Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
Light and Air (Holiday House, 2024) by Mindy Nichols Wendell is fascinating historical novel from 1935 about a disease we don’t worry about much–tuberculosis.
First, Halle’s mother comes down with TB and even though Halle doesn’t have it, classmates are shunning her. When she gets it too, she joins her mother at J. N. Adam Tuberculosis Hospital in upstate New York–although they are in separate buildings and can’t see each other. There Halle makes friends and risks sneaking out to see her mother. But when her mother has a lung hemorrhage, could it be Halle’s fault?
This book is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and is the author’s debut novel.
Read about Mindy here. And here’s a link to the inspiration for the book.
I’m glad this book was written so young readers know there is more to our disease past than COVID. Thanks for being a part of MMGM this week.
Thank you for posting this award winning story, Light and Air.
This book has a great topic and sounds really good, thanks for the recommendation!
Ah! I remember seeing another review of this one recently, and it sounds really good. I really need to read it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I think it’s so important for kids to know about diseases that we have largely brought under control. I will be looking for this book. Thanks for the post.
Sounds like a good book–I’ll look for it.