Victoria: May Blossom of Britannia

This is my second read of Winter Break and it is the longest diary I have read so far. Victoria: May Blossom of Britannia is a royal diary focused on the young girl who would become one of England's most renowned rulers.

When the diary starts out young Victoria is blissfully unaware of how close she is to becoming Queen of England. She is trying desperately to understand all of the politics going on around her while trying to maintain a somewhat normal childhood.

The writing of this diary I think is done particularly well. I really feel that a young girl could have written it. The only problem I have found is that Victoria often gives nicknames to the people in her life and this makes it hard to keep track of who she is talking to or about and what their relationship is.

Also, the historical note in the back of the book and the other documents and supplemental information are great to really understanding Victoria's whole story. I had no idea that she was the longest reigning Queen in England's history!

More information on the novel for those who are interested:

• Publisher: SCHOLASTIC (2003)
• ISBN-10: 0439444624
• ISBN-13: 978-0439444620

Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba

Well it has been a little bit of a struggle to start reading more of these books since I am on vacation now. The pull of being a little lazy has proved to be a bit over powering at the moment. I have managed to read Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba though.

This story takes place in Angola which is located in the southwest region of Africa in 1595. The diary is written by the young Nzingha who would rather be out hunting with the warriors instead of at the royal compound learning to be a proper African lady. She often carries around a bow and arrows and would really like to have a closer relationship with her father the Ngola or ruler of the Mbundu kingdom.

Throughout the story the Portuguese are trying to invade Mbundu land and take the people as slaves as well as establish themselves in Africa. Through this conflict Nzingha has a chance to become closer to her father and she aids him with the negotiations.

The unfortunate part of this story is that the diary seems to end before the best and most interesting parts of the story begin. By reading the historical note at the end of the novel, I learned that Nzingha became one of the first Ngolas of her people and tried her best to keep the Portuguese off her land. I think the story might have ended without the discussion of these topics because: 1) these events happened later in her life and the diaries focus on young girls 2) some of the events were quite violent. Other then the seemingly abrupt ending to her story, I found the diary of Nzingha to be very interesting because I did not know much about African history and culture and this helped me learn some about those.

For those of you who would like more information on the book:

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Scholastic (September 1, 2000)
• ASIN: B001IAU3SK

The Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds

With my fourth book I have yet again made another jump in the sub-series. The Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds is part of the My Name is America sub-series which consists of journals written in the young male perspective throughout different times in American history. This particular novel is a journal of a young boy, Douglas, of fifteen years old who has been orphaned by the unfortunate death of his parents and decides to move west to California like countless other emigrants.

With his inheritance and his horse he decides to join what has now come to be as The Donner Party, a wagon train that consisted of over 200 wagons when it first left Missouri. Soon the young boy is taken in by the Breen family after making friends with their son Edward. The start of the journey is filled with hope and amazing adventures. Little does anyone know that the adventure as pioneers that they started out on would become even more difficult than anyone imagined. Due to the decision to take a "shortcut" and thus get to California in a shorter time The Donner party finds themselves in several perilous predictiments.

I don't want to give anything away but if you can remember back to middle or high school history class you will understand why I was slightly distressed to pick up and get through this book. Overall, though I found the novel to be a very realistic portrayal of a fifeteen year old boy trying to make a life for himself and I think this novel could go along with history lessons about the Oregon Trail very well.

One of the most interesting features of the book is the map in the back which shows the reader the route that the Donner Party took on their way to California. I wish that I had discovered it sooner because I spent a lot of time trying to track the groups progress and figure out what state they were in based on the landscape and landmarks Douglas was referring to.

P.S. for those of you who remember the Donner Party do not fret about Douglas!

Here is more information on the book for those of you who are interested

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 158 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; 1st edition (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439216001
• ISBN-13: 978-0439216005

Kazunomiya: Prisoner of Heaven

For my third book I take a little break from the original Dear America series to work on the sub-series of The Royal Diaries. This sub-series highlights royal girls from various countries and time periods.

Kazunomiya: Prisoner of Heaven is about the Imperial Princess Kazunomiya who lived in the last 1800s. They novel starts off with diary entries from this young girl of twelve that throws the reader right into the Japanese culture of the Emperor's court. Slowly through the book the reader gains an insight of what Japan was like at this time period and how the "royal" family functioned. Since, Kazunomiya is royal she is said to have descended from the Shinto sun goddess. Unfortunately, Kazunomiya is very tied down by the ways of the court and becomes a "puppet" in political affairs. This includes the changing of her birthday as well as the controversy over whether she will marry the man she was betrothed to or the next Shogun of Japan. Thus, the author fashioned the fitting title of Prisoner of Heaven for this young girl's diary.

I found this novel to be quite intriguing because I do not know much of Japanese culture or history. I did find it a little hard to get into though because from the start you are thrown into Kazunomiya's world and though she offers some explanations you are left to figure out the inner workings of society much on your own. This does become easier at you read along though and the glossary of Japanese words as well as the Historical Note at the back of the book are invaluable for gaining the full experience from this novel.

Here is some more information on the book for those of you who are interested:

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc. (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439164850

Survival in the Storm

SUCCESS! Finally, I found time to finish the second book I had picked up at the library for this project! In between the tasks on my long to do list I decided it was good for my own sanity to take a little bit of a break and I filled these micro-breaks with a few pages here and there of Survival in the Storm.

Survival in the Storm takes place during 1935 in Dalhart, Texas. Grace Edwards is the daughter to a farmer who is struggling not only because of the Depression but because of the terrible "dusters" they are experiences in the Texas panhandle. Through out the novel Grace must face losing friends and community members to both moving away to the supposed lush and job filled California and to the terrible disease of dust pneumonia. Luckily, for Grace her family manages to keep their farm and survive through this terrible time in agricultural history.

One of the most interesting things about this book is that it was actually written by a fifteen year old girl. In 1998 there was a Dear America Student Writing Contest, and the publisherliked Katelan Janke's portrayal of the Dust Bowl that they decided to actually turn it into a Dear America novel. Katelan is from Dalhart, Texas and wrote her story based upon stories she has heard about her town during this time.

Now on the other hand, one of the most annoying things is that the mechanics and grammar are less to be desired especially in the beginning of the book. I was very tempted to take out a pen and start adding in commas where they needed to go. Not to mention there was terrible noun/verb agreement in areas that just made me cringe. Besides, this fact the novel was interesting and it kept me interesting knowing the writer was so young.

Oh another thing that was slightly annoying is the fact that since I am getting these books from the children's section of the library most of them have been defaced or are extremely dirty. You can tell that some kid ate his or her spaghetti dinner while reading this book. if I never have to come across old gross spaghetti stuck to the page obstructing my view I will be happy!

So I guess this means I have 76 more to go! Bring it on!

Here is some more information on the book for those of you who are interested:

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 190 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc. (September 2002)
• ISBN-10: 0439215994
• ISBN-13: 978-0439215992

Slow Progress

I'm sad to report that progress has been painstakingly slow these past couple of weeks. When I set out on this mission I figured if I want to finish by the time the summer ends I will need to read at least one book a week or more while in school and then really pick up the pace during breaks. Unfortunately, it has been almost two weeks and I am still trudging through Survival in the Storm. Don't get me wrong this isn't because it is a bad read (I'm about half way through at the moment), its just that I underestimated the end of semester work load (not to mention I gave myself a pretty good break for Thanksgiving!).

There are two weeks left in the semester and I still need to write a six page paper, give three presentations, finish up a project and take some finals...Whew! I get tired just thinking about it! Since, this is the case it means my reading will be quite slow for the next two weeks. Pages here and there I am guessing to de-stress myself or give myself a break. This makes me sad because I am enjoying the reading very much and in my excitement checked out four more from the library that will probably need to be returned before I can read them. Good thing there are two local libraries where I live at home!

For now I just wanted to give an update for anyone out there who is waiting with bated breath for my next post (though I'm not sure who that might be lol) and to let everyone know I haven't fallen off the wagon. I am determined to complete this mission by the time I go back to college in the fall! I will just need to be patient and pray these next two weeks go by fast!

Seeds of Hope

Seeds of Hope is set in the California Territory in 1849, the famed year of the Gold Rush. This diary is written by fourteen year old Susanna who was thrown into the gold mining life after a tragic accident at sea with her family. Her father makes the decision to bring Susanna and her older sister to live in California, so he can mine for gold, instead of their original plan to establish themselves in the Oregon Territory. Her father soon finds out that mining for gold is a tough and unforgiving job (not to mention dangerous!) and goes back to practicing medicine as he did before. Susanna and her sister (almost the only women in town) must adjust to their new life. This novel highlights the struggles of migrants and immigrants on the new frontier as well as shines light on the gold crazed population of the time.

I felt that this book was a very short and easy read and I think it would very much catch the attention of younger girls. I honestly didn't know much about the Gold Rush before picking up this book and through the diary of Susanna and the historical notes at the back of the book I actually learned a lot.

One down...seventy-seven to go!

In case you are interested here is some more information on the book:Seeds of Hope: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild

By Kristiana Gregory

182 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Inc. (June 1, 2001)

ISBN-10: 0590511572

The Books (In Case You Were Wondering)

So here they are!

Dear America

I WALK IN DREAD: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1691

LOOK TO THE HILLS: The Diary of Lozette Moreau, a French Slave Girl, New York Colony, 1763

LOVE THY NEIGHBOR: The Tory Diary of Prudence Emerson, Greenmarsh, Massachusetts,

THE WINTER OF RED SNOW: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777 by Kristiana Gregory

CANNONS AT DAWN: The Second Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1779

VALLEY OF THE MOON: The Diary of Maria Rosalia de Milagros, Sonoma Valley, Alta California, 1846 by Sherry Garland

SEEDS OF HOPE: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild, California Territory, 1849 by Kristiana Gregory

A LIGHT IN THE STORM: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin, Fenwick Island, Delaware, 1861 by Karen Hesse


WHEN WILL THIS CRUEL WAR BE OVER?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson, Gordonsville, Virginia, 1864 by Barry Denenberg


THE GREAT RAILROAD RACE: The Diary of Libby West, Utah Territory, 1868 by Kristiana Gregory


LAND OF THE BUFFALO BONES: The Diary of Mary Ann Elizabeth Rodgers, an English Girl in Minnesota, New Yeovil, 1873 by Marion Dane Bauer


MY HEART IS ON THE GROUND: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl, Carlisle Indian School, Pennsylvania, 1880 by Ann Rinaldi


MY FACE TO THE WIND: The Diary of Sarah Jane Price, A Prairie Teacher. Broken Bow, Nebraska, 1881 by Jim Murphy


WEST TO A LAND OF PLENTY: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi, New York to Idaho Territory, 1883 by Jim Murphy

DREAMS IN THE GOLDEN COUNTRY: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903 by Kathryn Lasky


HEAR MY SORROW: The Diary of Angela Denoto, a Shirtwaist Worker, New York City, 1909

WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES AGAIN: The World War I Diary of Simone Spencer, New York City to the Western Front, 1917 by Beth Seidel Levine


LIKE THE WILLOW TREE: The Diary of Lydia Amelia Pierce - Portland, Maine, 1918 by Lois Lowry


MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL: The Diary of Bess Brennan, The Perkins School for the Blind, 1932 by Barry Denenberg



CHRISTMAS AFTER ALL: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift. Indianapolis, IN, 1932 by Kathryn Lasky


SURVIVAL IN THE STORM: The Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards, Dalhart, Texas, 1935

ONE EYE LAUGHING THE OTHER WEEPING: The Diary of Julie Weiss, Vienna, Austria to New York, 1938 by Barry Deneberg


THE FENCES BETWEEN US: The Diary of Piper Davis - Seattle, Washington, 1941


WITH THE MIGHT OF ANGELS: The Diary of Dawn Rae Johnson, Hadley, Virgina, 1954

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE? The Diary of Molly Mackenzie Flaherty, Boston, Massachusetts, 1968 by Ellen Emerson White

The Royal Diaries

LADY OF CH'IAO KUO, Warrior of the South; Southern China, A.D. 531 by Laurence Yep

SONDOK: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, A.D. 595 by Sheri Holman

LADY OF PALENQUE: Flower of Bacal, Mesoamerica, A.D. 749

ELEANOR: Crown Jewel of Aquitane; France, 1136

ANACAONA: Golden Flower; Haiti, 1490

NZINGHA, Warrior Queen of Matamba; Angola, Africa 1595 by Patricia McKissack

KRISTINA: The Girl King, Sweden, 1638 by Carolyn Meyer

WEETAMOO: Heart of the Pocassets; Massachusetts, 1653 by Patricia Clark Smith

CATHERINE: The Great Journey; Russia, 1743 by Kristiana Gregory

VICTORIA, May Blossom of Britannia; England, 1829 by Anna Kirwan

·

ELISABETH OF AUSTRIA: The Princess Bride; 1853 by Barry Denenberg

KAZUNOMIYA: Prisoner of Heaven, Japan 1858 by Kathryn Lasky

·

KAIULANI, The People's Princess; Hawaii, 1889 by Ellen Emerson White

·

My Name is America

THE JOURNAL OF JASPER JONATHAN PIERCE: A Pilgrim Boy by Ann Rinaldi

·

THE JOURNAL OF WILLIAM THOMAS EMERSON: A Revolutionary War Patriot Boston, Massachusetts, 1774 by Barry Denenberg

THE JOURNAL OF AUGUSTUS PELLETIER: The Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804 by Kathryn Lasky

THE JOURNAL OF JESSE SMOKE: A Cherokee Boy, The Trail of Tears, 1838 by Joseph Bruchac

·

THE JOURNAL OF JEDEDIAH BARSTOW: An Emigrant on the Oregon Trail, Overland, 1845 by Ellen Levine

·

THE JOURNAL OF DOUGLAS ALLEN DEEDS: The Donner Party Expedition, 1846 by Rodman Philbrick

·

THE JOURNAL OF WONG MING-CHUNG: A Chinese Miner, California, 1852 by Laurence Yep

·

THE JOURNAL OF RUFUS ROWE: A Witness to the Battle of Fredricksburg, Bowling Green, Virginia, 1862 by Sid Hite

THE JOURNAL OF JAMES EDMOND PEASE: A Civil War Union Soldier, Virginia, 1863 by Jim Murphy

THE JOURNAL OF SEAN SULLIVAN: A Transcontinental Railroad Worker, Nebraska and Points West, 1867 by William Durbin

THE JOURNAL OF JOSHUA LOPER: A Black Cowboy, The Chisholm Trail, 1871 by Walter Dean Myers

THE JOURNAL OF BRIAN DOYLE: A Greenhorn on an Alaskan Whaling Ship, 1874 by Jim Murphy

THE JOURNAL OF OTTO PELTONEN: A Finnish Immigrant, 1905 by William Durbin

THE JOURNAL OF BEN UCHIDA: Citizen 13559, Mirror Lake Internment Camp, California, 1942 by Barry Denenberg

·

THE JOURNAL OF SCOTT PENDLETON COLLINS: A World War II Soldier, Normandy France, 1944 by Walter Dean Myers

THE JOURNAL OF BIDDY OWENS: The Negro Leagues, 1948 by Walter Dean Myers

·

THE JOURNAL OF C. J. JACKSON, A Dust Bowl Migrant, Oklahoma to California, 1935 by William Durbin

THE JOURNAL OF PATRICK SEAMUS FLAHERTY: A United States Marine Corps, Khe Sanh, Vietnam, 1968 by Ellen Emerson White

·

THE JOURNAL OF FINN REARDON, A NEWSIE: New York City, 1899 by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

My America

OUR STRANGE NEW LAND: Elizabeth's Diary; Jamestown, Virginia, 1609 by Patricia Hermes

THE STARVING TIME: Elizabeth's Diary; Book Two; Jamestown, Virginia, 1609 by Patricia Hermes

SEASON OF PROMISE: Elizabeth’s Jamestown Colony Diary; Book Three; Jamestown, Virginia, 1611 by Patricia Hermes

FIVE SMOOTH STONES: Hope's Diary; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1776 by Kristiana Gregory

WE ARE PATRIOTS: Hope's Revolutionary War Diary, Book Two; Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777 by Kristiana Gregory

WHEN FREEDOM COMES: Hope's Revolutionary War Diary, Book Three, 1778 by Kristiana Gregory

WESTWARD TO HOME: Joshua's Diary; Book One; The Oregon Trail, 1848 by Patricia Hermes

A PERFECT PLACE: Joshua's Oregon Trail Diary, Book Two, 1848 by Patricia Hermes

THE WILD YEAR: Joshua's Oregon Trail Diary, Book Three, 1849 by Patricia Hermes

AS FAR AS I CAN SEE: Meg's Prairie Diary; St. Louis to the Kansas Territory, 1856 by Kate McMullan

FOR THIS LAND: Meg's Prairie Diary, Book Two, 1856 by Kate McMullan

A FINE START: Meg's Prairie Diary, Book Three, 1857 by Kate McMullan

FREEDOM'S WINGS: Corey's Diary; Kentucky to Ohio, 1857 by Sharon Dennis Wyeth

FLYING FREE: Corey’s Underground Railroad Diary, Book Two; Amherstburg, Canada, 1858 by Sharon Dennis Wyeth

· MESSAGE IN THE SKY, 1859, Corey's Underground Railroad Diary, Book Three by Sharon Dennis Wyeth

MY BROTHER'S KEEPER: Virginia's Diary; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 1863 by Mary Pope Osborne

AFTER THE RAIN: Virginia's Diary; Book Two; Washington, D.C., 1864 by Mary Pope Osborne

A TIME TO DANCE: Virginia's Civil War Diary, Book Three, 1865-1866 by Mary Pope Osborne and Will Osborne

HOPE IN MY HEART: Sofia's Ellis Island Diary, Book One, 1903 by Kathryn Lasky

HOME AT LAST: Sofia's Ellis Island Diary, Book Two, 1903 by Kathryn Lasky

AN AMERICAN SPRING: Sofia's Immigrant Diary, Book Three, 1903 by Kathryn Lasky

How the Journey Began

So, I am sure you are wondering, “What is this blog about exactly?” I know when I first came up with the name I thought, “People are gonna think this is some awesome blog about a road trip or something across America.” Well, regretfully, if that is what you were hoping for, this is not it.

This is actually about my decision to undertake a monumental task. As an education major, it is good for me to become familiar with young adult literature and because of this need to expose me to YA lit, I was given an assignment to read ten young adult books over one semester. Inevitably, this searching around for book choices lead me straight into the craziness I am about to enlighten you to.

During my search for books, I came across a series that I remembered I had adored when I was younger called Dear America. Since I had finished the ten books I needed to read for the course, I said to myself, “Hey, why don’t I try to read all of the Dear America series books?!” Little did I know that that would mean I would need to read seventy-eight books…yes seventy-eight. You see the series has quite expanded from when I was a kid. I remember reading the original Dear America series books which were diaries from the perspective of young girls at different times in America’s history. Then came The Royal Diaries which were books written in the perspective of young royal girls from different countries and time periods. From this over abundance of girl narrators it was obvious that the next step would be to come out with a boy version of the series, which the publishers did with My Name is America. These books being journals from the male perspective during different times in American history. See, I thought it stopped there, but I was wrong. The publisher came out with another subseries known as My America which is more focused on the earlier parts of American history and are the first of the subseries to contain multiple books from one character’s perspective.

When I was younger I only read from the original Dear America series and The Royal Diaries. That leaves me with the whole subseries of My Name is America and My America to tackle not to mention the rest of the books from the two series I had been exposed to. I had read seven books from The Royal Diaries and fourteen from the original Dear Americas. Thus leaving me with a huge stack of books to get through!

Originally, I wanted to read all of the stories in chronological order but this proved to be difficult since being a college student has left me pretty much broke. So, I did not have the luxury of buying each book in chronological order. I had to sit down and strategize which library I could get each book from. At the end of my planning, I realized that I will hopefully only have to buy ten books out of the whole seventy-eight!

Now let’s just see how long this all takes me!