Children's Books
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Birthdays are special days. It is even more special when you and your best friend share the same birthday! Amanda and Leo have always had double birthday parties, and have always celebrated their birthdays together. Then, on their 10th birthday, they had a fight. It is a year later, and their 11th birthday is quickly approaching. They still haven't made up. On the day of their actual birthdays, neither Amanda nor Leo has a very good day. At the end of the day, both of them are glad it's over. But wait?? The next day is their birthday again, and the next, and the next! What would you do if you could re-live the same day over and over? Well, Amanda and Leo decide to make up and become friends again. In addition they learn about an age-old feud between their great-grandfathers, and with the help or hinderance, of a mysterious old woman, they try to break the spell. Can Amanda and Leo resolve enough of their differences to break the time warp? Will the spell be broken, or will they be celebrating their 11th birthdays birthdays forever? Read this fun book to find out! Recommended for grades 4-6. 
This historical fiction story centers around the lives of the slaves working on the mountaintop at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Virginia. Jefferson fathered six children by his wife Martha between 1772 and 1782. She died after her final child, and only two of the children lived to adulthood, both girls. Jefferson never remarried, but it is believed that he fathered seven more children between 1790 and 1808 with his slave Sally, who was his wife's half-sister. The story focuses on these four children that survived into adulthood, three boys and one girl. Sally always told her children who they were and that they had been promised freedom once they turned 21 years old, but with Jefferson's excessive spending habits and surmounting debts, they are never confident that this will happen or that they won't be sold should he die. The two oldest children, Beverly and Harriet are told to watch the mannerisms of Jefferson's white grandchildren so they might attempt to "pass" as whites when they become free. Beverly learns to play the violin like his father, and both learn to read. The third child, James Madison or "Maddy" knows he is too dark to ever attempt to pass, but he also learns to play violin and read. It is believed that Jefferson's granddaughter, Ellen, is the one who taught Maddy to read, and he then taught his siblings. The youngest child, Thomas Eston, known as "Eston" to his family, was said to have a remarkable resemblence to Jefferson and to play the violin like a prodigy. As slaves, the boys are all apprenticed to learn carpentry. While they realize they live better than the slaves who work the land, they are resentful that Jefferson does not acknowledge or treat them as he does his white children and grandchildren. I thought that the author did a terrific job in creating a story around the known facts that have documentation, and explaining through the characters how Jefferson justified the conflict between his public belief in freedom for all people while maintaining slaves. I began to understand how his intentional lack of acknowlegement might have allowed the children, once they "passed", to eventually have a life where they were never known to have been slaves. Once this happened, though, they could never admit that Thomas Jefferson was their father, or they would become known as freed slaves. A family tree is included in the front pages, and notes are included at the back. Highly recommended for readers in grades 5 and up who enjoy historical fiction, presidential history, slave life, and family secrets. 
This book is a contemporary look at life for African children today. The multicultural theme allows children the opportunity to identify with some elements of diversity and appreciate the differences in the lives of children from Africa. A specific country from the continent of Africa is not mentioned in the story. However, the author was born in Nigeria.
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