Nathan’s Song by Leda Schubert – Illustrated by Maya Ish-Shalom

Everyone in the Russian shtetl loves young Nathan’s singing. “That Nathan!” say the neighbors. “He can lift your heart with his voice.”

Leda Schubert lives in Vermont, writes books for children, LOVES music and dogs-and lots of other stuff. Read about her here and see other wonderful books she has written: https://www.ledaschubert.com/bio.htm

Maya Ish-Shalom is an Israeli illustrator based in Brooklyn, NY. She earned her B.Des from the Department of Visual Communication in Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. ُShe tells stories through colorful, lively illustrations that spark viewers’ imagination and empathy. Maya’s portfolio varies from minimalist and simple illustrations to highly detailed, complex works.https://www.instagram.com/maya_ishshalom/

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Nathan’s Song was inspired by the author’s grandfather, born in a Jewish shtetl in Russia in the late 1800’s. Always singing as a child and after hearing an opera singer in a nearby village, Nathan and his family are determined to earn enough money for his singing lessons in Italy. At age 16, he travels from Russia to Italy, but a mishap at the dock ends with Nathan on a ship to New York City instead. Leda Schubert’s prose is filled with geography, persecution of Jews, ship travel, Ellis Island, and immigration; all which make Nathan’s Song superb enrichment to a Social Studies curriculum. Young readers will relish the suspense of Nathan’s travels and the leaving of his cap is an especially poignant symbol of themes of family commitments and life goals. Nathan learns to speak English, gets a job, and even marries, but will he rejoin his family? Illustrator, Maya Ish-Shalom’s use of bold, vibrant colors and geometric shapes in collage illustrations has great appeal for readers of all ages and adds immensely to the prose. As music lifts our hearts and spirits, so will Leda Shubert’s Nathan’s Song.

Ellis Island may not appear large on a map, but it is an unparalleled destination in United States history. After welcoming more than 12 million immigrants to our shores, Ellis Island is now a poetic symbol of the American Dream. This photo is from the National Immigration Museum:

https://www.statueofliberty.org/ellis-island/

The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration is a living monument to the story of the American people. Housed inside the restored Main Building of the former immigration complex, the Museum documents the rich story of American immigration through a carefully curated collection of photographs, heirlooms, and searchable historic records.https://www.statueofliberty.org/ellis-island/national-immigration-museum/

At Summer’s End by Courtney Ellis

When an ambitious female artist accepts an unexpected commission at a powerful earl’s country estate in 1920s England, she finds his war-torn family crumbling under the weight of long-kept secrets. From debut author Courtney Ellis comes a captivating novel about finding the courage to heal after the ravages of war. Available August 10, 2021

Courtney Ellis is the author of the forthcoming historical fiction novel, AT SUMMER’S END. She began writing at a young age, and developed an interest in history from her grandfather’s stories of World War II. After obtaining her BA in English and Creative Writing, she went on to pursue a career in publishing. She lives in Western New York with her rescue dog.

Find her online at @CellisWriter on Twitter, and courtneyellisauthor on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Photo by Kelly Gleason

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

“Everything important and remarkable I had ever done, I’d done on my own.” Bertie

Alberta Preston, an unknown aspiring artist in 1922 England, enters a competition as Bertie, hoping the assumption would be that ‘she’ is a ‘he.’ Her painting titled, Something for the Pain, wins and is featured in the Times. Soon Alberta receives a letter from the Earl of Wakeford, addressed to Mr. Preston, offering to commission ‘him’ for several paintings of his estate in Wiltshire, England, known as Castle Braemore. Against her parents’ wishes Bertie accepts the commission to spend the summer at the castle and the experience changes her life forever. This debut novel by Courtney Ellis is a superb character study of women and their aspirations in the early 20^th century, the long-term effects of World War One on soldiers, nurses, and those left behind, along with the economic aftermath dealt with by families. Upon his father’s death, 12- year-old Julian becomes the Earl of Wakeford and his oldest sister, Gwen, takes over the responsibilities of her siblings. The author’s use of flashbacks develops compassion and empathy as alternating chapters take a glimpse into the family dynamics, early years, and the personalities of each of the Wakeford children. Bertie’s personal feelings are explored as she comes to grips with her own aspirations and her feelings of unworthiness within her own family. Readers will get a true sense of Bertie’s inspiration and obsession in painting and sketching Castle Braemore as Courtney Ellis fills in with superb descriptions of the palace and grounds, along with artistic details of composition and techniques. As the family faces reality, the Earl of Wakeford and his siblings attempt to heal their wounds of war with love and loyalty. Readers will be filled with suspense, sometimes even anxiousness, but also cheer for Bertie’s boldness, her sense of accomplishment and the decision she makes “at summer’s end.”

Three Words for Goodbye by Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb

“From Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, the bestselling authors of Meet Me in Monaco, comes a coming-of-age novel set in pre-WWII Europe, perfect for fans of Jennifer Robson, Beatriz Williams, and Kate Quinn.“

Three cities, two sisters, one chance to correct the past…

Available July 27, 2021

Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Irish Times and international bestselling author. Her most recent historical novel, set in China during WW2, published as THE BIRD IN THE BAMBOO CAGE, in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, and as WHEN WE WERE YOUNG & BRAVE in the USA and Canada, was an Irish Times bestseller, a National Bestseller in the USA and was shortlisted for the 2020 Irish Book Awards. Her next novel, THREE WORDS FOR GOODBYE, co-written with Heather Webb, will be published in the USA and Canada in July 2021, and in the UK and Ireland in September 2021. https://www.hazelgaynor.com/

Heather Webb is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of seven historical novels. In 2015, Rodin’s Lover was a Goodread’s Top Pick, and in 2018, Last Christmas in Paris won the Women’s Fiction Writers Association STAR Award. Meet Me in Monaco, was selected as a finalist for the 2020 Goldsboro RNA award in the UK, as well as the 2019 Digital Book World’s Fiction prize. https://heatherwebbauthor.com/site/

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Violet, too ill to travel in 1937, has organized a journey to Europe for granddaughters Clara and Maddy to deliver good-bye letters to the meaningful people in her life of 40 years ago. The sisters, once inseparable as young girls, have barely spoken since their father’s death over a year ago. Co-authors Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb have done a superb job of defining the personalities of Clara and Maddy, using poignant memories and images from their childhood and complexities of their adult desires, inhibitions, and fears. Clara, cautious, pessimistic, rules and schedules dictate her days, is a promising artist. Maddy, ambitious, refuses to conform and insists on going her own way, is a budding journalist. Violet encourages the girls to “enjoy your differences,” which also suggests readers do the same with family and friends. The journey to Paris, Venice, and Vienna is as much for Violet’s last good-byes to be delivered as it is for Clara and Maddy to experience time for self-examination. Maddy, very inquisitive, bold, and brash is directly opposite of Clara who has not found her voice, even with her fiancé, millionaire Charles Hancock. The self-analysis and discoveries made by each sister along the way gives the reader plenty to ponder long after the journey is over. One thing the sisters DO agree on is Violet’s transportation choices which include the opulent Queen Mary, the Orient Express, and the Hindenburg. With the detailed descriptions and perfect analogies readers will travel first class throughout the trip! The suspense of decisions to be made and secrets to be revealed are intensified as the sisters travel to each destination. In Three Words for Goodbye, the anticipation of what lies ahead for Clara and Maddy adds to this enriching, enjoyable journey.

In Royal Service to the Queen by Tessa Arlen

The revealing story of Queen Elizabeth II’s beloved governess, Marion Crawford, who spent more than sixteen years of her life in loyal service to the royal family and was later shunned by those she has loved and served.

is the author of the Woman of World War II Mysteries and the novel In Royal Service to the Queen. Born in Singapore, the daughter of a British diplomat, she has lived in Egypt, Germany, the Persian Gulf, China, and India. She now lives with her husband in historic Santa Fe, where she gardens in summer and writes in winter.

https://www.tessaarlen.com/

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

In Royal Service to the Queen is an insider’s view of the British royal family through the eyes and heart of Marion Crawford, selfless governess to Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret for 16 years. The twenty-two-year-old “Crawfie,” as she was lovingly named, began her service as governess in the summer of 1931. Tessa Arlen’s extensive research of British history and the Monarchy seen through Crawfie’s lens takes the reader on the rocky road of recovery through the Great Depression, the abdication of King Edward VIII, World War II, and economic recovery. During Marion Crawford’s service she traveled between Balmoral in Scotland, Windsor, and Buckingham Palace. She endured five years at Windsor with the princesses during the war then navigated “Lilibets” coming of age and her wedding to Phillip. The peek into the daily life is extremely compelling and so intriguing with all the publicity-positive or negative- on the royal family in the last decades. Those who have been called to serve, as teachers are, will struggle along with Marion as she continues to sacrifice her own chance at love, marriage, and a family. Tessa Arlen creates the perfect tension between Marion’s aging mother, her love interest, George Buthlay, and her royal commitment to the princesses. At the end of her service to the royal family Crawfie is faced with a life altering financial decision that will leave readers in a quandary. As Tessa Arlen inquires of readers in her revealing, detailed author’s note, “Was Crawfie guilty of disloyalty or disobedience?” Read In Royal Service to the Queen to make your own wise and regal decision.

The Librarian of Saint-Malo by Mario Escobar

“Libraries are being ransacked. France is torn apart by war. A French librarian is determined to resist. Told through smuggled letters to an author, an ordinary librarian describes the brutal Nazi occupation of her small coastal village and the extraordinary measures she takes to fight back.” Goodreads

Mario Escobar Golderos has a degree in History, with an advanced studies diploma in Modern History. He has written numerous books and articles about the Inquisition, the Protestant Reformation, and religious sects. Of many previous titles: Auschwitz Lullaby and Children of the Stars

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

“The Librarian of Saint-Malo tells the story of Jocelyn and Antoine Ferrec, a life full of love and literature.” Author, Mario Escobar, sweeps readers from Jocelyn and Antoine’s glorious wedding at the Cathedral of Saint-Vincent to the German invasion of Poland – both on September1, 1939. The enthralling accounts of survival and passive resistance are told through Jocelyn’s letters to author, Marcel Zola, who she is hoping will someday tell the story of how the citizens of Saint-Malo fought to defend and protect their beloved city and treasured books in the library. The German colonel in charge, Andreas von Aulock, ordered the “purge of the city’s bookstores and libraries to get rid of subversive writings as outlined in the famous Liste Otto.” As the librarian, Jocelyn also encounters Lt. Baumann and Hermann Von Choltiz, specialist in Medieval French literature. Hermann has been sent to protect France’s cultural heritage by classifying the books in the Saint-Malo library. Readers, be wary of the relationships that Jocelyn develops with these Germans. Mario Escobar weaves alarming comments and stunning descriptions of actual, true events with enough subtle hope to create suspense as to the German officers’ intentions. Jocelyn’s quest also leads her to Yvonne Oddon and the Musée de l’Homme in Paris. Fans of Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrow’s The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society will delight in the Bouquinistes, booksellers along the Seine, and the book club Jocelyn creates with the 7 requisite members, including a Count! Anthony Doer’s All the Light We Cannot See is another perfect pairing as this setting is before the bombing of Saint-Malo.

From the invasion of Saint-Malo by Germans in 1939 to the Allied forces’ arrival in 1944, Mario Escobar creates captivating descriptions of not only the beauty but also the magnitude of destruction to the “Little Jewel” on the coast of French Brittany. He deftly takes readers from doom and despair at the burned heaps of rubble and complete ruins to hope at the heart stopping, satisfying climax.

“The city had been collecting books for centuries. We were the soul and memory of Saint-Malo. I had to protect the library’s holdings…” Readers everywhere are ever grateful for librarians such as Jocelyn and for Mario Escobar’s The Librarian of Saint-Malo.

Saint-Malo Cathedral Inside the Walled City-Site of Jocelyn’s Wedding

The Saint-Malo Cathedral or more precisely St Vincent of Saragosse Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Vincent-de-Saragosse de Saint-Malo ) was at one time a Benedictine Abbey. Built in Romanesque style at the turn of the 12th century, the church’s choir then underwent changes in the 13th century making it gothic style. Transformations from Romanesque to Gothic to High Gothic and even Renaissance styles can be found here. In 1944 during a battle for the city, the cathedral was bombed and the choir section collapsed. It took over 20 years to make the repairs.

The Musee de l’Homme in Paris. Jocelyn visited Yvonne Oddon, one of France’s leading librarians, connected to the Resistance.

The Musée de l’Homme librarian and a pioneer of the French Resistance, Yvonne Oddon and her colleagues Boris Vildé and Anatole Lewitsky launched the French Resistance group that would come to be known as the Musée de l’Homme resistance network, and helped choose the name of the underground newspaper Resistance. https://www.museedelhomme.fr/en/yvonne-oddon-1902-1982-3923

Book Club Cookbook Selection: Sobremesa: a memoir of food and love in thirteen courses by Josephine Caminos Oria

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

This memoir was a different genre for our book club, but it’s always good to expand ‘reading boundaries.” Sobremesa is the the story of Josephine Caminos Orio’s life long journey in search of love while staying true to herself and her family’s values. The book is laced with 13 wonderful recipes to add to the Argentine experience. Josephine’s search takes her from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania to the family estancia in Argentina; and eventually beyond. We were surprised at the energy and time invested in cooking for Josephine’s family as children, then later at the estancia in Argentina, by Dorita-the grandmother and Poupee-Josephine’s mother-both were amazing in the kitchen! The recipes and memories shared in the book are proof. The transcontinental travel involved was also costly emotionally and financially.

Family traditions sparked a lively discussion on childhood memories; especially events where parents and kids were participants. The Gentleman Caller led to lots of sharing involving ghosts, angels, and signs in different times of our lives. Our overall feeling was one of nostalgia-for holiday or vacation traditions spent with family and the memories those evoke. The ingredients of multiple generations and memorable food; seasoned by bonds of love, make Sobremesa an inspiring culinary and reading experience.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel

“The New York Times bestselling author of the “heart-stopping tale of survival and heroism” (People) The Book of Lost Names returns with an evocative coming-of-age World War II story about a young woman who uses her knowledge of the wilderness to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis—until a secret from her past threatens everything.” Publishing July6, 2021

Photograph by Phil Art Studio, Reims, France Kristin Harmel

Kristin Harmel is the New York Times bestselling author of a dozen novels including The Book of Lost Names, The Winemaker’s Wife, The Room on Rue Amélie, and The Sweetness of Forgetting. She is also the cofounder and cohost of the popular web series, Friends and Fiction. She lives in Orlando, Florida.

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Forest of Vanishing Stars shines a blinding light on a baby with a birthmark on her wrist in the shape of a dove and an old woman whose mother told her that knowing impossible things was a gift of God passed down through the blood of only the most fortunate Jewish women. Twenty years later 1942, Poland is being bombed and books are being burned in Berlin, so the old woman, Jerusza, leads baby “Yona”, now 22, deep into the forest of Nalibocka. Words of warning are to never venture outside the forest. A compelling struggle for survival takes the reader farther and farther into the forest, to underground zemliankas, through murky swamps and even onto an island with Resistance groups living day to day on survival skills learned in the cruelest situations. Through Yona’s frightening and eye-opening encounters, feelings of confusion, realization, and hope lead to a turning point in her struggle for survival. “After a lifetime of being told what to do, how to feel; of a stolen childhood, of a life of loneliness she hadn’t asked for,” Yona finally has a choice. Readers will empathize with Yona as she learns expressions of human love: the comfort of another’s touch and experiencing the joy of others. As Yona “comes of age” in this dangerous, strange world she must decide if one has to let go of the old life to have a new one? Words of wisdom to Yona and the reader: “In the times of greatest darkness, the light always shines through, because there are people who stand up to do brave, decent things…it doesn’t matter what you were born to be. It matters what you choose to become.” Choose to read The Forest of Vanishing Stars and like Yona, be changed.

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-bielski-partisans

The Lily Garden by Barbara Josselsohn

**Books by Barbara Josselsohn** -The Lily Garden, Publishing July 2, 2021

Barbara Josselsohn grew up on Long Island and lived for several years in her beloved New York City before moving to the northern suburbs. She began her career as a business journalist and then turned her attention to her first love, fiction. Her novels include THE LILAC HOUSE, THE LAST DREAMER, and THE BLUEBELL GIRLS, and has two more novels slated for release in 2021.

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

“Cross that bridge when you get to it.” Seems like good advice, but not in the case of Caroline. She’s waited thirty years to return to her hometown of Lake Summers and she might be too late to save the Lily Garden. Caroline, a Chicago businesswoman and her college bound daughter, Lee, had scheduled a college tour when Caroline got word that due to a library expansion the garden her mother had created behind the library was to be razed. Caroline’s parents had met, fallen in love, and lived in Lake Summers. The beautiful, wildflower garden behind the library was where Caroline spent many idyllic hours watching and helping her mom.

In The Lily Garden, Barbara Josselsohn weaves Caroline’s fondest and most fearful memories with her present-day turmoil. Caroline has lived with her Aunt Risa since she was twelve and has never really felt a part of the family or the business. Now Caroline is facing feelings of resentment and anger towards her aunt and herself for not returning to Lake Summers sooner. The detailed descriptions of the Lily Garden, the trails, the sunsets and twinkling star studded evenings in Lake Summers along with nostalgic Main Street and the local business readers know from The Lilac House and The Bluebell Girls are calming and reassuring. Aaron, a new resident and history professor at the nearby college, is escaping from his own heartache and searching for solace when he winds up in Lake Summers. He falls in love with the ‘rolling sheep meadows and lush green dairy farms,” on the western edge of the Adirondack Mountains. Aaron’s attempt to connect romance and water for his thesis adds the perfect link to the past that Caroline needs as she revisits the crumbling footbridge and the overgrown lily garden.

Barbara Josselsohn brings readers feelings from the depths of despair back to high hope as her foreshadowing of new opportunities and possibilities unfolds. Will Caroline uncover her true feelings and find her voice in time to save the lily garden and her relationships? Join Caroline and Lee as they cross the drawbridge into Lake Summers for that warm, fuzzy hometown feeling, and remember, “The garden is about history and tradition and family.”

Now head to your local “Smoothie Dudes” for your favorite drink and settle in for a “heartwarming, summer romance.”

https://www.amazon.com/Lily-Garden-heart-warming-feel-good-romance-ebook/dp/B091HBZXLN

Yours Cheerfully by AJ Pearce

**THE EMMY LAKE CHRONICLES -BOOK 1 AND 2**

A.J. Pearce grew up in Hampshire, England. She studied at the University of Sussex and Northwestern University. A chance discovery of a 1939 women’s magazine became the inspiration for her international bestseller, Dear Mrs. Bird, the first novel in The Emmeline Lake Chronicles series. She lives in the south of England.

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Emmy Lake’s position at the London magazine, Woman’s Friend, has grown from typist for advice columnist Henrietta Bird-a force to be reckoned with in 1940 to Careers Editor for the new and always late, Mr. Collins in 1941. After attending a Ministry of Information meeting, (“specifically for British women’s press and the unfortunate “trouble in the lavatory”) Emmy is emboldened by a new mission to inspire readers of all ages to answer the direct call from the government to work in munitions factories. Emmy has always wanted to be a war correspondent and now her dream may come true!

Author AJ Pearce has penned Yours Cheerfully, with the same wit and compelling characterizations readers came to love in Dear Mrs. Bird. Readers will find humorous, at times hilarious dialogue on one page, contrasting with endearing heartfelt emotional scenes on the next. The British expressions in the brainstorming sessions, the uncontrollable giggles of junior staffer, Hester combined with the compassion and understanding shown by Mr. Collins, will contribute insights into the personalities of the Woman’s Friend staff along with Emmy’s relationships with “best chum” Bunty and love interest, Charles.

Emmy’s job of answering readers’ letters is catapulted by events at Pearl Harbor and she is inspired to find out how women in the factories are faring after the chance meeting of Anne, a young mother and munition factory worker. Anne and her fellow women workers give Emmy the courage to stand up and do her part to call journalistic attention to nurseries for children with the same hours of shift workers, equal pay, and even for part-time positions to be considered.

Between Woman’s Friend, parades for women’s rights, and Emmy’s personal life those who read Yours Cheerfully will learn, “there are women who stick up for each other, and women who don’t.”

You Belong Here Now by Dianna Rostad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaWKCrzPH-o

Inspiring and highly complimentary words for this stunning debut novel.

Dianna Rostad was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. Her parents and extended family come from the ranches of Montana and the farms of Arkansas. Dianna raised three kind, human beings, and when they began to test their wings, she took to writing with a passion, completing Southern Methodist University Writer’s Path program in 2009. A favorite task of her creative endeavors is the discovery and research of people and places where her novels are set. She has traveled extensively to pursue the last artifacts of our shared history and breathe life, truth, and hope into her novels. Now living in Florida, Dianna continues to write big-hearted novels for wide audiences everywhere.

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Saddle up for this tale of orphans from New York City, Charles, Patrick, and Opal who have escaped an Orphan Train and their providential arrival on the Stewart Ranch in Montana. Mama, Papa, and spinster daughter Nara are working ‘round the clock to keep the ranch going now that Jim, lead ranch hand, has been fired. Mama heard that an ‘orphan train’ was due in town and suggested that choosing a child might be an option to help with the workload.

Debut novelist, Dianna Rostad, introduces readers to the Big Sky state with stunning descriptions of the ranch, along with the daily rituals and rhythms of wild Mustangs. Background history of the Cheyenne and the Battle of Little Big Horn, helps readers understand the struggles between lead ranch hand, Jim, Mr. Stewart, and Nara. Nara, not keen on kitchen duties and preparing to take over the ranch one day, reads and studies ideas to improve the ranch. Rostad reveals Nara’s vulnerability when she readily admits to not being motherly, but readers will cheer her on in emboldened confrontations with the sheriff. Learning and growing with Nara is heartwarming and her flashback feelings when dealing with long-time friend and foe, Ella add fiery tension and angst over guilt and forgiveness.

Readers’ emotional bonds grow quickly and deeply for each of the orphans: Charles, overcoming anger and fear from events back in New York’s “Hell’s Kitchen,” Patrick, dealing with Irish hatred, and youngest Opal, abused and so confused she rarely speaks. Strong character development is revealed through Charles’ protective escapades dealing with Patrick and Opal at school, adding a layer of love to cover his past. Patrick exhibits great independent thinking and shows readers “stay true to yourself,” while Opal is like a rose blooming in slow motion photography-one petal at a time her true nature shines when love and trustworthy adults enter her life. (Feelings so real that waking in the night with worry might happen!)

Nara’s observation of Opal “skipping with joy” is so satisfying but then her view that “things come in threes” flips readers over to anxious suspense with events involving the orphans. Feelings of resentment, remorse, and regret come to the surface, but in the end, family is apologies and forgiveness, “standing shoulder to shoulder with a warm hand on your back.”

Five brilliant stars shine on You Belong Here Now.

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Saint-Malo Cathedral Inside the Walled City-Site of Jocelyn’s Wedding

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