Lockdown Alexander Gordon Smith

Lockdown: Escape from Furnace by Alexander Gordon Smith
Alex Sawyer life of crime started on the playground when he was 12. Two years later Alex is caught in the act of robbing a house and framed for the murder of his friend. He is sentenced to Furnace Penitentiary for young offenders. Alex quickly realizes its the men who run Furnace who framed him and killed his friend.

Furnace is buried a mile beneath the earth surface. There is no escape. Parole is not an option. The guards are cruel and too strong to be human. There are unspeakable things that come in the middle of the night randomly claiming victims. No one has ever escaped furnace, Alex wants to be the first. He has some help, Donavan, the cellmate and Zee,s boy entered the Furnance with.

I really enjoyed Lockdown. Smith gave me so much more then what I was expecting. The fast paced action and raise your heartbeat horror scenes were wonderful. I love the fact that the author took the time to develop Alex. Smith doesn't lean on the action to carry the story, his writing is strong.

"You could have heard a pin drop. Every single prisoner in Furnace had clamped his mouth shut, not even daring to take a breath for fear of alerting the twisted figures below. My own breaths sounded like hurricanes, my heartbeat like a drum punching out a rhythm that could probably be heard on the surface. Some perverse element of my brain started silently singing along to the twin beat - take me take me take me and I had to bite my lip hard in order to make it shut up. The five figures below stopped in the middle of the yard wreathed in shadow. Then as, one they screamed. The sound made my blood curdle. It was like a death cry from some wounded animal, like the noise a rabbit makes when it's snared in a trap. "

Lockdown is a great book. It could easily hook a reluctant reader. Ages 10 up
Read an excerpt

Marching For Freedom Elizabeth Partridge

Marching For Freedom: Walk Together Children and Don't You Grow Weary
by Elizabeth Partridge


"The first time Joanne Blackmon was arrested, she was just ten years old."

That opening line will grab a reader of any age. Marching For Freedom recounts the roll children played in the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Filled with beautiful black and white photographs that tell the story of children who dared to fight for their rights and the rights of their parents.


I love the unsugarcoated honesty of this book. It gives ugly truth of what was going on in Alabama in 1963. How Black people were denied the right to vote, and risked their life if they tried to do so. There are many books about this time in history, including children's books. Marching For Freedom stands out because its the children's voices we hear. Along with the photographs, the author shares their memories.


"Panicked marchers ran back to the Carver Homes, chased by the posse, who were beating and whipping any marcheres they could reach. "They would lean over the horse and hit you as hard as they could," said Bobby. "It was so cruel." He made it back across the bridge, dodging uniformed Selma fireman who were grabbing people and holding them for the posse to hit. When Joanne groggily came to, she was lying in the back of a car parked beside the bridge. Lynda was bending over her crying and crying, her tears dropping down on Joanne. When Joanne came fully awake, she realized it wasn't tears but blood from the two gashes in Lynda's head dripping on her." (From Bloody Sunday)

"As Lynda came out of the tent, she saw three National Guardsman standing in front of a jeep, the butts of their guns perched on their waists, bayonets pointing up at the sky. She realized with a shock that they were just like the men who'd beaten her on the bridge. "It looked like they were staring straight at me," she said, as Bloody Sunday rushed back to her, "I thought they were there to kill me to finish off the job they'd started." She started screaming."

Too many times history books focus on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ignoring others who played a pivotal roll. This is the first time I ever remember Hosea Williams and John Lewis mentioned in a children's book. Beginning in Alabama in 1963 ending in Washington D.C in 1965, Marching For Freedom is an amazing book. Ages 10up

This book would go nicely with

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose 16yr old Claudette refused to give up her bus seat 9 months before Rosa Parks. Another wonderful case of a teen standing up justice

The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon - Set in Chicago 1968, 13yr old Sam must decide wants the right path for him, peaceful protesting like his father or the Black Panthers like his older brother. Though this is fiction, its still about a young person wanting to do something to bring about change. my review

I've linked this post to Non Fiction Monday

A Question Inspired by Diversity Roll Call

This week Ali over at Worducopia is hosting Diversity Roll Call Participates are asked to find early readers (1st and 2nd grade) with children of color as main characters. This roll call got me thinking about a question I've been wondering about for years. African American picture books on average tend to be longer in text and geared toward older readers. I've always wondered why this is. Why not turn some of these longer picture books into early readers?

Here are a few picture books that I love. Some I think would work well as early readers. Others I think would lose too much if made into a early reader. I know I probably don't need to show the second group but I like them, so there you go.

1. Raising Dragons by Jerdine Nolen and Elise Primavera

2. Thunder Rose by Jerdine Nolen and Kadir Nelson

3. Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts and Noah Z. Jones

4. The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice N. Harrington and Shelley Jackson

5. The Honest-to-Goodness Truth by Patricia C. McKissack and Giselle Potter

6. Not Norman: A Goldfish Story by Kelly Bennett and Noah Z. Jones

7. Long Shot: Never Too Small to Dream Big by Chris Paul and Frank Morrison

8. The New Girl . . . and Me by Jacqui Robbins and Matt Phelan

The odd numbered picture books, are great stories, that I think could easily be early readers. I would especially love to see books like Those Shoes or Long Shot as early readers. Its so hard to find early readers with boys of color as main characters.

I don't think all African American picture books longer in text should or could be early readers. Hence the even numbered books, I snuck in because I love them.

I will be answering the roll call later in the week. Anyone can take part in Diversity Roll Call at any time. It's co-hosted by Ali from Worducopia and Susan from Color Online.

The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity. Mac Barnett Adam Rex

The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity (Brixton Brothers) by Mac Barnett illus. Adam Rex

I loved this book. Before I get to all the goodness inside that had me laughing and smiling all the way through, I want to start with the cover. I like the cover a lot. It has a nice classic mystery look, making it easier to sell it to customers. Sometimes, as a bookseller one of the hardest or most frustrating things is convincing a customer (especially a kid) that a book is great it's just the cover that's not too hot.

Thankfully, I don't have to worry about that with this book. The cover tells a reader everything they need to know about this book. There's action and danger - the men dropping into the library. There's a mystery to be solved - the magnifying glass and the fingerprint. It's also got some pretty good blurbs. Jeff Kinney and Jon Scieszka. There's even one for adults - Dave Eggers.

When I first saw this book I knew I going read it. It made a serious, no need to wait in line, jump up my reading queue. Novels that fill a void, get read quickly. At first glance I knew The Brixton Brothers would fill many. 1. Its a mystery. You think finding mysteries would be easy but its not. 2. Its a male protagonist. I am always on the look out for books to add to my boy book, my son hates to read, repertoire. 3. Sometimes its hard to find new books for kids who are ready to take that step up from beginning series like Magic Tree House.

12 yr old Steve Brixton loves old Bailey Brothers detective novels. Starring Shawn and Kevin Bailey. (think Hardy Boys) When Steve tries to check out the illus. History of American Quilting, he' s mistaken for a detective and a bad guy. Several librarians descend on the library. Steve makes it out, and runs into Mr. Mackintosh, a librarian. Mr. Mackintosh tell Steve's librarians are the most elite secret service force in the United States.

The quilting book was under librarian surveillance, it holds the clue to the location of a vital piece of information. When Steve tired to check it out, the alarm was triggered. Now the librarians believe he is working for Mr. E., the man after U.S. secrets. Steve refuses to call himself a detective but he's going to solve the case to clear his name.

This book was so much fun. I loved it. Thoughout the novel, when Steve gets into a jam, he'd think what would Brixton Brothers do? He tired it the Brixton Brother way several times and it never worked. Once Steve needed to make a quick escape, so he followed Shawn and Kevin's guide to making rope. He fell to the ground. Steve solves the mystery, no thanks to the Brixton Brothers.

Barnett's writing is great. I love the books humor, its a smart and sophisticated funny for young readers . I appreciate that the author doesn't underestimate, his readers ability to get the jokes. There is some great action as well. Steve must escape from the police station after librarians put out a wanted for treason poster with his picture on it. Also Steve and his best friend Dana, must escape from a boat. The two are kidnapped and tied to chairs. Rex's illustrations are wonderful. They add to the books, this is pretty close to perfect feel. Ages 8up.

Reluctant readers will love it. The chapters are short about 5 pages each, so it a great suggestion for struggling readers as well.

A Fuse#8 review

Read chapter one

Read chapter two

Exposure. Mal Peet Winner of Guardian Fiction Prize for 2009

Exposure by Mal Peet

This novel is inspired by Shakespeare's Othello with a soccer and celebrity back drop. Otello is South America star player. The book opens with him being traded to Rialto, a team in Southern region. The author quickly establishes the racial divide between the Northern and Southern regions. Otello loved in the North is not wanted or welcomed by his teammates or the Rialto fans.

At a party thrown by Nestor Brabanta, the man and the money behind Rialto, Otello meets Desmerelda (Dezi). Dezi is a famous pop singer, Nestor is her father. Otello and Dezi have an instant connection and get married soon after meeting. The two become a celebrity power couple, think Beckham and Posh. As the novel continues the couples celebrity and exposure increases. As with the Shakespeare's Othello, the villain is posing as a friend. Otello's agent Diego is doing everything he can to sabotage Otello.

Exposure is a nicely layered story. Its broken up into 5 acts, the chapters alternate between characters. One of my favorites his Bush. Age is unknown though he claims to be 17 so he won't get picked up by the police. There are many kids living on the street for various reasons, Bush is one of them. He looks after his younger sister, Bianca and a girl named Felicia. Bush works a corner in front of a newspaper building. That's where he meets Paul Faustino. Paul is the reporter who breaks the story on Otello's trade. It is through Paul's eyes that we understand a lot of the politics behind the game. Such as Otello's teammates making him look off his game by passing to him a second late or to his weak side.

I read Othello is high school, it was one of the few required books I loved. Iago was my favorite character, Othello was too naive for my liking. This time I'd have to go with Otello. He's still naive but more developed than Diego. The author focuses his energy on making the reader care about Otello and Dezi, so we'll feel for their lack of privacy. It works.

The South American people are obsessed with Otello and Dezi. Paparazzi follow them everywhere and they're always on the cover of tabloids. This is a timely novel and the authors done a wonderful job with it.

Mal Peet won the 2009 Guardian children's fiction prize for Exposure

The 2009 Guardian children's fiction prize nominees