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Twelve-year-old Molly and her ten-year-old brother, Michael, have never liked their younger stepsister, Heather. Ever since their parents got married, she's made Molly and Michael's life miserable. Now their parents have moved them all to the country to live in a house that used to be a church, with a cemetery in the backyard. If that's not bad enough, Heather starts talking to a ghost named Helen and warning Molly and Michael that Helen is coming for them. Molly feels certain Heather is in some kind of danger, but every time she tries to help, Heather twists things around to get her into trouble. It seems as if things can't get any worse.But they do—when Helen comes. Views: 66
From Publishers WeeklyHahn (Stepping on the Cracks) mines her mother's reminiscences of growing up in Baltimore before WWI to create this nostalgic chapter book. Though set in a bygone era of gas street lamps and horse-drawn delivery carts, these episodes in the year Anna turns nine have timeless themes. Anna's efforts to eavesdrop are thwarted, for example, when her mother and aunt speak in their native German to tell secrets, so she attempts to learn the language on her own. (Hahn includes a glossary of German words and phrases.) On a dare from her best friend, Charlie, Anna speeds down a cobblestone street on her roller skates and ends up with stitches. One of the most humorous chapters also delivers the greatest lesson: Anna throws herself a "surprise" birthday party after her mother strictly forbids having friends to the house; her aunt saves the party, but as punishment Anna has to go to her room without dinner. Children will recognize the personalities and rivalries of the neighborhood (e.g., snobby Rosa with the perfect coat and her sidekick Beatrice as foils for tomboyish Anna) and will seeing the similarities between Anna's time and their own. Final artwork not seen by PW. Ages 7-10. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library JournalGrade 2-4-Life in Baltimore in the years just before World War I might seem slow and dull to today's youngsters, but eight-year-old Anna experiences the same yearnings, disappointments, joys, and adventures that all children do. During the seasons described here, she struggles with long division; she outgrows her winter coat and longs for a red one just like the one belonging to her snobby friend Rosa; she asks Santa for an Erector set, though it is not considered a suitable present for a young lady; and she eavesdrops on her mother and aunts' conversations, only to be thwarted when the adults speak in German (a glossary of German terms is included). Hahn masterfully captures Anna's humiliation at wearing a coat that is too small, her thrill and fear during her fling as a daredevil roller skater, and the comforting sense of family that surrounds these everyday activities. De Groat depicts the period details-dress, transportation, etc.-and the characters' personalities all come to life through her soft, though vibrant pencil illustrations. Reading this book is like taking a quiet, peaceful carriage ride over the cobbled streets of an earlier time.Linda Bindner, formerly at Athens Clarke County Library, GA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 50
From Publishers WeeklyIn this sequel to Anna All Year Round, set just before WWI, nine-year-old Anna is happy to spend a week at her aunt and uncle's farm in Anna on the Farm by Mary Downing Hahn, illus. by Diane de Groat. All runs smoothly until she meets Theodore, who calls her a "stuck-up city slicker" and spurs her to prove that she's just as clever and brave as he is. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.From BooklistGr. 3-5. In this sequel to Anna All Year Round (1999), nine-year-old Anna travels to spend a week in the country with Aunt Aggie and Uncle George. She is ecstatic (since all her Baltimore friends have left on vacations) until she discovers that her aunt and uncle have taken in a young orphan named Theodore. The rivalry between the children results in a series of pranks, but eventually the children become good friends. Unlike the earlier, more episodic title, the action here is better focused and the characters more fleshed out. Particularly interesting is the contrast between Anna's mother (a rigid woman with definite Old World ideas about ladylike behavior) and Aunt Aggie, who allows Anna to wear overalls for play and encourages her to have fun. The details in the setting (early-twentieth-century Baltimore, Washington, and rural Prince Georges County) add to the richness of the text, as do the illustrations by Diane de Groat. A good choice for easy-chapter-book readers, especially those who have met Anna before. Kay WeismanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Views: 50
Mary Downing Hahn unrolls the suspenseful, spine-chilling yarn of a girl imprisoned for more than a century, the terrifying events that put her there, and a friendship that crosses the boundary between past and present.
A family moves into an old, abandoned house. Jules's parents love the house, but Jules is frightened and feels a sense of foreboding. When she sees a pale face in an upstairs window, though, she can't stop wondering about the eerie presence on the top floor—in a room with a locked door. Could it be someone who lived in the house a century earlier?
Her fear replaced by fascination, Jules is determined to make contact with the mysterious figure and help unlock the door. Past and present intersect as she and her ghostly friend discover—and change—the fate of the family who lived in the house all those many years ago.. Views: 41
The poignant story of World War II back home at lastFinally, the paperback edition of one of Mary Dowing Hahn’s most gripping and personal stories. Culled from her memories of growing up under the shadows of WWII, this story has touched young readers for more than fifteen years. We are so excited to have it back with us in paper, with a fantastic new cover, available for young readers for many, many more years to come.Margaret and Elizabeth support everything about the war: the troops, the reasons for going to war, even the food rations. After all, this is the good war and the Americans are the good guys.But when the girls stumble upon a classmate’s secret, their feelings about the war begin to change. Is it really a good war? Is there ever such a thing? Views: 40
