The Pinballs by Betsy Byars

Carlie, Thomas J and Harvey have been placed in foster care. Mr and Mrs Mason are beautiful and caring people but the focus of this story is on the three kids. Why have they been sent to foster care? Carlie is a feisty girl but deep in her heart she has a tenderness and a wonderful level of optimism. Harvey has been removed from his dad after a terrible incident where his dad ran over Harvey with his car leaving Harvey with two broken legs. Thomas J has been living with some elderly twins. He was found on their doorstep six years ago. His upbringing has been very strange until the day when the twins, aged eighty-eight had both fallen and broken their hips. Carlie has been placed in other foster homes and slowly over the course of the coming days she reveals her story and gradually lets down her guard. She makes friends with Harvey and Thomas J and is able to accept the kindness of Mrs Mason.

The cover above is for the newest edition (2019) of this book which was written in 1977. I said recently I plan to talk about some older books this year partly to see if they have stood the test of time but also to reintroduce them to you if they are books you remember from long ago. I am happy to say The Pinballs is a very enjoyable read. It has completely stood the test of time except perhaps for minor references to old television shows and I think all readers will be very happy to meet Carlie and walk for a few hours in her shoes. Here is a terrific review with lots more plot details. 

I found many of the previous covers and, to my eye,  nearly all of them are so unappealing which is such a shame because I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting The Pinballs (I read it in one session).  I hope the next re-issue will have a better cover.

"Harvey and me and Thomas J are just like pinballs. somebody put a dime and punched a button and out we came, ready or not, and settled in the same groove. That's all. ... And as soon as they get settled, somebody comes along and puts in another dime and off they go again."

Betsy Byars died in 2020. She wrote more than 65 books. I well remember loving so many of them when I first worked in a school library back in 1985 such as Tornado, Wanted Mud Blossom, The Summer of the Swans, The Midnight Fox, A Blossom promise and The 18th Emergency.

Escape from Aleppo by NH Senzai

Nadia is living through the Arab Spring. She has memories of happier times - shopping, visits to hair salons, new clothes and her large extended family enjoying everyday life. Then the civil war begins. Nadia herself is hit with shrapnel and her family decide to flee but Nadia is left behind. She knows where her father and mother are heading. It is not a great distance in normal circumstances but now there is danger everywhere and Nadia must travel on foot through the dangerous city. She meets a mysterious stranger - Ammo Mazen. He has a cart and a donkey and a puzzling network of connections all over Aleppo. Should Nadia trust this man? Why is he offering to help her? Two other young boys join their tiny group. Nadia now needs to protect them too. But time is running out. Will her family still be waiting at the border? 

I have listed Escape from Aleppo as a Young Adult title. I would recommend it (highly) for readers aged 12+. 

Here are a couple of text quotes from this first person narrative which takes place over just five days:

"A surge of relief flooded through Nadia as she eyed the old man. She knew better than to assume he was no threat, but at least he didn't look like a soldier or a cold-blooded assassin."

"They emerged onto one of the main arteries that ran through the bazaar, lit by skylights embedded in the vaulted ceiling, revealing the extent of the destruction. Nothing much of the souq's rich glory remained, except for hints of the past, strewn on the floor: turquoise shards of pottery, a muddied rug, and torn wisps of bright silk."

Through Nadia’s conversations with other characters and through extensive exposition, readers learn about the impressively vast and complex history of Aleppo and of Syria. The Arab Spring is also treated in detail. Nadia’s flashbacks give insight to life under dictatorship and the drastic changes introduced by war. Kirkus

Escape from Aleppo is a must-read middle grade novel for understanding the evolution of the current political environment in the troubled country of Syria. Ms Yingling

Here is an interview with the author. And here are some teaching ideas and link from the School Library Journal. 

In 2013 I talked about a previous book by NH Senzai - Shooting Kabul. I loved Shooting Kabul - such a haunting story - which is why I ordered Escape from Aleppo.

In some high school English classes students are encouraged to read widely on a topic.  Escape from Aleppo should be included with these other wonderful books about the war in Syria:

No Ballet shoes in Syria

Fox girl and the White Gazelle

A House without Walls

I would also pair this book with Orange's in No Man's Land which has a similar harrowing journey across a war zone and through dangerous check points. 

Oranges in No Man's Land