Halley Smith - Children's Literature Review 4

Halley Smith

Mimmy and Sophie All Around the Town

Miriam Cohen

Ages 7-10

Why I chose this book: The plot of this story captivated me because it took place during the Great Depression in Brooklyn, New York and this book was on display in the fiction section of the library.  This book has a fun, captivating cover that made me interested in what the story was about.  When looking for historical fiction, I was unsure where to start because it seemed almost like an oxymoron to me.  A book that is historical, but false did not make sense to me until I understood what was being asked of me.  This book details the story about two sisters living during the Great Depression, but it is not a true story.  These two girls are not based off of real people, but based off a time period that did occur. 

Plot summary: The story begins with a group of children playing in an alley looking for treasures.  They find a tin with lots of Cracker Jack prizes inside when digging through the dirt.  After showing off their prizes at home, the youngest child Sophie exclaims that the dog she met in the alleyway led her to find the buried treasure.  The next day, Mimmy and Sophie attend Coney Island with their family.  The family had a wonderful time eating food, strolling the boardwalk, and visiting the merry-go-round.  While the girls walked around the boardwalk, Sophie found two empty cans and attached them to her shoes to make dancing shoes.  The girls came back to their parents and demonstrated the new dance and song they came up with.  People began giving money to Sophie and Mimmy when they saw their dance.  Later in the story, the girls attend the movie theater together to see a Shirley Temple movie.  While the two were watching the movie, Sophie said she needed to use the restroom, but the girls lose each other inside the movie theater.  Mimmy asks everyone in the theater if they have seen her sister, but no one has seen her.  After some time, an older woman helps the girls reunite so they all can enjoy the rest of their movie.  At the end of the story, the girls feel embarrassed about their clothing because their friends do not have to wear the same winter clothes as they do in the spring.  The sections in this book vary in their topics and do not follow a particular sequence of events.  The book is great for 2^nd graders who are wanting a reading challenge and to also gain an understanding of some difficulties children faced during the Great Depression.