At the Heels of History, Books 1-3 (Multi-Book Review)

As those of you who have been following this blog for some time will know, I don’t read and review a lot of middle-grade titles. The At the Heels of History books sounded and looked so cute, though, that I couldn’t resist! Add in the fact that I’m a dog lover, and these just seemed perfect for me.

My reviews for these books is coming to you a little later than it normally would have because my beloved dog, Raphy, passed away in mid-January, making it difficult for me to look at (much less read about) other doggos for quite some time. Once I was able to read the books, I came across another obstacle–I still didn’t have it together enough to sit down and write my reviews.

I think I’m in a good-ish place now to share my thoughts about these, although I’ll definitely shed tears while writing this post. I wanted you, my readers, to be aware of this before diving into this post, as it might affect my tone when discussing the At the Heels of History books. And again, I apologize that these reviews did not get published on my blog closer to when this collection of books released.

⤖ Minsha’s Night on Ellis Island ⬻

Title: Minsha’s Night on Ellis Island
Authors: Pam Berkman and Dorothy Hearst
Illustrator: Claire Powell
Type: Fiction
Genre: Middle grade
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
(Simon & Schuster)
Date published: August 18, 2020

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Blue Slip Media in exchange for an honest review.

1921. Minsha loves her human family, especially nine-year-old Leila. But Leila’s family has decided to leave their home in Beirut for a new life in America—and they can’t take Minsha with them. Minsha is devastated, but she’s also a dog of action, so she stows away on a second ship bound for New York. She knows she’s supposed to stay hidden away, but she can’t help but make friends with a boy named Yusef and his family.

When their ship arrives at Ellis Island, Yusef is suspected of being sick and is separated from his family. Even though Minsha is anxious to find Leila, she can’t leave Yusef alone, either. As Minsha sniffs out a solution, she’ll have to contend with a territorial gang of cats, some helpful sparrows, and a surprisingly friendly rat. But will her new friends be enough to reunite Yusef and his family? And will it be too late for Minsha to reunite with hers?

Since I don’t read a lot of middle-grade books, I didn’t really think about how the genre can cover some important topics for young readers (even though I commend picture books when they do this and talk about how important it is to make our children aware of certain subjects as early as possible). Silly me. Minsha’s Night on Ellis Island, while being the story about a dog who is left behind by a family immigrating from Beirut to New York (which is heartbreaking all on its own by the way!) also brings awareness to the prejudices that immigrants and refugees faced when immigrating to the U.S. in the 1920s.

Many of these prejudices still exist today, so while I see the value in Minsha’s Night on Ellis Islandproviding a history lesson, I believe that the morals of the story are important for young readers (and readers of all ages) to take with them in this day and age as well.

This book definitely made me cry, because I have had to leave pets behind when moving away before (it’s definitely a childhood trauma of mine), and I had recently said goodbye to another pet in another way. That aside, Yusef reminded me that there is good in the world because he took Minsha under his wing and helped her follow her family to America. I won’t tell you what happened, but rather encourage you to pick this book up if you’d like to see whether Minsha is reunited with her family and what else happens along the way!

⤖ Bo-Bo’s Cave of Gold ⬻

Title: Bo-Bo’s Cave of Gold
Authors: Pam Berkman and Dorothy Hearst
Illustrator: Claire Powell
Type: Fiction
Genre: Middle grade
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
(Simon & Schuster)
Date published: April 28, 2020

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Blue Slip Media in exchange for an honest review.

California, 1852. Sage, a golden, big-hearted mutt, is abandoned by her pack. She is about to give up hope when a silly bird squawks her out of her sadness and leads her to Sheng, a young gold prospector. Sheng renames her Bo-Bo, the Chinese word for treasure, and they soon become inseparable.

When Bo-Bo frees a caged bear, the bear’s owner—who is also a cruel tax collector—demands a huge price from Sheng for losing the bear. But where can Bo-Bo and Sheng find that much gold? Their only chance is a fabled cave rumored to be filled with treasure. But the cave is supposedly located across the foothills, on a path loaded with danger. Will Bo-Bo and Sheng find it in time?

With Bo-Bo’s Cave of Gold, we travel a little further back in time to 1852. The setting is the American West Coast during the gold rush and the main character is a stray dog names Sage who is then re-named Bo-Bo by her adoptive family. I really liked that this book didn’t focus on the perspective of white settlers, since we have already been exposed to many stories about white people during the gold rush, but rather decided to focus on a Chinese family!

The family who takes Bo-Bo in, immigrated to the U.S. from China in the hopes of a better life and the promise of gold. But upon their arrival, they were only met with racism and prejudice. They are struggling, but despite this, they embrace Bo-Bo and make her part of the family. Yes, I did cry while reading this book too.

Again, I really appreciate that we were given a diverse perspective here, but I cannot attest to the accuracy of the Chinese family’s experiences and highly recommend turning to ownvoices reviewers for this aspect of the book (and the book as a whole)!

⤖ Filigree’s Midnight Ride ⬻

Title: Filigree’s Midnight Ride
Authors: Pam Berkman and Dorothy Hearst
Illustrator: Claire Powell
Type: Fiction
Genre: Middle grade
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
(Simon & Schuster)
Date published: August 27, 2019

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Blue Slip Media in exchange for an honest review.

Filigree may be a small puff of a Pomeranian but he has a big, brave heart. As the Revere family dog, he’s ready to do his part to help the American colonists stand up to the British soldiers. But the other dogs, like Jove, Sam Adams’s Newfoundland, and even the Revere cat, Anvil, think Filigree is a joke. The Reveres’ daughter Frances is the only one who believes in him. When Frances’s father, Paul Revere, leaves home on a secret mission, Filigree and Frances know they have to help, no matter how dangerous it might be. Will a pint-sized pup just be in the way, or can Filigree prove that even a very small dog can fight for freedom?

And last but not least, we have Filigree’s story in Filigree’s Midnight Ride! This story is set around a time in U.S. history that I didn’t know much about previous to watching Hamilton multiple times! So, I was glad to learn about it a little more, especially from a pup’s perspective. Filigree’s story is set in 1775 and revolves around Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride.

Filigree’s Midnight Ridetakes an interesting spin on the historical records, as it’s told from Filigree’s perspective while also focusing on how Filigree helped make the midnight ride successful. It was funny and enjoyable (mostly because Filigree is a Pomeranian! A white ball of fluff, haha).

All joking aside though, I read Filigree’s Midnight Ride as a commentary on the partnership between humans and their furry friends, as well as emphasizing the loyalty of dogs. Who knows how many animal friends actually actually aided humanity but were never recorded in the history books?