Boston, 1919. It's been a terrible year for thirteen-year-old Joshua Harper. The influenza pandemic that's sweeping the world has claimed his father's life; his voice has changed, so he can't sing in the Boston Boys' Choir anymore; and now money is tight, so he must quit school to get a job. It's not fair!

Joshua begins working as a newspaper boy, hawking papers on the street, but he soon finds himself competing with Charlestown Charlie, a tough, streetwise boy who does not make things easier for Joshua. It seems that fitting in is not as easy as it once was. Then disaster strikes the city of Boston. Joshua must do what he can to help, and in doing so he finds the place -- and the voice -- that he thought he'd lost.

Independent Reading Level: Grade 4

Joshua’s Song by Joan Hiatt Harlow takes place in Boston in 1919. There is an influenza epidemic and many are dying. Sadly, one of those to die of the flu is Josh’s dad. This leaves thirteen year old Josh and his mom to fend for themselves. Left with a lot of debt and many bills they can no longer continue to live the life that they are accustomed to. Josh has to give up going to school and start working and his mom has to take in borders to help pay the bills. To make matters worse, his mom doesn’t want any of their friends to find out Josh is working. When Josh has an encounter with Charlestown Charlie, a paperboy, he becomes involved with the newspaper business. Selling papers on the street is something that Josh has a talent for, but it is hard when he has to give half of his pay to Charlie at the end of each day. Suddenly, tragedy strikes and lives are changed all over Boston. I don’t want to give away the ending, but it is about a part of history I had never heard of!

I would definitely recommend this book to fourth- seventh graders. This book was a quick and interesting read. I like the historical aspects to it and I learned about things I didn’t know about before. Josh is easy to relate to and you can’t help but hope for the best for him. I especially like the fact that the book ends with historical notes. It explains all the parts of the book that are facts and how they were woven into fiction. This book really makes history come to life! ( )

Joshua Harper has always lived a privileged life in a nice neighborhood of Boston. However it’s 1919, his father has passed away from the terrible influenza epidemic, and now Josh must find a job to help support his family.

Josh does find a job as a newsie (a newspaper delivery boy), but he fears his mother’s disdain for such a mediocre job. Furthermore, Josh has to answer to a young bully known as Charlestown Charlie because he controls much of the newspaper delivery within the neighborhoods of Boston. On top of all of that, Josh cannot find solace in singing for the Boston Boys’ Choir anymore because his voice has changed. Can life get anymore difficult? When tragedy strikes the poor neighborhoods of Boston, Joshua finds the strength from within to carry on and realizes that tribulation builds character.

A short historical fiction novel for the elementary and middle school grades, Joshua’s Song by Joan Hiatt Harlow is a quick and enjoyable read. It is also historically accurate in its description of the “Great Molasses Flood” of Boston in January of 1919. ( )