Travelers All: Fictional and Nonfictional Journeys
Staff -- School Library Journal, 7/1/1997
Summer is traditionally the season for family vacations, camp, or simply relaxing -- all perfect times for getting lost in a good book. In the titles listed below, an assortment of travelers undertake their journeys with varying degrees of difficulty, hardship, humor, or derring-do. These tales are guaranteed to transport readers to another time, another place, or into the realm of fantasy. Grouped together in a variety of ways, all of them offer great booktalking or display opportunities.
AGEE, John. The Return of Freddy LeGrand. illus. by author. Farrar. Tr $15. ISBN 0-374-36249-1.
Gr 1-3 -- The daring escapades of an unflappable flier who crashes into a French farmyard and charms the owners, Sophie and Albert, who take him under their wing again when he is stranded in the Alps. A deadpan delivery, balanced by droll, stylized illustration. (Nov. 1992)
ALEXANDER, Lloyd. The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen. Dutton. RTE $15.99. ISBN 0-525-44826-8.
Gr 5-10 -- An idealistic young prince embarks on a quest fraught with hardship, misadventure, and danger. This well-wrought fantasy is packed with action, emotion, and wit. (Dec. 1991)
AVI. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Orchard Bks: Watts. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-531-05893-X; PLB $16.99. ISBN 0-531-08493-0.
Gr 5-8 -- On a long, grueling journey from England to Rhode Island in 1802, a 12 year old changes from a prim and proper girl to a swashbuckling mate of a mutinous crew and is accused of murder by the captain. Awash with shipboard activity, intense feelings, and a keen sense of time and place, the story is a throwback to good old-fashioned adventure yarns on the high seas. (Sept. 1990)
BINCH, Caroline. Gregory Cool. illus. by author. Dial. Tr $14.99. ISBN 0-8037-1577-3.
Gr 1-3 -- Sent to visit his grandparents on the island of Tobago, a usually self-assured, unflappable American boy slowly opens up to new experiences and learns to enjoy himself. The untouched beauty of the tropical scenes and the vitality of the characters come through in breathtaking, photoreal paintings. (Sept. 1994)
BUNTING, Eve. Dandelions. illus. by Greg Shed. Harcourt. RTE $15. ISBN 0-15-200050-X.
K-Gr 3 -- A girl and her family move West and adjust to the lonely life of the prairie. Dramatic art and text capture the isolation, the open sky, and the fact that, like dandelions, these settlers are survivors. (Nov. 1995)
CASEY, Maude. Over the Water. (Edge Bks.). Holt. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-8050-3276-2.
Gr 6-9 -- English-born Mary's annual visit to her grandparents' farm in Ireland is fraught with tension this year. Her beloved grandfather has died, her younger siblings are nuisances, and her parents' rules are tyrannical. A lyrically written coming-of-age story. (June 1994)
CONRAD, Pam. Call Me Ahnighito. illus. by Richard Egielski. (Laura Geringer Bks.). HarperCollins. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-06-023322-2; PLB $14.89. ISBN 0-06-023323-0.
Gr 1-3 -- A giant meteorite recounts its explosive beginnings, its Arctic dwelling place, and its grand journey to the American Museum of Natural History. Bold watercolors add depth, volume, and dimension to this unusual autobiography. (June 1995)
CREECH, Sharon. Walk Two Moons. HarperCollins. Tr $16. ISBN 0-06-023334-6; PLB $15.89. ISBN 0-06-023337-0.
Gr 6-9 -- Salamanca Tree Hiddle begins to accept the loss of her mother through telling her grandparents anecdotes about herself and her best friend on a cross-country trip. Intense and often humorous, this is a story of healing and of journeys -- both spiritual and literal. (Oct. 1994)
DORRIS, Michael. Sees Behind Trees. Hyperion. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-7868-0224-3; PLB $14.89. ISBN 0-7868-2215-5.
Gr 4-8 -- A nearsighted Powhatan youth hones his other senses so well that a respected elder asks the boy to accompany him on a dangerous quest. A spare, vividly imagined coming-of-age story. (Oct. 1996)
FARMER, Nancy. A Girl Named Disaster. Orchard/Jackson. Tr $19.95. ISBN 0-531-09539-8; PLB $20.99. ISBN 0-531-08889-8.
Gr 6-9 -- A Shona girl embarks on a life-altering journey and draws strength from spirits and ancestors who help her along the way. A complex, involving novel about courage, community, and continuity. (Oct. 1996)
FLEISCHMAN, Paul. Time Train. illus. by Claire Ewart. (Charlotte Zolotow Bks.). HarperCollins. pap. $4.95. ISBN 0-06-443351-X.
K-Gr 3 -- It's all aboard the Rocky Mountain Unlimited for an amazing trek across the nation and through the millennia to Dinosaur National Monument. The deadpan humor and gloriously animated watercolors provide unlimited entertainment. (Aug. 1991)
GERRARD, Roy. Wagons West! illus. by author. Farrar. Tr $15. ISBN 0-374-38249-2.
Gr 2-4 -- Buckskin Dan leads a group of pioneers over 2000 miles on the Oregon Trail. Their grueling journey is recounted in exhalted verse and majestic tableaux. (Mar. 1996)
HESSE, Karen. Letters from Rifka. Holt. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-8050-1964-2.
Gr 4-7 -- Refused passage in 1919 because she has ringworm, a young Jewish girl from Russia battles supercilious officials and yards of red tape before she is finally reunited with her family in America. Historical fiction with a memorable heroine, a vivid sense of place, and a happily-ever-after ending. (Aug. 1992)
HUTTON, Warwick, retel. Theseus and the Minotaur. illus. by retel. McElderry Bks: Macmillan. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-689-50473-X.
Gr 2-5 -- The drama of Theseus's sorrowful hero's return to Athens is given full force in Hutton's fabulous retelling of the Greek myth. A prodigious interplay of sea, sun, sky, and shadow creates the backdrop for this lustrous version of human fallibility and godly interference. (Oct. 1989)
ISAACSON, Philip M. A Short Walk Around the Pyramids & Through the World of Art. Knopf. Tr $25. ISBN 0-679-81523-6; PLB $20.99. ISBN 0-679-91523-0.
Gr 5-9 -- A journey through the world of art, the senses, and everyday experience is heightened and expanded by Isaacson's commentary. Color, shape, light, and form are examined in all of these realms as readers are led on an enlightening and engaging amble. (Aug. 1993)
MURPHY, Jim. Across America on an Emigrant Train. Clarion. Tr $16.95. ISBN 0-395-63390-7.
Gr 5-8 -- Murphy presents a forthright and thoroughly engrossing history of the transcontinental railway, with entries from Robert Louis Stevenson's 1879 journal as he rode cross country. It's also an inviting introduction to Stevenson, with a romance in the bargain. (Dec. 1993)
MYERS, Walter Dean. Somewhere in the Darkness. Scholastic. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-590-42411-4.
Gr 7-10 -- A motherless boy reluctantly travels with his convict father and realizes that love and bonding do not automatically come with blood ties. An emotionally charged story of self-realization and trust, developed through multidimensional characters. (Apr. 1992)
NELSON, Theresa. The Beggars' Ride. (Richard Jackson Bks.). Orchard. Tr $16.95. ISBN 0-531-05896-4; PLB $17.99. ISBN 0-531-08496-5.
Gr 6-8 -- An abused but resilient 12 year old and her adopted family of misfit, street toughs survive against incredible odds in the netherworld of Atlantic City. Life is anything but a game to these unforgettable young people who, despite having been dealt an unfair hand, seek security and dignity. (Nov. 1992)
NYE, Naomi Shihab. Sitti's Secrets. illus. by Nancy Carpenter. Four Winds. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-02-768460-1.
K-Gr 3 -- A young American girl meets her Palestinian grandmother face to face, and the two forge a bond that sustains them from their opposite sides of the world. Wonderful collages -- at once ethereal and solid, exotic and familiar -- deftly serve the poetic text. (June 1994)
PAULSEN, Gary. The Voyage of the Frog. Orchard Bks: Watts. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-531-05805-0.
Gr 6-9 -- A taut survival story of a 14-year-old boy -- grieving over his uncle's recent death--caught at sea in a small sailboat and pushed by a storm 350 miles from home. Paulsen's spare prose offers an affecting blend of the boy's inner thoughts and keen observations of the power of nature to destroy and to heal. (Jan. 1989)
SAY, Allen. Grandfather's Journey. Houghton. Tr $16.95. ISBN 0-395-57035-2.
Gr 3 Up -- A personal history of three generations of the author's family that points up the emotions that are common to the immigrant experience. Splendid, photoreal watercolors have the look of formal family portraits or candid snapshots, all set against idyllic landscapes in Japan and in the U.S. (Sept. 1993)
SCIESZKA, Jon. Knights of the Kitchen Table. illus. by Lane Smith. Viking. RTE $11.99. ISBN 0-670-83622-2.
Gr 3-5 -- Transported to the Middle Ages, three friends save themselves from a dragon and a giant through quick thinking. The tongue-in-cheek narrative makes for laugh-out-loud enjoyment, and the easy-to-read sentences and zany dialogue perfectly suit the breathless pace. (Aug. 1991)
SIEBERT, Diane. Train Song. illus. by Mike Wimmer. Crowell. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-690-04726-6; PLB $14.89. ISBN 0-690-04728-2.
PreS-Gr 3 -- Poetry in motion. A loving tribute to the realm of the railroad is told in simple, lilting verse that picks up the cadence of the rolling cars and reverberates with rich imagery. Wimmer's sweeping landscapes and dramatic perspectives complete the voyage. A title that's sure to be homeward bound. (Sept. 1990)
SLEPIAN, Jan. The Broccoli Tapes. Philomel. RTE $14.95. ISBN 0-399-21712-6.
Gr 5-7 -- Through tapes mailed back to her class in Boston, Sara records the momentous highs and lows of her family's five-month stay in Hawaii. Each cassette relates real-life happenings, without easy resolutions. A bittersweet story of life's many scars and the power of love to heal. (Apr. 1989)
TEMPLE, Frances. Grab Hands and Run. (Richard Jackson Bks.). Orchard. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-531-05480-2; PLB $16.99. ISBN 0-531-08630-5.
Gr 6-9 -- Crossing borders from their native El Salvador to Canada is a costly and dangerous proposition for 12-year-old Felipe, his younger sister, and their mother. The taut and absorbing escape is made all the more real by the fully fleshed out characters and heart-stopping situations. (Apr. 1993)
YORINKS, Arthur. Oh, Brother. illus. by Richard Egielski. Farrar. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-374-35599-1.
Gr 2-4 -- The uproarious misadventures of quarrelsome twins as they make their way from Rotten's Home for Lost Boys to the Queen of England's court, squabbling all the while. A playful look at brotherly love, executed with a deadpan delivery and jolly good humor bursting from the illustrations. (Dec. 1989)
