Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Jimmy's Stars (copy)

It was a crisp September morning when I had the uncontrollable urge to pop Victoria. I had truly had enough. Enough of the “my brothers are all Marines,” or “the real fighting is in the Pacific,” or “I bet one of my brothers did something heroic today.”

Yeah, yeah, the big blabber mouth, but then she turns to me and calls my brother a slacker! What! My brother is no slacker. Jimmy is a hero. When dad broke his leg, Jimmy stepped in and began to deliver the mail. It was our family’s only income, and Jimmy never missed a beat.

Being a blabber mouth, Victoria had no idea when to stop. She got all snobby and said, “Well, your dad’s been back to work for three months. I call that a S – L – A – K -…” I didn’t let her finish the spelling bee. I shut her up with a right to the source of blab, but missed and got the corner of her eye and nose instead.

In the long run, I got it back two-fold. See, Victoria is a rather big girl who can carry her weight with four older brothers. I don’t know what I was thinking other than she was wrong. Jimmy didn’t need some stinking war to prove his bravery. He is, and will always be, my hero.

It gave me a little secret pleasure knowing Victoria would have to walk around with a shiner like mine. I hope she saw stars. Four stars to be exact. One for every brother in the service, like the service flags that sprung up after Pearl Harbor.

Although, these stars kind of give me the creeps. You know the blue stars for each member serving in the forces and gold for those whom will not return, I consider them bad luck. I have a little routine I do when passing a flag hanging in a window or on a porch. I like to cross my fingers and spit in the gutter; although, my mother would die of shame if she saw me.

I was right about the bad luck. When I got back home, in the mailbox was an official letter from the Selective Service for a Mr. James Armstrong McKelvey. Jimmy was being drafted, and I had no say.

Author Mary Ann Rodman has written a timeless character in Ellie McKelvey. This 11-year-old gives an honest, through the eyes of one figuring it out, look into World War II. From the title, Jimmy’s Stars, one may guess the ending will require tissues.








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17 comments:

SevenVillageIdiarts said...

Wow, I want to read that one, sounds really good. . . thanks

maggie moran said...

It is, 7VI! :D

Marya Jansen-Gruber said...

What a unique way to write a review. This really gives readers an excellent picture of what Ellie is like

maggie moran said...

Thanks Marya! I'm doing a booktalk. My thing is to encourage reading. I'm more cheerleader and less critic; although, I'll rip a bad book in a minute b/c those kind of articles write themselves. ;D

Rebecca LuElla Miller said...

Maggie, good stuff. Love the fact that you're letting your visitors get a taste of the book.

Becky

maggie moran said...

Thanks Becky. I prefer this type of format to promote reading. :)

Nicole said...

I have never read a review quite like that... it was very interesting! Thanks!

I really like how you have the picture in the background of your blog- how do you do that?

Thanks for stopping by my blog, too!

maggie moran said...

It's a booktalk, Marie, like explained to Marya and Becky in the previous comments. I'm hoping to hook new or experienced readers into trying something new. Who knows if it works or if I'm wasting my time, but I prefer this method. :)

Free template and html tweaking is all it takes to have this background. Check these out!

Bellezza said...

I hoped against hope that Jimmy would survive. But, then we wouldn't have much of a story, let alone accompanying lessons ("Let the joy out!") would we?

maggie moran said...

Ah, let the joy out is a nice motto for life, Bellezza.

Nicole said...

hmmm... I cannot figure out how to get the template I want... can you help me? I figured out how to download it.. but I am stuck from there. (the directions seem to be in spanish...)

maggie moran said...

I'll try, Marie.

Click "Customize" in the right-hand corner of your blog, and you will be looking at "Layout" tab with a sub-catagory of "page elements." Click the blue "edit HTML" tab to the right. With the template site I gave you, all you need to do is upload the template using browser. Be sure to save your old first! I also like to copy my old to word b/c you can lose sidebar stuff, but easily add back with the new blogger page elements."

Nicole said...

....ok, the part that is messing me up is the 'upload to browwser'. I am not sure how to do that.

Nicole said...

ok, I figured out -how- to upload it, but there is some sort of error that wont let me.. any ideas?

maggie moran said...

All I can think Marie is maybe you are trying to use a template for MySpace (example) rather than a Blogger template?

maggie moran said...

Well, the website I gave you is all Blogger templates, so that isn't the problem. I say delete the file you downloaded and start again or try another. I'm guessing not all of the HTML was downloaded.

I'm sorry! You can always change your template with bloggers other freebies in their freeware.

Nicole said...

Thanks! I am kind of 'computer challenged', :P I understand it now.. Thanks again!!