Sharpshooter by Chris Lynch - ADVISABLE

Lynch, Chris Sharpshooter (Vietnam 2), 185 p. Scholastic, 2012.  $17.  Violence: R.  Once there were four friends – but that was before the war.  Now they are each somewhere, somewhere they can’t be together.  Ivan has always been the one eager for war – and straight he goes into the Army and straight into training as a sharpshooter.  On the ground in Vietnam is much different than picking off targets, but Ivan is in pursuit of his sniper dream.  On his days off, however, he heads out voluntarily with an elite group of marksmen – and what he does there will change him forever.  

Right up to the last seven pages, I was happy – gritty, but happy – and then my dreams were dashed.  Lynch made that step from implied violence to graphic violence – the step that takes this particular book from the upper elementary right past it older middle school or high school.  This may be a good series for your struggling high school readers, but war is a hard subject to make palatable for the younger ones.  MS - OPTIONAL; HS – ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher

An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo - ADVISABLE

Morpurgo, Michael  An Elephant in the Garden 199 pages.  Feiwel and Friends, 2010.  $16.99 Language PG-13 (8 swears); Violence: G; Mature Content: G.  Lizzie is an older woman in a retirement home who tells her experiences of World War II to a nurse and her son.  Lizzie’s mother worked at a zoo in Dresden and protected a young elephant from being killed during the bombing of Dresden.  Because of the destruction of the bomb, Lizzie and her mother and brother became refugees and traveled to their family’s farm for protection.  However, when they got to the farm their family was gone and they found an enemy soldier in the barn.  They join forces with the soldier and find their way to the Allied forces who help shelter them until the war is over.  

This is a simple story with good characters and exciting experiences.  EL (4-6)-OPTIONAL; MS-ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.

The Midnight Zoo, by Sonya Hartnett--ADVISABLE

Hartnett, Sonya.  The Midnight Zoo.  Illustrated by Andrea Offermann.  217 pages.  Candlewick Press, 2011. $16.99.  Sexual Content: G, Language: G, Violence: PG.  Two brothers scavenge for food through a bomb-destroyed town in Eastern Europe during World War II.  There are no people in the town, but they find a small zoo with the animals still in their cages.  The boys take off their bundles, one carrying their baby sister Wilma.  To their surprise the animals talk to them and tell them what happened to the town.  They tell the boys about Alice, the zookeeper’s daughter, who was a resistance fighter.  The boys tell the animals about being gypsies and how the soldiers (Nazis) rounded up their group and their mother told them to run.  And they have been running since then.  The situation is bleak for the boys and the animals.  The boys share the little food they have with the animals and wait.  The somber illustrations have almost a sinister look, but they match the tone of the story.  Author Sonya Hartnett vividly portrays the effects of war on the innocent: children and animals.  A haunting but ultimately hopeful read, recommended for upper elementary.   EL-ADVISABLE. Samantha, librarian.