bibliokris's review against another edition
4.0
A strong book--I enjoyed the setting (1930s upstate New York, orphanage, mostly) and the backdrop of Joe Louis's fights. Gave a lot of great background about how African-Americans rallied around Joe Louis and saw his achievements as theirs--very moving.
The book was strong in presenting the sadness of the 3 orphans, and how they found each other as well as a way to survive & thrive.
I'm still mulling whether I feel this one's strong enough to win. I enjoyed it; I think there was a lot to learn & savor here, but I didn't feel the characters lived as strongly in my mind as May Amelia in Holm's latest book. May have something to do w/ 3 protagonists instead of 1...So I'm giving thought to this & haven't decided yet how I would vote if I were on the committee. Part of me feels like my winner's still out there.
The book was strong in presenting the sadness of the 3 orphans, and how they found each other as well as a way to survive & thrive.
I'm still mulling whether I feel this one's strong enough to win. I enjoyed it; I think there was a lot to learn & savor here, but I didn't feel the characters lived as strongly in my mind as May Amelia in Holm's latest book. May have something to do w/ 3 protagonists instead of 1...So I'm giving thought to this & haven't decided yet how I would vote if I were on the committee. Part of me feels like my winner's still out there.
amdame1's review against another edition
3.0
Hibernia, Willie, and Otis all live in upstate New York during the time of the Great Depression. They haven't met yet, but events are about to bring them together. The main tie is the hope given them by listening to the bouts of boxer Joe Louis on the radio.
Told in alternating chapters between the 3 voices, the reader slowly learns about each child's hopes and fears. It also gives insight to the time of the great depression and how one black boxer could inspire so many people. However, it is also not a book that students will pick up on their own, and even then, it will only reach out to a very select audience.
Told in alternating chapters between the 3 voices, the reader slowly learns about each child's hopes and fears. It also gives insight to the time of the great depression and how one black boxer could inspire so many people. However, it is also not a book that students will pick up on their own, and even then, it will only reach out to a very select audience.
everydayreading's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to love this one especially after Gary Schmidt specifically recommended it to me but it just didn't do it for me. Fine but not amazing.
plexippa's review against another edition
4.0
The only thing folks are talking about is that this will be the fight to end all fights. And nobody seems to care about the tough times we're in, either. People are putting down their last little bit of money, betting on Joe Louis.
In this moving historical novel, Pinkney introduces three young African-Americans in Depression-era Elmira, New York. Hibernia is a 12-year-old preacher's daughter with dreams of becoming a famous jazz singer. Otis is trying to keep his memories of his father and mother alive by retelling the riddles his father loved to tell. Willie had dreams of becoming a champion boxer, until his abusive father put an end to them.
The novel opens as Louis is about to take on Braddock in a much-hyped fight for the Heavyweight World Champion title, then jumps back a year to recount how the three main characters' lives have intertwined. Pinkney presents a coherent, flowing narrative while rotating perspective between three distinct voices. She seamlessly blends real historical figures and events with her fictional characters to create vibrantly realistic scenes. An author's note provides biographical information about Joe Louis and the members of the author's own family that she used as models for some characters.
With lively, engaging characters and a skillful evocation of time and place, this is an excellent choice for young readers, even those who might not normally be drawn to historical fiction. Consider introducing de la Peña and Nelson's A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis to readers interesting in learning more about Louis himself.
In this moving historical novel, Pinkney introduces three young African-Americans in Depression-era Elmira, New York. Hibernia is a 12-year-old preacher's daughter with dreams of becoming a famous jazz singer. Otis is trying to keep his memories of his father and mother alive by retelling the riddles his father loved to tell. Willie had dreams of becoming a champion boxer, until his abusive father put an end to them.
The novel opens as Louis is about to take on Braddock in a much-hyped fight for the Heavyweight World Champion title, then jumps back a year to recount how the three main characters' lives have intertwined. Pinkney presents a coherent, flowing narrative while rotating perspective between three distinct voices. She seamlessly blends real historical figures and events with her fictional characters to create vibrantly realistic scenes. An author's note provides biographical information about Joe Louis and the members of the author's own family that she used as models for some characters.
With lively, engaging characters and a skillful evocation of time and place, this is an excellent choice for young readers, even those who might not normally be drawn to historical fiction. Consider introducing de la Peña and Nelson's A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis to readers interesting in learning more about Louis himself.
arisbookcorner's review against another edition
3.0
While Hibernia is annoying, she has a distinctive voice, in contrast to Otis and Willie, whom I kept mixing up. The voices of Otis and Willie blended together. I knew that one of them had scarred hands and that the other was an actual orphan but I could rarely remember who was who. Furthermore there was no character development, no growth in maturity and Otis was a saint. As it was Otis and Willie had to grow up fast, but then their growth stagnated. I'm not even sure why Hibernia was in the story to be perfectly honest. She wasn't living at the orphanage and I think her character would have been more interesting if she was actually an orphan and set off to pursue her dreams. I wasn't thrilled by the dialogue and descriptions either. Phrases such as "[i]t's as if a mighty hand is yanking the room to its feet." (pg. 253) and "Carmen turns her voice in popcorn blips. I backflip the melody into flatted riffs." (pg. 228) made the book seem like it was trying to hard to be creative with words. I don't even know what a 'flatted riff' is. The flashbacks were stiff and I didn't understand why the story couldn't just start at the beginning instead of a year later, as a teaser it was rather ineffective. Finally the narrative would abruptly end at points and never be revisited such as when *SPOILER, highlight to read*: The boys get the radio back from the bleach man. I refuse to believe the bleach man wouldn't know it was them, so why was no mention made of their punishment?*End spoiler*
Occasionally the creative wording/descriptions worked well such as when Hibernia "put pepper on that tune." (pg. 227). I loved the details about the radio though. I really did get the impression that this was the "Golden Age of Radio" the commentators had personality and it was easy to see through the author's words how the radio programs affected the listeners. The variety of programs was shown ranging from jazz music, to of course, the Joe Louis fights. The other historical tidbits gel quite well with the fictional characters, places and events, there is a real sense of time and place. The illustrations were lovely, simple but expressive. The only character who became fully fleshed out (in my opinion) was Lila, the orphanage worker. She was a doll, tough when needed but always ready to give the children a hug, she has a tough past but doesn't wallow in depression. Although I would like to know why she randomly showed up at Hibernia's church...
Bird in a Box left more questions in my mind than answers except when it came to the importance of radio during the 1930s. Storylines were abruptly ended and the three children had interesting backgrounds but remained flat with no development. I don't much about the 1930s but all the facts seemed to be in order to me, the town of Elmira, New York came to life. A town that was filled with people who wanted to work but couldn't find jobs and yet still mustered up the cheer to DRESS UP (I mean that in the best of ways) for church. Personally, I wish the story had actually taken place in the more exciting New York City but at least Elmira developed a presence in my mind (and I could understand Hibernia's frustration with the town). A hit or miss read I think
Occasionally the creative wording/descriptions worked well such as when Hibernia "put pepper on that tune." (pg. 227). I loved the details about the radio though. I really did get the impression that this was the "Golden Age of Radio" the commentators had personality and it was easy to see through the author's words how the radio programs affected the listeners. The variety of programs was shown ranging from jazz music, to of course, the Joe Louis fights. The other historical tidbits gel quite well with the fictional characters, places and events, there is a real sense of time and place. The illustrations were lovely, simple but expressive. The only character who became fully fleshed out (in my opinion) was Lila, the orphanage worker. She was a doll, tough when needed but always ready to give the children a hug, she has a tough past but doesn't wallow in depression. Although I would like to know why she randomly showed up at Hibernia's church...
Bird in a Box left more questions in my mind than answers except when it came to the importance of radio during the 1930s. Storylines were abruptly ended and the three children had interesting backgrounds but remained flat with no development. I don't much about the 1930s but all the facts seemed to be in order to me, the town of Elmira, New York came to life. A town that was filled with people who wanted to work but couldn't find jobs and yet still mustered up the cheer to DRESS UP (I mean that in the best of ways) for church. Personally, I wish the story had actually taken place in the more exciting New York City but at least Elmira developed a presence in my mind (and I could understand Hibernia's frustration with the town). A hit or miss read I think
allbookedup4's review
4.0
Great story set in the Depression era that teaches about boxing legend Joe Louis!
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