that my sons always look for as well. So, please, authors, include more humor. (As a writer myself that’s something I’m trying to include myself.)

Max’s Take (on a five bone 🦴scale):

Adventures with Waffles 🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴
Lots of animals in this one! A horse, a chicken, but my favorite part was when Lena and Trille write an advertisement for a dad (for Lena), but someone brings them a dog instead. 

Lena, the Sea, and Me 🦴🦴🦴🦴🦴

Trille's new friend/crush Bridget has a dog. The best part is when Lena finds the dog in the forest and thinks it's an answer to her wish for a brother.

Good book choices this week! Hooray for Maria Parr!
 

Your Turn:

Any plans for the spring? Is it spring break where you are? What types of books do you like to read on vacation or holiday?

Another book I previously featured by Maria Parr: Astrid the Unstoppable

If you'd like to read more middle grade reviews or join in the MMGM fun, go to Greg Pattridge's Always in the Middle blog.

MMGM: Astrid Unstoppable

There’s something about a heroine who gets in trouble a lot that appeals to kids. My students enjoyed No, David! by David Shannon, about a boy who hears no a lot. I loved Ramona Quinby as a kid for this reason, and my son really enjoyed Pippi Longstocking when he was young.

Kids spend so much of their time following directions (or trying to!), so they enjoy reading about a heroine who takes rules and requests as a challenge. 

If you enjoyed Pippi Longstocking or other heroes or heroines who rebel in a fun-loving way, you’ll love Astrid Unstoppable.

Synopsis from Amazon:

Pippi Longstocking meets Heidi meets Anne Shirley in this tale of an irrepressible girl in a mountain village who navigates unexpected changes with warmth and humor.

Speed and self-confidence, that’s Astrid’s motto. Nicknamed “the little thunderbolt,” she loves to spend her days racing down the hillside on her sled, singing loudly as she goes, and visiting Gunnvald, her grumpy, septuagenarian best friend and godfather, who makes hot chocolate from real chocolate bars. She just wishes there were other children to share her hair-raising adventures with. But Astrid’s world is about to be turned upside down by two startling arrivals to the village of Glimmerdal: first a new family, then a mysterious, towering woman who everyone seems to know but Astrid. It turns out that Gunnvald has been keeping a big secret from his goddaughter, one that will test their friendship to its limits. Astrid is not too happy about some of these upheavals in Glimmerdal — but, luckily, she has a plan to set things right.

What I liked:

1. A Norwegian setting and mindset! As I’ve talked about on the blog before, I really enjoy reading books in translation. Reading about another culture from an American who’s lived there can be insightful, but I feel like I get so much of a deeper understanding from books written by someone who is actually a native of that country. 

2. A heroine who is spunky but in a kid-like way. One of my friends recommended this book because the heroine doesn’t act like a junior adolescent. She is just a kid. She does do pranks, but they are innocent. This is a book for kids who like being kids.

3. Endearing relationships with adults. When the story begins, Astrid is the only child in her area of Norway, and although that changes, she still ends the story with her best friends still being a grandfather-like character, who’s a lot of fun. I love stories that show that kids can be friends with people of all ages. 

4. Nods to classics like Heidi. I really enjoyed how the novel Heidi was used in this book. Gunnvald, of course, is like grandfather. And Astrid is a bit like Heidi, bringing joy wherever she goes.

5. Ultimate sledding. Gunnvald’s attempts to create an ultimate sled were really fun. As were Astrid’s mishaps!

6. Other: I can’t forget how much I loved that church was just a part of life, even though Astrid is not particularly religious, and Astrid’s nemesis was another grown up, who just didn’t understand kids.

Content Warning: Some reviewers were upset that some of the adults exhibit bad behaviors, although Astrid doesn't approve of them. I've read too many books where the message of the story is that the child must get used to the parent's bad behavior (especially in the case of divorce). That is not the case here. One character has made some mistakes in his past, and he has to own up to them. Along the way, Astrid, who isn't personally affected, learns that when grown ups make mistakes, it's not the child's fault, which I thought was a great message. I also liked that the author seemed more concerned with conveying life in all its joys and pains rather than trying to teach children a lesson by creating cardboard characters who have never made any mistakes.

However, please be aware that there a few scenes where adults are drunk, take chewing tobacco, and divorce and an out of wedlock birth are part of some of the character's backstories.

What books have you loved lately?

To read more middle grade reviews or join in on the MMGM fun, please go to Greg Pattridge's blog Always in the Middle. 

Kidlit in Translation

I will never forget being asked by a German once about which German books I’d read. I was studying in the Crimea at the time, and it was a legitimate question. I’d just said I was a literature major.

“Have you read Goethe?”

I had not. For my “reading degree,” we stuck to the American and British classics, except for forays in the Odyssey and Dante. But German literature?

His comment made me think.

But I think the same phenomenon continues. American books get sold all over the world, but it’s rare to see books from other countries even in translation here.

So, today I’m highlighting a few kidlit books I’ve enjoyed in translation.

Young Adult:

An Innocent Soldier by Joseph Holub  (He's a Czech author, but the book was originally in German.) A German farmhand is conscripted into Napoleon's Grand Armee to brutally march to Russia in 1811. There's few books in English about this time period, and even fewer for kids.

A Time of Miracles by Anne-Laure Bondoux (France) After the Soviet Union collapses, a young boy, along with Georgia, his guardian, leave Georgia for France. I featured this book in this post. A lovely, thoughtful book.


 

Ruby Red by Kersten Gier (Germany) A time travel fantasy series about a teen girl who takes a spin through time to 18th century England. This book has everything: time travel, teen angst, romance. A fun read.

 

 

 

 

 

Middle Grade:

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke While there are many books about characters from books entering the real world or vice versa, this book is one is a classic and one of the best. The world building alone is amazing. 

The Apprentice Pilar Molina Llorente (Spain)--A thirteen year old apprentices to a moody, vengeful painter during the Renaissance. My son enjoyed getting an insider view of the Renaissance.

Jane, the Fox, and Me (French Canadian) I reviewed this more in depth here, but this is a contemporary retelling of Jane Eyre in graphic novel format!

 

 

 

 

 

 
Have you read any books in translation  that you've enjoyed?

To check out more Marvelous Middle Grade suggestions, check out Shannon Messenger's blog.