NOVEMBER 2015: Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan - a wonderfully written story for Middle School readers!
It’s 1933 and Friedrich, a talented young musician and the youngest apprentice in the harmonica factory in Trossingen, Germany, is about to discover what Hilter has in store for Germany. Friedrich was born with a birth mark and epilepsy, and even though he hasn’t had a seizure since he was a year old, he is considered “genetically diseased” by the Nazis and required to have a surgery that will prevent him from ever having children. The surgery is dangerous, but life becomes more dangerous when Friedrich’s father invites a Jewish man over to their house. At this point the only option left for Friedrich, his father and uncle is to flee Germany, but Friedrich must leave behind his harmonica, so on his last day of work he slips it into an empty box at the harmonica factory …
It’s 1935, the middle of the Great Depression and Mike and his kid brother Frankie are living at The Bishop’s Home for Friendless and Destitute Children, after their elderly grandmother can no longer care for them. Mike, who promised his grandmother he would always look out for Frankie, fears that they will be separated. Then Frankie finds an ad in the paper for auditions for the Philadelphia Harmonica Band and starts planning their escape, he just needs to figure out how to save up enough money to buy Mike a new harmonica. However everything changes when a businessman from Philadelphia visits the orphanage, and Mike and Frankie are whisked away to the home of a wealthy, depressed and musically talented woman. But, will she want both of them in the end …
It’s 1945 and Ivy lives with her mom and dad in Southern California and in just a few short days Ivy will get the chance to play her harmonica on the radio. Unfortunately for Ivy, her father gets a job offer that he can’t refuse and the family must leave immediately if wants to keep the job. Ivy must leave her best friend behind, as well as her big chance to be on the radio and move to a place where she is treated like an outcast and things just don’t seem right.
What starts as an old German fairytale, quickly develops into three separate stories that weave their way together on the musical waves of a single harmonica. Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan is an amazing book about the lives of three strong children, who hang on to hope and work hard to meet their destiny. Stop by the library for other stories of strong children throughout history.
It’s 1935, the middle of the Great Depression and Mike and his kid brother Frankie are living at The Bishop’s Home for Friendless and Destitute Children, after their elderly grandmother can no longer care for them. Mike, who promised his grandmother he would always look out for Frankie, fears that they will be separated. Then Frankie finds an ad in the paper for auditions for the Philadelphia Harmonica Band and starts planning their escape, he just needs to figure out how to save up enough money to buy Mike a new harmonica. However everything changes when a businessman from Philadelphia visits the orphanage, and Mike and Frankie are whisked away to the home of a wealthy, depressed and musically talented woman. But, will she want both of them in the end …
It’s 1945 and Ivy lives with her mom and dad in Southern California and in just a few short days Ivy will get the chance to play her harmonica on the radio. Unfortunately for Ivy, her father gets a job offer that he can’t refuse and the family must leave immediately if wants to keep the job. Ivy must leave her best friend behind, as well as her big chance to be on the radio and move to a place where she is treated like an outcast and things just don’t seem right.
What starts as an old German fairytale, quickly develops into three separate stories that weave their way together on the musical waves of a single harmonica. Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan is an amazing book about the lives of three strong children, who hang on to hope and work hard to meet their destiny. Stop by the library for other stories of strong children throughout history.