Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went from the Football Field to the Art Gallery by Sandra Neil Wallace and Hana's Suitcase: The Quest to Solve a Holocaust Mystery by Karen Levine

At our last meeting, we had the rare occurrence of unanimous positive reactions to both of our books. We enjoyed the picture book, Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went from the Football Field to the Art Gallery by Sandra Neil Wallace and illustrated by Bryan Collier. We all agreed that it was such an important story, for a variety of reasons: It spoke to one young boy's persistence in getting to do the thing he loved -- create art -- even though many people thought it would be better for him to be a football player. He actually did both! We liked how the story came full circle, from the point where he visited a museum in North Carolina and asked about paintings by black artists and was told, 'Your people don't express themselves that way," to the point where his artworks were exhibited in many of the finest museums in the country, beginning with paintings framed by weatherworn stakes from the fence around his family home while his father was dying in the hospital. We loved the fact that he never stopped creating art, even as a professional football player, and the crowning glory of his career was when he became the official artist of the NFL. We learned how his discipline and dedication brought him to many other experiences, awards, and honors. We all liked the illustrations, some of us a bit more than others, but everyone loved the depictions of Barnes' actual paintings, where the movement and passion and electricity of athletic moments jumped from the page. We felt that this would be a great read for youngsters, both because of its emphasis on persistence and discipline and because of its interest for budding young artists.

Many tears were shed during our own readings of Hana's Suitcase: The Quest to Solve a Holocaust Mystery by Karen Levine. Most of us liked the alternate chapters between the true story of Hana Brady, a young Czech Jewish girl who was sent, along with her family, to a concentration camp during World War II, and Fumiko Ishioka, a teacher in Japan, who began in 2000, along with a group of students, to unravel the mystery of Hana's name written on a suitcase she had found while teaching them about the Holocaust. One reader was a bit 'put off' by the alternate chapters, but we all loved the way Hana's story was told in such a way that we all really cared about her (tears when we realized she had been exterminated). We liked the story of Fumiko's persistence in seeking more details about Hana's life, before she was imprisoned by the Nazis and afterwards in camp in Terezin. This quest ultimately led to Fumiko's finding Hana's older brother George (more tears), a survivor who was able to provide more detailed information and photos of their story. We liked the fact that Fumiko and George ultimately travelled around the world teaching children about the Holocaust, and we all agreed that this book is essential reading for all young people to create an understanding that can prevent such a thing from ever happening again.