Torchlight

Title: Torchlight
Author: Carol Otis Hurst

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Copyright: 2006

Charlotte and Maggie are friends living in the same town in New England during the 1850s, but their friendship is not accepted by most people in Westfield. These two girls are not supposed to be friends because Charlotte is a Yankee while Maggie is Irish. It seems that most of the Yankees in Westfield want the Irish to leave town.

The children of Westfield share their parents dislike of the town's Irish citizens. Charlotte is punished by her Yankee classmates for choosing to be friends with Maggie. The teacher refuses to listen to Charlotte's side of the story and warns her that she needs to change her behavior in order to properly represent her family.

The Yankee dislike of the Irish comes to a head the night of the bonfires when the Yankee citizens of Westfield threaten to burn the church the Irish have been building.

Will Charlotte and Maggie's friendship survive or will the girls be split apart by their families and neighbors?

T4: a Novel in Verse

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Title: T4: a novel in verse
Author: Ann Clare LeZotte
Copyright: 2008

You have probably read stories about the killing of Jewish people during World War II, but have you read about the other groups of people who Hitler tried to eliminate.

Paula is deaf. Her mother had rubella while pregnant with Paula. That combined with a high fever at sixteen months old caused Paula to completely lose her hearing. She and her family have come to accept Paula's deafness, but Paula's country has not.

Paula lives in Germany, which, at the time of our story, is being led by Adolph Hitler. The Jewish people were not the only ones targeted by the Nazis. People with mental and physical disabilities were targeted by a Nazi program known as Action T4, which gave doctors permission to kill disabled people in order to eliminate the "pollution in the gene pool" (LeZotte, p.21).

Father Josef, a Catholic priest, learns of the Nazi plan and endeavors to help keep Paula alive. This is no easy task as there are many Germans who will happily inform the Nazis of happenings at their neighbors' homes.

T4 is told in 66 free verse poems, which come together to tell Paula's story of hiding from the Nazis in order to live.