ECHO by Pam Muñoz Ryan

This book! It is hard to put in words how I feel about ECHO by Pam Muñoz Ryan. This book is why I love reading! Winner of the 2016 Newbery honor, ECHO will make you feel every emotion and you will fall in love with each character you meet in this novel, and they will live in your heart forever.

I hope I can do justice to this book in my summary and book review, but here goes.....

First, let me say that I love books, REALLY love books. However, rarely do I just really rave about a book the way that I have raved about ECHO. When I first held this book in my hand knowing it is a 2016-2017 Texas Bluebonnet book, I was not sure of how I felt. First of all, rarely do the larger books ever win the Bluebonnet award because so many 3rd - 6th graders don't want to read a book this size. So, typically the smaller books win the award. My hope is that with enough book talks I can encourage my students to read this book.

ECHO is divided into four parts. The first 3 parts introduce you to characters that each come across a harmonica with a magical background. We meet Freidrich, who lives in Germany and is witnessing the rise of Hitler's power. He witnesses cruel injustices happening to his friends and his father and must escape to survive and save his father. Next we meet Mike and Frankie, orphans living in America just before World War II. Mike, only 11 years old, must take care of his younger brother, Frankie and ensure that they not be separated.  The final main character that we meet is Ivy, who is the daughter of a migrant farmer in California. Ivy has to deal with moving to new places, as well as injustices at a new school because of the color of her skin. 

All three main characters are linked by the great musical talent, and in part four we see how their lives are connected by the simple harmonica that they have each come in contact with. 

”Your fate is not yet sealed.
Even in the darkest night, a star will shine,
A bell will chime, a path will be revealed.”

From the very beginning of this book to the last page, ECHO was inspiring, heartbreaking, and enchanting.  The historical content is well told and detailed, and while the book does not contain a lot of historical detail, the historical setting is very important. Each character lives in a time of great historical struggle and some of the darker eras in our history. The reader will be inspired by Ryan's strong characters and the way they overcome the struggles of their time.