The Day of Ahmed's Secret by Florence Parry Heide illustrated by Ted Lewin

Image from this video (well worth watching)

"Today I have a secret, and all day long my secret will be like a friend to me. Tonight I will tell it to my family, but now I have work to do in the city."

Ahmed rides on his small cart pulled by his donkey. The city of Cairo is noisy and filled with people trading and shopping. Ahmed notices the sounds and the colours. He enjoys a quick meal of beans and noodles, but he cannot pause for long because he has deliveries to make - heavy bottles of fuel. 

With older students I would like this book with the UNICEF Rights of the Child:

28. Education: Every child has the right to an education. Primary education should be free. Secondary and higher education should be available to every child. Children should be encouraged to go to school to the highest level possible.

32. Protection from harmful work: Children have the right to be protected from doing work that is dangerous or bad for their education, health or development. If children work, they have the right to be safe and paid fairly.

When I spied this book at a recent charity book sale I knew it would be a terrific choice. As is often the way with books I pick up at the fair, I do wonder how this book came to be here in Australia. Someone has inscribed it "to Leo happy reading love Grandma Bea". I wonder if Leo read his gift. I wonder if Bea knew the author or illustrator or if she realised this book (published in 1990) contains an important story about the power of education and literacy? 

Publisher blurb (spoiler included): Ahmed drives his donkey cart through the streets of Cairo, delivering butane gas cylinders to his father's customers. He knows everyone and has a part to play in the life of the city. He is proud to be strong enough to help his family, but most of all he is proud of his precious secret, a secret that he keeps until the end of the day. The book reveals a lot about Ahmed's life, and finally his secret - that he can write his name.

Florence Parry Heide died in 2011. She wrote over 100 books including the famous series about Treehorn. The co-author of this book Judith Heide Gilland is her daughter. Ted Lewin died in 2021. He illustrated over 200 books. (Kirkus have talked about lots of them). I have already talked about his book about puffins! Here are two others:

Read about Eve Bunting here

The Frindle Files by Andrew Clements illustrated by Brian Selznick

Josh is a student at Clara Vista Middle School. His English teacher (ELA) is Mr N. I love the way he teaches but for Jake it is all too old fashioned. Mr N sets assignments that need to be hand written (neatness counts) and he has no technology in his classroom - instead every student is expected to have, and use, a copy of an old grammar book called The Elements of Style, 4th ed., by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White (yes that is THE EB White author of Charlotte's Web).

Josh wasn’t sure if Mr. N even owned a computer. There was a rumor that once he’d had a big argument with Mr. Ortega about posting his homework assignments on the school website. Mr. N had told the principal that writing assignments on the board in his classroom was enough—and he didn’t mean one of the SMART Boards that every other teacher used. No, Mr. N had an actual chalkboard that he could move around the room on wheels. The whiteboard was there, but Mr. N kept it hidden behind a huge poster about the parts of speech.

Josh breezes through his other homework but for Mr N he now need paper and a pen. He has almost completed his work when the ink runs out so he picks out a pen from his mother's desk.

Back at the kitchen table, Josh was about to start writing again. Then he noticed something printed on the side of the pen—one word, in bold black letters: It was a word he’d never seen before, which made him curious. And Josh did what any other plugged-in kid would do: He searched the word on his browser—f-r-i-n-d-l-e. And then he hit return. Whoa, 270,000 results?!

What is going on? It's just a pen? Or is it?

“Hey, Mom, where did you get this pen?” She looked, and then smiled. “I’ve had that since sixth grade. Everyone at my school started calling pens frindles, and when those showed up in stores, I bought a couple—so did all my friends. It was kind of a big thing for a while.”

Josh digs deeper and find a photo of the school kid who invented the word 'Frindle' and this kid sure does look like ... Mr N!!

It is now page 9 of a 214 page book. Josh is a very curious boy. He now has a mystery to solve and because he knows Mr N loves words and writing there might be a way to make this interesting. AND Josh is a computer nerd so he can easily do tons of research about this and keep it organised into folders with evidence and photos and online newspaper clippings and so we now have the The Frindle Files. 

Using a fine-tipped Sharpie, he had written the word Frindle in bold black letters along the barrel of a plain white plastic pen. And now that word on that pen was right there on that desk, waiting for Mr. N to discover it. And when he did, Josh would be watching.

Mr N does react but not at all in the way Josh expects and now the battle is on - a battle of wits and words but can there really be a winner? And can this 'joke' go too far?

The Frindle Files publisher blurb: Josh Willet is a techie, a serious gamer. Which is why Josh and his friends can’t stand Mr. N’s ELA class; it’s a strict no-tech zone. Mr. N makes them write everything out by hand, he won’t use a Smartboard, and he’s obsessed with some hundred-year-old grammar book. Then Josh discovers a secret; turns out Mr. N's been keeping a lot more than technology from his students! Together with his best friend Vanessa, and using all the computer skills they’ve got, Josh is determined to solve the mystery of Mr. N’s past. And maybe get some screentime back, too?

You should also feel inspired to read or reread Charlotte's Web after you finish The Frindle Files. 

Frindle (1996) is a book that I read and loved when it was first published.  I mentioned I had read the 'sequel' to Rachel Robson at Gleebooks here in Sydney and she almost swooned - so strong was her own memory of loving Frindle. Sadly, Andrew Clements died late in 2019 so this is his final book which was published posthumously. I did smile when Josh's little sister Sophie asked to see Bluey.

Here's a recap/blurb for Frindle (The Frindle Files can stand alone BUT your reading experience will be so much richer if you have read this famous predecessor). 

Bookseller blurb: Is Nick Allen a troublemaker? He really just likes to liven things up at school -- and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever...the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero. His teacher wants Nick to put an end to all this nonsense, but the funny thing is frindle doesn't belong to Nick anymore. The new word is spreading across the country, and there's nothing Nick can do to stop it.

Or perhaps you could read my 2012 blog post.

The Frindle Files paperback edition has just arrived here in Australia (March 10th 2026) - rush to your favourite independent bookstore today to secure your copy. 

Now that you have your copies of Frindle and The Frindle Files head into your school or local library and borrow some more fantastic books by this master storyteller. My own favourites are:

Extra Credit

Bear and Bird: The Secret and other stories by Jarvis

The List - Bear is upset that everyone else has a great nickname. In a moment of temper she writes a list of really awful names about her friend Bird. Rabbit arrives and offers to do the shopping and somehow the two lists are mixed up. How lucky because Bird gets the shopping list and wait till you see what happened to the nasty list.

The Lasagna - it is okay to like different things. Bird likes tambourines, a film about worms on holiday and the sounds of eating banana. The friends can't seem to agree so they decide to write their own lists of things they don't like. The contents of their lists are hilarious - slug slime shampoo; the word serious; that book about an alligator with false teeth and the word armadillo. Can the friends resolve their differences?

Secrets - this one ends with a Birthday Party! I reminded me of Pat Hutchins The Surprise Party; Max Velthuis Frog and the Surprise Party and Got to get to Bears. Take a look at this post.

The tree - this is a story about how (not) to play Hide and Seek. (Click that label attached to this post to find lots more hide and seek stories).

Publisher blurb: Best friends Bear and Bird may not always understand each other, but they always want the other to be happy. So when Bird feels left out because Bear has given a cute nickname to everyone but her, she’s relieved when her hasty list of names for Bear doesn’t reach him (Stinky Sock Muffin, anyone?). And when the two of them learn they have zero dislikes in common—from lasagna to chess to the word armadillo—and wonder if they can still be friends, they soon realize there’s one important dislike they can both agree on. Whether the challenge is being hopeless at keeping a secret (Bear), or getting befuddled about the rules for hide-and-seek (Bear again), this ever-endearing pair continue to charm in a sixth set of gentle stories.

Take a look at my previous post about the author illustrator Jarvis.

The world needs more books like this! The Bear and Bird series are written for newly independent readers who need to read real books not 'readers'. They contain short chapters which are self-contained stories and even better they have glorious colour illustrations. If you work in a Primary School library, please please pop this book series onto your shopping list. They only cost around AUS$16 each so for less then $100 you will have six splendid books to share with your young readers. 

Here are the titles in order: 

• Bear and Bird: The Picnic and Other Stories
• Bear and Bird: The Stars and Other Stories
• Bear and Bird: The Adventure and Other Stories
• Bear and Bird: The Stick and Other Stories
• Bear and Bird: The Cave and Other Stories
• Bear and Bird: The Secret and Other Stories

Plus a picture book - The Cloud: A Bear and Bird

Blurb: When Bear arrives at the Woody Woods for the first time, he is looking for a friend. But it seems like all the friends are already taken. Then he meets Bird, who is looking for something, too—the Puffy Fluffy Octopus Cloud! Bear decides to help her look for it, and so begins an unexpected adventure . . . Will they ever find that octopus-shaped cloud? 

Perhaps they might find something even better!

The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

As this story opens Lizzie boarding a ship bound for the USA - she is being sent to stay with her wealthy grandmother. Trouble is Lizzie has NO intention of taking this trip. Her mother is missing and Lizzie needs to stay in England and find her. Yes there is a war unfolding and yes it might be dangerous but Lizzie knows her mother is not dead, as she has been told, and that she needs to find her brother and then solve the mystery of her mothers disappearance. The opening scene where she tricks her chaperone and gets off the boat would be a fabulous way to introduce this book to your library group. 

Lizzie has such a cheeky and distinctive voice in this story which is told with alternating voices. I Ioved the scene where Lizzie 'tricks' the chaperone for the second time and also her unfolding relationship with Colin - son of the innkeeper. 

You can 'hear' Lizzie in these three quotes:

I prefer being straightforward. My older brother, Jakob, used to be straightforward. Before Willa disappeared, that is. Willa is our mother. Killed in a bomb blast, they told us. A falsity I refuse to accept. I no longer refer to her as Mother because she’s not currently here to “mother” me. So it’s easier, and hurts less, to call her by her first name. Precocious? Probably. Willa is American. From a posh place called Cleveland. Some say that explains why I’m so straightforward, because I’m half American. They say the word “American” as if it’s scandalous. I love that. Willa loved it too.

“I don’t know what’s being done here, sir. But from the look of the wallpaper, this room has not long been a war office. From the annoyance in your tone, you are not welcoming visitors this evening. My apologies for that. I’d be grateful if you could provide a bit more information or clues to solve the puzzle,” I reply.

“Perfection? But perfection is boring and forgettable. It’s the imperfections that I find interesting.” “Goodness, you sound so adult. Are you a philosopher, Elizabeth?” “I prefer Lizzie, if that’s all right with you. And heavens no, I’m not a philosopher. I just have the awful habit of speaking whatever pops into my head. I think it’s because I’m half American.”

And here is the voice of Jakob:

Am I in charge of her now? No, I can’t be. I’ve got work to do. More important work than I ever imagined doing. There’s no way I can look after Lizzie at the same time. I can’t even talk to her. Can’t answer the storm of questions I know is coming. I wish I could just turn to her and say, “Look, Lizzie, I’m a cryptanalyst. A code breaker. It’s all very hush-hush.” Sounds ridiculous, I know. A line from a bad play. But the thing is, if I told her the truth, how I got into all of this, she’d accuse me of exactly that—imagining myself in some far-fetched spy drama.

The Bletchley Riddle has almost 400 pages and 94 chapters - but the action just races along. I found myself reading this book deep into the night and again early the next morning. I highly recommend this one for readers aged 10+.

Publisher blurb: It is the summer of 1940. The world is at war. These days, you don’t know who you can trust or who might be a secret spy… Maths whizz Jakob Novis has been recruited to the secret codebreaking centre at Bletchley Park. As Jakob works to crack the Nazi’s Enigma cipher, his younger sister Lizzie is busy on an undercover mission of her own: to find their mother. Filled with codes to decipher and mysteries to unravel, this is the unputdownable historical adventure that will have you on the edge of your seats.

Take a look at the official trailer. 

A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates. Kirkus

In a compelling mystery, written by two award-winning authors, and told in two voices, the dark cloud of their mom’s disappearance hangs over vivid, well-researched depictions of the Bletchley Park code-breaking operation. The story incorporates many of the significant, real-life, historic heroes who, together, arguably shortened WWII by years. It also depicts life in London at the onset of the war. It’s topped off perfectly with a sweet dash of adolescent crushing. A book and a hug

It was good to know a little about the circumstances of this story prior to reading The Bletchley Riddle. I had already read I Spy: A Bletchley Park Mystery by Rhian Tracey and seen the movie The Imitation Game an Oscar-nominated movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley from 2015 and also the television series The Bletchley Circle. I have now discovered the I Spy is the first book in a trilogy - Book 1: I, Spy: A Bletchley Park Mystery (2023) Book 2: Hide and Seek: A Bletchley Park Mystery (2024) Book 3: Wink, Murder: a Bletchley Park Mystery (2025). I am not sure if I have seen the other movie Enigma staring Kate Winslet from 2001. 

It is amazing and somewhat exciting to think about the work of code breakers - even though the circumstances in this story are based on real life and of course this is about life and death for thousands of innocent citizens during World War II. The codes themselves were so complex it seems amazing that they were ever cracked. Those men and women who worked at Bletchley had such brilliant minds and amazing perseverance. 

Image source: Bletchley Park

This book is a perfect blend of adventure, characters you come to care deeply about and real events. Here are two quotes about the work at Bletchley: 

The work undertaken at Bletchley was extremely secret, with staff forbidden from discussing their roles with anyone outside the park – even their own families. The need for secrecy was so great that some Bletchley veterans never revealed the true nature of their wartime service, even decades later.

Work at Bletchley Park began in the Mansion and its outbuildings, with a staff of around 150 people. As more and more people arrived to join the codebreaking operations, the various sections began to move into large pre-fabricated wooden huts set up on the lawns of the Park. For security reasons, the various sections were known only by their hut numbers. The first operational break into Enigma came around the 23 January 1940, when the team working under Dilly Knox, with the mathematicians John Jeffreys, Peter Twinn and Alan Turing, unravelled the German Army administrative key that became known at Bletchley Park as ‘The Green’. Encouraged by this success, the Codebreakers managed to crack the ‘Red’ key used by the Luftwaffe (German air force). In addition to German codes, Italian and later Japanese systems were also broken. Source Bletchley Park

Further Reading

History Tools: Uncovering the Enigma: The Untold Story of Bletchley Park‘s Codebreaking Triumphs

Visiting Bletchley Park - this site contains a wealth of information - well worth a deep dive

History Learning

Warfare History Network

Companion book:

Max in the House of Spies

The voice of Lizzie also reminded me of this book:

Faceles

In her review Ms Yingling mentions this book as another title to explore about the code breakers of WWII.

Read more on the author web page

You could use The Bletchley Riddle as a way to talk with your students about writing effective descriptions - here are a couple of terrific examples:

The man looks Jakob up and down and so do I. He’s taller than I remember but still has a boyish face. His trousers and jacket are wrinkled. Tie poorly knotted. Faint gray crescents ring his tired brown eyes, and his bedraggled curls are longer than usual. Has he been sleeping on the street?

A tall, narrow figure in a trench coat and hat stands alone on the moonlit platform. He starts toward us with the awkward gait of a marionette. He inhales on his cigarette, and the glowing tip illuminates his face. Something about him resembles my old doll with the smashed glass eye, or a curious illustration from a medical encyclopedia. I like him instantly.

A man in a tweed suit stands alone and sock-footed in the grass. His eyes are closed and his face lifts toward the sun. He wears an apricot bow tie which, by my estimation, makes him very approachable.

Act of Faith by Kelly Gardiner

Act of Faith is a book about books, about freedom, and about friendship. It’s an adventure story set in an era when ideas were dangerous and many books were banned: 

when an educated young woman was not only unusual but sometimes feared. 

A novel for young adults, it traces the story of Isabella Hawkins as she travels across Europe in search of a place where writers are free to publish, women are able to work, 

and people are free to dream.

Publisher blurb: A story of faith, intrigue and adventure in 17th-century Europe. Ages 14+

When ideas were dangerous, one girl found the courage to act. England, 1640. Sixteen-year-old Isabella is forced to flee her home when her father's radical ideas lead him into a suicidal stand against Oliver Cromwell's army. taking refuge in Amsterdam and desperate to find a means to survive, Isabella finds work with an elderly printer, Master de Aquila, and his enigmatic young assistant, Willem. When Master de Aquila travels to Venice to find a publisher brave enough to print his daring new book, Isabella accompanies him and discovers a world of possibility - where women work alongside men as equal partners, and where books and beliefs are treasured. But in a continent torn apart by religious intolerance, constant danger lurks for those who don't watch their words. And when the agents of the Spanish Inquisition kidnap de Aquila to stop him printing his book, Isabella and Willem become reluctant allies in a daring chase across Europe to rescue him from certain death.

Act of Faith was published in 2011 but it is still available. Here is an interview with the author about the inspiration for her book. You can read a sample of this book on the publisher page. This timeline will help you identify the major historical events that link to the setting of this book. Here are some very detailed teachers notes and discussion questions. 

Read this review for a very detailed account of the plot. 

Awards

• Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable Australian Book 2012.
• Highly commended, Australian Society of Authors’ Barbara Jefferis Awards 2012
• Shortlist, 2012 Gold Inky Award
• Shortlist, Ethel Turner Prize, NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.

The cover of this book caught my eye as I was assisting with a library stocktake (inventory) in a local school. This is not really a book for readers in a Primary School - it will better suit Young Adult readers aged 13+ mainly because it covers a complex period of world history around 1640; the print is very small; and there are some graphic details of executions. 

Here is the sequel from 2013

Bookseller blurb for The Sultan's Eyes: It’s 1648, and Isabella has made a home for herself in Venice, safe from the clutches of the Inquisition. She, her friend Willem, and their mentor, the irascible Signora Contarini, work together as printers and publishers. Their publishing house is famous throughout Europe for one title: The Sum of All Knowledge, a revolutionary book of history and philosophy that has brought them - yet again - to the attention of the authorities. Then Isabella’s nemesis, Fra Clement, is appointed Inquisitor in Venice, and vows to stamp out heretical printing. Isabella knows she will no longer be safe in the city, and, guided by their learned cartographer Al-Qasim, the three friends make their escape to the one place they feel sure Fra Clement will never follow: the fabled city of Constantinople, now ruled by the Ottoman Empire. 

They are greeted as esteemed guests, in a city where beautiful books are still written and illustrated by hand, and mechanised printing is frowned upon. Isabella and Signora Contarini are welcomed into the royal household, ruled by the all-powerful Queen Mother, Kösem, in the name of her grandson, the child-Sultan Mehmet IV, who lives in the Palace’s legendary Golden Cage. Isabella quickly becomes friends with the boy king and his elder sister and acts as Mehmet’s eyes: she reads to him and teaches them both the languages of antiquity and of Europe. Engrossed in her duties, she doesn’t at first notice that Willem is besotted with a young slave girl called Suraiya - or that Signora Contarini and Al-Qasim are involved in an underground movement to bring the printing press to the Ottoman Empire. And none of them notice the mysterious foreigners who follow their every move. For the famous Sultanate of Women is far from serene. Court politics and an impending war with Europe place Isabella and her friends in danger - from forces within the Golden Cage, and beyond.

Adult readers who enjoyed The Dictionary of Lost Words might also enjoy Act of Faith.

The Valley of Lost Secrets by Lesley Parr

Like many other children during World War II, Jimmy and his brother Ronnie are sent away from London - in this case to a remote village in Wales. Jimmy is desperate to return home. He wants to protect his brother and he has great difficulty accepting the kindness offered by Gwen and Alun Thomas. Luckily they stay very patient with him even though he is rude and surly. Wandering on his own he climbs a tree on the outskirts of the village and he finds a human skull. Jimmy has a wild imagination and he is sure there must be a murderer on the loose in Llanbryn. 

One of the other evacuated children is a girl named Florence. Back in London Florence was shunned for her poor family and ragged clothes but her foster family in this little village also show her wonderful kindness and like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon Florence emerges as a very different girl to the one Jimmy previously knew and shunned. Thank goodness Jimmy is able to accept Florence as a new friend because she is a very smart girl and she helps Jimmy solve the mystery of the skull and she also shows him that it is important to be kind - to his brother and to Mr and Mrs Thomas.

Teacher-Librarians will cheer when Florence takes Jimmy and Ronnie to the library so they can research human bones and the time it takes for a body to decay - all of this information is crucial as they edge closer to a solution to this mystery. 

Author blurb: When Jimmy is evacuated to a small village in Wales, it couldn't be more different from London. Green, quiet and full of strangers, he instantly feels out of place. But then he finds a skull hidden in a tree, and suddenly the valley is more frightening than the war. Who can Jimmy trust? His brother is too little; his best friend has changed. Finding an ally in someone he never expects, they set out together to uncover the secrets that lie with the skull. What they discover will change Jimmy - and the village - forever.

Read more plot details in each of these reviews:

This is a well-constructed mystery, with a most enjoyable and interesting storyline that contains lots of diverting paths that join up beautifully. Kids' Book Review

Many topics are addressed as Jimmy’s story is revealed, such as: bullying, bigotry, anxiety, loss, the burden of secrets kept, and changing friendships. All are sensitively explored as the adventure unfolds. The totally credible characters capture reader empathy as the issues are explored honestly, but ultimately the book leaves the reader with understanding as prejudices are overcome, lies are uncovered and the mystery of a death that has shadowed a life for years is explained and resolved. Historical Novel Society

Overall, this is a thrilling and touching story about change, family, and friendship, and also about giving people the chance – to support you, and surprise you. Setting the “mystery” storyline aside briefly, I feel that the story is a good look at the evacuee experience, showing both positives and negatives from both sides.  Libraries 4 Schools

I have a Pinterest collection of Middle Grade Novels set during World War II - here is the section about evacuees. 

I spied this book at a recent charity book sale. I recognised the name Lesley Parr and I now discover that this is her first book. I previously read:

Last year I visited Wales and I made a collage of all the books I have read that are set in Wales:

Candle Island Lauren Wolk

"Six mysteries waited for me on Candle Island.

One involved a bird.

The second a hidden room.

A song the third.

A poet the fourth.

A cat fifth.

A fire sixth.

Each of them exciting in its own way.

But none more interesting than the mystery I took there with me."

Begin with the cover - I really like it and after reading this book you will want to go back and see how an important story element has been incorporated into this illustration. 

Here is the quote on the opening page - it is very pertinent to this story:

"As music is the poetry of sound, so is painting the poetry of sight." James McNeill Whistler

I think sensitive readers (with some reading stamina) aged 10+ will really enjoy Candle Island. I had no idea this story was set in the 1970s (see the Kirkus review).  I loved the island setting and the way Lucretia and her mum were keeping the identity of the artist of their famous paintings a secret kept me turning the pages knowing that they were sure to be discovered. I was also happy that there was no twist at the end and that the bad things that happened on the island were all down to those awful rich kids as Lucretia, Bastian and Murdock suspected. If you look at the labels I have assigned this post you can see the plot covers a lot of things - Lucretia finds a wounded baby bird (an osprey) and she nurses him back to health; there are three summer kids who are dreadful bullies; there is an art theft; the island is small and suspicious of strangers; Lucretia and her mum are experiencing terrible pain after the death of her father; and each of the three island kids has a special talent. Oh, and I do need to mention two more things - mum cooks delicious food in this book and I adore the town librarian (I think I need to make a list of books that feature very special librarians).

Curious readers might want to know more about osprey birds after reading this book. Also Lucretia is named after Lucretia Mott - a Quaker suffragist and anti-slavery campaigner. You might also want to learn more about the scale of being or the Great Chain of Being. 

Candle Island is set on an island - I know that is obvious - so I was not surprised to read Lauren Wolk lives on Cape Cod. I really enjoy visiting islands and I enjoy books set on islands and even though I have not been there for some reason Maine, USA has a special fascination for me.

Here are some text quotes:

"When I let myself spill onto the canvas like melted wax, I built a world where I felt exactly right, entirely who I really was. Free. Unwatched. Alone."

"He was singing a story. A sad one that suddenly became something else and then something else again, the colour changing as the story did, from a radiant magenta to some kind of violet. And then a gold I rarely heard."

"When I hit the water, my head exploded. Every particle of my body panicked. It was as if I'd been injected with frozen mint. As if my skin was size too small. As if I'd been scoured with a wire brush dipped in acid. All of that, all at once."

The town librarian - notice the placement of the word beautiful: "She was old. Thin. In a black dress with a lace collar. Her hair was a beautiful white, twisted into a crown on top of her head. Her skin was the same deep brown as my eyes. ... At her full height she was smaller than I was, but she seemed much taller."

"The most common form of despair is not being who you are - Soren Kierkegaard"

There are certain authors for children that are capable of the kind of writing that is not merely full of strong character growth and interesting plotting, but legitimately lovely prose as well. On a single page I found lines that end with glimpses of a “bruise-blue sea.” Or, when Lucretia thinks about befriending the prickly Murdock, she is thinking of, “How adding even a little yellow to the coldest gray could warm it toward something altogether new. But Murdock was a girl, not a painting. I would have to remember that.” I mark in my copy of this book the lines I like best. What’s remarkable about them is how seamlessly they’re integrated into the plot. Betsy Bird SLJ

And bottom line, this is a beautiful book set on a beautiful island off the coast of Maine. It will linger in your heart. Sonder Books

Wolk’s latest novel wonderfully portrays new relationships while tackling grief and self-discovery. The characters are well developed, and readers can see parts of themselves and those they know. The book also has several small mysteries that readers will be itching to solve. While a work of historical fiction, the story has the modern feel of a quiet life without current technology and trends. School Library Journal

Here is an interview with Lauren Wolk.

I spied this book some weeks ago and knowing how much I loved every previous book by Lauren Wolk, I added it to my 'to read' and 'to buy' list. Luckily for me this book has appeared in the library where I work as a volunteer, so I borrowed it and read it over one or two days. This is a longish book with 340 pages, but the print size makes it easy to read and of course Lauren Wolk creates a page turning story with characters you really care about. The library has a copy because this book was sold as a Scholastic Australia Book Club title (issue 5, 2025 AUS$12). We are having extreme rain conditions in my city and so today (after some very necessary chores) I snuggled down beside my heater and finished read Candle Island.

Publisher (Scholastic Australia) blurb: Lucretia and her mother have come to tiny Candle Island, Maine (Population: Summer, 986; Winter, 315) with a secret to keep ... and to escape—escape memories of the car accident that killed her father and escape the journalists that hound her mother, a famous and reclusive artist. The rocky coast and ocean breeze are a welcome respite for Lucretia, who dedicates her summer days to painting, exploring the island, and caring for an orphaned osprey chick. But Candle Island also has secrets—a hidden room in her new house, a mysterious boy with a beautiful voice—and just like the strong tides that surround the shores, they will catch Lucretia in their wake. With an unforgettable New England setting and a complex web of relationships old and new, this is a powerful story about art, loss and the power of being true to your own voice.

There is a huge error in my Scholastic Australia copy of this book. This book was originally published in hardcover by the Penguin Young Readers Group [9780593698549]. My copy in paperback is a new 'edition' BUT the imprint page does not acknowledge the original publisher or date of publication AND the author's name is spelt incorrectly as Wolke. This is funny but also disturbing. 

Other books I have loved by Lauren Wolk:

Wolf Hollow

My Own Lightning

Beyond the Bright Sea

Echo Mountain

Faceless by Kathryn Lasky

"She realised she had entered the twilight world of evil, and at its very center was the dark heart of hatred. A hatred that was seeping through everything good, everything honorable. This was to be her mission now. Her war. To find out the secrets of this evil Nazi regime and report them to His Majesty's secret service."

Blurb: Over the centuries, a small clan of spies called the Tabula Rasa has worked ceaselessly to fight oppression. They can pass unseen through enemy lines and “become” other people without being recognized. They are, essentially, faceless.  Alice and Louise Winfield are sisters and spies in the Tabula Rasa. They’re growing up in wartime England, where the threat of Nazi occupation is ever near. But Louise wants to live an ordinary life and leaves the agency. Now, as Alice faces her most dangerous assignment yet, she fears discovery, but, most of all, she fears losing her own sister.

There are moments reading this book that I am sure, like me, you will begin to think perhaps all of this is real - perhaps this is the way spies work - perhaps the Tabula Rosa was a real resistance organisation in World War II. Of course, there is no way children were used like this for espionage let alone as part of the plan to assassinate Hitler, but other parts of this story are linked with just enough history of this period and so it will appeal to Young Adult fans of historical fiction.

The story begins in London early in 1944 and the final scenes come with the news in 1945 that Hitler is dead. Alice and her mother and father travel to Berlin. Her father gains a job as a motor mechanic working on cars for high-ranking Nazi officers. Alice goes to school with the idea of becoming a perfect student so that she too can get close to the German authorities. She has to learn the culture, the language, and above all she has to be completely 'forgettable'. She also has to know every part of Wagner's Ring Cycle - a favourite of Hitler. Later she even has to perform parts of this for Hitler himself. 

Here is the full review/plot summary from Publisher's Weekly (quoted by Kathryn Lasky on her blog):

Set during WWII, Newbery Honoree Lasky’s intense historical drama follows a white family of spies whose tradition of serving Great Britain dates back to Henry VIII. Thirteen-year-old Alice Winfield has for years trained for her first A-level mission, and her celebrated older sister, Louise, once promised to be her guide. But when Louise opts out of the family business, only Alice and her mother join the teens’ undercover father on a secret mission in Berlin: taking down Hitler. Upon arrival, Alice becomes Ute, a German girl “certified to be... Aryan, with no contamination of foreign blood.” As Alice works to achieve high marks in school and remain as unnoticeable and unmemorable as the “tabula rasas” from which she is descended, she finds herself dangerously drawn to an unhoused boy. With a well-detailed historical backdrop and a puzzling familial mystery, this novel delivers intrigue via tense scenes involving Hitler himself. Albeit fictional, this up-close glimpse at the historical figure’s inner circle and last days centers an unnervingly calm protagonist maintaining an elaborate ruse while navigating the increasingly dangerous streets of Berlin, where knowing who is friend and foe determines survival.

Fascinating and riveting, especially for history buffs and spy aficionados. Kirkus

Take a look at this review from the Jewish Book Council and this one from the Historical Novel Society.

I did enjoy Faceless but it is a long book with nearly 300 pages of very small print. I think it will best suit readers aged 12+. Parts of the plot from Faceless do overlap with the two books I have put as companion titles - All the Beautiful Things and Max in the House of Spies (or more specifically the sequel Max in the Land of Lies). 

Kathryn Lasky comes from a Jewish family. Here are three other Young Adult books she has written about World War II and which can be linked with Faceless.

Companion books:

All the Beautiful Things

Max in the House of Spies

Kathryn Lasky has a huge and impressive body of work - over 100 books. I think the first book I read by Kathryn Lasky was Night Journey. In 1985 in one of my first school libraries the Principal (without reference to the Teacher-Librarian) ordered nearly every book from the Puffin Books catalogue. The Night Journey was published in 1981 so it was among the books that arrived from a distant bookshop. In some ways having him order all of these books was very frustrating but now I realise it gave me the opportunity to read so many fabulous 1980s children's books such as The Night Journey which is where I read about the samovar for the first time.  I also had her Show and Tell Bunnies picture book series in my two of my previous school libraries and all of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole books. On this blog I recently talked about the first book from the Glendunny series. 

The Secrets of Glendunny

Our Sister, again by Sophie Cameron

"Welcome to Project Homecoming and exclusive trial by Second Chances Ltd.

You are part of one of the most ambitious and pioneering projects ever carried out in the field of Artificial Intelligence. 

One that, if successful will change how we think about 

and experience life and death forever."

Life is a mystery and so is death but we do know that when someone dies we cannot see them again. In books there is an unwritten rule that death is never reversed or so it seems to me. In this book a young girl is 'brought' back and this has huge implications. This book will most certainly make readers think deeply about grief, death, what it means to be human and also the implications of technology in our lives.

Isla's sister has died. Mum is wrapped up in grief and so when she reads about a way to bring Flora back to 'life' she readily agrees. What does this mean? What are the implications for the family of agreeing to the Second Chances Homecoming Project. What are the implications for the community who have all signed confidentially agreements? And what about the other teenagers who were friends with Flora? They have grieved and attended her funeral and now she is back. But they are older because three years have passed. If this version of Flora is frozen in time and only has the memories. possibly unreliable memories, collected by Second Chances, is she a real person? Mum does not want to see the truth and dad is sure this is totally wrong, so he has left the family and moved away from their island home. Now that Flora is back should she go back to school? Is there any point in sitting exams? And of course, the kids in her class from before have left the school and are at college.

Is Flora person or a robot? "As Flora turns towards the harbour steps her hair falls to the side and shows the back of her pale neck. ... Carved into her skin, only just visible above her jacket, is a small square."

Is this Flora, really Flora? "The returnee has been created using vast amounts of data, in addition to photos, videos and extensive interviews with your loved one's friends and family."

"Our returnees look entirely human ... We are confident that this new arrival will be an extremely close match to the person you remember. However, please be aware that there are some differences. Returnees do not need to sleep, they cannot be fully submerged in water, (they do not need to eat), and they don't fall sick with human illnesses."

The food part about the returnee made my stomach squirm. In the first few days Flora does eat with the family but the food goes into a food compartment in her body and she has to regularly empty it. Eventually she just gives up this charade of eating. 

"Losing Flora so young made me realise that growing old is a gift not everyone gets."

Dad "doesn't think she's human ... He says you can't rebuild a soul and you can't be a human without a soul."

Exploring a number of ethical questions, Our Sister, Again is simultaneously an intriguing mystery and a moving story of grief, family bonds, and what it means to be human.  Book Trust

It's an emotional story, and heartwarming too. The Book Bag (read this full review - it is very thoughtful)

This is an incredibly powerful, compelling and absorbing read that raises issues around personhood, ethics and social media.  ... And, that ending – it brought tears and smiles – and was exquisite! Book Craic