Elvira Woodruff

Darcy Heart O'Hara - so named because of her Granny's prophecy that she would one day hold her family's heart in the palm of her hands - wasn't like the other children in her small Irish village of Pobble O'Keefe. She was a "noticer," someone with an eye for the small beauties around her, and although her family were sometimes impatient with her dreamy inattention to practical matters - gathering the eggs, milking the cow - it was a quality that would stand her (and them) in good stead, when show more the terrible events of the Great Famine overtook them. The failure of multiple potato crops, the resultant hunger that the O'Haras and all their neighbors experienced, the violent forced eviction from their home, and the long journey to America, were ugly, heart-breaking realities. Could Darcy's "small beauties" - the many little objects she has sewn into the hem of her dress, over the years - remind them of the beauty of their abandoned homeland?

An Gorta Mór (the "great hunger"), or the Great Famine, as it is known in English, was one of the defining events of modern Irish history, killing more than a million people outright, and sending more than a million more into exile, all in the course of seven years. More than simply the tragic and inevitable result of the potato blight which had struck all of Europe, it was a catastrophe that was caused by deliberate British policy (hence Tony Blair's apology to the Irish people, a few years back), and lingers on in the folk memory of the Irish, both at home and in the diaspora. Elvira Woodruff's Small Beauties: The Journey of Darcy Heart O'Hara is a moving introduction to this difficult topic, one ideally suited for younger readers. While it doesn't completely gloss over some of the more horrific aspects of this tragedy - the O'Hara's home is set alight by those evicting them, while they are still inside - it also doesn't concentrate on the atrocities. Instead, the narrative focuses on the love shared by the O'Hara family - the storytelling sessions with Granddad, the tearful goodbyes when the O'Hara grandparents decide they are too old to make the journey to America - as they struggle to survive a terrible time. The accompanying illustrations by Adam Rex, whose work is usually more in the comic vein, are simply beautiful, capturing the emotional register of each scene flawlessly.

I had tears in my eyes, as I finished this book, and I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for children's stories that address the Great Famine in Ireland, the experiences of the Irish in the diaspora, or the immigrant experience in general. show less

Cute story. It's a little too interested in its message, at a slight expense to story, but pretty good. The descriptions of the Tower and London in the 1600s are nicely done, and not too sanitized. Mostly about a boy learning what's really important - friendship and loyalty and fairness over following the rules. Tuck's finally learning his trick is...extremely convenient, as is the chimney sweep's end. But not bad. Worth reading once, though I see no reason to reread.

Dominic is in foster care and is embarrassed by his ratty clothes and shoes and teased by his classmates. When his class goes on a field trip to Ellis Island, he is worried he'll be teased by his classmates for not having any family to look up while he's there, so he hides in a closet and ends up falling asleep. When he wakes, he's the only one there, and he explores the exhibit by himself, picking up a phone and talking to someone from Italy. Suddenly, he finds himself transported to that show more man's past in Italy in the 1900s, where the boy and his brothers, Salvatore, Francesco, and Antonio are homeless in the countryside. Can Dominic get back home to his own time? What will happen to the brothers?

This was a short middle grade book that would be good for kids learning about immigration and Ellis Island. I had a few too many questions about the mechanics of the time travel, but I won't go into those. Best for an actual middle grade audience. 3 stars. show less

A great short work of historical fiction for children, this book forces us to put ourselves in the shoes of the main characters. A young Scottish girl is captured alongside her Jacobite father and taken to be prisioner in London Tower. She is befriended by the son of a prision master Forrest Harper and his chimney sweep best friend. Forest is forced to choose between his country and what he knows is right. Full of action, suspense, and few tearful moments, I loved every page and I am sure show more you will too show less