Meyer, Susan Lynn Skating with the Statue of Liberty, 298
pages. Delacorte (Random), 2016. $17.
Language: G (mentions of racial taunts, but no words); Mature Content:
G; Violence: PG (mild fighting).
Gustave and his family have escaped Nazi-infested Europe,
but that doesn’t necessarily prepare them to make a new life in New York
City. Fitting in at school with his
French clothing is difficult and he doesn’t understand white American’s hatred
of black people. Hopefully with hard
work he can help his family find a way and learn what he can change about
himself and what he should ignore in order to find a better path.
If you have an need or an audience for historical fiction,
especially in the upper elementary, then this would be a good one to
acquire. Honest, without being brutal or
exploitative, it paints a picture of life in the US in the 1940’s.
EL, MS – OPTIONAL.
Cindy, Library Teacher
Posts
2 comments:
WWII books set in the US are a very hard sell in my library. Fighting in any theater or anything involving the Holocaust, yes; anything showcasing the Homefront, no. Sad but true.
Hello--this is Susan Meyer, the author, chiming in. Thanks so much for the review, Kiss the Book! Ms. Yingling, that's interesting (although regretable) to hear. I wonder if you might find more interest from your young readers if you described it as any of the following things, all of which are the case: 1) a book about a war refugee and his struggles assimilating to America 2) a book with a central black girl character 3) a book in which Boy Scouts play an important role 4) a sequel to BLACK RADISHES, my first novel, a book about a Jewish boy escaping from Nazi-occupied France 5) a book about the early civil rights movement (the Double V campaign) 6) a book about inter-racial friendships. Will you let me know how it goes with your readers? Thanks! You can find me online at www.susanlynnmeyer.com
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