Newberry Medal recipient Karen Hesse (Out of the Dust) cleverly personifies the conflict between North and South, abolitionist and secessionist, Union and Confederacy in the troubled marriage of Amelia's parents. Amelia watches, powerless, as the relationship disintegrates: "I feel as if I am the Light in my family. I must keep my hope burning, so that Father and Mother, even in the darkness that seems to engulf them, might find their way back."

The broken marriage provides a powerful example of the way the Civil War tore apart families and friendships. Girls will thrill to Amelia's descriptions of her tomboyish responsibilities as lighthouse keeper and family breadwinner, her burgeoning love affair with a local boy, and her friendship with her abolitionist uncle. While some of the language and details seem anachronistic, Hesse has crafted a remarkably elegant tale of "girl as emotional beacon," tirelessly watching as her world crashes on the shoals. (Ages 9 and older)

From Library Journal: Grade 4-8. This diary chronicles 15-year-old Amelia Martin's chaotic life during the turbulent first year of the Civil War. Amelia's father is the assistant lighthouse keeper at Fenwick Island off the coast of southern Delaware. Amelia willingly shares in the duties of standing watch and maintaining the equipment. Through her diary, readers learn that her father sides with the Union while her mother favors the Confederacy, and that their marriage is crumbling just as the country threatens to divide. Amelia admits that while at one time she agreed with her mother's views, she now believes in the abolition of slavery and sympathizes with President Lincoln. When a friend drowns in a skating accident, Amelia becomes friendly with his brother, Daniel, and soon develops a romantic relationship that continues to grow after Daniel volunteers for the Union Army. In the style of light keepers' logs, each entry records the date, weather, and wind conditions. An appended historical note offers more information about the Civil War. Sure to please historical fiction fans as well as followers of the series.

 Scholastic Inc. 0-590-56733-0 / 9780590567336
Hardcover As New Condition 

Price: 12.38 USD

But they are united by love, family, and their cherished stone lamp. The stone lamp provides each child with comfort and hope-for every time its wicks are lit, the endurance of the Jewish people is reilluminated. From The Critics The Washington Post Perhaps too solemn if absorbed in one sitting, The Stone Lamp is best digested piece by piece, with time to explain the compact historical synopses that open each story. The children's voices ring immediate and true. They live in dark times. Faith alone sustains them, and hope burns in the luminescent colors of Pinkney's paint. - Jessica Bruder Publishers Weekly Highlighting eight moments of crisis for the Jewish people in almost as many different centuries, this soul-searching, handsomely produced book is clearly important. It is not, however, festive. Newbery Medalist Hesse (Out of the Dust) imagines a child speaker for each of eight poems, one for each night of the celebration. For example, Tamara, in 1190 York, weeps as she chops onions and remembers her father, recently slain by mobs, then triumphs over despair (holding her baby brother, she says, "Though we have lost much/ yet this much remains").

Paired with each poem is text explaining each tragic episode, from the Inquisition to Kristallnacht; a tag after each poem limns each fictional speaker's fate. Pinkney (Alvin Ailey) supplies some of his most striking work to date, capturing the luminosity of the holiday not just through the lights of candles or starry skies, but in the natural radiance of his characters.