As a German teacher, I love books set around major German events. I got to review The Metropolitans, an inventive book that mixes mystery, history, and adventure for middle-grade readers. It's set in December 1941, when Madge (an orphaned Irish girl living with her aunt) meets Joe (a run away from a boarding school for Mohawk children), who follows her into the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they meet Walt (a German ex-patriate) and Kiku (Japanese-American daughter of a museum curator). While they try to help Kiku's father, embroiled in a conspiracy related the Pearl Harbor bombing, they realize that they can share thoughts with the medieval knights from an ancient text. They need to figure out the mysterious messages to help save Kiku's father and stop a war.
It's a book full of enough historical elements to help kids who haven't heard about them be curious about the actual events - and has plenty of mystery and suspense to keep middle grade readers reading. I really enjoyed the premise of the book, and it was a great read for my daughter as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment