Levine, Ellen. Catch a tiger by the toe.LEVINE, Ellen. Catch a tiger by the toe. Penguin, Viking. 208p. c2005.0-670-88461-8. $15.99. J It is 1953 in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and the nation is watching Senator Joseph McCarthy Noun 1. Joseph McCarthy - United States politician who unscrupulously accused many citizens of being Communists (1908-1957) Joseph Raymond McCarthy, McCarthy fight against the Communists on television. Jamie Morse is 13 years old and not entirely aware of the political ramifications ramifications npl → Auswirkungen pl of the events--until her father is dismissed from his teaching position and called to testify before the Senate Committee. Now Jamie really understands as she and her classmates Classmates can refer to either:
Jamie is a typical young teen who has been keeping a secret. Her grandparents grandparents npl → abuelos mpl grandparents grand npl → grands-parents mpl grandparents grand npl emigrated from Russia, and the name her mother uses is not the family's real name. But Jamie is also trying to have friends, to stay out of trouble, to fit in with her classmates. To do all of those things, she feels she has to lie about her family: she tells her friends her grandmother is ill and crazy and unable to have visitors. Jamie believes she is keeping her family safe. What she learns, slowly but surely, is that secrets and lies only cause trouble, and that once issues are out in the open, they can be dealt with honestly. Throughout the story, Jamie finds out about her grandparents and how they left Russia, about Joseph Stalin, about the unions, about the Hollywood Ten Hollywood Ten Group of U.S. movie producers, directors, and screenwriters who refused to answer questions about communist affiliations before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. and about everyday people who lose jobs and friends because of their political beliefs. Jamie becomes friends with a girl whose father was previously identified as a Communist, and through the local librarian, the girls research the politics of the day and try to make sense of them. Janis Flint-Ferguson, Assoc. Prof., English, Gordon College, Wenham, MA J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion