National Holidays

Reviewed with Mari C. Schuh’s Flag Day.

PreS-Gr. 2. Designed for beginning readers, these books in the National Holidays series are useful for presenting basic information to younger children. The texts are quite short, with one or two lines in large typeface on each of the nine double-page spreads. The format is rather small, but the colorful, full-page photographs illustrate each subject clearly, and the inclusion of people from many ethnic backgrounds reflects the diversity of people celebrating American national holidays. Each book briefly explains a holiday, its history, and how it is celebrated. Flag Day includes Truman designating June 14 a holiday, children studying the history of the American flag, and pictures of flags displayed on houses and in a parade. Labor Day tells when the holiday was created, whom it honors, and some of the ways that people relax on the day. Each book ends with a glossary and a short list of recommended books, as well as directions to the publisher’s Internet site, which leads children to appropriate, subject-related sites for each holiday. Carolyn Phelan

Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Description

Simple text and photographs describe the history of Labor Day and how this holiday, which honors people who work, is celebrated in the United States.

“Maynard expertly tugs heartstrings in a tidy tale. ” (Kirkus Reviews )

“Maynard’s inventive coming-of-age tale indelibly captures the anxiety and confusion inherent in adolescence, while the addition of a menacing element of suspense makes this emotionally fraught journey that much more harrowing.” (Booklist )

Description

With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, thirteen-year-old Henry—lonely, friendless, not too good at sports—spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates. For company Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele—a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly’s with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his “Husband for a Day” coupon, he still can’t make his emotionally fragile mother happy. Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart.

But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life’s most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others—especially those we love—above ourselves. And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for.

In a manner evoking Ian McEwan’s Atonement and Nick Hornby’s About a Boy, acclaimed author Joyce Maynard weaves a beautiful, poignant tale of love, sex, adolescence, and devastating treachery as seen through the eyes of a young teenage boy—and the man he later becomes—looking back at an unexpected encounter that begins one single long, hot, life-altering weekend.

The popular Rookie Books expand their horizons – to all corners of the globe! With this series all about geography, emergent readers will take off on adventures to cities, nations, waterways, and habitats around the world…and right in their own backyards.

About the Author

Carmen Bredeson is the author of several nonfiction books for children.