Rosetown Forever (Rosetown #3)

Rylant, Cynthia. Rosetown Forever (#3)
June 23, 2026 by Beach Lane Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this third book set in Rosetown, Indiana, in is now 1974. Flora Smallwood is living with both of her parents, Emma Jean and Forster, who now run the Rosetown Paper and Press shop. She and her best friend, Yury, are still sad that their favorite bookstore, A Wing and a Chair, is gone, since the wonder moved away to live with a friend. They have a new haunt, Day Road Farm, run by Farmer Hester, where they enjoy riding horses. Flora loves her town, and doesn't want anything else to change, but knows that there are often circumstances beyond her control. A rash of tornadoes hitting other small towns is a vivid reminder of this. At the end of fifth grade, she and Yury are faced with the rite of passage that is the oral report, but they both do perfectly well after asking the town librarian, Mr. Anderson for help and consulting the How and Why Library for information. They occasionally hang out at the local pharmacy, with its lunch counter and array of 1970s era shampoos like Prell, Breck, and Herbal Essence. Flora learns about the historical society and its attempts at keeping the town as it is, but she and Yury do like the new store that takes the place of A Wing and a Chair. The Slightly Cracked Teacup is an antique and oddity store that does have a few vintage children's books, and Alfie and Roy, who run it, welcome them as customers. When Yury's father has to live in Chicago for a while to train in orthopedics, Flora worries that things will change, but for the moment, most of Rosetown remains comforting and familiar.

Strengths: This is a very gentle historical fiction book that looks back fondly at the world fifty years ago. There are good details about what life was like before computers arrived, and the scope is narrowly focused on the experience of Flora and her friends, which will appeal to readers who are her age. Rosetown is very idyllic; I would have adored this as a child and would have searched out vintage children's books much earlier than I eventually did had I read this!

Weaknesses: This ended rather abruptly, in the way that many books published in the 1970s did. I'm not sure if this was on purpose or not! There could easily be another installment about the Bicentennial, but this is billed as the final book.

What I really think: I would probably buy this for an elementary school library, but it is a bit too slow paced and introspective for middle school. If I had read a book set fifty years ago when I was in elementary school, it would have taken me back to the 1920s, which was always my favorite decade of the twentieth century! This made me feel a tiny bit old, but I still want to travel into the book and take over Mr. Anderson's job so that I can check out The Childhood of Famous Americans book to Flora and Yury! 

Rosetown and Marge in Charge

Rylant, Cynthia. Rosetown.
May 8th 2018 by Beach Lane Books
E ARC from Edelweiss Plus

Flora Smallwood lives in Rosetown, Indiana in 1972. Her mother works at a vintage bookstore, a Wing and a Chair, and her father is a newspaper reporter. Life is very slow paced and mild, although there are some sad things-- her parents are separated, her dog has recently died, and the ripples of the Vietnam war are still being felt. She has a good friend, Vanessa, and another friend, Yury, whose father is a local doctor from the Ukraine. Flora and Yury are training his new dog, and there is a cat at the bookstore. Flora takes piano lessons at Three Part Harmony, hangs out with her friends at the Peaceable Buns Bakery, and participates in Scrabble Club at Moonwalk Toys. Her fourth grade teacher, Mr. Cooper, encourages the students to read the encyclopedia (a 1962 edition), and to write. He even encourages Flora to write stories to submit to the brand new Cricket magazine. Even though things aren't perfect, the adults in Flora's life care very much about her, and make sure that she is happy and safe.
Strengths: This was a very calm, soothing book that might be just what scared fourth graders might need right now. Very classic feel, and a great choice for readers who can't handle any drama.
Weaknesses: A bit too quiet and young for my students, and there was a historical error that I may be the only person to catch-- Mr. Cooper gives Flora a Cricket magazine in April of 1973, but publication didn't begin until September of 1973. I know because I still own the magazine 45 years after my father gave it to me. What is accurate is how influential this magazine was!
What I really think: I don't think that anywhere as idyllic as Rosetown ever existed, but I certainly want to move there and be the middle school librarian! I won't buy this book for my library because it is a bit too young and slow moving for my readers, but I did enjoy it.

Fisher, Isla. Marge in Charge and the Stolen Treasure
May 8th 2018 by HarperCollins
ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central

Jemima and her little brother Jakey are being bedeviled by their baby cousin, Zara. Their Aunt Sally claims that her "baby-waby" is "easy-breezy", but from the devastation that is wrought on their toys and other possessions, the children know that this is not the case. They hope that their babysitter (and former duchess!) Marge will be able to use her skills to tame the baby, but Zara proves challenging even for a seasoned veteran of child care. Marge does maintain that babies are basically pirates, and since Jakey loves anything piratical, this ruse works for a while, and Jemima even answers a pirate Code Brown (changing a dirty diaper). Since the weather is nice, Marge readies her charges for a trip to the local pool, and Zara has some trouble remembering to keep her swim diaper on. More antics ensure when Uncle Desmond is getting married to Annie Alligator (Jakey thinks her teeth look pointy) and Jemima serves as ring bearer.  Of course, the rings go missing, and Zara is suspect, since she has been so difficult for so long. Even with an incident with paint on Annie's wedding gown, the ceremony goes off without too many hitches, and the children decide that dealing with Zara is another of Marge's skills.

This beginning level, illustrated novel shows a particularly British view of child care, complete with very difficult children and a babysitter who would give Mary Poppins a bit of competition in the area of carpet bags. Marge has no magical powers, but she seems to understand what children like to do, and she is very attentive and active in her dealings with the children. It's good to see an adult interacting with children in a positive way, and not being distracted by a cell phone! Young readers will wish that their own parents would play pirates as much is Marge is willing to.

Zara seems to be particularly precocious for a child who can barely walk, but children who must suffer through a younger brother or sister who gets into their things and ruins them will understand Jemima and Jakey's pain. Hopefully, the baby in their own life will seem mild in comparison!

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Nanny Piggins, Monster Nanny and Mr. Gedrick are all fictional care providers that have many things in common with Marge-- you can almost seeing the group of them hanging out, having a bit of tea, and talking about the antics to which their charges get!

Sweeping Up the Heart

Henkes, Kevin. Sweeping Up the Heart
March 19th 2019 by Greenwillow Books
E ARC from Edleweiss Plus

Amelia lives a quiet life in a college town with her introspective father and kindly neighbor Mrs. O’Brien, who looks after her and provides her with delicious baked goods. Amelia's mother died when she was two, and she never really misses her, but she wishes her father were a bit more fun. When she is stuck in town during spring break, she spends a lot of time making clay creations at Louise's pottery shop, and befriends Louise's nephew Casey, who is spending his spring break with his aunt while his parents go on a marriage retreat to try to improve their troubled marriage. The two work on some clay projects and also spend time eating lunch in town and making up elaborate stories about the people they see in the street. Casey makes up a story about a woman he sees, and tells Amelia that it is her mother. It isn't, of course, but it IS the woman her father is dating. Her father is going to break up with Hannah, thinking that Amelia would not like such a drastic change in her life, but Amelia starts to realize that she would like a mother figure in her life, so she connects with Hannah and her father's relationship is given a new chance. Casey must return home, and his parents decide to separate.
Strengths: This reminded me a lot of the novels of Sarah MacLachlan or Cynthia Rylant's Rosetown-- short, quiet, and introspective. They all deal with a variety of sad things in a gentle way, and the children involved have a strong support network of caring adults. This book even references Emily Dickinson (the title is from one of her poems). I can see this being used as a class read aloud.
Weaknesses: This is very slow and sad.
What I really think: If this author's Olive's Ocean and Junonia do well in your library, I'd definitely purchase. I just can't see my middle school students finding this to be very intriguing.

Remember Us

Woodson, Jacqueline. Remember Us

October 10, 2023 by Nancy Paulsen Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
 

Sage and her mother live in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York in the 1970s, after the death of her father, a firefighter. Her mother works at the local high school, and is writing a book in her summer off. Sage likes the neighborhood, and is glad when Freddy moves in, since he also likes to play basketball. Freddy's family has moved to the neighborhood because there have been a lot of fires in his old neighborhood, but there are a growing number of fires in Bushwick as well, leading the news media to dub it "the Matchbox". Because of this, Sage's mother is saving her money to buy a new, brick house in another location. The local children are rather interested in the fires, even though some have been burnt out of their homes. In addition to playing basketball, they frequently play in empty lots, using old mattresses as trampolines. Sage has a highly unpleasant encounter with an older boy in the neighborhood who questions "what kind of girl" she is, since she plays basketball and wears shorts, t shirts, and tennis shoes. He also takes her basketball, which was her father's, and throws it where she can't retrieve it. This rattles her more than she cares to admit, and the fires also prey on her thoughts. At one point, she sets items in the bathroom on fire, which alarms her mother and causes her to ground Sage. There are an increasing number of events of concern in the neighborhood, including the death of a young boy in a house fire and the hit and run death of dog that is then burned in the street, and Sage starts to realize that her mother is going to move them eventually, and she will not live in her beloved neighborhood or be close to Freddy anymore. She doesn't try to fight it, and once the move happens, she is able to create a new life with herself, even gathering a group of girls from her new school who like to play basketball. She occasionally talks to Freddy, and she and her mother do go back to Bushwick to visit. It's not the same, and as more and more houses burn (sometimes by landlords who wants the insurance money), Sage realizes that the Bushwick that she knew and loved will change, and that no one will remember that she was there. 

Strengths: Readers who got to know what life was like for young Woodson in her autobiographical Brown Girl Dreaming will find this fictionalized prose novel picks up the story of another part of Woodson's childhood. The contemplation of whether or not she should be playing basketball is good for young readers to see; my students are always amazed when I tell them that girls at our school could not wear slacks to classes until 1970. There is a lot about the past that is NOT remembered. There are a decent amount of popular culture references, and the mention of The O'Jay's Family Reunion places this after 1975, making it a good book to read with Parson's Clouds Over California. This is definitely a very evocative book capturing a specific time and place. 
Weaknesses: I'm not sure how much tweens think about their world changing, but the feelings of nostalgia will make this book very popular with teachers and librarians. For sensitive readers, the episode with the dog killed by a car is a bit grim. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked the rather similar Winter Sky (2014) by Patricia Reily Giff, or this author's Gingersnap (2013) which is set in Brooklyn a generation before. It also reminded me a little of Rylant's Rosetown, which was set at about the same time period.

The Summer We Found the Baby

Hest, Amy. The Summer We Found the Baby
July 14th 2020 by Candlewick Press
E ARC provided by Netgalley

Julie and her young sister Martha are taking a cake to the opening of the new children's library in their small coastal town during WWII when they find a baby in a basket on the front steps! Unfortunately, Julie's nemesis, Bruno, also shows up and interferes with her plans to take the baby to the beach and... well, she doesn't have the best plan. Martha, who is six, is up for any adventure, and just wants to name the baby Nancy. While the three try to decide what to do with the baby, we learn about the events leading up to their discovery. Julie has written to Eleanor Roosevelt, asking her to come to the library opening. Since her own mother, who passed away when Martha was very young, was also Eleanor, she feels there is a special connection. Bruno, whose older brother Ben is in Europe fighting, is on a mission to go into New York City and find Tess, the girl that Ben secretly married before he shipped out. Ben is concerned about Tess for a special reason, but doesn't tell Ben what, just that he should bring Tess back home with him. We find out why Julie is angry with Ben, and also the reason he had to find Tess, as well as the identity of the baby.
Strengths: This reminded me a little of Carolyn Haywood's B is for Betsy books, which were written around the time this is set. Leaving babies lying about for people to find was a popular theme in books; think also about The Boxcar Children, where the children run away and live in the woods and no one seems to notice. This book was a gentle way to introduce what was going on during WWII in a way that young people at the time might have experienced it. The opening of the children's library, and especially Eleanor Roosevelt, was especially charming.
Weaknesses: The reason the baby was left outside the library seems really weird to me. I don't want to spoil things, but during the war, I think that there were a lot of young people who got married (secretly or not so secretly) and had babies, and the families were okay with it.
What I really think: I will pass on purchase, since this is a bit young for my students, but I can see it being popular in an elementary library where titles like Rylan's Rosetown or MacLachlan short novels are popular.