Diary entries, maps, drawings, and historical photos tell this story of Viktor and Nadya, twelve-year-old twins who were evacuated from Leningrad when Hitler declared war on the Soviet Union. They were separated when they were put on trains that were meant to take them to safety. The story is told in three voices, alternating between Viktor (printed in red), Nadya (printed in dark blue), and an offstage voice of a Soviet Secret Police officer. His handwritten comments are written in the margins. Viktor’s train makes it to Moscow, where he is expected to do hard labor on a kolkhoz (farm). It is rumored that Nadya’s train was bombed with no survivors. Viktor doesn’t believe this and sets off through cold and harsh conditions to find Nadya. They eventually find each other and unravel a mystery of treason and betrayal at the highest level of Soviet leadership. mjw |
| Title: Red Stars: The Case Of Viktor And Nadya’s Notebooks Author: Davide Morosinotto Illustrator: Simone Tso Publisher: Delacorte Press Copyright: 2020 Original Language: Italian Translator: Denise Muir Original Title: La Stolgorante luce di due stelle rosse Original Publisher: Mondadori, Milan Original Copyright: 2017 ISBN: 978-1-9848-9332-1 Hardcover pages: 432 Age range: 10-12 Genre: Historical Fiction Book setting: Soviet Union Author’s ethnicity: Italian Author’s residence: Italy Subjects: European historical fiction, Evacuation, Germany, Hitler, Leningrad, MIlitary fictioon, Siblings, Trains, World War II |
Red Stars: The Case Of Viktor And Nadya’s Notebooks
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Seventeen-year-old Sophie Spark works as an intern and babysitter in an old grand hotel known as Castle in the Clouds in the Swiss Mountains. Many interesting international guests arrive for the Christmas holidays. There are missing diamonds, possible kidnappers, spies, a famous author, a bodyguard, and two handsome boys who all liven up Sophie’s life. She plunges into a Nancy Drew type of investigation that makes her stay at the hotel everything, but boring. mjw
Sixteen-year-old Mia Jenrow is a talented ballerina whose dream is to dance with American Ballet Theatre. She has just arrived in Paris for a competitive summer dance program. While in Paris, she searches for the history behind a family legend that states that a distant relative danced for the Paris Opera and was painted by Edgar Degas. She is so passionate for ballet and she trains for a part in Swan Lake and a very important audition. And, she falls for Louis, an endearing and cute French boy who happens to be the son of her strict ballet master. They hop on his Vespa and discover the truth about her family legend. The book provides a beautiful look at Paris – museums, gardens, bakeries, art, love, and much more. mjw
Two young children and their parents go for a summer nighttime walk through the darkness. The world is quiet and shadowy. They walk out of their village and through the forest until they come to a lake where they stop to play with the moon. They lie down in the grass to watch the glittering sky. Finally, they climb a hillside just in time to see the dawn of a new day. The rich illustrations were hand-drawn using graphite pencils and watercolors and finished digitally. The only lights in the evocative darkness are lamps, porch lights, lights in windows, a flashlight, and the moon, until the sun rises on a double-page spread of the sun and its bright yellow light. mjw
Young Anita lives in a village in the Dominican Republic where she is a valiant princesa. She worries about boarding dragons (airplanes) that will take her to a new life in a new country. The vivid text describes her anxiety about what she will miss and what she will encounter in a new land. She becomes a brave princesa when she meets the dragon. “With one step I move away from the familiar. With another step, I walk into the unknown.” She becomes a “fearless dragon” of her own. The textured artwork was created using mixed media and finished digitally. mjw
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