Wein, Elizabeth. (2012). Code Named Verity. New York, NY: Egmont. Lady Julia Lindsay
MacKenzie Wallace Beaufort-Stuart’s code name is Verity. She is more commonly
called Julie. Julie is a spy and an officer in the military. During a covert
operation, Julie’s best friend Maddie is the pilot who attempts to fly her to a
Nazi camp so that she could ultimately destroy their operation. But
antiaircrafts fired at them causing the friends to be separated, as Julie
parachutes from the plane and Maddie lands harshly. Julie is captured by Nazi
who order her to write down secrets that she knows as they torture other
captured people. Julie knows that she too will be tortured. Maddie is able to safely hide in a barn of a
French family after the separation but soon hears of her friend’s dilemma. As
an act of love and friendship, Maddie has to eventually end Julie’s life to
save her from divulging important information to Nazi. In the end, Maddie is
able to carry out the original, planned operation of destroying the Nazi
operation. This book is intended for students ages 14-17. Teachers could use
this book after a lesson about the Holocaust. Although this book is fiction,
the premises behind the story and the historical events are real. The story
meets the criteria for style development. The story is told from the
perspectives of the two friends. Both are sharing their own experience of the
events of the story, giving a complete and vivid depiction.
Parish,
H. (2012). Amelia Bedelia’s First Vote. New York, NY: HarperCollins
Publishers. Children’s Choices, 2013. For Ages: 4-8.
Personal
Response: I love this book! It was different for me reading
this book that portrays the main character as a child, as the Amelia Bedelia
series of books that I’ve read in the past, were of a naïve older maid.
However, in this particular book, she is portrayed as a child with the same
innocence as the older character. Like in the older books, Amelia Bedelia’s
series of misunderstandings is what makes the story funny. This story is
indicative of most children. I can’t help but to be reminded of my own
childhood and my journey to more sophisticated thought processes.
Literary
Response: Amelia Bedelia’s character is an important
element in this story. The story thrives on Amelia’s misunderstandings and the
fact that she takes literally the figures of speech that she encounters
throughout the story. She is a simple but confident girl who stands strong in
her convictions. She does not understand
many things and doesn’t even realize that there is anything that she does not
understand. This naivete is what makes the story humorous and causes the reader
to fall in love with Amelia Bedelia and her comical personality.
