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To celebrate World Elephant Day (August 12, 2014), here are some books about those larger-than-life creatures, with reviews from The Horn Book Guide Online.
Picture Books
Bunting, Eve Tweak Tweak
40 pp. Clarion 2011. ISBN 978-0-618-99851-7
(Preschool) Illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier. “‘Hold on to my tail, Little Elephant,’ Mama Elephant said. ‘…If you want to ask me a question, tweak twice.’” Tweak and ask she does: from the names of the animals they encounter to what each is doing. Can she, Little Elephant, do those things, too? The pairing of Bunting’s elegant text with Ruzzier’s offbeat art, including surreal, rather Seussian landscapes, is unexpectedly fabulous.
de Brunhoff, Jean and Brunhoff, Laurent de Babar’s Anniversary Album: Six Favorite Stories
144pp. pp. Random 1993. ISBN 0-394-84813-6
(Gr. K-3) Reissue, 1981. Introduction by Maurice Sendak. This compilation of six stories–three by Jean de Brunhoff, Babar’s creator, and three by Jean’s son Laurent–about the French elephant was originally published to commemorate Babar’s fiftieth birthday. The volume includes a photo-essay by Laurent de Brunhoff that includes family photographs and sketches and paintings by both Laurent and his father.
McKee, David Elmer’s Christmas
32 pp. Andersen 2011. ISBN 978-0-7613-8088-7
(Gr. K-3) After a day of Christmas preparation, patchwork elephant Elmer and seven young elephants spy on Papa Red (complete with Santa hat and whiskers). While watching him gather gifts from under their tree, Elmer explains, “this is the season for giving.” McKee’s story sends a friendly reminder about the importance of generosity during the holidays. Playful, vividly colored illustrations complement the cheery tone.
Willems, Mo Elephants Cannot Dance!
64 pp. Hyperion 2009. ISBN 978-1-4231-1410-9
(Gr. K-3) Elephant & Piggie Book series. Elephant Gerald intones, “Elephants cannot dance.” But as it turns out, elephants can try to dance. Even though Gerald can’t keep up with Piggie, he has a few (unwitting) moves of his own. Color-coded speech bubbles in this easy reader focus attention on the simple words and expressive illustrations. The easily understood story will provide instant reading success and lots of laughs.
Fiction
Applegate, Katherine The One and Only Ivan
307 pp. HarperCollins/Harper 2012. ISBN 978-0-06-199225-4
(Gr. 4-6) Illustrated by Patricia Castelao. In short chapters that have the look and feel of prose poems, Applegate captures the voice of Ivan, a captive gorilla who lives at the “Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade.” When a new baby elephant arrives, Ivan realizes they deserve more than their restrictive environment. Ivan’s range of thoughts and emotions poses important questions about kinship and humanity. 2013 Newbery Medal winner.
DiCamillo, Kate The Magician’s Elephant
202 pp. Candlewick 2009. ISBN 978-0-7636-4410-9
(Gr. 4-6) Illustrated by Yoko Tanaka. In a fictional Old World city, Peter searches for his sister, instructed by a fortuneteller to “follow the elephant.” The book’s theme is the triumph of hope over despair, as Peter’s idea that the “world is broken” gives way to a belief in possibility. DiCamillo’s prose is remarkable in this allegorical and surreal novel.
Fleischman, Sid The White Elephant
95 pp. Greenwillow 2006. ISBN 0-06-113136-9 LE ISBN 0-06-113137-7
(Gr. 1-3) When Run-Run’s elephant accidentally sprays water on a cranky prince, he and Run-Run get a gift they neither want nor can handle: Sahib, a sacred white elephant. Fleischman’s original tale tells a touching story of the enduring power of love. Short chapters, evocative pencil sketches, and a rich Siamese setting will hold the interest of readers and listeners alike.
Kelly, Lynne Chained
248 pp. Farrar/Ferguson 2012. ISBN 978-0-374-31237-4
(Gr. 4-6) Ten-year-old Hastin must endure the cruelty of his employer, a circus owner. Kelly crafts a layered, convincing tale of interspecies friendship as Hastin comes to understand his charge, Nandita, an elephant calf. A kind older man proves an ally in Hastin’s quest to protect Nandita, but it is the bond between boy and elephant that will stick in readers’ minds.
Nonfiction
Lewin, Ted and Lewin, Betsy Balarama: A Royal Elephant
56 pp. Lee 2009. ISBN 978-1-60060-265-8
(Gr. K-3) In Mysore in southern India, elephants are featured in the annual Dasara festival procession. The Lewins describe Balarama’s triumphant first appearance as procession leader. Pageantry and noble beasts alike are vividly realized in Ted Lewin’s signature watercolors, while Betsy Lewin’s agile drawings add deft characterizations, lively action, and humor. It’s a gorgeous glimpse at a continuing custom. “Elephant Facts” are appended. Glos.
Lewin, Ted and Lewin, Betsy Elephant Quest
48 pp. HarperCollins 2000. ISBN 0-688-14111-0 LE ISBN 0-688-14112-9
(Gr. K-3) In search of African elephants in Botswana, the Lewins provide careful observations of animals in their habitats that lend insight into animal behaviors and survival tactics. Throughout, a cheerful tone combines with reverence for the beauty and variety of nature. Betsy Lewin’s humorous, emotive sketches and Ted Lewin’s full-page paintings illustrate their encounters.
O’Connell, Caitlin A Baby Elephant in the Wild
40 pp. Houghton 2014. ISBN 978-0-544-14944-1
(Gr. K-3) Photographs by Caitlin O’Connell and Timothy Rodwell. In text and numerous color photographs we follow a newborn female elephant through her first months in the Namibian scrub desert as she learns the behaviors that will enable her to survive. The account is straightforward and unsentimental yet filled with detailed and fascinating scientific information, including the lifelong ties among elephants that will resonate with readers’ own experience of family.
O’Connell, Caitlin and Jackson, Donna M. The Elephant Scientist
71 pp. Houghton 2011. ISBN 978-0-547-05344-8
(Gr. 4-6) Photographs by Caitlin O’Connell and Timothy Rodwell. Scientists in the Field series. Scientist O’Connell’s contributions to our understanding of elephant communication propel this account. O’Connell and Jackson describe the findings in a way that lets readers witness the unfolding of a research program, as hypotheses lead to new insights that beget even more questions. The many photographs, predominantly from Namibian field sites, capture the majestic elder elephants, their always-appealing offspring, and dusty, rugged landscapes. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind. 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Honor Book winner.
Schubert, Leda Ballet of the Elephants
32 pp. Roaring Brook/Brodie 2006. ISBN 1-59643-075-3
(Gr. K-3) Illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker. Big, lumbering elephants performing a ballet? This event did happen–with fifty elephants (and fifty human ballerinas). Four individuals (John Ringling North, George Balanchine, Igor Stravinsky, and Vera Zorina) are artfully introduced through background material that connects each person to the whole. Parker’s loosely scrawled ink outlines contribute to the magical tone. A personal yet informative author’s note is appended. Further reading, websites.
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We’re off tomorrow to spend a few days with the Sendak Fellows, Nora Krug and Harry Bliss, at a farm Maurice owned in upstate New York. (Why did he need a farm? Did he need a place to get away from it all from his place to get away from it all in the wilds of rural Connecticut?). The management tells me my job there is to “be Maurice,” but someone and his pal Wolfie are up in heaven laughing themselves sick at that suggestion. Instead, I imagine myself poking my head around easels, saying “perhaps a little more green there, Nora” or “Harry, you know, Brownie here would make an excellent companion to Bailey, yes?”
I guess the one thing I can tell them about is what Maurice loved and hated–and it was generally one or the other, whether it came to his taste in pictures, movies, TV, books, music or food. “I love it!” “I hate it!” The tricky thing with him, though, is that even though you coulda sworn he’d said he loved something, catch him ten minutes later and his passion had reversed. What I wish I had was Maurice’s talent for contagious enthusiasm: he could make you love what he loved, even if, years later, you finally–secretly and hoping he doesn’t overhear–admit you really don’t find Christa Wolf all that enjoyable.
I’m sure I’ll think of something to say. And we’re going to Tanglewood to meet Lizzie Borden; we’ll show Brownie the land of his birth (he was found wandering in the Berkshire woods); and I’m to be given the opportunity to milk goats. I hope I can see them run!
The post Chicks ‘n ducks ‘n geese appeared first on The Horn Book.
| Too Grim(m)? |
Far Far Away by Tom McNeal |
| Better Luck Next Time |
The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata, illustrated by Julia Kuo |
| Didn’t Pan Out |
Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
|
| Have You Seen My Big Gold Seal? |
Have You Seen My New Blue Socks? by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier |
| Foreclosed On |
Building Our House by Jonathan Bean |
| Busted |
Bluffton: My Summers with Buster
by Matt Phelan |
| Declawed |
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown |
| Popped |
The Big Wet Balloon by Liniers |
| KO’d |
The Mighty LaLouche by Matthew Olshan, illustrated by Sophie Blackall |
| Lights Out |
On a Beam of Light by Jennifer Berne, illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky |
| Kept in the Dark |
The Dark by Lemony Snicket,
illustrated by Jon Klassen |
| Who Put Baby in the Corner? |
A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty |
| Stop, You’re Both Pretty |
Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang,
color by Lark Pien |
|
|
|
|
The post 2014 Mind the Gap Awards appeared first on The Horn Book.
In his article “I Spy: Harriet and I,” Jack Gantos discusses “the thrill of being sneaky” (“I just liked knowing I had discovered something that was supposed to be a secret”). It’s a universal fascination — one that Harriet the Spy tapped into — which is why the ever-popular spy-novel genre continues to entice readers. This selection of recent Horn Book Guide–recommended novels for middle graders and teens — with contemporary, historical, and sci-fi settings — speaks to the allure of stories about espionage, intrigue, and general sneaking-around.
—Katrina Hedeen
Assistant Editor, The Horn Book Guide
Bradley, F. T. Double Vision: Code Name 711
246 pp. HarperCollins/Harper 2013 ISBN 978-0-06-210440-3
Gr. 4–6 In this sequel to Double Vision, super-secret agency Pandora unexpectedly approaches former operative Lincoln Baker, claiming to need his help. Linc must face his hated double, Pandora junior agent Ben Green; find a legendary historical artifact; and save the president and protect the first daughter. Bradley combines history, familiar Washington DC landmarks, dangerous obstacles, and a witty voice in this brisk, satisfying novel.
Carter, Ally United We Spy
296 pp. Hyperion 2013 ISBN 978-1-4231-6599-6
YA Gallagher Girls series. Cammie and her fellow spies are ready for a final showdown with the nefarious Circle of Cavan. When they uncover the Circle’s plan to start World War III, they take matters into their own hands, trying to stop the wheels already set in motion. Assassinations, manhunts, and prison breaks keep the pace moving quickly in this exciting Gallagher Girls finale.
Cross, Julie Vortex
360 pp. St. Martin’s Griffin/Dunne 2013 ISBN 978-0-312-56890-0
YA Jackson Meyer is a teen agent for Tempest, the CIA’s time-travel division. Eyewall, another shadowy CIA group, begins attacking the agents of Tempest, and Jackson finds his life once again entwined with Holly’s, the girl for whom he changed history in Tempest. Cross allows readers to closely connect with her characters in this fast-paced sequel.
McGowan, Jennifer Maid of Secrets
406 pp. Simon 2013 ISBN 978-1-4424-4138-5
YA Meg’s life is transformed after her skills as a pickpocket catch the eye of Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster. Trained with four others to operate as a secret cadre of spies hidden among the queen’s “Maids of Honor,” Meg begins to question her own identity. Smartly researched (though populated by anachronistically modern-acting young women), McGowan’s novel is full of inviting court intrigue, both political and romantic.
Norris, Elizabeth Unbreakable
481 pp. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray 2013 ISBN 978-0-06-210376-5
YA Several months after the Wave Function Collapse destroyed her Earth, Janelle must team up with her former enemy, FBI agent Taylor Barclay, to stop a group of inter-dimensional slave traders and save Janelle’s missing boyfriend, who, suspected of leading the ring, has been sentenced to death. This gripping sequel will satisfy fans of Unraveling and any reader who enjoys futuristic espionage tales.
Smith, Roland and Michael P. Spradlin The Alamo
256 pp. Sleeping Bear 2013 ISBN 978-1-58536-822-8 PE ISBN 978-1-58536-821-1
Gr. 4–6 I, Q series. Q and Angela are united not only as step-siblings but also as covert agents working for the president of the United States. Here intrigue follows them to San Antonio, Texas, where they once again encounter a dangerous terrorist cell. A list of characters and a preface bring readers up to speed for this suspenseful and thrilling fourth book in the series.
Vance, Talia Spies and Prejudice
298 pp. Egmont 2013 ISBN 978-1-60684-260-7
YA Berry Fields is too busy working for her father as a private investigator to think about love. Then, as she’s looking into clues surrounding her mother’s death, she meets gorgeous Tanner Halston, who seems to have an interest in her investigations. Should she trust him? This modern Pride and Prejudice take-off works well as a Veronica Mars–esque teen detective story.
Zettel, Sarah Palace of Spies
362 pp. Harcourt 2013 ISBN 978-0-544-07411-8
YA Palace of Spies series. In eighteenth-century London, destitute orphan Peggy Fitzroy agrees to impersonate the recently deceased spy Lady Francesca as maid of honor to Princess Caroline. With a war of succession, jilted love, and religious turmoil in the mix, Peggy must navigate intrigue and shady liaisons to uncover the truth behind her predecessor’s death. The feisty narrator and lush period details will garner fans for this new series.
From the May/June 2014 issue of The Horn Book Magazine. These reviews are from The Horn Book Guide and The Horn Book Guide Online. For information about subscribing to the Guide and the Guide Online, please click here.
The post From The Guide: Spy Novels appeared first on The Horn Book.
By:
Roger Sutton,
on 5/12/2014
Blog:
Read Roger - The Horn Book editor's rants and raves
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Reviews,
booklists,
high school,
Reading for pleasure,
Recommended Books,
Summer reading,
Choosing Books,
summer reading 2014,
Add a tag
Need suggestions for beach reading or books to bring to summer camp? We’ve hand-picked our top ten in each age range, all published 2013–2014, that are ideal for the season. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion. For a handy take-along list of titles, follow this link to a printable PDF.
Picture Books (Fiction and Nonfiction) | Early Readers and Younger Fiction
Intermediate Fiction and Nonfiction | Middle School Fiction and Nonfiction
High School Fiction and Nonfiction
Suggested grade level for all entries: 9 and up
He Said, She Said by Kwame Alexander (Amistad/HarperTeen)
Claudia Clarke — sharp, opinionated, and Harvard-bound — is the only girl who isn’t impressed by quarterback Omar “T-Diddy” Smalls. Omar takes a bet that he can win Claudia over, and when his usual seduction tactics fail, he applies his social clout to Claudia’s cause du jour. 330 pages.
All the Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry (Viking)
Eighteen-year-old narrator Judith is ostracized from her claustrophobic village after a trauma that left her mute. Readers gradually learn “all the truth” about the incident and the village itself as Judith speaks directly (though only in her head) to her love, Lucas. 274 pages.
If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan (Algonquin)
Seventeen-year-old Sahar has been in love with her best friend Nasrin for years. But the girls live in Iran, where their love is illegal. When Nasrin accepts a marriage proposal, both girls must face the untenable future of their relationship; Sahar hatches a desperate plan for them to be together. 247 pages.
Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner; illus. by Julian Crouch (Candlewick)
Printz Honor Book
In an alternate dystopian United Kingdom, the Motherland regime consigns undesirables to the derelict housing of Zone Seven. When his friend Hector disappears, Standish sets out to rescue him and uncovers a shocking government hoax. 281 pages.
March: Book One by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin; illus. by Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
In this memoir told in graphic novel form, Congressman John Lewis — the last surviving member of the “Big Six” civil rights leaders — recounts his formative years, beginning with 1965′s infamous “Bloody Sunday.” From this violently chaotic event the narrative fast-forwards to the morning of Barack Obama’s January 2009 inauguration. 128 pages.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (Delacorte)
At fifteen, Cady survived an unspecified accident on the private island where her wealthy family and her love interest Gat spend their summers. Two summers later, Cady battles the resultant migraines and memory loss to piece together what really happened, building to a shocking reveal. 228 pages.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (St. Martin’s Griffin)
Change-resistant college freshman Cath holes up in her dorm room writing fantasy fanfiction. As the year progresses, she is pushed outside her comfort zone by her snarky roommate, her love interest, and her loving but dysfunctional family. 438 pages.
Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick (Roaring Brook)
Printz Medal Winner
Seven interconnected short stories progress backwards through the history of a remote Scandinavian island, from 2073 to a “Time Unknown.” Together the tales gradually reveal the ritual that brings bloody death and forbidden love to “Blessed Island.” 263 pages.
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein (Hyperion)
This WWII-set companion to Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor winner Code Name Verity follows eighteen-year-old American pilot Rose Justice. Captured while delivering supplies and personnel, Rose is sent to notorious German women’s concentration camp Ravensbrück, where she’s befriended by victims of Nazi medical experiments. 360 pages.
Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang; illus. by the author; color by Lark Pien (First Second/Roaring Brook)
This “diptych” of graphic novels (with touches of magical realism and humor) is set during China’s Boxer Rebellion. In Boxers, Little Bao learns to harness the power of ancient gods to fight the spread of Christianity, while in Saints, Four-Girl sits squarely on the other side of the rebellion. 328 and 172 pages.
For past years’ summer reading lists from The Horn Book, click on the tag summer reading.
The post 2014 Summer Reading from The Horn Book: High School Fiction and Nonfiction appeared first on The Horn Book.
Need suggestions for beach reading or books to bring to summer camp? We’ve hand-picked our top ten in each age range, all published 2013–2014, that are ideal for the season. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion. For a handy take-along list of titles, follow this link to a printable PDF.
Early Readers and Younger Fiction | Intermediate Fiction and Nonfiction
Middle School Fiction and Nonfiction | High School Fiction and Nonfiction
Picture Books (Fiction and Nonfiction)
Suggested grade level for all entries: PS–2
Splash, Anna Hibiscus! by Atinuke; illus. by Lauren Tobia (Kane Miller)
Anna (Anna Hibiscus’ Song) and her family take a trip to the beach. Everyone else is too busy — reading, talking, digging in the sand — to go in the water, so she takes a dip by herself. Her ensuing joy entices the others. 40 pages.
Journey by Aaron Becker; illus. by the author (Candlewick)
Caldecott Honor Book
In the tradition of Harold and the Purple Crayon, this wordless story follows a girl who uses a crayon (red) to draw herself into other worlds. The worlds she enters are lush, detailed, and elaborate, and she gets pulled into a rescue mission involving a purple bird. 40 pages.
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown; illus. by the author (Little, Brown)
Upright Mr. Tiger, bored in his very drab, very proper community, drops to all fours, sheds his clothing, and runs wild — and for the first time looks happy. The townsfolk are appalled…then they, too, unleash their animal natures. 48 pages.
Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio; illus. by Christian Robinson (Atheneum)
Dog Gaston looms over his teacup-sized poodle sisters. In the park they meet a family like theirs but in reverse: bulldogs Rocky, Ricky, Bruno, and petite Antoinette. Were Gaston and Antoinette switched at birth? And, if so, should they switch back? 40 pages.
Locomotive by Brian Floca; illus. by the author (Jackson/Atheneum)
Caldecott Medal Winner, Sibert Honor Book
Striking cinematic front endpapers describe the creation of the Transcontinental Railroad, then a historical-fiction-meets-travelogue narrative zeroes in on one family’s journey from Omaha to San Francisco. 64 pages.
Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle; illus. by the author (Chronicle)
Caldecott Honor Book
In this unique wordless picture book, a little girl mimics a flamingo’s graceful movements. The bird, at first annoyed, eventually relents and teaches her ballet. The book is cinematic, comedic, and balletic, with dynamic pacing and physical comedy facilitated by ingenious pull-down flaps. 40 pages.
Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko; illus. by Melissa Sweet (Candlewick)
Child-friendly mixed-media illustrations enhance this collection’s thirty-six excellent brief poems. Most of the verses are by familiar poets (Carl Sandburg, Langston Hughes), including those known for their children’s verse (Alice Schertle, Charlotte Zolotow). 48 pages.
Niño Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales; illus. by the author (Porter/Roaring Brook)
Belpré Illustrator Award
Pint-sized Niño, fearless luchador (and big brother), dons his red mask, ready to take on all comers. He battles a series of imagined foes from Mexican history and popular culture before facing the trickiest of opponents: las hermanitas! 40 pages.
Parrots over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore; illus. by Susan L. Roth (Lee & Low)
Sibert Award Winner
In this gorgeously illustrated history of the endangered Puerto Rican parrot, the blue-and-green birds witness early settlement on the island; decline disastrously in numbers due to human population growth and invasive species; then slowly make a comeback thanks to conservation efforts. 48 pages.
Mr. Wuffles! by David Wiesner; illus. by the author (Clarion)
Caldecott Honor Book
Housecat Mr. Wuffles toys with a tiny spaceship. The ship’s little green passengers, assisted by a ladybug, flee to the space under a radiator, which harbors a thriving insect civilization. Friendship ensues, food and technology are shared, repairs are made, and the cat is foiled. 32 pages.
For past years’ summer reading lists from The Horn Book, click on the tag summer reading.
The post 2014 Summer Reading from The Horn Book: Picture Books (Fiction and Nonfiction) appeared first on The Horn Book.
Educationalists will tell you how important it is for children to keep reading throughout the long summer break lest their ever-evolving literacy skills erode. Fine. That does not, however, excuse the frequently dreadful list of recommended or — eep — required reading that schools shoot out as one last salvo of homework just as everybody is looking forward to a nice break.
This list is not that list. Instead, the editors of the Horn Book hope you will find herein books kids — and you, too — will enjoy as part of the season’s leisure, every bit as delicious as ice cream. Dig in.
Picture Books (Fiction and Nonfiction) | Early Readers and Younger Fiction
Intermediate Fiction and Nonfiction | Middle School Fiction and Nonfiction
High School Fiction and Nonfiction
For a handy take-along list of titles, follow this link to a printable PDF.
Roger Sutton
Editor in Chief
The post 2014 Summer Reading Recommendations appeared first on The Horn Book.
By:
Roger Sutton,
on 5/12/2014
Blog:
Read Roger - The Horn Book editor's rants and raves
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
YA,
Reviews,
middle school,
booklists,
Reading for pleasure,
Recommended Books,
Summer reading,
Choosing Books,
summer reading 2014,
Add a tag
Need suggestions for beach reading or books to bring to summer camp? We’ve hand-picked our top ten in each age range, all published 2013–2014, that are ideal for the season. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion. For a handy take-along list of titles, follow this link to a printable PDF.
Picture Books (Fiction and Nonfiction) | Early Readers and Younger Fiction
Intermediate Fiction and Nonfiction | High School Fiction and Nonfiction
Middle School Fiction and Nonfiction
Suggested grade level for all entries: 6–8
Outside In by Sarah Ellis (Groundwood)
Lynn, raised by an irresponsible, unreliable bohemian mother, yearns for normalcy. After meeting Blossom, a girl whose family lives off the grid in a self-sufficient underground bunker, Lynn begins to see her city and her own experience through new eyes. 207 pages.
If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth (Levine/Scholastic)
Lewis, from the Tuscarora Indian Reservation in 1970s upstate New York, is beginning seventh grade at a mostly white junior high, and he’s tired of not fitting in. A friendship with newcomer George helps Lewis cope with loneliness and bullying. But does it constitute a betrayal of his identity? 360 pages.
The Clockwork Scarab [Stoker & Holmes] by Colleen Gleeson (Chronicle)
In alternate Victorian London, Mina Holmes (Sherlock’s niece) and Evaline Stoker (Bram’s sister) team up to solve a series of murders involving high-society girls, the British Museum, and ancient Egyptian artifacts. The story veers into sci-fi when an unwitting time-traveler, modern-day boy Dylan, arrives. 356 pages.
The Mad Potter: George E. Ohr, Eccentric Genius by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan (Porter/Roaring Brook)
Sibert Honor Book
“Eccentric” is an apt word for Ohr, a Mississippi blacksmith’s son (1857–1918) who reinvented himself as a potter. Greenberg and Jordan have produced a magisterial portrait that’s both a character study and an appreciation of their subject’s oeuvre. 56 pages.
Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design by Chip Kidd; illus. by the author (Workman)
This overview makes graphic design immediate and accessible, posing questions and answering them in engaging ways. The first four chapters — “Form,” “Typography,” “Content,” “Concept” — tackle design essentials and some advanced ideas. The final chapter presents “10 Design Projects.” 160 pages.
Far Far Away by Tom McNeal (Knopf)
Jeremy has the ability to hear ghosts; long-dead Jacob Grimm becomes his mentor and guardian. With Jacob’s help, Jeremy becomes a whiz at school and charms his crush Ginger — but the presence of the malevolent “Finder of Occasions” gives the story a shiver of horror as dark as any of the Grimm tales. 373 pages.
Cress [Lunar Chronicles] by Marissa Meyer (Feiwel)
This fairy tale/sci-fi hybrid series continues with a “Rapunzel”-inspired story. Cress, taken from her Lunar parents as a baby, is forced to live alone on a satellite, spying on the Earthens for Queen Levana. But her real loyalty lies with cyborg Cinder’s plan to protect Earth by dethroning the queen. 550 pages.
The Cracks in the Kingdom [Colors of Madeleine] by Jaclyn Moriarty (Levine/Scholastic)
In this sequel to the Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor winner A Corner of White, Madeleine (in Cambridge, England) and Elliot (in the Kingdom of Cello) continue to communicate through a “crack” between the two worlds. When the Cello royal family goes missing in Madeleine’s world, Madeleine and Elliot attempt to cross over themselves. 499 pages.
When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds (Atheneum)
Ali’s thing is boxing, Noodles’s is comic books, and Needles’s is…knitting, to help control his Tourette’s syndrome. The three friends live in Brooklyn’s tough Bed-Stuy neighborhood, but the book also shows how zip codes are just one aspect of people’s lives. 232 pages.
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan (Dial)
After her parents’ death, oddball twelve-year-old genius Willow Chance is taken in by her only friend, high schooler Mai Nguyen, Mai’s mother, and her surly brother Quang-ha. These initially disparate characters, plus cabdriver Jairo Hernandez, ultimately connect to form a new family. What sets this book apart are its lack of sentimentality and its truly multicultural cast. 380 pages.
For past years’ summer reading lists from The Horn Book, click on the tag summer reading.
The post 2014 Summer Reading from The Horn Book: Middle School Fiction and Nonfiction appeared first on The Horn Book.
By:
Roger Sutton,
on 5/12/2014
Blog:
Read Roger - The Horn Book editor's rants and raves
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Reviews,
booklists,
intermediate,
Reading for pleasure,
early readers,
Recommended Books,
Summer reading,
Choosing Books,
summer reading 2014,
Add a tag
Need suggestions for beach reading or books to bring to summer camp? We’ve hand-picked our top ten in each age range, all published 2013–2014, that are ideal for the season. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion. For a handy take-along list of titles, follow this link to a printable PDF.
Picture Books (Fiction and Nonfiction) | Intermediate Fiction and Nonfiction
Middle School Fiction and Nonfiction | High School Fiction and Nonfiction
Early Readers and Younger Fiction
Suggested grade level for all entries: K–3
Big Bad Wolf and Itsy Bitsy Spider [Urgency Emergency!] by Dosh Archer; illus. by the author (Whitman)
New readers are in for a treat with these British imports set in an emergency room where Doctor Glenda (a dog) and Nurse Percy (a rooster) ably assist their nursery-rhyme- and fairy-tale-character patients. 48 pages each.
The Miniature World of Marvin & James [Masterpiece Adventures] by Elise Broach; illus. by Kelly Murphy (Ottaviano/Holt)
This amiable debut in an early chapter book series follows the friendship of beetle Marvin and human boy James (from Broach’s middle grade novel Masterpiece). Marvin helps James pack for a week-long trip to the beach, then has adventures of his own inside the house. 104 pages.
Dog Days [Carver Chronicles] by Karen English; illus. by Laura Freeman (Clarion)
In this companion series to English’s Nikki and Deja books, Gavin is starting to fit in at Carver Elementary School. On the home front, he and his new pal Richard accidentally break a snow globe belonging to Gavin’s sister, and Gavin must take on a challenging dog-walking gig to earn the money to replace it. 122 pages.
Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman; illus. by Skottie Young (Harper/HarperCollins)
A father goes out for milk for his children’s cereal. He’s abducted by aliens, escapes from pirates, and saves the universe from destruction. Dad arrives home safely and tells the shaggy-dog tale to his kids — who, naturally, don’t believe a word of it. 113 pages.
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes; illus. by the author (Greenwillow)
Newbery Honor Book
Billy starts off on the wrong foot with his second-grade teacher; his seat isn’t next to his best friend; and he worries he may not be smart enough for school. The book is divided into four parts (each focusing on an important person in Billy’s life) that together offer a vivid portrait of a boy coming into his confidence. 229 pages.
Ling & Ting Share a Birthday by Grace Lin; illus. by the author (Little, Brown)
The terrific twins from Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same! are back in this birthday-themed offering, this time buying presents, baking cakes, and making wishes. Once again, young readers will enjoy spotting the differences (big and small) between these identical twin sisters with distinct personalities. 48 pages.
The Big Wet Balloon by Liniers; illus. by the author (Toon/Candlewick)
Matilda teaches her little sister Clemmie how to catch raindrops on her tongue, jump in puddles, and search for worms, as pictured in the panels of this early-reader comic. Amidst her excitement, Matilda mistakenly releases Clemmie’s precious red birthday balloon into the sky. 40 pages.
Lulu and the Cat in the Bag by Hilary McKay; illus. by Priscilla Lamont (Whitman)
Grandmother Nan is taking care of Lulu and her cousin Mellie, and they’re all staying at Lulu’s house so they can tend to her many rescued pets. When kindhearted Lulu finds a large cat on her doorstep, there’s a problem: Nan is not a cat person. 84 pages.
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli; illus. by the author (Hyperion)
Geisel Medal Winner
A watermelon-loving crocodile imagines the worst after swallowing a seed: “it’s growing in my guts! Soon vines will come out of my ears!” After much fretting, the croc burps and brings the seed back up. Crisis over…until the next bite. 32 pages.
A Big Guy Took My Ball! by Mo Willems; illus. by the author (Hyperion)
Geisel Honor Book
Piggie is upset when a “big guy” takes her “big ball.” In fact, the ball belongs to a whale, who calls it his “little” ball. When Piggie and Gerald learn that the whale is lonely, they invent a new game for the trio to play together. 64 pages.
For past years’ summer reading lists from The Horn Book, click on the tag summer reading.
The post 2014 Summer Reading from The Horn Book: Early Readers and Younger Fiction appeared first on The Horn Book.
Need suggestions for beach reading or books to bring to summer camp? We’ve hand-picked our top ten in each age range, all published 2013–2014, that are ideal for the season. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion. For a handy take-along list of titles, follow this link to a printable PDF.
Picture Books (Fiction and Nonfiction) | Early Readers and Younger Fiction
Middle School Fiction and Nonfiction | High School Fiction and Nonfiction
Intermediate Fiction and Nonfiction
Suggested grade level for all entries: 4–6
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Appelt; illus. by Jennifer Bricking (Atheneum)
A gang of feral hogs is thundering toward Bayou Tourterelle, delirious at the prospect of wild sugarcane; raccoon Swamp Scouts Bingo and J’miah are ready for them. A human drama unfolds, too, as Chap Brayburn and his mother try to save the bayou from being turned into a theme park. 330 pages.
Doll Bones by Holly Black; illus. by Eliza Wheeler (McElderry)
Newbery Honor Book
Twelve-year-old Zach and his friends Poppy and Alice play an elaborate game with their dolls. When Poppy is haunted by dreams of a girl whose ashes are inside the game’s queen doll, the kids embark on an adventure to lay the girl’s ghost to rest. 247 pages.
Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo; illus. by K. G. Campbell (Candlewick)
Newbery Medal Winner
Ten-year-old Flora’s life changes when she saves a squirrel from a near-death experience with a vacuum cleaner. Flora’s lively imagination allows her to believe resilient “Ulysses” is bound for superhero greatness. There’s only one problem: her self-absorbed, squirrel-hating mother. 232 pages.
From Norvelt to Nowhere by Jack Gantos (Farrar)
In 2012 Newbery Medal winner Dead End in Norvelt, Mr. Spizz allegedly poisoned seven old ladies to get to his true love, Miss Volker. Now Miss Volker enlists narrator Jack to accompany her on a wild road trip as she hunts down Spizz . 278 pages.
The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata; illus. by Julia Kuo (Atheneum)
National Book Award Winner
Twelve-year-old Summer’s parents are helping relatives in Japan so they can’t go “on harvest” this year. Summer’s grandfather, Jiichan, comes out of retirement to drive a combine, while her grandmother, Obaachan, cooks for the work crew. When a crisis hits, Summer gathers her courage and saves the day. 273 pages.
Bluffton: My Summers with Buster by Matt Phelan; illus. by the author (Candlewick)
This graphic novel tells the fictionalized story of young Buster Keaton’s summertime stays in Bluffton, Michigan, with the Actor’s Colony. Townie Henry is enchanted by the acting folk, and begins to dream of joining the show. 227 pages.
Romeo Blue by Phoebe Stone (Levine/Scholastic)
This sequel to The Romeo and Juliet Code continues the adventures of Flissy and the Bathburn clan in 1942 Bottlebay, Maine. Though the Coast Guard is patrolling for U-boats, life goes on, with boy-girl crushes, school dances, and, as always, secrets. Then a surprise arrival upends Flissy’s expectations in ways that are breathtakingly complex. 350 pages.
One Came Home by Amy Timberlake (Knopf)
Newbery Honor Book
In this gripping and entertaining mystery set in 1870s Wisconsin, protagonist Georgie’s older sister Agatha is found dead (but unrecognizable). Sure there has been a mistake, Georgie and her sister’s unwelcome suitor Billy McCabe set off to find Agatha — or, at least, to find out how she died. 259 pages.
How I Became a Ghost: A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story by Tim Tingle (RoadRunner)
Narrator Isaac – a ghost – is alive and well at the start of this Trail of Tears story, beginning in the Choctaw Nation in Mississippi in 1830. But soon there is Treaty Talk, followed by the arrival of Nahullo (white) men, and the Choctaw must begin their journey west. 145 pages.
The Dolphins of Shark Bay [Scientists in the Field] by Pamela S. Turner; photos by Scott Tuason (Houghton)
In the ocean waters of Western Australia, scientists investigate the behaviors of the highly intelligent bottlenose dolphin, which, unique among the species, uses tools. The detailed descriptions of the scientists’ day-to-day activities provide a window into the practice of animal behavior studies. 76 pages.
For past years’ summer reading lists from The Horn Book, click on the tag summer reading.
The post 2014 Summer Reading from The Horn Book: Intermediate Fiction and Nonfiction appeared first on The Horn Book.
Truly accomplished picture book art not only works with and complements a text but also expands on the story, sometimes even offering an alternate version — or stepping in completely when there are no words at all (as with the three wordless Caldecott Honors this year). With sweeping panoramic vistas, zippy gouache cartoons, photos of meticulous handicrafts, and more, the illustrations in these wordless (or nearly wordless) picture books from the last year, appearing in the fall 2013 and spring 2014 issues of The Horn Book Guide, narrate stories, create drama, and inspire thought all on their own.
—Katrina Hedeen
Assistant Editor, The Horn Book Guide
Dematons, Charlotte Holland
56 pp. Lemniscaat 2013 ISBN 978-1-935954-28-6
Gr. K–3 In a series of twenty-seven oversize, wordless, and meticulous picture book spreads, French illustrator Dematons celebrates her adopted country. Sure, you’ll find a windmill or two and some tulips among the images, but what’s most impressive here is the sheer amount of human drama, architectural detail, and intricacies of land- and cityscapes to be found in each picture. Brueghel would be proud.
Dudley, Rebecca Hank Finds an Egg
40 pp. Peter Pauper 2013 ISBN 978-1-4413-1158-0
Gr. K–3 In this wordless offering, Hank finds an egg in the forest and spends the book’s length trying to figure out how to return it to its nest. His noble efforts are shown through impressive staged photographs in which Dudley has hand-crafted every element, from Hank (he resembles a stuffed animal) to the leaf blanket with which he warms himself in
the woods.
Judge, Lita Red Hat
40 pp. Atheneum 2013 ISBN 978-1-4424-4232-0
PS In this almost wordless book, a frisky bear steals a girl’s knitted hat and starts a wild chase with some other animals. It’s just a tangle of yarn when they’re done, but no matter — the girl knits another hat, plus garments for the animals. The illustrations create plenty of page-turning momentum, and the occasional comment (“Wut-whoa”) or sound effect (“Shwooop”) adds humor.
LaRochelle, David Moo!
32 pp. Walker 2013 ISBN 978-0-8027-3409-9
PS Illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka. The story is simple: a cow takes the farmer’s car for a joy ride with disastrous results. It’s simply told with one word: moo. The active gouache illustrations depict most of the drama of the cow’s wild ride, while the single-word text conveys meaning through different fonts, sizes, and graphics. Nonreaders will delight in “reading” this on their own.
Pett, Mark The Boy and the Airplane
40 pp. Simon 2013 ISBN 978-1-4424-5123-0
Gr. K–3 A little boy’s beloved toy airplane gets stuck on the roof, so he plants a seed in the ground, which, like him, grows, until he’s an old man who climbs the tree and retrieves the toy, before passing it on to a little girl. This inspiring wordless book’s refined pencil and watercolor art keeps the focus where it should be: on the wonder of organic change.
Thomson, Bill Fossil
32 pp. Amazon 2013 ISBN 978-1477847008
Gr. K–3 While walking on the beach, a boy discovers a fossil that releases some prehistoric magic that puts his dog in danger. The gripping wordless story that follows is told through Thomson’s hand-crafted photorealistic illustrations, which the publisher emphasizes “are not photographs or computer generated images.” The smooth images are too painterly to be mistaken for photos, but it’s remarkable that they are without technological enhancement.
Timmers, Leo Bang
40 pp. Gecko 2013 ISBN 978-1-877579-18-9
Gr. K–3 Facing pages show one animal-driven vehicle on the verge of colliding with another. An illustration following the inevitable “bang” (the text’s only word, save a single “eeeeeeeeeeeeee”) reveals the unique result of each (gentle) crash: e.g., truck tires end up around the neck of a sports car–driving giraffe. The surprise-strewn art culminates in a glorious collision with — what else? — a paint truck.
Villa, Alvaro F. Flood
32 pp. Capstone 2013 ISBN 978-1-4048-7535-7
Gr. K–3 In this wordless book, painterly spreads show a family of four at its river-flanked home preparing for a storm, learning of the storm’s projected severity, leaving the house, returning to find it wrecked, and working with others to restore it. This harrowing but immensely moving account is less about nature’s capacity to destroy than about people’s capacity to rebound and help.
From the March/April 2014 issue of The Horn Book Magazine: Special Issue: Illustration. These reviews are from The Horn Book Guide and The Horn Book Guide Online. For information about subscribing to the Guide and the Guide Online, please click here.
The post From the Guide: Wordless Picture Books appeared first on The Horn Book.
Just as the proof of the pudding is in the eating, real appreciation of a picture book depends on more than a first taste, or a first look; truer evaluation becomes possible only after savoring every nuance. At first glance, illustrations may delight us with their beauty — their drafting, palette, forms, composition; with how they embody emotion, or childhood itself. One artist charms with humor, well-paced action, or visual harmony. Another captures the imagination with a beloved character or a story distilled to its irreducible essence.
But to seek a year’s “most distinguished” illustrations — to choose a Caldecott winner — is to look again: to tune in to rhythms, consider trajectories, discover details and connections; and to hope that such particulars will offer the kind of epiphany E. E. Cummings called “everything / which is natural which is infinite which is yes.” A detailed study of some of 2011’s best picture books, medaled and not, made me both more critical and more appreciative. It revealed limitations, missed on first reading, of some appealing titles; contrariwise, in the best ones, I now perceived finer crafting, richer meaning.
Here, then, are some books that seemed to merit serious consideration for the award, or that helped illuminate issues involved in a final choice. Several of these arrest the eye with their extraordinary simplicity. One such, I Want My Hat Back, was frequently mentioned as a Caldecott contender. In Jon Klassen’s neatly balanced compositions, a bear — still as a statue through much of the book — meets other near-immobile creatures in minimal settings. Only the animals’ alert, stylized eyes suggest the drama that will finally erupt on a revelatory solid-red page and set up the story’s sly conclusion. Klassen’s digitally created illustrations are austere. It’s those eyes that focus attention on what’s seen (and unseen) until memory triggers the bear’s retrospective vision — a clever scenario, elegantly rendered.
Patricia Intriago’s Dot, composed as it is of simple shapes and lines, is even more spare. Yet this able graphic designer telegraphs a lot with her graphic forms, using small additions and alterations in size, conformation, or color to convey motion and emotion, sound, taste, and more, including the night sky. Another virtuoso performance is Michael Hall’s exploration of the transformative possibilities of collages improvised, like tangrams, from squares. Like Dot, Hall’s Perfect Square is an exercise in graphic possibility, but Hall brings more ingenuity and a sense of story to the process. He tears, snips, or otherwise divides each square, then reassembles it in a simple scene, with a new color each weekday. On Sunday, the square — cleverly escaping its shape’s constraints — becomes a window through which the earlier scenes are recapped in a rainbow finale.
Lois Ehlert’s art, too, is rooted in graphic design. In RRRalph, she composes a dog from amusingly recognizable objects like buttons, a pop-top, and a zipper. Ralph, a character of buoyant, spread-dominating energy,enacts such pun-ready sounds as wolf, rough, and bark. Printed in handsome boldface, Ralph’s “words” and the large-type commentary by his unseen human are as intrinsic to the striking design as Ralph himself. These minimalist titles may not have the singular quality that evokes that rare sense of Cummings’s “Yes”; still, they’re entirely worthy, fine just as they are.
A Confusion of Princes
by Garth Nix
Middle School, High School Harper/HarperCollins 337 pp.
5/12 978-0-06-009694-6 $17.99
Library ed. 978-0-06-009695-3 $18.89 g
Nix’s gaming-inspired, sci-fi fantasy is a pleasing mix of high-adventure space drama, total bunkum (e.g., “it’s functioning on the tertiary backup level, without a holo…”), and wry, boyish charm. Khemri’s coming-of-age story begins with his emergence from years of genetic and technical “remaking” to take up his title of Prince. But he’s only one of millions of Princes in the Empire, and immediately finds that Princely life isn’t the easy, glamorous ride he’d imagined. Instead he has to join the Navy, suffer manifold humiliations, and, if he wants to live, heed his personal Master of Assassins. But Khemri’s telepathic intelligence is above average, and eventually he moves into a new sort of training that involves him becoming an almost normal human. That experience and his native intelligence cause him to reinterpret everything he’s been taught about the Empire. Nix’s fantasy has enough gadgets, escapes, battles, duels, deaths, and near-death experiences to keep die-hard adventure story readers enthralled. Happily, Khemri is also a thoughtful, winsome, and somewhat complex character, and his cheerfully self-deprecating tone and unpredictable choices make this romp entertaining on multiple levels.
Code Name Verity
by Elizabeth Wein
High School Hyperion 337 pp.
5/12 978-1-4231-5219-4 $16.99 g
e-book ed. 978-1-4231-5325-2 $16.99
Wein’s exceptional—downright sizzling—abilities as a writer of historical adventure fiction are spectacularly evident in this taut, captivating story of two young women, spy and pilot, during World War II. Wein gives us the story in two consecutive parts—the first an account by Queenie (a.k.a. Lady Julia Beaufort-Stuart), a spy captured by the SS during a mission in Nazi-occupied France. Queenie has bargained with Hauptsturmführer von Linden to write what she knows about the British war effort in order to postpone her inevitable execution. Sounding like a cross between Swallows and Amazons’s Nancy Blackett and Mata Hari, she alternately succumbs to, cheeks, and charms her captors (and readers) as she duly writes her report and, mostly, tells the story of her best friend Maddie, the pilot who dropped her over France, then crashed. Spoiler: unbeknownst to Queenie, Maddie survived the crash; part two is Maddie’s “accident report” and account of her efforts to save Queenie. Wein gives us multiple doubletakes and surprises as she ratchets up the tension in Maddie’s story, revealing Queenie’s joyously clever duplicity and the indefatigable courage of both women. This novel positively soars, in part no doubt because the descriptions of flying derive from Wein’s own experience as a pilot. But it’s outstanding in all its features—its warm, ebullient characterization; its engagement with historical facts; its ingenious plot and dramatic suspense; and its intelligent, vivid writing.
By:
Roger Sutton,
on 5/1/2012
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When I was a child, growing up in the various parts of India to which my father’s job took us, books were my friends, and I liked them funny. I discovered my grandfather’s P. G. Wodehouse collection at the age of eleven and was at once enchanted by the amiable lunacy of fictional worlds like the Drones Club and Blandings Castle. Lovable and ludicrous, they allowed me to claim an understanding of characters very different from me. I was at that age when laughter comes easily and convoluted story lines feel newly accessible. Plum’s immortal farces were a gift.
But funny isn’t something we’re taught to respect. That could be why, when writers embark on the serious business of crossing cultural boundaries in their work, they don’t often start out with humor. In 2004, Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith spoke at the Reading the World conference about the dearth of funny books with cultural resonance. Why, they asked, are multicultural books so very serious?
It was a valid question then. What’s surprising is the degree to which it remains valid today, especially in books for middle-grade readers. Books set in foreign countries are still largely about oppression, while those in hyphenated-American communities are about the challenges of finding oneself and becoming American. While many have humorous moments, they are not, by and large, funny books.
It seems especially necessary that children’s books, in the balance, convey more than a one-dimensional image of “the other,” yet the identity tale of oppressed people continues to dominate those books dubbed “multicultural.” Perhaps the problem is that the very notion of a culturally grounded story is perceived as worthy and important, not concepts we associate with laughter. But the truth is that you can’t see people as fully human if all you can feel for them is pity. Funny books with cultural contexts are capable of subverting and questioning issues of identity and belonging. By upsetting worthy apple carts, they offer new and necessary views of characters with cultural connections beyond the mainstream.
The pioneer in mixing humor with matters of race, culture, and, yes, oppression is undoubtedly Christopher Paul Curtis. The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 was published in 1995. The scene in which Byron’s lips get stuck to the family car’s side-view mirror is the one most readers call to mind, but there are others, many of them much more pointed than that one, as when the boys are faced with the prospect of going to the bathroom in the woods. Byron says, sardonically, “Snakes? I ain’t scared of no damn snake, it’s the people I’m worried about.” He means white people, of course, on the family’s journey south. The humor slams the reader with the grimness of the circumstances, even while it gives the characters a means of coping.
Humor in The Watsons is a mechanism Curtis uses to lead readers to an understanding of the insidiousness of racism and discrimination. It allows us to align clearly with one group of people and against another, in a deliberate stance that counters the prejudices of the period. If you’re with Kenny and his family, you can’t condone the racism they have to endure. Inequity, discrimination, and injustice give thematic impetus to the characters’ journeys. Because we can laugh, we can bear to navigate those obstacles along with them.
Since 1995, other writers of multicultural books have ventured into humorous terrain. In Julia Alvarez’s How Tía Lola Came to Visit Stay, the unorthodox use of a strikeout in the title places a tongue-in-cheek tonal stamp on the work before the reader has turned a single page. It’s plain that this relative is about to change young Miguel’s life forever. He can’t hold out against this woman who is practically a force of nature, and neither can the reader. Her character, larger than life and twice as real, creates a playfulness that runs through the book and it
The books recommended below were published within the last several years. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion.
PICTURE BOOKS
Suggested grade level for all entries: K-3
The Great Migration: Journey to the North written by Eloise Greenfield; illus. by Jan Spivey Gilchrist (HarperCollins/Amistad)
Poignant poems (accompanied by collage illustrations of cut paper, ephemera, paint, and photographs) relate the Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the cities of the North. 32 pages.
Never Forgotten written by Patricia C. McKissack; illus. by Leo and Diane Dillon (Random/Schwartz & Wade)
The four Mother Elements travel from 1725 Mali to South Carolina, where missing boy Mustafa has been enslaved. The rousing illustrations—bold, complex, and lucid—impart dramatic conviction. 48 pages.
Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku written by Lee Wardlaw; illus. by Eugene Yelchin (Holt)
In a series of haiku (technically “senryu”), a cat narrates the story of his adoption from a shelter and his new life. Graphite and gouache pictures match the poems’ sensitivity and humor. 40 pages.
INTERMEDIATE FICTION
Suggested grade level for all entries: 7 and up
All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg (Scholastic)
Vietnamese American Matt feels responsible for horrific injuries his little brother sustained in Vietnam during the war. Powerful images adeptly capture his painful memories. Grade level: 4-6. 219 pages.
Planet Middle School by Nikki Grimes (Bloomsbury)
Twelve-year-old Joy is self-conscious about being considered a tomboy in middle school. Breezy prose poems explore changing relationships and individuality versus gender-role conformity. Grade level: 4-6. 155 pages.
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (HarperCollins/Harper)
Lai recounts events resembling her own family’s 1975 flight from Saigon. Vividly imagined verse captures the disorientation of changing cultures and a refugee’s complex emotions and loyalties. Grade level: 4-6. 263 pages.
Pearl Verses the World written by Sally Murphy; illus. by Heather Potter (Candlewick)
In this extended free-verse monologue, Pearl tells of her grandmother’s last days. An unpretentious voice accords Pearl dignity in her grief. Personality-rich drawings support the gentle tone. Grade level: 4-6. 73 pages.
Eddie’s War by Carol Fisher Saller (Namelos)
Beginning in 1934, brothers Eddie and Tom develop friendships, discover family secrets, and ponder the European conflict and their own community’s prejudice. Beautifully phrased vignettes create an authentic window into the past. Grade level: 4-6. 194 pages.
May B. by Caroline Starr Rose (Random/Schwartz & Wade)
On a Kansas prairie homestead, May is snowed in, unable to send for help. A close-up lens and a fine sense of rhythm relate the tense plot of dwindling supplies, lurking wolves, and claustrophobia. Grade level: 3-6. 240 pages.
Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson by Charles R. Smith, Jr.; illus. by Shane W. Evans (Roaring Brook/Porter)
This heavyweight’s quest to be champion was hampered by white title-holders; his persistence was eventually rewarded. Quotes of the time and oil paintings complement the ballad-style narrative. Grade level: 4-6. 40 pages.
OLDER FICTION
By:
Roger Sutton,
on 4/20/2012
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Just to get a sense of historical perspective, when I last spoke at this festival, there was no euro, no iPods, no Wikipedia, no Facebook; Pluto was still a planet; and I was still drinking. More to the point—today’s point—is that Harry Potter had yet to appear on our side of the pond. That would happen in the fall of 1998.
Harry Potter revealed a lot about children’s reading and changed how children’s books were published. I’d like to examine just how the world of books for children and young adults has changed since the last time I was here.
People throw around plenty of notions about what kids like to read. Or if kids like to read. Boys won’t read about girls, for example, a maxim of our profession to which British publisher Bloomsbury kowtowed (as did Viking almost fifty years ago with The Outsiders) by persuading Joanne Rowling to forgo the use of her first name on the cover, substituting her first initial and that of a pretended middle name. (She didn’t have one, so she took the initial of her grandmother Kathleen.) Would it have made a difference if the author of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone—more about that title in a minute—had been known from the start as Joanne Rowling, a lady? I propose that the biggest difference, if there was one, would be that adults would be the ones automatically thinking “girl book” and thus tailoring their recommendation of the book with that in mind.
And Harry Potter turned another piece of conventional wisdom on its head—that kids don’t like to read long books. Or books that have hard words like philosopher in the title, which had prompted Scholastic’s change to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Oh, do let’s keep going: kids don’t like hardcovers, kids don’t like books set in foreign countries, and to combine the two, kids won’t spend their own money on hardcover books set in foreign countries. Now let’s subtract. Take away the foreign countries; kids won’t spend their own money on hardcover books. Take away the hardcover; kids won’t spend their own money on books unless they are popular paperbacks.
And let’s take away the question of money altogether to reveal the conventional wisdom that unfortunately provides the basis of much of our work as teachers and librarians: kids don’t like to read. Kids must be forced to read, tricked into reading, bargained into reading. Like the terms disgruntled employee and scantily clad, reluctant reader is a compound cliché, one that slips far too easily from our professional tongues.
I could go on a long rant about this but will instead just give you a few points to consider:
Point one: Reluctant to read what? If you put down that novel and look around, you will see that lots of so-called reluctant readers are reading plenty; they just aren’t reading fiction, which in this age constitutes “real reading” as defined by “real readers”—mainly teachers and librarians. It wasn’t always thus; think of the first book to win the Newbery Medal, Hendrik Willem Van Loon’s The Story of Mankind.
Point two: If reluctance to read is considered the default, how do we feel about kids who already like to read? Do they get less attention by virtue of the fact that they don’t seem to need us as much? They do need us; in fact they are us, so let’s give them more respect.
Point three: Car commercials aren’t there to convince us to take up driving. Why do so many books, especially for younger children, belabor the point that reading is fun? A good book should be its own argument.
Let’s look at some more arithmetic, brought to you courtesy of The Horn Book Guide
The Mighty Miss Malone
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Intermediate, Middle School Lamb/Random 309 pp.
1/12 978-0-385-73491-2 $15.99
Library ed. 978-0-385-90487-2 $18.99
e-book ed. 978-0-375-89736-8 $10.99
To her father, twelve-year-old Deza Malone is “my Darling Daughter Deza,” “that sassy, smart, beautiful, charming little girl…my Mighty Miss Malone.” But it’s 1936, and the Depression has hit Gary, Indiana, hard. The loving Malone family is desperately poor and withering away. Older brother Jimmie hasn’t grown in three years, Mrs. Malone’s clothes hang on her, and Deza’s teeth are so bad it’s as if she’s rotting from the inside. In one poignant scene, Deza overhears her beloved father say to her mother, “I can’t breathe out of my nose when I’m near Deza because of the smell of her teeth. How sick is that?” Mr. Malone lights out for Flint, Michigan, in search of work, planning to write when his family can join him. But when they don’t hear, they journey to Flint in search of him. As incandescent and full of good cheer as Deza is (and as she was when introduced in Bud, Not Buddy, rev. 11/99, as the little girl who kissed Bud in a Hooverville camp), and as funny as the book’s early scenes are, this is an angry novel, unflinching in its portrayal of poverty, with plenty of resonance with the fifteen million poor children in the United States today. There’s certainly a measure of hope, hard won, by the end of the novel, but this is a depiction of a family and a nation that embody poet Robert Burns’s lines, much repeated here: “the best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft a-gley.
Yesterday afternoon, my friend Kirk and I went to see Marilyn Horne give a masterclass at Harvard. The location was incidental, as the event was actually sponsored by Oberlin, where Horne is Distinguished Professor of Voice, and the four singers had all worked with her there. (Many thanks to Oberlin alum Elissa, who scored us the tickets.)
The masterclass took place in Harvard’s Paine Hall, whose interior walls are on three sides inscribed with the names of 26 composers, chosen when the hall was being finished in 1913-14. It’s all dead great European men from the 19th century and earlier. Some of the names have worn better than others. At one point, while guiding a young soprano through “Porgi, Amor,” Horne happened to glance up at the frieze of names and exclaimed “Couperin?! How did HE get up there?” And worse was to come when Horne noticed that her career stalwart Rossini was absent from the roster.
It made me wonder who the names on a children’s-book frieze would be, if we used a basic criteria of “dead but important and still singing to readers.” Let me take a stab at 26: Alcott, Andersen, Barrie, Baum, Bemelmans, Burnett, Carroll, Collodi, Grahame, Grimm, Keats, Kipling, L’Engle, Lewis, Lindgren, McCloskey, Milne, Perrault, Potter, Seuss, Spyri, Stevenson, Wilder, Twain, Travers, White. Hmm, all white and mostly male. Is that me, the canon, or both?
A hundred years ago, on April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank on her maiden voyage. Speaking for many, Don Brown concludes his account (see below) with these words: “Though gone from view, she remains fixed on the horizon of our imagination, where she steams endlessly, haunting us.” And for good reason.
Swirling around the disaster are issues of man vs. nature, class structure, irony, drama, and a host of what-ifs and what-might-have-beens. These elements are a writer’s dream. Add to them a natural trajectory with rising action (the first days of the voyage) climax (the iceberg collision) and falling action (rescue, or death), and you’ve got a perfect story. And many a one has been written.
But, in the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction department, fine dramatic nonfiction also chronicles the disaster. There are those books emphasizing the size (it was, after all, the maritime Tyrannosaurus rex) and features of the ship; the voyage itself; and survival.
Typically, books about the Titanic have come in spurts: immediately after the disaster; when Robert Ballard found the wreckage of the ship; and at various anniversaries, including this centennial. Each of these periods, like rock strata, reveal new information and changing interpretations. For example, initial accounts state that the iceberg tore a hole in the ship. When Robert Ballard first saw the wreckage, he suggested rivets failed under pressure and caused the boat to sink, while later scientists hypothesize that the weak steel failed and caused the disaster. But here’s the beauty of Titanic literature. Assuming that young Titanic enthusiasts will read more than one book, they will find many of the same players and some conflicting information even down to the number of individuals saved and lost. As a body, this literature gives youngsters a chance to evaluate sources, from the early newspaper articles (“Titanic’s Passengers All Rescued!”) to sometimes faulty eyewitness accounts (perhaps the ship did not sink perpendicular to the waterline) to outdated material. For example, in 1985 Robert Ballard believed that the ship and her contents would remain undisturbed on the ocean floor. But today there is an auction of Titanic artifacts. How could that happen? And that’s precisely the kind of question young people should be asking of the books and materials they read.
The books below are listed in order of reading difficulty.
Crisp, Marty. Titanicat; illus. by Robert Papp. Sleeping Bear Press. 2008. ISBN 978-1-58536-355-1.
It’s no surprise that a book for the youngest of listeners avoids the trip all together. Here, a young ship’s boy cares for a litter of kittens, and when one escapes at Southampton, he goes ashore to rescue it and thus misses the sailing. An interview with survivor Paddy Scott provides the basic story for this picture book.
Stewart, Melissa. Titanic. National Geographic. 2012. lib ISBN: 978-1-4263-1060-7; pb ISBN: 978-1-4263-1059-5.
Smart formatting makes this book particularly accessible to beginning readers. Clear photographs with informative, boxed captions; several numbered lists, such as “10 Cool Things About Titanic”; a timeline; and sidebars defining unfamiliar terms are nicely integrated with expository prose that describes the ship, briefly covers the voyage and disaster (with only two sentences about lost souls); rescue; and thoughts about how the disaster could have been averted. Also recommended for this age group is The Titanic Lost and Found (by Judy Donnelly and illus. by Keith Kohler. Random House. 1987. ISBN: 0-394-8866-9-0), which provides a straight chronological account beginning with departure fr
Winner: Shane W. Evans for Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom (Roaring Brook/Porter)
Review in The Horn Book Magazine, January/February 2011
With dramatic images and minimal narrative, Evans projects a “we-are-there” experience of fugitives on the run, escaping slavery. The figures are eerily disembodied, and many of the double-page spreads feature a two-word text such as “The darkness” or “The fear” or “We run.” White stars (not apparently resembling the Big Dipper–North Star guide) stand out against a richly textured midnight blue, as do the triangular whites of the fugitives’ eyes and the bold white typeface itself. A golden sun rises on the final view of freedom, and while a few of the scenes are ambiguous (with both escaping slaves and bounty hunters sometimes characterized by large-brimmed hats), the action will become clear to children who have been primed with background information. Neither the note, which includes facts about U.S. slavery, nor the text refers specifically to African Americans as the oppressed group, but the back cover, concluding pages, and iconic clothing convey racial identity. Parents and teachers discussing black history with five- and six year-olds can follow contextual explanations with this visually intense evocation, ideally paired with other books, for slightly older readers, such as Carole Boston Weatherford’s Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. BETSY HEARNE
Honor: Kadir Nelson for Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray)
Starred review in The Horn Book Magazine, November/December 2011
“Most folks my age and complexion don’t speak much about the past,” begins the unnamed narrator of this graceful and personalized overview of African-American history. But this doesn’t stop her from telling the story in a sweeping account that succinctly covers history from the Colonial era to the present day. The aged woman tells of her own grandfather, who was captured in Africa at age six and illegally sold into slavery in 1850. From Pap’s story, we get a sense of what it was like to be a slave, a Union soldier, a sharecropper during Reconstruction, and a Buffalo soldier in Oklahoma; eventually he heads north to Chicago as part of the Great Migration. From there, the narrator takes over with a first-person narrative that includes the women’s suffrage movement, the Depression, World War II, and the civil rights movement, and ends with the pride she felt voting for President Obama. “As I cast my vote, I thought about my grandfather Pap, who didn’t live to see this moment, and my three children and two brothers, who did.” As in We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball (rev. 5/08), Nelson effectively creates a voice that is at once singular and representative. Each page of text is accompanied by a magnificent oil painting, most of which are moving portraits—some of famous figures such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, and Joe Louis; others of unnamed African-Americans, such as a Revolutionary War soldier, a child cleaning cotton, and a factory worker. The illustrations (forty-seven in all, including six dramatic double-page spreads), combined with the narrative, give us a sense of intimacy, as if we are hearing an elder tell stories as we look at an album of family photographs. A tour de for
by Alison Murray
Finding a book that is appealing and the appropriate reading level for a child can be a daunting task. Sometimes kids don’t want to take a risk and read material for which they are clearly ready. Other times children will choose books that are far beyond their capabilities. Here are six easy steps for parents to follow when helping their child choose appropriate level reading material. These steps will become second nature for children when they begin to independently pick their own books.
1. Look at the cover – The cover will provide the reader with some idea as to character, setting, and plot. Remember the old adage, however, and don’t judge a book by its cover, alone. Follow the next 5 steps as well to see if this is going to be a book that will interest the reader.
2. Read the title and the author — Read over the title and the author with your child. Maybe this book is by an author that the child has heard or read before and really enjoys. Sometimes children don’t always pick out the author’s name and it is good for an adult to make sure they understand where to locate the author on the cover. This same rule extends to the illustrator as well.
3. Read the blurb in the back – The short synopsis found at the back of most books will give the child an idea of what is going on in the book. It will also provide just enough information to get the reader to read the entire book to find out what else happens in the story.
4. Flip through the book – Look through the book. Notice any illustrations. Take note of the spacing and letter size. These are all good indicators of level of book. The more spacing and bigger letter size is indicative of younger age level. (Unless it is for the visually impaired).
5. Read the first page – Read the first page through with your child to see if the book is one that he/she would still like to choose.
6. Use the 5 Finger Rule – Flip to any page in the book. Have your child read down the page and place a finger on words they do not know.
0-1 fingers – Too Easy
2-3 fingers – Just Right
4-5 fingers – Too Hard
By following the above steps, you should be on your way to finding a book that is not only enjoyable but at the right level for your child. Happy reading!
Alison Murray is a member of the Working Writer’s Club and a Resource teacher with 23 years of experience in the Manitoba education system. Alison has long been interested in writing and has a special interest in researching for non-fiction articles and books. She has completed two courses from the Institute for Children’s Literature.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alison_Murray
Choosing books for K-6 grade students
This week in the Library we spent quite a bit of time talking about how to look books up in our catalog and how to choose the right book. I noticed last year and this year that we have had fourth and fifth graders carrying around copies of Stephanie Meyer's very popular
Twilight Series. To be honest, I was bothered. I'm not for censoring books or telling students they can't read a certain book. Instead, I try to guide them to books that are not only at or slightly above their reading level but also, most importantly, books that have age appropriate content and are stories they can comprehend. While the Twilight series might be fine in a middle school and high school school library, I don't think it's appropriate elementary age children.
Busy parents sometimes don't have time to read the books their children are reading but there are some great ways to find out the appropriateness of a book. One of the easiest is to go on amazon.com and see if there is a review by
Booklist or
School Library Journal. For example, the reviews of the book
Twilight clearly state that they are for grades 9 and up. Another new website that has a search feature by age and grade level is
Jacket Flap .
A Book and A Hug is another great one that can give parents suggestions about books at appropriate age levels. There are several more to your right in the links section of this blog.
Choosing the right book is a skill and we do work on that in our library lessons. This week grades 3-5 learned again about the "5 finger rule" to check for words they don't understand or can't read, and also how to look at the summary of the book on the jacket flap or on the back of the book to see if the book would appeal to them. Then they practiced reading the first couple of pages to see if the writer had "hooked" them into the story. We also reviewed how to search for books by author, title, or subject in our online catalog.
Grade 1--This week first graders heard the charming story
Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson. Fletcher is a sweet little fox who tries to rescue falling leaves only to find that the tree is really okay, especially when it is transformed into beauty with the first snow.
Grade 2--Is it fiction or non-fiction??? Second graders saw a Keynote presentation on the differences between fiction and non-fiction and then we played a game of "Bookworm Says..." Each student was given a command--Bookworm says,"Find a fiction book!" or "Find a non-fiction book!" and they chose from an array of books on our main library table. We had a lot of fun and then when they checked out their book of choice for this week they had to tell me whether it was fiction or non-fiction.
Kindgergarten will start library next week when they stay in the afternoon and Sixth graders missed library this week but had an adventurous week at AstroCamp.
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Thank you for this post! I am an elementary librarian at a PK-5 school and many of my colleagues and I have noticed the same issue. I had not thought about directing students and parents to the very reviews I use for collection development, but I will now!