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The Tin Heart
To keep their friendship alive during the Civil War, Flora and Mahaley each hold one half of a tin heart once worn as a necklace. Michael Hays's full-color paintings embellish the pages of Karen Ackerman's story in a book rich with historical detail, yet timely with contemporary concerns.
32 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 25, 2012
This was one of my favorite books from the library as a kid.
I don't know why it's gotten such bad reviews. I loved it.
I loved the illustrations and the story.
I don't know why it's gotten such bad reviews. I loved it.
I loved the illustrations and the story.
February 26, 2013
Summary:
This story follows the friendship of two young girls Mahaley and Flora, who live on opposite sides of the Ohio River during mid-1800. Mahaley’s father operates a ferryboat that transports passengers and their luggage across the waterway, and Flora’s father runs a supply store for travelers. Mahaley helps her father collect the fares of the passengers who use the ferryboat, and when the boat docks at the pier right outside Flora’s father’s shop, the two girls play together. One day, Flora’s father, who used to be a tinsmith’s apprentice, makes the girls tin heart necklaces. Each necklace has half of a tin heart on it, and when the girls put their necklaces together, it forms the complete heart. Flora and Mahaley make their necklaces a symbol of their friendship, and vow that neither of them will ever take it off, “not even in the washtub.”
All is going well in the lives of Flora and Mahaley, but the onset of the Civil War suddenly changes things. Around them, people are arguing over the issue of slavery, including their fathers, who are each seeing the issue from opposite perspectives. On one such occasion, there are even people standing on the pier where Mahaley’s father typically drops off his passengers yelling at him and telling him to “take his boat back home.” One evening around dinnertime, Mahaley sees her father talking outside to a man she doesn’t recognize, and that night she hears her father starting up his ferryboat. Thinking her father might be heading across the river, she sneaks on the boat before it departs, in hopes of maybe getting to see Flora. As the ferryboat reaches the pier, Mahaley hears shouting and sees some men with big sticks. Suddenly, the bow of the boat knocks into the pier, and it knocks her into the water. No one hears Mahaley’s cry for help beneath the shouting, and her father departs from the dock, leaving her behind. She eventually swims her way to shore, where Flora’s father finds her. He scolds her, but that doesn’t matter because when he brings her in his house she’s alas able to see Flora. Flora’s father signals Mahaley’s father to return for her. When he comes back, he orders her into the boat, which makes the Flora and Mahaley sad, as once again they are being separated. In the end, even though the war had undoubtedly changed everything in the lives the girls once knew, it’s evident by the way they wave to each other still as Mahaley and her father are headed for home in the darkness that their friendship is going to withstand whatever challenges lie ahead for them, because, “Not the river, not even the war, was strong enough to keep the two halves of the tin heart, of friendship, apart forever.”
Response:
I thought this historical fiction story was very heartfelt and touching in the end. I enjoyed following the main characters of Flora and Mahaley throughout their journey of maintaining their friendship even when they lived in families that were divided. I think the friendship aspect of the story between Flora and Mahaley really emphasized an important message. Flora and Mahaley were innocent children, who saw their friendship more important and unbreakable no matter what issues were taking place for the rest of the country. Their friendship outlasted all of the strife and turmoil, despite both of them having to witness it all during their daily lives. They may have lived on opposite sides of the river, but their hearts surely never stood separately, always being able to reconnect, just like the tin heart halves they always wore around their necks. I also thought their tin heart halves existed as a powerful symbol during the book. It stood for their inseparable bond, and demonstrated the strength of their eternal friendship. In the beginning, I did not think their tin heart necklaces would be such an important element in the story, but it turned out they were. Additionally, I really think the pastel illustrations complimented the story perfectly. Just as the girls were lighthearted and innocent, the images throughout the text also came off as innocent and friendly. Despite the harsh arguing and conflict that took place between the northerners and the southerners, the pictures were not harsh whatsoever, and neither was the relationship between Flora and Mahaley. Furthermore, I think this book did a nice job of expanding readers’ awareness regarding the tensions that emerged as a result of the Civil War, (TMY, 2010, p.9) but also gave readers insight that beneath all of the looming trouble in the air during that time period, their still existed kindhearted souls, particularly the souls of the young children of that time. I think it is important to narrow in on the children that lived through any pivotal historical event. Children are young and develop their own unique perspectives on issues many adults may see differently. For example, my recollection and experience of living through the 9/11 tragedy is quite different from that of my parents who were much older than me at the time. Moreover, to see Flora’s and Mahaley’s friendship survive the conflict around them demonstrates the different perception children have during times of war and tragedy. And sometimes, their viewpoint can be very important to gain insight on. With all of this in mind, I rate this book 5 stars because of its important message, its complimenting illustrations, and the way it presented the topic of the Civil War in a child-friendly way incorporating age-appropriate characters young readers could relate to.
Classroom Connection:
I think this book would go along great with a social studies lesson regarding the Civil War. Just as the 2 main characters in the story were living in houses divided, the entire country during that time period was literally divided in half because of the issue of slavery. As suggested on proteacher.org, (http://www.proteacher.org/a/127649_Id...) students can first be divided in half, with half of them being assigned to the “north side” and the other half being assigned to the “south side.” Students would then work in smaller subgroups within their assigned category to do research on different influential people that existed during the Civil War. These people could have been influential in a particular battle, in getting slaves across the border, or in changing the political standpoints of that time for either side. Students would be instructed to create “trading cards” for each influential person they find, including a picture of them on the front and a brief description of facts on the reverse. (Perhaps they could use an index card). After completing their cards, a whole-class discussion could take place as a sort of “news report” presentation, where each side would present the influential characters they researched. Students would gain a better understanding of how the people on each side felt regarding the issue of slavery and could also make use of practicing their, research, presentation and speaking skills. This activity would have to be a more than one day activity, considering all of the elements that are involved. I would maybe suggest it take place over the entire course of the unit on Civil War.
Text Complexity:
I was not able to locate any information regarding this book’s lexile measure, GLE, or guided reading level. According to barnesandnoble.com, the interest age range for this book is geared toward 6-8- year olds. However, since 6-8- year olds are typically beginning readers and this book contains many words per page, I would not deem this book appropriate for 6-8- year olds to read independently. It could, however, be suitable for a read-aloud, especially because it has pictures that are associated with the storyline on each page, that would help a young audience follow along and better understand the story. Even though I wasn’t able to find much information on this book regarding its levels and measures, I did do some research on scholastic.com on some other books written by this author. Many of the books I found were also children’s literature pieces than encompassed similar themes as this book. I did some comparisons of the other books’ lexiles, and noticed that the majority fell within the lexile ranges of grades 3-5. (The book Song and Dance measured 740 and The Night Crossing measured 960). I would presume that The Tin Heart would fall within this range as well. Therefore, I am estimating that this book would be appropriate for students to read independently beginning in 3rd grade. The plot is straightforward and the pictures help to tell the story. Additionally, there is also not a surplus of challenging vocabulary in the story, and the text isn’t overly wordy or too complex for this grade level.
This story follows the friendship of two young girls Mahaley and Flora, who live on opposite sides of the Ohio River during mid-1800. Mahaley’s father operates a ferryboat that transports passengers and their luggage across the waterway, and Flora’s father runs a supply store for travelers. Mahaley helps her father collect the fares of the passengers who use the ferryboat, and when the boat docks at the pier right outside Flora’s father’s shop, the two girls play together. One day, Flora’s father, who used to be a tinsmith’s apprentice, makes the girls tin heart necklaces. Each necklace has half of a tin heart on it, and when the girls put their necklaces together, it forms the complete heart. Flora and Mahaley make their necklaces a symbol of their friendship, and vow that neither of them will ever take it off, “not even in the washtub.”
All is going well in the lives of Flora and Mahaley, but the onset of the Civil War suddenly changes things. Around them, people are arguing over the issue of slavery, including their fathers, who are each seeing the issue from opposite perspectives. On one such occasion, there are even people standing on the pier where Mahaley’s father typically drops off his passengers yelling at him and telling him to “take his boat back home.” One evening around dinnertime, Mahaley sees her father talking outside to a man she doesn’t recognize, and that night she hears her father starting up his ferryboat. Thinking her father might be heading across the river, she sneaks on the boat before it departs, in hopes of maybe getting to see Flora. As the ferryboat reaches the pier, Mahaley hears shouting and sees some men with big sticks. Suddenly, the bow of the boat knocks into the pier, and it knocks her into the water. No one hears Mahaley’s cry for help beneath the shouting, and her father departs from the dock, leaving her behind. She eventually swims her way to shore, where Flora’s father finds her. He scolds her, but that doesn’t matter because when he brings her in his house she’s alas able to see Flora. Flora’s father signals Mahaley’s father to return for her. When he comes back, he orders her into the boat, which makes the Flora and Mahaley sad, as once again they are being separated. In the end, even though the war had undoubtedly changed everything in the lives the girls once knew, it’s evident by the way they wave to each other still as Mahaley and her father are headed for home in the darkness that their friendship is going to withstand whatever challenges lie ahead for them, because, “Not the river, not even the war, was strong enough to keep the two halves of the tin heart, of friendship, apart forever.”
Response:
I thought this historical fiction story was very heartfelt and touching in the end. I enjoyed following the main characters of Flora and Mahaley throughout their journey of maintaining their friendship even when they lived in families that were divided. I think the friendship aspect of the story between Flora and Mahaley really emphasized an important message. Flora and Mahaley were innocent children, who saw their friendship more important and unbreakable no matter what issues were taking place for the rest of the country. Their friendship outlasted all of the strife and turmoil, despite both of them having to witness it all during their daily lives. They may have lived on opposite sides of the river, but their hearts surely never stood separately, always being able to reconnect, just like the tin heart halves they always wore around their necks. I also thought their tin heart halves existed as a powerful symbol during the book. It stood for their inseparable bond, and demonstrated the strength of their eternal friendship. In the beginning, I did not think their tin heart necklaces would be such an important element in the story, but it turned out they were. Additionally, I really think the pastel illustrations complimented the story perfectly. Just as the girls were lighthearted and innocent, the images throughout the text also came off as innocent and friendly. Despite the harsh arguing and conflict that took place between the northerners and the southerners, the pictures were not harsh whatsoever, and neither was the relationship between Flora and Mahaley. Furthermore, I think this book did a nice job of expanding readers’ awareness regarding the tensions that emerged as a result of the Civil War, (TMY, 2010, p.9) but also gave readers insight that beneath all of the looming trouble in the air during that time period, their still existed kindhearted souls, particularly the souls of the young children of that time. I think it is important to narrow in on the children that lived through any pivotal historical event. Children are young and develop their own unique perspectives on issues many adults may see differently. For example, my recollection and experience of living through the 9/11 tragedy is quite different from that of my parents who were much older than me at the time. Moreover, to see Flora’s and Mahaley’s friendship survive the conflict around them demonstrates the different perception children have during times of war and tragedy. And sometimes, their viewpoint can be very important to gain insight on. With all of this in mind, I rate this book 5 stars because of its important message, its complimenting illustrations, and the way it presented the topic of the Civil War in a child-friendly way incorporating age-appropriate characters young readers could relate to.
Classroom Connection:
I think this book would go along great with a social studies lesson regarding the Civil War. Just as the 2 main characters in the story were living in houses divided, the entire country during that time period was literally divided in half because of the issue of slavery. As suggested on proteacher.org, (http://www.proteacher.org/a/127649_Id...) students can first be divided in half, with half of them being assigned to the “north side” and the other half being assigned to the “south side.” Students would then work in smaller subgroups within their assigned category to do research on different influential people that existed during the Civil War. These people could have been influential in a particular battle, in getting slaves across the border, or in changing the political standpoints of that time for either side. Students would be instructed to create “trading cards” for each influential person they find, including a picture of them on the front and a brief description of facts on the reverse. (Perhaps they could use an index card). After completing their cards, a whole-class discussion could take place as a sort of “news report” presentation, where each side would present the influential characters they researched. Students would gain a better understanding of how the people on each side felt regarding the issue of slavery and could also make use of practicing their, research, presentation and speaking skills. This activity would have to be a more than one day activity, considering all of the elements that are involved. I would maybe suggest it take place over the entire course of the unit on Civil War.
Text Complexity:
I was not able to locate any information regarding this book’s lexile measure, GLE, or guided reading level. According to barnesandnoble.com, the interest age range for this book is geared toward 6-8- year olds. However, since 6-8- year olds are typically beginning readers and this book contains many words per page, I would not deem this book appropriate for 6-8- year olds to read independently. It could, however, be suitable for a read-aloud, especially because it has pictures that are associated with the storyline on each page, that would help a young audience follow along and better understand the story. Even though I wasn’t able to find much information on this book regarding its levels and measures, I did do some research on scholastic.com on some other books written by this author. Many of the books I found were also children’s literature pieces than encompassed similar themes as this book. I did some comparisons of the other books’ lexiles, and noticed that the majority fell within the lexile ranges of grades 3-5. (The book Song and Dance measured 740 and The Night Crossing measured 960). I would presume that The Tin Heart would fall within this range as well. Therefore, I am estimating that this book would be appropriate for students to read independently beginning in 3rd grade. The plot is straightforward and the pictures help to tell the story. Additionally, there is also not a surplus of challenging vocabulary in the story, and the text isn’t overly wordy or too complex for this grade level.
Read
October 10, 2022...onset of the Civil War causes a rift between fathers. Two girls stay friends. [note: Ohio/Kentucky; a good sharing & activity book; Fiction; Home Education Days; on our local library shelves]
May 28, 2024
It is a great book about friendship.
Read
December 31, 2012Civil War and Underground Railroad
Friends
Friends
April 16, 2014
The Civil War tears apart two friends who live across the Ohio River from each other. A special story of friendship and the confusion of war.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews