Archive for March, 2011

Book Review: Digging for Troy

March 31, 2011 · Filed under History, Intermediate (3-5), Mackin Picks, Middle School (6-8), Nonfiction, Reviews, Social Studies · Tagged , , , , , , ,

Jill Rubalcaba and Eric H. Cline, Digging for Troy:  From Homer to Hisarlik. 2011

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by mythology. Whether reading about Orpheus journeying to the Underworld to rescue his beloved Eurydice, or Perseus facing down the gorgon Medusa, I got caught up in the adventure. But one story surpassed them all in my mind; the Trojan War. It has it all; adventure, betrayal, love and tragedy, and, best of all, in Rubalcaba and Cline’s Digging for Troy: From Homer to Hisarlik, we learn that it may have actually occurred.

I thought this book was fantastic. The first third goes in depth of the legend of the Trojan War, starting with the judgment of Paris and Helen’s betrayal to the Greeks storming Troy’s beaches. The war ensues, lasting nine years before the death of Achilles and the Trojans leading the fated wooden horse into their gates.

Rubalcaba and Cline then go into the archaeological background of Troy, starting with Heinrich Schliemann’s quest to prove that Troy existed. In 1868, Schliemann surveyed Hisarlik in Turkey and grew convinced that it was the site of Homer’s epic poem. He spent the rest of his life trying to convince the rest of the world, often fabricating evidence and destroying the site in his determination. To add more validity to his discovery, Schliemann eventually brought in Wilhelm Dorpfeld. Dorpfeld was much more methodical in his methods, uncovering nine settlements laying on top of each other.  Finally Rubalcaba and Cline discuss the advancements of archaeological technology in the 1900s and how those advances agree with Dorpfeld’s conclusions.

Written in an engaging and clear narrative, readers will learn not only the story of the Trojan War, but the science behind it. And just as Helen’s beautiful face launched a thousand ships, this book will launch thousands of new passions for Greek mythology in children and adults.

Blogger: Lindsey L.

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The Faces Behind the Blog!

March 30, 2011 · Filed under Uncategorized

For the last two months, we’ve enjoyed sharing our passion for books with all of you, and now we’re pleased to share our faces!   For more info about our backgrounds and interests, check out our About page.  And don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed to keep up-to-date on the latest and greatest books!

Tracey L.                       Kristin J.                 Mindy R.             Lindsey L.

Many thanks to Taia Morley for doing such a wonderful job on our pictures!

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April is Autism Awareness Month

March 28, 2011 · Filed under Fiction, Middle School (6-8), Nonfiction, Novels, Realistic · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Autism Ribbon There are many ribbons to go with many causes. Red, pink, and yellow ribbons often adorn lapels or cars, but the ribbon for autism awareness stands out among many with its brightly colored puzzle pieces. When I see it, I am reminded of the continuing mystery that is autism, but I like Jesse Saperstein’s optimistic take on the ribbon:

“It is unlike any puzzle on earth where the front of the box indicates where each piece should fit, but the pieces still fit perfectly. This is what I hope society will strive for as we make more of an effort to understand. Society shall eventually find a place for individuals on all ends of the autism spectrum.”

Older teens and adults looking for a firsthand look at autism may be interested in Atypical: Life with Asperger’s in 20 1/3 Chapters by Jesse A. Saperstein as Jesse takes on empathy, bullying, and other aspects of his unusual life, which included hiking the Appalachian Trail to raise money for pediatric AIDS.

Jennifer Roy writes from a slightly different perspective in her new teen novel, Mindblind. Roy is the author of the award-winning Yellow Star, and she is also the mother of a highly gifted son who has Asperger’s Syndrome. Much of the book is fictional (especially the mean dad, she points out on her web site), but certain aspects of the highly gifted narrator in Mindblind are based on her son. The result of this effort to blend aspects of her real life with fiction is an optimistic story about a gifted-but-different teen trying to figure out where he belongs in this world that doesn’t seem meant for him.

“Different is okay,” writes Daniel Stefanski. This may sound like kindergarten, but consider the source. Daniel Stefanski is a 14- year-old kid with autism. In his new book How to Talk to an Autistic Kid, he speaks to other kids about his experience with autism and what it means for his friends, neighbors, and classmates. There are many, many books about autism, but this one is different. And that’s okay.

For more great titles about autism, see the Hot Topics list we created for Autism Awareness Month.

Bibliography:

Atypical : Life with Asperger’s in 20 1/3 Chapters. Jesse A. Saperstein. Perigree. 2010.

Mindblind. Jennifer Roy. Marshal Cavendish. 2010.

How to Talk to an Autistic Kid. Daniel Stefanski. Free Spirit Publishing. 2011.

Blogger:  Mindy R

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Coming Up: April and National Poetry Month

March 24, 2011 · Filed under Intermediate (3-5), Nonfiction, Picture Books, Poetry, Primary (K-2) · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April is National Poetry Month, one of my favorite book celebrations.

Funny thing is—I don’t really remember a lot of poetry as a young child, just nursery rhymes, the songs and hymns at church…and of course, Dr. Seuss.  The first poem I recall studying was “Paul Revere’s Ride,” which I had to memorize.  All of it.  My attitude toward poetry was very much like Jack’s in Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, but unlike Jack, my attitude stayed that way until I was an adult.

I discovered the delightful world of children’s poetry when I had my own children.  One week when my son Alex was three, among our stack of library books was Jack Prelutsky’s Tyrannosaurus Was a Beast.  Alex loved the rhythm and the vocabulary and, of course, the dinosaurs.  And for the first time, I found poetry to be fun!  I ended up buying the book, and we still have it, though the pages have been taped again and again—a sure sign of a much-loved book.  (I was thrilled when Mr. Prelutsky was named the first Children’s Poet Laureate in 2006.)

Three brand-new poetry books about animals are sure to delight kids. In Birds of a Feather, Jane Yolen’s poems about birds are written in various styles and forms and combined with gorgeous photographs taken by Jason Stemple.  Katherine B. Hauth’s humorous verses in What’s for Dinner? : Quirky, Squirmy Poems from the Animal World describe the gruesome and gross ways that the animal kingdom follows the natural law, “Eat or be eaten.”  An excellent title for both upper elementary science and language arts lessons, At the Sea Floor Café : Odd Ocean Critter Poems combines fact-filled and vocabulary-rich poems about sea animals and habitats with informative text; Poetry Notes at the end describe the form and style of each poem.

In The Great Migration : Journey to the North, Eloise Greenfield describes the anxieties and fears—and hopes—of those African Americans who migrated north between 1915 and 1930, trying to escape racism and find jobs. The final poem relates her own family’s story of journeying north when she was just a few months old, and the front jacket flap explains that the illustrator’s parents were part of the Great Migration as well.

Weird? (Me, Too!) Let’s Be Friends not only contains poems about friendship, but it is also an idea book to help the reader create his or her own poems.  In the introduction, author Sara Holbrook says that poetry is personal, and that, for her, a good poem is one she can identify with.  I found much to relate to in Sara’s poems—especially  Girlfriends:  “Such a private / conversation / that words would interfere… / The eloquence of touch— / a language / only girlfriends / understand.”

Bob Raczka has written a book of poems created from single words in Lemonade and Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word.  The title of each poem is a single word, and its poem uses only the letters found in that word.   One of my favorites is Earthworms: “A short storm / worms here / worms there / wear shoes.”  The poems are also interesting to look at, because the letters in each poem are lined up under the same letters in the title.

Click here for a more comprehensive list of new poetry books at Mackin’s website.

Bibliography:

At the Sea Floor Café : Odd Ocean Critter Poems by Leslie Bulion. 2011.

Birds of a Feather by Jane Yolen. 2011.

The Great Migration : Journey to the North by Eloise Greenfield. 2010.

Lemonade : And Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word by Bob Raczka. 2011.

Weird? (Me, Too!) Let’s Be Friends by Sara Holbrook. 2011.

What’s for Dinner? : Quirky, Squirmy Poems from the Animal World by Katherine B. Hauth. 2011.

Blogger:  Tracey L

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Graphic Novels for Elementary and Middle School

March 21, 2011 · Filed under Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Intermediate (3-5), Middle School (6-8), Nonfiction · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Looking for graphic novels that will appeal to elementary and middle school? You are in luck! Prepare yourselves for meteors, talking dogs, and lovable skeletal horses. These graphic novels are just a few that will have kids and teens running to library shelves in anticipation.

If you have been looking for a middle-grade graphic novel that has themes similar to those in The Search for Wondla and Jellaby, Zita the Space Girl is your answer! The story starts out by Zita and her friend finding a meteor that has a red button remote. As you can imagine, Zita is like any other child and desperately wants to push the red button. After she does this, her best friend is sent to another planet. That will teach her, right? Not so much. In order to save her friend, Zita soon embarks on a journey into an extraordinary world. Children and tweens will love this graphic novel because of the full-color aspect and the unique characters that Zita encounters.

Malcolm (Mal) is an elementary school supergenius who has instructed his dog, Chad, to speak. Being the supergenius that he is, Mal is also very capable of making inventions that well-known scientists only wish they could invent. His time machine and mini-mega-morpher are two of his many accomplishments, but he chooses to keep it a secret from everyone except Chad. What will happen when they go all Honey I Shrunk the Kids and shrink themselves to microscopic size and travel through time? As anyone can guess, humor and danger ensue! Children will enjoy the laughable banter between Mal and Chad on their exciting adventure.

Ghostopolis focuses on Frank Gallows, a ghost wrangler, and Garth Hale, a terminally ill boy. Frank accidentally zaps Garth into the in-between dimension of Ghostopolis. In this spirit world, Garth discovers he has unbelievable powers that are capable of conquering Master Vaugner, the evil dictator. But Garth just wants to get back to the land of the living. Assisted by Skinny, a sweet skeletal horse, and the ghost of his grandfather, Garth embarks on a journey to get back home. Just when Garth has almost lost all hope, Frank appears with ghost mechanic Claire Voyant in a time machine. Will Master Vaugner let Garth leave or will Garth be destined to live in Ghostopolis forever? Teens will love this graphic novel for the adventure, romance, humor, and flatulent werewolves! This title is also one of the ALA’s 2011 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens and will be a movie in 2013!

Bibliography:

Ghostopolis. Doug TenNapel. 2010.

Mal and Chad: The Biggest Bestest Time Ever. Stephen McCranie. 2011.

Zita the SpaceGirl. Ben Hatke. 2011.

Blogger:  Kristin J

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Titles Good Enough For Lord Stanley Himself

March 21, 2011 · Filed under High School, Intermediate (3-5), Middle School (6-8), Nonfiction, Primary (K-2), Sports · Tagged , , , , , ,

Yesterday I did something that I haven’t done in nearly 20 years.  I attended a National Hockey League game.  It was a contest between the hometown Minnesota Wild and the visiting Montreal Canadiens, and the tickets were a gift from my lovely fiancée, who I think was getting tired of me whining about never having seen a Minnesota Wild game.

I hadn’t seen a professional hockey game for so long not because I don’t like hockey, although truth be told it’s the one sport I haven’t played due to my inability to put on skates and not endure painful, repetitive interactions between the ice and my backside.  I actually think hockey is probably the most exciting sport to watch live in person, an opinion that was reinforced after spending a few hours at the arena last night, despite the 8-1 drubbing my team took.  My two decade absence from a professional hockey game is more due to the fact that, when it comes to hockey, Minnesota is more province than state, as its citizens have the same fervor for the game as our neighbors to the north in Canada.  Hockey tickets in Minnesota can be hard to come by (until this fall, the Wild sold out 409 straight games – roughly 10 years of home games, an NHL record) and expensive (with an average ticket price of over $60).

Naturally, I wanted to be prepared to really savor the experience of the game, since I didn’t know when I’d have another chance to see one in person.  So to prepare for the game, I faced off with a pile of recently released hockey books in an effort to bone up on my hockey expertise.  Many of the books I read would make wonderful selections to delight the puck fanatics who use your library.

Of course, team books, particularly those showcasing local teams, fly off the shelves regardless of the sport.  Two wonderful series that have been published in recent years come from Child’s World Publishing and Creative Education.  The Favorite Hockey Teams series from Child’s World is perfect for lower and middle elementary grades.  Great layouts, manageable text blocks, and well-selected glossary terms and pronunciation guides provide the framework for a variety of interesting facts about the team and its history, as well as about the rules and culture of the sport itself.  Eight of the most popular and celebrated teams are profiled.

Written at an upper elementary to middle school level, Creative Education’s The NHL: History & Heroes series showcases amazing photography, fascinating inset features, and a compelling narrative that will surely capture the young fans of the nine teams profiled.

Everything you could ever want to know about the NHL can be found in the 5th edition of The Official Illustrated NHL History  : The Official Story of the Coolest Game on Earth.  Updated through last season’s Stanley Cup Championship, this newest edition from Carlton Books breaks the game down by decades and is full of vivid descriptions of memorable games and personalities.  Especially impressive are the massive lists of chronologies and statistics at the end of the book.  

Sports Illustrated : The Hockey Book is a similarly magnificent work.  This coffee table book is chocked with full-color photo spreads and hockey-related articles from past issues of sports’ most famous magazine.  It is absolutely stunning.  While both of these works are directed towards general readers, they should easily be suitable for upper middle-school and high school readers who are fascinated with the game of hockey as well.

Naturally, no hockey collection could be complete without a few books about the fundamentals of playing hockey as well.  One book which I found absolutely fantastic was Ron Davidson’s Play Better Hockey : 50 Essential Skills for Player Development.  Davidson, a former player and coach, and now the director of a hockey camp, is the perfect instructor for players looking to improve on a wide range of hockey skills, including passing, shooting, and of course the one I could really benefit from, skating.  The book’s illustrations are wonderful for demonstrating the specific tips in the book, and the use of photographs of today’s best stars demonstrating these skills are well-placed and exciting for fans.  Play Better Hockey is published by Firefly Books and could be utilized by players at the middle school level and above.

Guest Blogger:  Jason S

Bibliography:

Montreal Canadiens (Favorite Hockey Teams).  Craig Zeichner.  2011.

Story of the Minnesota Wild (The NHL : History and Heroes).  Lisa M. Bolt  Simons.   2009.

The Official Illustrated NHL History : The Official Story of the Coolest Game on Earth. Arthur Pincus, with David Rosner, Len Hochberg and Chris Malcolm.  2010.

Sports Illustrated : The Hockey Book. 2010.

Play Better Hockey : 50 Essential Skills for Player Development.  Ron Davidson.  2010.

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Food for Thought

March 17, 2011 · Filed under Intermediate (3-5), Nonfiction, Primary (K-2), Science, Social Studies · Tagged , , , , ,

My favorite kind of food is the kind that someone makes for me. Don’t get me wrong; I like to cook. I’m just not very good at it, so it’s nice to not have to worry about whether it will turn out or not. I do, however, like to think about where my food comes from. Since having read the young people’s edition of Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, I pay a lot more attention to what I buy, where it comes from, and how it was grown. I’m just getting started on the subject, and there are several great, new books aimed at primary and intermediate readers that introduce food and farming with a view to the current interest in local, sustainable agriculture so your students can start thinking about these important issues as well.

How Did That Get in my Lunchbox?How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? : The Story of Food starts with a meal and picks it apart. We see where the wheat that became our bread was grown, and follow it as it was processed and shipped. Same with the cheese in the sandwich and the chocolate chips in the cookie. The spreads are full of busy detail, but are not overwhelming. This is a great choice to start off a look at where food comes from that brings in nutrition, agriculture, and economics.

Seed, Soil, SunCris Peterson knows farms. She and her family run a Wisconsin dairy farm, which has been in her family for over one hundred years (See the book Century Farm for this story), she has been National Dairy Woman of the Year at the World Dairy Expo, and she has written several award-winning books about food, farms, and animals for young audiences. Seed, Soil, Sun is her latest look at agriculture for kids. The bright photographs and the simple text are a great combination that make this book a must-have for elementary school libraries looking to update the 630′s.

Who Wants Pizza?Farming may not be a high interest subject for most kids, but pizza, on the other hand, will grab attention. Who Wants Pizza? : The Kids’ Guide to the History, Science and Culture of Food covers it all: botany, biology, nutrition, environment, etc. The best part is that all the gross-out photographs will likely lead kids to all the great information in this book without realizing that they’re learning!  Possibly not for squeamish readers… at least not just before lunch.

Bibliography:

How Did That Get in my Lunchbox? : The Story of Food. Chris Butterworth. Candlewick. 2011.

Seed, Soil, Sun : Earth’s Recipe for Food. Cris Peterson. Boyds Mills Press. 2010

Who Wants Pizza? : The Kids’ Guide to the History, Science, and Culture of Food. Jan Thornhill. Maple Tree Press. 2010.

Blogger:  Mindy R

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Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Centennial Anniversary

March 14, 2011 · Filed under Fiction, High School, Historical, History, Middle School (6-8), Nonfiction, Novels · Tagged , , , , , , ,

This month marks the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, which resulted in the death of 146 garment workers. Many of these were young women who jumped to their deaths because it was their only escape.  This disaster led to legislation creating improved factory safety standards. What better way to learn about this period in our history than to read some great books about it!

Fourteen-year-old Raisa is sent from her home in Poland to New York City to find her sister who left four years earlier, in Esther Friesner’s Threads and Flames. After a grueling trip by cart, train, and ship, Raisa arrives in New York only to discover that her sister has disappeared. Helpless and with no where to go, Raisa seeks refuge in a synagogue. There she meets the handsome Gavrel and boards with his family. She finds work at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory and begins attending English classes in hopes of becoming a teacher. But the infamous fire changes everything, and Raisa’s life will never be the same.

In Lost by Jacqueline Davies, Essie lives with her family on the Lower East Side in Manhattan under constant threat of poverty. Though her passion lies with creating beautiful hats, she is forced to work at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory to help her family’s finances. There she meets the mysterious Harriet, a girl who also works at the factory, but clearly does not belong there.  Davies slowly unveils the mysteries surrounding not only Harriet, but Essie as well. It isn’t until Essie survives the horrific fire, that she is able to come to terms with a deeper tragedy that she’s buried deep inside herself.

With nearly 100 photographs and compelling narrative style, Flesh & Blood So Cheap:  The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin, is a nonfiction account that looks at the atrocities committed in the New York garment district in the early 1900s. But Marrin goes beyond just the garment district, and looks at the history of immigration in the early 20th century.  He focuses mainly on Jewish and Italian immigrants who were fleeing oppression and poverty in their homelands. These immigrants came together to fight for their rights, bringing much needed change to America’s labor practices.

Bibliography:

Threads and Flames by Esther Friesner.  2010.

Lost by Jacqueline Davies.  2009.

Flesh & Blood So Cheap:  The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin.  2011.

Blogger:  Lindsey L

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Angels in Teen Fiction

March 10, 2011 · Filed under Fantasy, Fiction, High School, Novels, Paranormal, Reviews · Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Feeling drained by vampire fiction? Lucky for you the new trend in paranormal fiction centers on angelic creatures. Series such as Hush, Hush and Fallen started this new craze and now angels are transcending into more romanticized beings. In these novels you may find love that takes flight and a tarnished halo or two.

Three heavenly siblings are sent to a small town on a benevolent mission. On their mission they must attempt to hide their incandescent glow, mystical powers and their wings all while evading human attachments. One of the siblings, Bethany Church is a young angel and is easily tempted by the allure of high school, melon lip gloss and ice cream. Her heavenly siblings are concerned because they recognize how much Bethany identifies with mortals. Older brother Gabriel is especially anxious because he realizes early on that they are not the only supernatural power in Venus Cove. To complicate things even more, Bethany falls in love with the attractive school captain, Xavier. How will the heavenly siblings be able to dissuade the wickedness in Venus Cove? Will love conquer all for Bethany and Xavier? Check out Halo to answer these questions and more!

Clara uncovers that she is a Quartarius. She begins having visions of a license plate, forest fire and a captivating stranger which lead her and her family to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. On her first day of school she meets Christian, who is the stranger in her dreams. Everything seems perfect until she meets Tucker, a guy who fascinates her in a less angelic way. Besides her love life being a little complex, Clara must find her heavenly purpose in a world that she no longer recognizes. Unearthly is an alluring novel that will make you appreciate supernatural romance in a whole new way.

Michael and Ellie share a vital secret. They both realize that they have unearthly powers, but have no idea how they became this way. Together they decide to find out the truth, but have no idea what solemn consequences are in store for them. An ancient conflict jeopardizes everything they love, but will Ellie and Michael continue their journey together or a part? Fallen Angel is an intriguing paranormal story that blends together vampire and angel mythology in a remarkable way that will keep you involved and wanting more.

What if you were told that angels should be feared rather than adored? In this first part of an exhilarating series, Weatherly shows the reader that angels are not always as they seem. Willow has a clairvoyant gift and has no idea where it came from. She had no indication that these new-found powers link to dark and perilous forces, and that she is considered malevolent by humans. Alex seems to know more about Willow than she does, and is meant to destroy her. Falling in love was not a part of the arrangement, which makes Alex question the disparity between good and evil. Angel Burn is a thrilling narrative that is incredibly addictive and will have readers eagerly awaiting the next installment.

For a more extensive list of titles on Mackin’s website, click here!


Also..check out these new additions to existing angelic series (mentioned above):


Bibliography:

Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly. 2011. (Advance Copy)

Fallen Angel by Heather Terrell. 2011.

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto. 2010.

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. 2011.

Blogger:  Kristin J


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Book Review: Ten Miles Past Normal

March 8, 2011 · Filed under Fiction, Middle School (6-8), Novels, Realistic, Reviews · Tagged , , , ,

Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O’Roark Dowell.  2011.

It’s hard to be normal when you have to milk goats every morning before school. Or when your mom is a quasi-celebrity who blogs about your family life. And it’s hard to complain about it when it was all your idea.

Janie’s family moved out of town to a small, organic farm a few years ago after Janie made a comment at dinner one night. She had no idea that the dreamy look in her parents’ eyes when she mentioned the words “organic farm” would spark an actual life makeover, and now she is living with the consequences. One of which is her mother’s popular blog about their family’s life on the farm. What teen wants the details of her home life on the Internet? What’s a girl to do but join the school’s Jam Band and learn to play the bass guitar? That’s normal… right?

Of course, Janie learns that normal is just a word, and she is who she is. But it is a complex journey that includes getting arrested (in the name of a school assignment), a boy named Monster (his real name), and her best friend Sarah (not to mention Sarah’s rebellious older sister Emma).

In all honesty, I was bound to like this book. I have a secret dream of moving my family to an organic farm someday. I blog about my family life, including my three-year-old daughter who is probably going to hate it when she is in high school. And I’m married to a musician who would have loved it if his high school had a Jam Band. All those things aside, I feel confident writing that fans of Frances O’Roark Dowell will not be disappointed.

Blogger:  Mindy L

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