Retro Mystery- American Girl Style

Recommended grades 4-6.  The American Girls have gone far out with Julie, a girl living in San Francisco during the groovy 1960's and 70's.  In The Secret Guitar (American Girl Publishing, 2011), part of the Julie Mystery Series, Julie and her friends must find a stolen guitar that belonged to (fictional) rock star, Danny Kendricks.  The guitar is part of a charity auction for a recent oil spill in the San Francisco Bay that is devastating the marine life.  Author Kathryn Reiss drew her inspiration from her own childhood, though as a piece of historical fiction, it is unconvincing.  Reiss creates fictional versions of people and events (Jimi Hendrix, the Exxon oil spill) instead of using their real life counterparts.  This is confusing, and ultimately doesn't achieve what great historical fiction should do- teach readers about actual historical time periods using a combination of fact and fiction.  Reiss's words capture feeling and fiction, and she includes a quick historical afterword connecting the story to history.   Ultimately, the story would have been much more valuable to readers had she written within the true 1960s instead of creating a fictional parallel.  Additional Selection, **

Me, Frida

Grades 1-4 In Me, Frida (Abrams, 2010), Amy Novesky tells the tale of Frida Kahlo and her husband, Diego Rivera, on a trip to San Francisco in 1931. Rivera has received a commission to paint one of his infamous labor murals, and Frida feels overlooked and small next to her "elephant" of a husband (large in fame and in stature). Novesky's text is joined with breathtaking artwork by Caldecott Award winner David Diaz. Diaz's artwork nods to both Rivera's and Kahlo's styles, while adding his own take to the sites of San Francisco in dripping paint rich in color. His artwork truly carries the story, as the plot is quite detached from childrens' interests or experiences. The richly colored illustrations and highly stylized San Francisco skyline will be a great building-off point for conversations and projects, though the text alone leaves something to be desired. Though Frida's story may be more interesting to older readers and adults, the illustrations will please everybody. Additional Selection, **1/2