Archive for Nonfiction

Basketball and Literacy

May 16, 2013 · Filed under Intermediate (3-5), Nonfiction, Picture Books, Reviews, Sports · Tagged , , , , , ,

Let’s talk hoops!

I am a big basketball fan, but for some reason my slow, low-jumping, 5’11” body was not attractive to NBA General Managers, and alas, I was not selected in the 1992 (or any other) NBA draft, so my career ended in high school.  But that’s what is great about sports…anyone can be a fan of the game even if you aren’t highly skilled.

The college season recently wrapped up with March Madness crowning Louisville as king, and the NBA Playoffs are currently in full swing.  I thought this would be a great time to talk about a basketball-related event and contest we recently had here at Mackin, and about a great new basketball-themed title I love.

Recently, a group of us at Mackin gathered to watch a webcast featuring two giants of their respective fields:  James Patterson, author of numerous books for children and adults, and Dwyane Wade, star guard for the NBA’s Miami Heat.  Their common bond is that they are outspoken advocates for getting children to read, so that makes me an instant fan of them both.  The webcast featured their commentary about the importance of reading in their youth, as well as answering questions from students at Ponce de Leon Middle School in Florida.  Also featured were video clips from other NBA stars, encouraging kids to read.  Overall, the webcast is a great tool that shows academic and athletic role models coming together for a great cause.  An on-demand replay of the webcast is available for viewing at jamespattersonevents.com for anyone interested.  Also, the Mackin-sponsored contest where you can win autographed items from both Patterson and Wade is still open!  Enter the contest here, until May 31st.

Sticking with the hoops theme, a recent book by Twin Cities author John Coy has grabbed my attention.  It is Hoop Genius, and is a great way to introduce children to the history and origin of the game of basketball.  The title refers to Dr. James Naismith, inventor of basketball, and tells how he devised the game that has become a huge phenomenon today.  It turns out that he was a young P.E. teacher who was having trouble engaging a group of boys in games that weren’t boring or that didn’t result in rough play and injury, and came up with a game he called “Basket Ball” to achieve this.

Coy’s story is enhanced by Joe Morse’s illustrations, showing the dress of the late 1800s as well as the mustachioed young men that played the first-ever game of basketball.  A small photo at the end of the book shows that the illustrations are historically accurate…evidently sporting a bushy mustache was the height of fashion for young men of the era!  I was especially interested in the reprint of Dr. Naismith’s original rules of the game, which shows how the game has evolved in the 100-plus years since its inception.  It would make a great compare/contrast activity to do with students, especially those that are basketball fans or players.

I will leave you today with a quote from one of basketball’s all-time greats, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “I’m not comfortable being preachy, but more people need to start spending as much time in the library as they do on the basketball court.”

RyanBlogger: Ryan H.

Leave a comment »

Telling Family Histories in Picture Books

May 2, 2013 · Filed under Picture Books, Primary (K-2), Social Studies · Tagged , , , , , ,

Everyone has their favorite tales of family histories and traditions, and one of mine is about something that we always did before opening presents on Christmas Eve.

Like most kids, my sisters and I were very excited to open our presents.  We usually did it after dinner, and after the dishes were done, and after Dad finished his bath.  And then—we had to drive to town and look at the Christmas lights.  Our town of Baldwin, Wisconsin, wasn’t very big, but I swear we saw every light that was up.  The longer Dad drove, the more excited we would get.   And every year, just as we thought we had seen them all, Dad would say, “I don’t think we’ve been here yet!” and turn down another street.  My sisters and I would roll our eyes and groan inwardly.  I really don’t remember much of what I got for Christmas as a kid, but I do remember the anticipation!

Each of these picture books tells about a family’s history and can be used to inspire students to find out about the lives of their own parents and grandparents.

Red Kite, Blue KiteRed Kite, Blue Kite by Ji-Li Jiang. 9781423127536. 2013. Gr 1-3.

This book is inspired by the friend of the author, whose family lived in China during the Cultural Revolution.  A little boy and his father love to fly kites together in the city.  When his father is sent to a labor camp, the boy is sent to a nearby village to live with a farmer.  At first his father comes to visit every weekend, but one day he sadly says he will not be able to come for a while.  But—they can still “talk” to each other with their kites:  the boy will fly his red kite every morning, and his father will fly a blue kite every evening.  They will see the kites and know they are thinking of each other.  Bad times are ahead, and the father is sent farther away.  But the boy continues to fly both kites every day.  The themes of family, Chinese history, and world cultures make this a versatile picture book.

Building Our HouseBuilding Our House by Jonathan Bean. 9780374380236. 2013. Gr PK-2.

A little girl and her family leave their old home in the city to build a new house in the country.  While the parents are building the house from scratch—most of it by themselves—the family will be living in a small trailer onsite.  The little girl tells the story of the process as it starts with reading the blueprints, having experts hook up water and electricity, and setting up the foundation.   Readers will be fascinated by the trucks and tools used at the construction site.   The house slowly changes as the seasons pass—and the mom slowly changes, too!  By the time the baby is born, the house is ready.  The book is based on the real-life experience of the author’s parents, told from his older sister’s point of view.

3099232The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman. 9780763646011. 2013. Gr 1-4.

A young girl visits her great-grandfather for the first time, and to break the ice he asks her to pick anything in his room full of collections and he will tell her a story about it.  She brings to him a cigar box full of small matchboxes.  In each matchbox is a small item that the old man had saved from his childhood in Italy, his family’s immigration to the United States, and his life in America.  This was his diary, since no one in his family knew how to read and write.  On her way home, the five-year-old starts her own unwritten diary.  This book is great to use in talking about family histories and can inspire kids to start their own diaries—with or without words.

I tried to continue the Christmas light tradition when I became a mom, but my boys didn’t keep their groans and impatience to themselves.  Maybe when they’re older, they will tell me how much they appreciated it.  Maybe.

I’m not counting on it.

TraceyBlogger : Tracey L.

Comments (1) »

Series Review: Disgusting and Dreadful Science

April 29, 2013 · Filed under Intermediate (3-5), Middle School (6-8), Nonfiction, Science · Tagged , , , , ,

Disgusting and Dreadful Science series:

Ear-Splitting Sounds and Other Vile Noises by Anna Claybourne. 2013. 9780778709251. Gr. 3-6.

Electric Shocks and Other Energy Evils by Anna Claybourne. 2013. 9780778709268. Gr. 3-6.

Glaring Light and Other Eye-Burning Rays by Anna Claybourne. 2013. 9780778709558. Gr. 3-6.

Gut-Wrenching Gravity and Other Fatal Forces by Anna Claybourne. 2013. 9780778709503. Gr. 3-6

We all know that students learn in different ways and at different rates.  Sometimes we need to be tricky in how we get kids interested and invested in learning.  There are a lot of high-interest titles out there for reluctant readers, and here I review one series I have recently come across that is highly interesting and entertaining, and should have kids of all learning styles excited and engaged.

The Disgusting and Dreadful Science series should be especially attractive to boys.  With the popularity of humorous fiction such as Captain Underpants, it is no secret that if you deem any title “disgusting”, boys will want to check it out!

The great thing about this series is that there is a wealth of scientific knowledge “disguised” as fun.  Each two-page layout is on a different area of the main subject.  For example, in Ear-Splitting Sounds, there is the page title of Ear-Splitting Science,  which is an introduction to the decibel scale; the pages below it are filled with fun pictures and fact boxes, as well as an experiment that helps further understanding of the concepts. On this particular topic, there is a decibel meter chart and various comparative sounds.  Would you have guessed that the loudest burp ever (107dB) was almost as loud as a rock concert (115 dB)?  Now you begin to see the creative ways in which science is tied into disgusting fun.  It is not all goofiness, though.  There is also a See for Yourself section that instructs readers to make a paper megaphone and explains how the sound is directionally amplified when the megaphone is used.

The other titles in the series follow a similar formula.  In Electric Shocks a (hopefully Photoshopped) picture of an elephant on a toilet accompanies an infobox about how some zoos collect animal waste in order to recycle it to use its methane gas as fuel to generate electricity.  In Glaring Light, information about the electromagnetic spectrum is presented with factoids about how scorpions glow under ultraviolet light, and how bioluminescence in different animals works. In Gut-Wrenching Gravity, G-force is explained by relating how rollercoasters create them, and show how Air Force experiments in the 1940s and 50s exposed airmen to incredible g-forces that caused broken bones and burst blood vessels!

All of the above examples just scratch the surface; each of the books in the series are filled with hundreds of similar examples, and it is a safe bet that everyone can find something that interests them here.  So, if you are looking for a nonfiction series that kids will be curious about, and will teach them some science along the way, check out Disgusting and Dreadful Science!

Ryan H.

Blogger: Ryan H.

Leave a comment »

Series Review: The World in Infographics

April 26, 2013 · Filed under Intermediate (3-5), Nonfiction, Reviews, Science · Tagged , , , ,

  • 71% of the earth’s surface is covered in water.
  • 97.5% of the water on earth is saltwater.
  • 68.7% of freshwater is found in glaciers.

naturalworldThat is all important information—and I could go on listing various percentages—but a list of numbers really doesn’t do much by itself.  What do you want me to know about those numbers?  Where do they fit into what I already know?

It’s often hard to get a sense of the meaning behind the numbers, especially for kids who may not have the context they need to apply the data to the world around them.  Many of the books we share with young people have charts, graphs, and other representations of data in sidebars and call-out boxes to help make sense of some of the data, but what if you made the call-out box the entire spread?  That’s exactly what The World in Infographics series does.  Each spread in these books is designed to look like the graphics we find and share online.

For those who may not have discovered infographics yet, here is a definition from Wikipedia: “Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly.”  These graphics are perfect for comparing numbers, getting a sense of scale, and making connections.

planetearthThe World in Infographics series uses these strengths to its advantage as it demystifies the numbers of our world.  In Planet Earth, for example, we learn the size of the world’s largest iceberg relative to the island of Jamaica and the 3,963 miles from the surface of the Earth to the center turns into the distance between London and Chicago. Some of these comparisons may work better than others, and some kids may take to this format more than others.  Nonetheless, this is a series to watch.  Planet Earth and The Natural World are available now.  Two more titles will be published in the fall.

These books are good choices for science teachers looking for simple visual explanations of various science topics.  But they are great choices for teachers who want to talk about using data and presenting knowledge.  This series will introduce students to the concept behind infographics and give them an opportunity to look closely at what translates well to this format and what doesn’t.  Whether you are using these books for the content or the presentation, you will find a unique series that will appeal to kids and teachers.

Bibliography:

Planet Earth by Jon Richards. March 2013. 9781926973753. Gr. 3-6

The Natural World by Jon Richards.March 2013. 9781926973746. Gr. 3-6

The Human Body by Jon Richards. October 2013. GR. 3-6

The Human World by Jon Richards. October 2013. Gr. 3-6

MindyBlogger: Mindy R.

Leave a comment »

Picture Books in the Classroom

March 28, 2013 · Filed under Biography, History, Intermediate (3-5), Math, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Primary (K-2), Science, Social Studies, Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Picture books are great for enhancing literacy in the elementary grades. They can be read aloud to a group, shared with an individual child, and paged through by the students themselves, taking in everything the pictures add to the text. These new picture books offer up another layer of opportunity: the content of each serves as a starting point for a lesson or unit on a particular area of study in the classroom.

Social Studies

3079449In The Price of Freedom: How One Town Stood Up to Slavery by Judith Bloom Fradin and Dennis Brindell Fradin, illustrated by Eric Velasquez, we learn about John Price, a runaway slave who ended up in Oberlin, Ohio, in 1856. Oberlin was a final stop along the Underground Railroad and was a community of people who felt strongly that slavery was wrong. Opponents of the Fugitive Slave Act, the townspeople rallied to free John Price after he was captured by a slave hunter, risking their lives to pull off a harrowing rescue. John Price vanished from town a few days later, perhaps crossing the border into Canada, but the townspeople who participated in the rescue were jailed for three months. Their determination and spirit would clash with those who wanted to perpetuate slavery, contributing to the hostile sentiments that led to the Civil War. (9780802721662. Gr. 2-4.)

You could use this book as a starting point for teaching about this historic time period, or you could use it in a discussion about injustice and about fighting for what you believe in. Ask students to think about something that is unfair or not right—their concerns could range from school bullies, polluted water, abandoned pets, and homelessness to global news stories about war and poverty. Help them to research issues they are concerned about and to explore ways in which they can make a difference. For ideas, try The Kid’s Guide to Service Projects or The Kid’s Guide to Social Action by Barbara A. Lewis or Cleaning Up the Earth by Precious McKenzie.

3079430Henry and the Cannons: An Extraordinary True Story of the American Revolution by Don Brown tells the story of Henry Knox, an obscure bookseller who was determined to transport much-needed cannons from Fort Ticonderoga in New York to General Washington’s troops outside Boston. After a grueling 50-day winter journey over 300 miles of rough terrain and ice-covered rivers and lakes, Knox and his men delivered 59 cannons to the revolutionary army. Quietly, Americans assembled a formidable looking fortress on a hill overlooking Boston, ultimately scaring the British into retreating. (9781596432666. Gr. 1-3.)

Determination works wonders, and underdogs often succeed by shooting for the moon and then going for it. Have students write down a goal they each have for the next week or month at school. It could be “reading my first chapter book,” “writing and illustrating my very own story,” “running a whole lap on the track,” or anything that a student would have to work hard to achieve. Challenge students to choose goals that are meaningful to them.

3099232The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline, is the story of an Italian immigrant as he relates it to his great-granddaughter. His matchbox diary is a lovely old cigar box filled with small matchboxes, each of which holds a small object that has its own tale. From an olive pit and a macaroni noodle to a fish bone and typesetting letters, the objects come alive as the elderly book-and-antique dealer tells the small girl how he acquired and saved them. (9780763646011. Gr. 1-4.)

This unique way of keeping a diary is a great one for young children. Ask students to think about a small object that reminds them of a recent event—a ticket stub, a bead, a birthday candle, perhaps. Ask them to use their imaginations! Have students bring in their objects in small boxes and over the course of a few days (a few students per day), ask them to share their objects and tell the stories behind them. Encourage interested students to use their objects as a starting point for their own “matchbox diaries.”

Science

3073352Frog Song by Brenda Z. Guiberson, illustrated by Gennady Spirin, is a richly illustrated informational text about frogs from around the world. Fun fonts complement the beautiful paintings, highlighting frog noises such as “sloop-slooop,” “fwish,” and “chirp-chweet!” Interesting information that students will enjoy, especially about frog eggs, tadpoles, and babies, is offered in perfect amounts on each spread. The book ends with a field guide of the frogs, an environmental page titled “Frogs in Trouble,” a bibliography, and a list of websites. (9780805092547. Gr. PS-2.)

Help students explore some of the websites listed in the back of the book. Several of them have audio clips you can play for students to hear the frog sounds described in the book and others as well. You may also have students draw a picture of a frog (you could supply the outline from a website like Frog Life Cycle). You could also have them record a sound to go with their frog.

Math

3151769Millions, Billions, and Trillions: Understanding Big Numbers by David A. Adler, illustrated by Edward Miller is a fun look at what exactly these long strings of digits actually mean. Fun illustrations show concrete examples like the number of granules in a quarter cup of sugar or the amount of time it would take to count to a million. (9780823424030. Gr. 2-4.)

Play estimating and counting games with students. You can use a jar of jelly beans, a bowl of paper clips, a baggie full of Cheerios, a stack of books, a ten-by-ten square-foot area of dandelions, and whatever else you can come up with. First ask students to write down an estimate of how many objects there are, and then have them team up to count. Come back together as a class and discuss the activity. How well did they estimate the number of objects with each of the items? What strategies did they use to estimate? What strategies did they use to count (by tens, for example)?

Picture books often do more than tell a story. Have fun using them to teach, as well!

Blogger: Lori C. Lori

Leave a comment »

Book Review : Mary Roach and Science Nonfiction for High School

March 18, 2013 · Filed under Nonfiction, Reviews, High School, Science · Tagged , , , ,

Reading nonfiction is a favorite of mine, and I usually read about social studies and science (or grammar).  I am glad that the Common Core standards include a stronger focus on reading nonfiction.

One of my favorite nonfiction authors is Mary Roach.  Like those of many librarians, my interests can be weird odd quirky, and Mary Roach takes quirky to a whole new level.  She asks questions that most people would not have thought of—but if they did, they wouldn’t dare to ask.  And not only does she dare to ask, but she finds the right people to ask and actually gets them to answer her. Her writing is accessible to upper high school students and her books would be great choices for Common Core lists.

StiffI was browsing in a bookstore when I found her first book, Stiff : The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, and everything about the book drew me in.  The cover showing a couple of bare feet with a morgue tag attached to a toe.  The great title (though nowadays a book with “lives” and “cadavers” in the title would probably be about zombies).  And of course the subject matter:  the history of the uses to which cadavers have been put.  We’ve heard about grave robbing and midnight autopsies by candlelight, but that’s just the beginning.   And though it might sound gruesome and morbid, Roach treated her subjects with respect…and lots of humor.  I have recommended this book to more people than any other nonfiction book, and most of those who dared to read the book have become Mary Roach fans.

Roach has also written books on how science has dealt with the afterlife, sex, and space exploration (see my earlier post on Packing for Mars).

Gulp : Adventures on the Alimentary CanalHer latest, coming out on April 1st, is called Gulp : Adventures on the Alimentary Canal.  Roach chronicles how early doctors and scientists studied the gastrointestinal system of animals and people and what sort of research today’s scientists are doing.  Then she describes how everything works, beginning with the role of the nose in tasting the food we put in our mouths and following the path of food to its inevitable conclusion.  So yes, there is one chapter devoted to gas and another devoted to the final product.  But we also find out things like: why don’t the digestive acids in our stomach digest the stomach itself; what flavors do dogs and cats like the most; can you really eat so much that your stomach bursts; and just what exactly is a fecal transplant and why would you ever want one. As I read, my vocal responses were equally divided between “YUCK!” and guffaws.  Though I probably wouldn’t recommend it to the squeamish, most teens and adults interested in biology and zoology would enjoy Gulp.

Bibliography:

Bonk : The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex. Recommended for adults.

Gulp : Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach. 9780393081572. April 2013. Gr 11-Adult.

Packing for Mars : The Curious Science of Life in the Void. 9780393068474. 2010. Gr 11-Adult.

Spook : Science Tackles the Afterlife. 9780393329124. 2006. Gr 11-Adult.

Stiff : The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. 9780393050936. 2003. Gr 11-Adult.

TraceyBlogger : Tracey L.

Comments (1) »

Women’s History Month Marches Forward

March 14, 2013 · Filed under Biography, High School, Intermediate (3-5), Middle School (6-8), Nonfiction, Picture Books, Primary (K-2), Social Studies · Tagged , , , , ,

For good reason, March is Women’s History Month. One hundred years ago on March 3, 1913, more than 5,000 suffragists marched in Washington, D.C., underscoring what was called “a national policy of nagging” by those who disapproved of women’s rights. It wasn’t until 1920 that the 19th Amendment became law in the United States, finally allowing women the right to vote. Decades later, the Equal Rights Amendment made its way through the legislature, but it wasn’t ratified by all the states by the 1982 deadline and was never adopted.

More than 50 years before the women’s march on Washington, strong female leaders gathered for the Seneca Falls Convention. The abolitionist movement and the early rumblings of the women’s rights movement in many ways went hand in hand, and strong female voices made their voices heard as the Civil War  loomed. During the war itself, a number of determined young women got involved. Here are some of their stories:

3083852Lincoln and Grace: Why Abraham Lincoln Grew a Beard by Steve Metzger, illustrated by Ann Kronheimer, tells the story of Grace Bedell, a young girl whose admiration for Lincoln and disdain for slavery led her to send the soon-to-be-elected president a letter. Lincoln even responded and the two met briefly while he was on his way to Washington for his inauguration! (9780545484329. Gr 2-5.)

One of the ways women contributed to the Civil War effort was in the field of medicine. Louisa May’s Battle: How the Civil War Led to Little Women by 3079431Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Carlyn Beccia, is the story of Louisa May Alcott’s involvement–first as a part of the Underground Railroad and later as a nurse at the Union Hotel in Washington, D.C. There to witness celebrations in the streets as the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, she was struck by typhoid fever a few weeks later and had to return home, where she went on to write one of the most famous books of all time.  (9780802796684. Gr 2-5.)

3073348Elizabeth Blackwell defied those who told her that women couldn’t be doctors. In Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman, we learn that Geneva Medical School let the students vote on whether or not to allow her to attend and that the boys, figuring it was a joke, voted yes! She went on to graduate at the top of her class in 1849 as well as to gain the respect of her peers and professors. Elizabeth was a key figure in training women as nurses during the Civil War. (9780805090482. Gr K-3.)

Mary Edwards Walker graduated from medical school in 1855. An outspoken campaigner for women, she was also known for shunning the uncomfortable 3115160clothing of the era in favor of…pants! Mary Walker Wears the Pants: The True Story of the Doctor, Reformer and Civil War Hero by Cheryl Harness, illustrated by Carlo Molinari, tells her story. A staunch opponent of slavery, Mary was determined to help during the war and volunteered doing whatever she could to help, treating wounded soldiers while repeatedly requesting to join the army as a surgeon. Finally in 1893, her role became official, and she would later earn a medal of honor for her service. (9780807549902. Gr K-3.)

Other new books of note:

30835683053209316326930735603073557Look Up! The Story of the First Woman Astronomer by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Raúl Colón. (9781416958192. Gr K-2.)

Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story by S. D. Nelson. (9781419703553. Gr 2-5.)

Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves & Other Female Villains by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple, illustrated by Rebecca Guay. (9781580891851. Gr 5-8.)

Women of the Frontier: 16 Tales of Trailblazing Homesteaders, Entrepreneurs, and Rabble-Rousers by Brandon Marie Miller. (9781883052973. Gr 9-12.)

Double Victory: How African American Women Broke Race and Gender Barriers to Help Win World War II by Cheryl Mullenbach. (9781569768082. Gr 9-12.)

LoriBlogger: Lori C.

Leave a comment »

The Alex Awards

March 11, 2013 · Filed under Biography, Dystopia, Fiction, High School, Mystery, Nonfiction, Realistic, Reviews, Sports · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

I try to read broadly, through all levels and genres, but I will say that the majority of books I read are written for adults.  However, I do read a good number of Young Adult titles, so I have found the perfect intersection for me… the winners of the Alex Award.

Quoting YALSA’s website, the Alex Awards are given yearly to “to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.”  When this year’s winners were announced recently, I was pleased to see that I had read a number of them.  Here are my thoughts on these excellent titles:

Caring is Creepy by David Zimmerman. 2012. 9781569479773. Gr. 11-Adult.

This book starts out as a cautionary tale, as 15-year-old friends Lynn and Dani begin interacting with people on the internet for the sole purpose of “messing with them”.  All the while, because they are normal teenage girls, they pine for love and are looking for that special someone.  When Lynn takes it a step further and meets (in real life) someone she has chatted with online, things start to unravel.  Her mom, an ER nurse, is having issues of her own, having become a mostly unwitting participant in a drug scheme with her loser boyfriend.  These storylines intersect in a thunderous climax, in unexpected ways.  Without giving anything away, this one brought to mind a fresh take on Stephen King’s Misery, as love and obsession cause someone to be held against their will.  A few words of caution: This title has many adult themes, including a lot of the big three of sex, drugs, and violence.  It is a bold choice by the committee for the Alex Award.  There certainly is teen appeal here with the themes of online safety, love, and angst, but the maturity level of the reader should be carefully considered.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. 2012. 9780374214913. Gr. 11-Adult.

As mentioned, the intersection of adult and teen books hits me right in my literary sweet spot, and similarly, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is a marriage of many of my favorite things.  Take an odd independent bookstore, add in technology, a dose of mystery, and some supernatural/magical elements, and you have the recipe for a fun book. Plus, the cover of the hardcover version glows in the dark…how cool is that?  Anyway, the story revolves around Clay Jannon, a recently unemployed web designer who takes a job at a local bookstore.  He soon learns that this isn’t your typical bookstore, as there aren’t many customers, and those that do come in seem to only be borrowing old obscure books, with the blessing of the owner, the eccentric Mr. Penumbra.  Using his natural curiosity, and his talent as a computer guy, Clay begins piecing together what is going on.  This is a geeky pleasure right up there with Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One.

My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf. 2012. 9781419702167. Gr.10-Adult.

As I have blogged here before, I am not usually drawn (pun intended) to graphic novels.  However, I again have to admit that I really got into this one.  For me, there is something oddly fascinating about the psychology of what shapes someone like Jeffrey Dahmer.  This is the true story of someone who was probably as close of a friend as Dahmer had growing up, Derf Backderf (pseudonym of John Backderf), who grew up to be an accomplished artist. We all know what Dahmer grew up to be, and this is the chronicle of the adolescent Dahmer, at the beginning of his spiral into madness.  This book is simultaneously creepy, funny, sad, and overall very compelling.  Highly recommended.

One Shot At Forever by Chris Ballard. 2012. 9781401324384. Gr. 11-Adult.

This book about an unlikely, rag-tag high school baseball team has drawn inevitable comparisons to the Hollywood basketball movie Hoosiers, and rightly so. There are definite similarities, including the always-gripping David vs. Goliath plot.  While Hoosiers was mostly true with some fictionalization, One Shot At Forever is a completely true story, pieced together by Chris Ballard through research and extensive interviews.  Ballard is a great storyteller who brings the characters to life and instantly makes you a fan of the 1971 Macon High School Ironmen.  At that time in Illinois, there were no sports class divisions, so if your school had 100 students, they were pitted against schools that had 5000 when competing for the state title.  The Ironmen were led by Lynn Sweet, the reluctant, long-haired, hippie coach who announced at the first practice that he didn’t have many rules, and that practice was optional.  He felt that his team should be playing to have fun, and if it wasn’t fun anymore, they shouldn’t play at all.  He was more psychologist and mentor than coach, and the kids loved him.  I loved this book; it is one of the best I have read all year.

Pure by Juliana Baggott. 2012. 9781455503063. Gr. 11-Adult.

On the surface, Pure seems to be just another in the long line of dystopias that has emerged post-Hunger Games.  But Pure gets big points for its originality.  The post-apocalyptic world has arisen due to what is referred to as the Detonations. Those that survived the blasts intact live in the Dome, a sterile sanctuary, but those outside of this protected area were obviously not so lucky.  They were changed by the blasts, often in gruesome and disfiguring ways.  They fused with whatever was around them when the blasts happened, and the young protagonist, Pressia, shows this.  She has a doll’s face fused to the end of her arm.  Others have fused with objects, animals, or other people, all of which causes them to have a natural disdain for those living unharmed in the Dome.  When Partridge, a dome-dweller, and Pressia are forced together by circumstance, their worlds collide. They work together to reveal the truth about what happened to cause all of this.  This is an original take on the now-common dystopia novel.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt. 2012. 9780679644194. Gr. 11-Adult.

This is a beautifully-written, multi-layered, coming-of-age, sparkling debut novel, and also one of my favorite of the year (I almost didn’t have enough hyphens and commas for that sentence, and interestingly enough, there are many more adjectives to describe this book!).  The setting is the 80s, at the onset of the AIDS epidemic.  June Elbus is growing up with many of the same problems teens encounter; finding her place in the world, arguing with her older sister, and being embarrassed by her parents.  June can always find refuge in her relationship with her uncle, Finn, a famous artist.  Finn is dying of AIDS, and this obviously impacts June immensely.  As if being a teen isn’t hard enough, June has to deal with very heavy situations and circumstances.  The author brings the reader to contemplate love in all of its forms, and the result is powerful. This is a heartbreakingly sad, yet hopeful book that I cannot recommend enough.

RyanBlogger : Ryan H.

Comments (1) »

WWII Fiction and Nonfiction for Middle School

March 9, 2013 · Filed under Fiction, Historical, Mackin Picks, Middle School (6-8), Nonfiction, Novels, Reviews, Social Studies

Hero on a BicycleHero on a Bicycle by Shirley Hughes. April 2013. 9780763660376. Gr 6-8.

When I heard the Candlewick rep say, ” Hero is about a 13-year-old boy during World War II, living in Italy,” I wanted to read this book.  World War II is my favorite period of history. We meet Paolo Crivelli, his older sister Constanza, and their mother Rosemary living in the hills of Florence. It is 1944, and the Allied forces are trying to push the Nazis north of Florence to the Italian border. Paolo wants to be part of the war efforts, but is too young to enlist as a soldier and is bored staying home. So he daily plans his escape and rides his beloved bike through the darkened streets of Florence late at night.

One night on his way back home, he is stopped by some Partisans who want help from Paolo’s family. Rosemary agrees to hide Allied prisoners until they can be moved to safety. By hiding prisoners, she puts her whole family at risk of being shot. Paolo, Constanza, and Rosemary show their bravery and courage.

This story captured my attention from the first page. It is Shirley’s first novel, but she has known since she visited Florence at the end of World War II that she would someday write a story about this beautiful area. That someday has come—sixty years later. Her teenage characters seem very authentic, because she based them not only on her own memories as a teenager living in England during this war, but also on a family she met in Italy after the war.

Courage Has No ColorMackin PicksCourage Has No Color : The True Story of the Triple Nickels : America’s First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone. 2013. 9780763651176. Gr 5-8.

Courage Has No Color  is also a story about World War II, but it is based here in the U.S. Think about it, we had troops in Europe and the Pacific fighting Hitler’s injustices. But in the United States, men of black skin didn’t have the same rights as those with white skin. German and Italian prisoners of war, who had killed American soldiers, were allowed into the post exchange, but the black soldiers in uniforms were not allowed in. Black soldiers could not even sit at a table with the white soldiers to eat. They were treated as servants.

I had not heard of this group of paratroopers before, but I have gained much respect for them from this book. In the fall of 1943, first sergeant Walter Morris started a training program modeling that of the white paratroopers. Within a week his men began to act like soldiers. Sixteen African-American men made history on February 18, 1944, when they became paratroopers. The Triple Nickels were never sent to the war front, but were transferred to Pendleton Air Base in Oregon. At Pendleton, the Triple Nickels became smoke-jumpers, putting out fires started by bomb-laden balloons. These balloons had been floated by the Japanese on the jet stream to the west coast of the U.S.  I found this story as fascinating as the Red Tails story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American group of pilots from World War II.

Tanya Lee Stone asks, “What did it take to be a paratrooper in World War II? Specialized training, extreme physical fitness, courage, and—until the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (the Triple Nickels) was formed –white skin… What is courage? What is strength? Perhaps it is being ready to fight for your nation even when your nation isn’t ready to fight for you.”

Guestblogger : Kathy V.

Leave a comment »

World Read-Aloud Day Coming — How About Poetry?

March 4, 2013 · Filed under High School, Intermediate (3-5), Middle School (6-8), Poetry, Primary (K-2), Uncategorized

Wednesday is World Read-Aloud Day. In thinking about books appropriate for reading out loud, I landed on poetry as the one literary form I’d rather listen to than read silently. Poems have rhythm, alliteration, rhyme, and many other sound qualities that make them ripe for a voice full of enthusiasm, enunciation, and emotion. Here are some great poetry books to get your hands on before Wednesday!

2959615Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems, by Kate Coombs and illustrated by Meilo So, features beautiful strings of words along with soft, rich watercolor paintings, describing everything from tide pools and jellyfish to sharks and shipwrecks. The rich descriptions of the ocean’s creatures and elements not only entertain but also teach the very young about different players in the earth’s largest bodies of water. (9780811872843. 2012. Gr PS-3.)

Shiver Me Timbers! Pirate Poems & Paintings, by Douglas Florian and illustrated by Robert Neubecker, uses rich language and 3034578wave-bouncing pirate dialect to create lively poems about a topic children love. Neubecker’s fun illustrations help bring the poems to life. This poetry picture book isn’t just fun–it’s also an adventure in pirate vocabulary and a great starting point for demonstrating voice in a writing lesson. (9781442413214. 2012. Gr 2-5.)

3206995Indivisible: Poems for Social Justice, edited by Gail Bush & Randy Meyer, is a collection of poems written by a wide variety of well-known poets, from Langston Hughes and Pat Mora to Billy Collins and Joy Harjo. While it addresses the subject of social inequity, the anthology also points out what is just and right, ending with a poem by William Stafford entitled “Being a Person.” The book ends with a Biographical Notes section that provides anecdotal information about each poet (although it does contain a disclaimer that the notes are “certifiably uncertified”). (9781603574174. 2013. Gr 7-adult.)

Other poetry books you may wish to consider:

In the Sea by David Elliott and illustrated by Holly Meade (9780763644987. 2012. Gr PS-2.)

Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Josée Masse (companion to Mirror, Mirror) (9780803737693. 2013. Gr 2-6.)

Arrow Finds Its Mark: A Book of Found Poems by Georgia Heard and illustrated by Antoine Guillope (9781596436657. 2012. Gr 4-6.)

When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders by J. Patrick Lewis (9781452101194. 2013. Gr 4-7.)

Partly Cloudy: Poems of Love and Longing by Gary Soto (9780547577371. 2012. Gr 7-12.) 

2956055

30935462938139

30755402843859

Lori

Blogger: Lori C.

Leave a comment »

« Previous entries
Next Page »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 898 other followers