Book Review - Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Illustrator: Matt Faulkner
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 27, 2005)
Reading Level: Ages 4 to 10 years
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Description from GoodReads:

 

We the people of the United States...

 

Almost Lost Thanksgiving

 

Yes. That's right!

Way back when "skirts were long and hats were tall" Americans were forgetting Thanksgiving, and nobody seemed to care!

Thankfully, Sarah Hale appeared. More steadfast than Plymouth Rock, this lady editor knew the holiday needed saving. But would her recipe for rescue ever convince Congress and the presidents?

Join acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson on a journey of a woman and a pen that spanned four decades, the Civil War, and five presidents, all so you could have your turkey and eat it too!

 Thanks to @mrschureads on Twitter I have a new favorite Thanksgiving Picture Book - THANK YOU, SARAH: THE WOMAN WHO SAVED THANKSGIVING.  This non-fiction picture book tells the story of Sarah Hale.  A woman who was well ahead of her times.  Hale, a mother of five, had a well established career as an advocate, writer, and editor.  She even wrote "Mary Had A Little Lamb".  However, when she discovered that people were not observing Thanksgiving regularly and it was potentially going to be lost as a holiday, Hale began a 38 year letter writing campaign to convince the President to declare it a National Holiday on a set date.  It wasn't until 1863 and Abraham Lincoln that Hale finally met with success. 

Laurie Halse Anderson, though more well-known for her Middle Grade and Young Adult books (SPEAK, CHAINS, FEVER, FORGE, and more), tackles the re-telling of Hale's journey to rescue Thanksgiving in a delightful and humorous manner.  With a bit of irreverency in both text and illustrations, Halse Anderson brings alive Hale's perseverance and tenacity while Faulkner does an excellent job making the text pop with caricature style drawings.  At the end of the story, Halse Anderson challenges readers to "Pick up your pen. Change the world." And Hale certainly did that with her pen.

When I recently read the book aloud to a group of third graders, they were fascinated with the story.  Children wanted to spend time looking at the illustrations which definitely match the tone and intent of Halse Anderson's writing.  This is one book that I am going to need to keep several copies of so that I will always have one to loan out.

So what is your favorite Thanksgiving picture book or chapter book?

Book Review: Speak

Very few young adult books have come under as much scrutiny and censorship as Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, yet very few books have also had the transformative power that so many readers, parents, and educators have seen after people read this book. No Banned Books Week celebration would be complete with reference to one of the most popular and controversial debut young adult novels, Speak.


Why was this book banned?
I don't really know why this book was ever banned. While it deals with heavy subject matter, it handles serious issues very tastefully and intelligently. As recently as a few weeks ago, Speak was being challenged again by a Professor Wesley Scroggins, who claims that the novel is "pornographic." For more on this recent challenge, read an extremely well-written article on the author Laurie Halse Anderson's website here: http://madwomanintheforest.com/this-guy-thinks-speak-is-pornography/

I couldn't find a concrete list on the ALA website, but some of the reasons for banning Speak include: Unsuited to Age Group, Sexually Explicit, Violence, Underage Drinking.

What is Speak about?
Speak is about Melinda Sordino, a girl who goes to a "high school party" a few weeks before she starts her freshman year, but when she calls the police to apparently bust up the party for drinking, everyone turns against her and she stops speaking.

She becomes depressed and withdrawn, skipping classes and isolating herself from making friends. Eventually, Melinda finds unlikely solace in her art class, where she can find a release for her emotions. However, there is more that happened that night at the party than what everyone thinks and it will take a lot of strength and courage for Melinda to finally speak up.

Why is Speak worth reading?
I knew what Speak was about before reading it, so much of the surprise about what really happened to make Melinda stop speaking was lost on me, but I still enjoyed the novel. Although the main character, Melinda, doesn't speak, she has very original and vivid thoughts, making her a very interesting character to read about. The writing is also very beautiful and easy to follow.

Most importantly, Speak deals with important issues that aren't always addressed in young adult literature, and is a definite must-read for both teens and adults, both male and female. The author gives a very honest description of high school life and family life for someone who feels like a loner with no one who understands them, which is something most people probably feel at least once  in their lives. Speak isn't my favorite young adult book, but it is such an important novel and told with such beautiful language, that I still recommend this book to everyone.

-- Renée