MMGM- Light and Air and The Wisest Learners

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Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
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Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

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Unleashing Readers

Wendell, Mindy Nichols. Light and Air 

January 2, 2024 by Holiday House

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Hallelujah Grace Newton lives in New York State with her father, a high school teacher, and her mother, in 1935. Her mother is involved and supportive, but her father has become increasingly worried and distant since her mother has suffered four miscarriages. Her mother's health hasn't been good, and the reason is eventually uncovered: she has tuberculosis. Since this is highly contagious and difficult to cure, she is whisked off to the J.N. Adams tuberculosis sanitorium some twenty minutes away. Halle (HAL-lee) and her father are both tested, but although their skin test shows positive for tuberculosis, their lung x-rays are clear and they are allowed to return to school. Halle is given a hard time by some classmates, who call her a "filthy-lunger", but her best friend Thelma remains supportive. Even though Mrs. Gray, the kind wife of the local doctor, comes to stay with her and help out, Halle misses her mother and is very worried about her. She decides that she will run away to visit her, but during her journey, she becomes very ill. Once she is found, it's determined that she, too, needs to go to the sanitorium. It turns out that she has pneumonia rather than active tuberculosis, but she stays at the hospital. She makes friends with the other girls there, but is very concerned about her mother, whose condition does not seem to improve, due to complications her father does not fully explain. Halle decides that her mother really needs to drink honey water every day, the way she did at home, to get better, and sets out to get some from the sanitorium's gardener. With the help of the other children, including two boys from another ward, she also manages to sneak into her mother's ward at night to visit. Away from her father's dour moods, Halle is able to enjoy her life a little despite her mother's illness, but tragedy is never far from a facility for the chronically ill. What is Halle's mother's mysterious condition, and how will her family continue?

Strengths: There are many periods of history that my students know nothing about, and after the 2020 pandemic, I think that coverage of tuberculosis is a fantastic thing for them to read! As the cover indicates, this is a generally positive story, and it ends on an upbeat note. Halle is 11, but reads as if she is a bit older because of all of the work and responsiblity that children that age were given at the time. Even though Halle's family is in distress, it was good to see that the community stepped in to help, even if the food they brought wasn't as good as Halle's mother's! I loved Mrs. Gray (she reminded me of the minister's wife in Anne of Green Gables), and the characters at the sanitorium are interesting and well developed as well. This was a very pleasant book to read on a gray, fall afternoon. Who would have thought that a book about tuberculosis would have bene more enjoyable than most of the middle grade books I've been reading lately?
Weaknesses: I could have used more explanation for why the father is so distant and unpleasant to Halle. The miscarriages would not have been that upsetting at the time; my grandmother didn't have my father until she was 41 (in 1934), so I'm suspecting there were a number of babies who didn't make it, but it was never discussed. His attitude was probably more a product of the time. Since my students don't understand what parenting was like in the 1930s, more explanation would have been helpful. 
What I really think: Since there are few books about this historical topic (Wilson's Queenie, set in 1953, deals with a tubercular infection of the leg, and Hayle's Breathing Room (2012) is set in London, I'll definitely purchase this. It's more upbeat, and has a bit more action. I love that the hospital is a real place, although it's so sad that such a beautiful building is in such decay. 

Panlilio II, Dr. Wallace and Zinchenko, Dr. Artyom. 

Wisest Learners (Parent Edition): Unlock the Secrets to Your Child's Academic Success 

January 2, 2024 by Independently published

Copy provided by the Publisher

To me, the most enjoyable part of having children was teaching them things! My own offspring were rarely allowed screen time, were given lots of books and art supplies, and also helped me out with household chores. They all did well in school, got college scholarships, and are successful adults with good jobs and their own health insurance! My parents were also educators, so I just did the sorts of things I had been taught at home. Parents who don't have a background in education will find Wisest Learners an interesting and helpful book to apply to rearing academically minded children. 

I'm not sure how many secrets this unlocks, but the book does break down the approaches to life skills that parents should consider. Basically, children need to have intrinsic motivation to learn rather than all of the Jolly Ranchers, tickets, and participation awards that are rampant as "carrots" today. It helps for them to have a clear direction of where they are headed, and how acquired skills can be not only used in future emergencies, but how the act of learning those skills makes them more flexible and knowledgeable adults.

There are some very good details about both time management and space management that many of my students would benefit from. Having routines, enough rest, and time for reflection are critical. Because there were no smart phones when my children were in school, they weren't tired like many kids I see complaining today, and there was plenty of time for them to just sit and think thoughts instead of watching YouTube videos or playing games on their phones. Fiften years ago, students in study hall would do homework, read, and then draw or write notes, all of which are productive ways to spend time. I've often thought that my children should have had more dedicated space to do homework; we mainly did it at the kitchen table. It worked out well, but now I personally would like to have a work space with a comfortable chair and a window looking out onto a pleasant outdoor scene! 

I especially liked the information about encouraging students to ask for help and to learn to collaborate. Of course, since it's 2024, there is also a chapter about dealing with anxiety, which is probably less of a concern for children who have been solving problems and learning to amuse themselves for their whole lives. 

This does veer into the style of college textbooks; S.M.A.R.T. goals are mentioned, and there's even talk of metacognition. I've taken several college courses recently to renew my certification, and this seemed very similar to other ones I've seen, especially Hammond's Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, which is geared towards educators. There doesn't seem to be a teacher edition of Wisest Learners, but this would be an excellent book for teachers to read, especially if they have children of their own.