Since I read this book to 32 classes, 650 kids, I think it should count in my total reads for the year.

Though it only has 32 pages.

And even though every page has only twenty words on it.

But it is a deep book. So it should count. No, scratch that. Not deep. But clever. Yes, I think we can agree that it is quite clever.

Over the heads of most of my youngest library visitors. But, hey, they got some of it. Enough that it is now on the top 10 Most Checked Out Books list. And that’s what really makes it count.

287. Generosity by Richard Powers

I call myself a big Richard Powers fan. I’ve only read one Powers book, but it was a wham-doozy. I often list it on my favorite all-time reads. It was brilliant, with clever word play and subplots that intertwine and characters who are—very strange—scientists and stories about human genes and computers, none of which I really know much about. It was fun and unexpected and, really, brilliant.

And now I’ve finally completed my second Powers, though, truth be told, it was actually a listen not a read.

So what do I think? Am I still a raving Powers fan?

I’d say this one, though it began and proceeded with a powerful hit, would not quite ring my bell. I was waiting for the big, wonderful final ending that tied everything together and it didn’t happen. Or, possibly, it did happen, but it was so over my head that I just didn’t get it. I don’t want to give away the whole story (stop here if you are worried about spoilers) but I didn’t really understand our main heroine’s meltdown. What does that say? I imagine that I will reflect on this a little more (And that’s always the sign of a good book).

288. Bad Things Happen: A Novel by Harry Dolan

We started this one on CDs, on the way home from the Texas Book Festival. We got about 1/3 into the story before we ran out of time. I was intrigued enough with the book that I found it in print at the library and finished it this Thankfully Reading Weekend.

I don’t read many mysteries. I get lost in the plot. I’m really more of a character-driven-story-girl.

And I will admit that I got pretty lost at several points, but I think I got most of the story. I’ll just say the story involves authors and editors who wished they were authors and murders. One person is actually murdered with a book (not giving much away here).

Definitely my kind of murder mystery.

289. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I need to make myself a bumper sticker or a t-shirt so as to announce it to the world: I FINISHED THE BOOK THIEF. Finally.

Five tries. First time, I hated the idea of Death as main character. Gave the book away. Second time, I got irritated with all the sad, miserable people. Turned the book back into the library. Third time, I tried listening to it on CDs. The narrator’s voice was too supercilious for me. Fourth time, I again bought a copy. Found the choice of books Liesel was stealing to be poor choices. Gave book away again.

Every time I gave up, I ran across a rave review of the book.

I was determined to read the entire book this time.

All the things that bothered me the other times I tried the book…they still bothered me a bit. But the book’s powerful story outweighs its irritations. From this book: Death is a sympathetic character. Love wins. Even people who come across as cruel have a good side. Death is the great equalizer. Compassion can beat back wickedness. Words can save you.

272. Balarama: A Royal Elephant by Ted and Betsy Lewin
Every year a special elephant is chosen to lead the parade in a big celebration in India. Balarama is the latest elephant to be so honored.
Both Ted and Betsy Lewin are children’s picture book illustrators. In this book, both draw parts of the story. They have very different styles, with Ted painting big beautiful and realistic illustrations, and Betsy doing cartoon-like drawings.
A little:
“Balarama moves majestically toward one of the palace gates, leading a mile-long procession. Band after band and unit after unit of guards and soldiers march smartly past the stage, following Balarama onto the packed streets of Mysore. Throngs of people push forward to see Balarama in his first ceremonial parade.
We are bursting with pride. He is doing great.”

273. A Young Dancer: The Life of an Ailey Student by Valerie Gladstone
Iman Bright is a young dancer. She has been taking dance classes at the Ailey School in New York since she was four. The story is told from Iman’s point of view. She matter-of-factly describes the rigors of learning dance. But Iman comes across as a girl who enjoys many other activities—friends, the violin, her studies at school—a well-rounded girl.
The photographs reveal the astonishing moves Iman can make, with great beauty and joy. The text is easy to read. Who wouldn’t want to meet this young dancer?
A little:
“Ms. Jamison is considered one of the most famous members of the Ailey company. I’ve seen her dance in videos and she is amazing.
She’s very direct and funny when she gives corrections. In one part of the dance, she said I looked more like I was delivering groceries than proudly showing the way to God. A big difference.”
274. The East-West House: Noguchi’s Childhood in Japan by Christy Hale
Isamu Noguchi spent many years of his childhood in Japan as a biracial child. His experiences there led him to become a sculptor who combined the best of both worlds in his art.
Using a minimal amount of text with large illustrations, the author-illustrator tells the story of Noguchi’s childhood.
A sample:
“At school he tried to join in play
but others teased and turned from him.
Left out and alone, Isamu made
a different kind of joy.
He molded clay to form a wave,
then painted it blue like Mama’s eyes.
Holding soft earth in his hands
he almost forgot his loneliness.”
275. Where Else in the Wild? More Camouflaged Creatures Concealed…and Revealed by David Adler
Where Else in the Wild? is a book of clever photographs with camouflaged animals hidden among the world in which they reside. Each photograph contains a clue written as a poem. The camouflaged animal is revealed by lifting the page.
The poems are delightful. My favorite has to be “Ambushed.” The information about the animal is expounded upon on once the reader opens up the oversized page. Each animal selected is fascinating and remarkable.
A bit:
“If there were Olympic Games for underwater camouflage, the scorpionfish would take the gold! One of nature’s camouflage champions, the scorpionfish is the opposite of what most people expect of a tropical fish. It is not sleek, graceful, or brightly colored. Its color is a mottled mixture of gray, brown, and black. This strange-looking fish blends so well into a reef or rocky ocean bottom that you’d have trouble finding one, even if you knew exactly where to look!”
276. Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gillman
Susan and her friend, Claire, set off for a round-the-world trip, but everything came to a screaming halt when Claire was beset with mental illness. This is the story of Susan’s trip, taken over thirty years ago.
I love travel memoirs, but I really liked this one more than most of my recent reads. I’m amazed at the details Gillman provides; it felt almost like a trip back in time.
277. Beautiful Ballerina by Marilyn Nelson
With beautiful pictures and beautiful words, Beautiful Ballerina presents the beautiful story of those who dance at the Dance Theatre of Harlem. The text is concise and the photographs used to illustrate the text eloquently depict the beautiful movement that is ballet.
A little:
“To the traditions of port de bras and
arabesque, of pirouettes,
jetes, and pas de deux,
you bring a tiny hint of Africanness,
juju and beautiful joy danced in your every move.
Beautiful ballerina,
you are the dance.”
278. The Twelve Days of Christmas in Minnesota by Constance Van Hoven
This book sounds like the book is a silly parody. After all, what do you think of when you think of Minnesota? Well, perhaps snow. What else? The mind of this Texan draws a blank.
Using a twelve days of Christmas format, the author reveals there is much more to Minnesota than just snow. Like Norway pines. And hockey sticks. And lumberjacks. And walleyes. Lots more. Just so you know.
The pictures are bright and colorful. The text is written in the format of letters, making it very kid-friendly.
I can see that this is a book I’d love. If I lived in Minnesota.
A sample:
“Hey, Mom and Dad,
We went up north to the lake! That’s what Minnesotans say when they head out to one of the more than 10,000 lakes in the state. The most common lake names? Mud and Long. There are hundreds of those. There are lots of Twin Lakes, too, but only one Lake Hannah and two Lake Sarahs….”
279. Yellowstone Moran by Lita Judge
Tom Moran wanted to visit the West. He was a painter who longed for adventure. Unfortunately, he had never ridden a horse nor camped out. So when he decided to travel with a group bound for Yellowstone, he experienced many trials. It was all worth it to him when he finally arrived and was able to paint the wonders of the West for those back East who would never get to visit Yellowstone themselves.
The book is illustrated with pictures that imitate Moran’s style. The author includes both a bibliography and an author’s note that explain where she obtained her information.
A little:
“Tom Moran had dreams as big as the Montana sky.
He stood in a camp in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, waiting nervously. Though Tom knew the men in the camp were scientists, they looked more like bandits. They eyed him suspiciously. He worried he must look like a greenhorn, but he wasn’t about to admit that he had never ridden a horse, never shot a gun, and never slept in the open air. Tom had just traveled two thousand miles to join this expedition into the land called the Yellowstone. He had to convince the team’s leader, Dr. Hayden, to let him join them.”
280. Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford
I had huge expectations for this book. After all, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is my all-time favorite read. Surely, Crawford must be a fan.
Shop Class was a huge disappointment, possibly due to my huge expectations. It reads with a mix of stilted verbosity of academia and the incomprehensible vocabulary of mechanics. I kept reading, hoping to see why others liked it, and it did not happen for me.
Love to know what others liked about this book. It is the rare read that I finished despite terrible initial misgivings.
281. Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty
Surely readers of this book would know the comings and goings well of Miss Jessica Darling and Mr. Marcus Flutie and would pick up this book in hopes of a happy ending, at last. I dare not spoil any Darling/Flutie fans’ trips through this book by revealing any plot points (and I include myself in this group) but I will say I do not see a Sweet Sixths in McCafferty’s future. Quite obviously, if you liked Charmed Thirds or even Fourth Comings, you will like this book. More of the same Before Sunrise kind of chitchat.
282. Angry Conversations with God: A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir by Susan E. Isaacs
Isaacs is an actress and a screenwriter. I hate celebrity memoirs, but Isaacs has enough of the writer in her for me to let this one slide under my radar.
So what did I think of it? I admired her for her honesty but she seemed like a raging neurotic, jumping into relationships, jumping out, loving God, blaming God.
My instincts told me from the get-go: Walk away from this book. Some good parts, but not enough to have a whole book.
283. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson
It says second edition, but that still is not current enough. This is the edge the Internet has over books…immediacy. I learned a few new things…podcasting…annotating Flickr…Technorati…but, overall, I’d have done better to see information on the net.
284. The Champion of Children: The Story of Janusz Korczak by Tomek Bogacki
Serving on a panel for the Cybils Award has been wonderful for me; I have visited many intriguing places, I’ve learned about many fascinating events in history, and I have met many exemplary people.
Janusz Korczak is one of those exemplary people. He ran an orphanage for poor children in Poland during the Nazi years. His orphanage was a model for others. He allowed the children to make their own laws which everyone, even the adults, were expected to follow. He started a newspaper to which children were asked to contribute. He spent time with the children and taught them gardening, sports, and, most importantly, love.
The author of this book of Korczak’s life tells his story in simple words, with simple pictures. There are historical notes, author’s notes, and a list of sources and acknowledgments to provide information about how the book came about.
285. River of Dreams: The Story of the Hudson River by Hudson Talbott
I must be honest. I was not really interested in finding and reading this book. What did I care about the Hudson River?
I was wrong. This is a fascinating story of a river and the life it has supported over the years, Native Americans, the Dutch, those who used its link with the Erie Canal, the railroaders, writers, artists, and, now, environmentalists.
The pictures are beautiful paintings. The author also includes diagrams and maps and timelines to help the reader better understand the story.

So a good review of this book might simply be a series of photographs, with an accompanying label. Perhaps it might start like this:

Aa astonishing

Bb breathtaking…

Okay, you get the idea. Marvelous work.
226. Bring Me Some Apples and I’ll Make You a Pie: A Story About Edna Lewis by Robbin Gourley
This book falls right on the line between fiction and nonfiction. It consists of little excerpts from the childhood of Edna Lewis, a girl who grew into one of the best chefs in the world. Each scene depicts Edna and her family picking fresh fruits and vegetables on the farm where Edna grew up. Each scene includes conversations that might have taken place between Edna and her family members and concludes with a song or a snippet of folklore or a short poem about the fruits and vegetables.
The story resonates with rhythm and the joy of country living and country cooking. The pictures are bright and busy. The author’s note at the end tells of Edna’s life and outlines the research the author did to write the book. There is a short list of Edna’s cookbooks and, best of all, the author includes a few of Edna’s recipes.
A bit from the book:
‘A warm breeze is blowing, and it’s cherry-picking time. Everyone races to the trees and up the ladders to fill buckets and bellies with the ripe fruit.

Edna says, “A deep-dish cherry pie—that’ll be the reward for all our hard work.”

Brother says: “Look at that bird in the cherry tree.
He’s eating them one by one.
He’s shaking his bill, he’s getting his fill
as down his throat they run.”
227. Camping with the President by Ginger Wadsworth
I don’t think I would have ever run across this book if I had not been a Cybil judge and it had not been nominated for best nonfiction picture book. The publisher is a small one and the topic is a small story.
I’m glad I did. It’s a lovely book, with a well-told story and engaging pictures. Camping with the President is the story of a camping trip taken by President Theodore Roosevelt and naturalist John Muir to Yosemite in 1903. They slept on the ground and ate from food prepared over an open fire. They hiked through the mountains and stood next to sequoias and looked at waterfalls.
The book strikes me as exceptionally authoritative. In an author’s note, Wadsworth spends two pages telling how she obtained the information for the book. She has an additional page of source notes. In addition to the story of the camping expedition, she also provides additional information about Roosevelt, Muir, and Yosemite at the end of the book.
My husband and I visited Yosemite two summers ago. It gives me a happy feeling to think that we walked where Roosevelt and Muir once walked, that we saw sites these two men saw. And I am thankful that because of these two men and others like them we had the privilege of doing so.
From the book:
‘While the President chewed his way through a platter of steak and fried potatoes, Muir spoke of the need to provide “government protection…around every wild grove and forest on the mountains.” He urged Roosevelt to set aside land, including the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees and the state-run Yosemite Valley, which they would visit the next day.
The President had never met anyone who talked as much, or as fast, about the importance of nature. In fact, Muir seemed to live on words, not food! As Roosevelt listened, he heard a noise in the trees above him. Was it a dreaded Secret Service man, guarding him in a tree? He listened again. Then he chuckled. In his notebook, the President wrote “owl.”’
Comments from children:
Israel, 6, said, “I liked how they went hunting.”
Destany, 6, said, “I liked the pictures.”
Sydney, 6, said, “I liked it when they went fishing.”
Jamye, 7, said, “I liked the cover.”
Vanessa, 6, said, “I liked when he cooked.”
Tucker, 7, said, “I liked the part where the men were by the big tree.”
Robyn, 6, said, “I liked it when they were at the top.”
Leyah, 7, said, “I liked the part where they are camping.”
1, 5, 5, 5, 1, 0, 5, 5
228. The Secret World of Walter Anderson by Hester Bass
The first page of the book:
“There once was a man whose love of nature was as wide as the world.
There once was an artist who needed to paint as much as he needed to breathe.
There once was an islander who lived in a cottage at the edge of Mississippi, where the sea meets the earth and sky.
His name was Walter Anderson.
He may be the most famous American artist you’ve never heard of.”
This book is two books; it’s a close-up of Anderson’s daily trip to Horn Island, adventuring and painting, and it’s a complete biography of Anderson’s life. Together, they make for an excellent book.
Anderson has been called the American Van Gogh. He painted extensively and kept voluminous journals. He, like Van Gogh, used brilliant color, and he, like Van Gogh, suffered from mental illness.
The illustrations in this book are beautifully painted and the story of Anderson’s life is told with love and respect and admiration.
The author’s note is a biography of Anderson’s life and an explanation of how she came to write the book. She came to live in Anderson’s town and her husband worked as director of the Walter Anderson Museum of Art there. She includes a bibliography at the back of the book as well.
Comments from children:
Sydney, 6, said, “I liked the part where he painted the room and the horse.”
Leyah, 7, said, “I liked the first part.”
Jayme, 7, said, “I liked his painting.”
Destany, 6, said, “I liked when he painted the horse.”
Vanessa, 6, said, “I liked when the boat dropped the bananas and he let the raccoon eat it.”
Robin, 6, said, “I liked when he painted the room.”
Israel, 6, said, “I liked when he dropped the bananas.”
5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5,
229. Unite or Die: How Thirteen States Became a Nation by Jacqueline Jules
Fun, fun fun. Sure we have heard of the Articles of Confederation and the Virginia Compromise and the New Jersey Plan, but who really remembers much about them? This book could help lots of kids (and adults, on occasion) better understand how our system of government came about.
After the war for independence, there really wasn’t much of a United States of America. There were just thirteen separate states. Problems. One big problem was money. Each state printed its own. States wouldn’t accept the money of other states. And who would fight for these thirteen separate states?
Finally, fifty-five men came together from twelve states (no Rhode Island) to figure things out and the result was the amazing Constitution of the United States. It still works today because of the brilliance and cooperation of those who met together to create this document.
Cold hard facts are the text of this book, but it is the fun illustrations that really explain and expound upon the the subject. It is the illustrations that kept me reading along. Very kid friendly. And for a subject that can be way over the heads of many ten year olds.
An afterword explains the process of the Constitution in detail as does a notes section that expands upon the most complicated parts of the book in a clever question-answer format. The book also includes a web link to the Constitution with an invitation to read the document for oneself and a lengthy bibliography.
Here’s a sample:
‘(text) This wasn’t an easy idea to accept, especially for the small states like New Jersey and Delaware, who were afraid the big states would outvote them in Congress.
(from the cartoon balloons) Pennsylvania: “Sure, the number of delegates will be based on population. What’s wrong with that?”
Delaware: “Everything! If you have more delegates, you’ll have more votes than I do.”
North Carolina: “But you’re not even half my size. Why should you have the same number of votes?”’
229. Pony Island by Candice F. Ransom
I knew the story of the horses on Chincoteague from my childhood as my teacher read all the books by Marguerite Henry aloud to us when I was in fourth grade. This book tells about the stories of the wild horses on the island, from how they arrived to today, in short spurts of verse.
The pictures are brilliant with color. The text is simple, perhaps too simple.
Here’s a taste:
“Big ship wrecks.
Stormy sea.
Cargo horses
Swimming free….
Empty island.
Room to roam.
Birds and beaches.
Brand-new home.”
Comments from children:
Sydney, 6, said, “I liked the part with the fire.”
Jayme and Vanessa and Leyah, 6, said, “I liked the part where the horses swam across the water.”
Robin, 6, said, “I liked the pictures.”
Tucker, 6, said, “I liked the part where the horses go through the water.”
Israel said, “I liked the rainbow pictures.”
All of the kids liked the words. They liked how the words rhymed.
5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

230. What Can You Do With an Old Red Shoe? A Green Activity Book About Reuse by Anna Alter
Recycling is big. As it should be. This is a book filled with ideas of how to reuse items that are generally thrown away, including a flip-flop, tin cans, old crayons, wrapping paper, toys, and, from the title, old red shoes.

The directions are clear and easy to follow. The end products are good choices for children, including stamps, new crayons, planters, and candles.

One bit from the book:

“What Can You Do With a Flip-Flop?

1. First, Sarah cleans the sand and dirt off her flip-flop and cuts the foot straps halfway down.
2. Then, she turns it over, centers the cookie cutter where the top strap intersects the bottom of the shoe, and traces the shape using the marker.
3. Next, her mom uses scissors to help her cut out the shape she traced.
4. When they are finished cutting, Sarah paints the bottom of her flip-flop and presses it onto a piece of paper.
Now Sarah has a new stamp for making art!”

There are additional tips for reusing and recycling items in the back of the book.

Each suggestion is featured with a short poem that leads into the project. All the pages are heavily illustrated to make clear the steps of the process.

This book would be great as a lead into a lesson about how to recycle.
Comments from children:
About half were seven and half were eight. There were nine girls and three boys.
The pictures looked cool, one girl told us.
One girl said, “I liked on every page how it told you to make things.”
One boy liked the ideas.
“People might check it out a lot so they could keep making things.”
“I would check it out a lot.”
“I liked it, but some of the pictures did not have enough details.”
5, 5, 5, 2, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 0, 5, 5
231. Winter’s Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again by Juliana Hatkoff

Children love animal stories. And I mean LOVE.

It may be a universal thing. I heard the other day that putting a picture of a cat or a dog on your blog creates a tremendous increase in your blog traffic.

So there is a built-in love-it factor in this book. Add a little more for the love-dolphins crowd (and they are numerous). Then add a little more for the fact that the dolphin has had to overcome a disability. You end up with lots of appeal for this book.

The illustrations are photographs of the dolphin. The text is heavier than is usual for a picture book, but it would still make for a good readaloud for the youngest of children.

Odd side note: This is the only book that has come back (so far) from my ILL requests with a cannot fill note. And then what happened? I found the book at my book fair this week. Happy day!
231. Faith by Maya Ajmera
With simple text and lots of photographs, Faith shows ways that people of many religions around the world practice their faith. The photographs have short captions that explain the common practices of religions. The common practices include helping others, visiting holy places, reading holy books, singing, celebrating with festivals, and caring for others.

These practices are examined in more detail in the back of the book. The book also includes a glossary.
Comments from children:
“I pray every night, so I like the Faith book,” one first grader said.
“This book is easy to read.”
232. Sky High: The True Story of Maggie Gee by Marissa Moss

Maggie Gee was one of only two Chinese Americans to serve as a WASP in World War II. This book tells her story.

The text is clear and the pictures are bright and colorful. I liked the way the book talked about family stories both true and not-yet-to-be-true. The difficulties Gee faced as a minority and as a woman during that time were mentioned, but were not the entire focus of the book.

The author’s note adds more to Gee’s story. The last page of the book shows photographs of those mentioned in the book.

A bit of the book:

‘The day that I earned my wings and was made a WASP, I was so proud that I felt as if I could fly without an airplane. I sent my mother a postcard. All I wrote was: “Some stories are true, some are not. This is a true story.” My family’s stories flew with me, but now I was living out my own true stories.’

The author’s note adds more to Gee’s story. The last page of the book shows photographs of those mentioned in the book.
Comments from children:
“I liked the pictures.”
“It shows you something that used to happen.”
“It’s a true story.”
“Interesting. Fascinating.”
“I like facts.”
This was from a group of two eight year olds and four seven year olds.
5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

233. Redwoods by Jason Chin
I can see myself picking this as my favorite nonfiction picture book. I love the text and the pictures perfectly complement the text. Redwoods serve as a fascinating subject yet have not been overdone as a subject.

The text information is supplemented with an author’s note explaining his interest in the subject and a note about the danger to redwoods. No bibliography which is disappointing but not absolutely necessary.

There really is only one obstacle to adding this to my shortlist: What do kids think? I must try this book out on my primary students.

A bit from the book:

“The coast redwoods are among
the oldest trees in the world.
Their ancestors lived about 165 million
years ago, during the Jurassic period.”
(Illustrations show a boy reading a book about redwoods, getting on a subway, and sitting and reading the book on the subway while in the windows behind him lurk three green dinosaurs.”
Comments from children:
“I thought it was pretty nice seeing the pictures and what he was imagining.”
“I think the pictures are pretty.”
“I liked the words because they talked about the real forest.”
“I got a good idea of how tall the trees were.”
“The trees were cool.”
“I liked how the girl picked up the book at the end.”
“I liked the words because I could understand what they were saying.”
5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5,
234. Wrestling the ABCs: Creating Character and Fostering Fitness by Tom and Veronica Davids

Kids are always begging me for books about wrestling at my library, but I have the strong feeling that this is not the kind of wrestling book they are seeking.

I know nothing about wrestling, so this book was honestly the first time I have learned anything about it, other than what I’ve heard about it through the grapevine.

It looks like something kids would like to do. A lot of tossing and flipping down and pinning. Definitely not a sport for the reading crowd I hang out with.

The illustrations were for me the best part of the book. They are little cartoons and are very clever and funny. I’m not sure what the kids would think of it, but the little rhymes on each page were a little too ta-da-da-da ta-da-da-dee for me. The information about famous wrestlers did not light up a single bulb in my mind; surely, there is one wrestler in the world I have heard of? But perhaps not.

A few things I questioned:

“A wrestler’s uniform consists of a singlet, headgear, and wrestling shoes. Knee pads, mouth guards, and tights are optional.” Hey, what about the feather boas and the hip boots?

“Wrestling teams travel all over the world, bringing their different styles and cultures to share with others. Wrestling makes the world a wonderful place.” Wrestling makes the world a wonderful place? Hmmm. Is that so?

“C is for your coach,
Who trains and teaches you.
With conditioning and calisthenics,
He’ll make a champion out of you!”

Conditioning and calisthenics? Isn’t there an extra syllable in there somewhere, Dr. Bill?

For me, as with all the nominees, the final test is with the kids. Let’s see what they think about this book.
235. Mermaid Queen by Shana Corey

Loved this author and this illustrator’s work together on a previous book about Alice Roosevelt. This one was even better. The wonderful text, printed in big and small fonts, with curls and swirls, combined with the fun illustrations makes for a great book.

I’m happy to learn about the life of Annette Kellerman, who began to swim to strengthen her legs weakened by debilitating disease. She loved dancing and was the first to create what came to be known as water ballet. She later revolutionized bathing apparel.

Here’s a sample:

“When they arrived in London, they went to Soho and the Strand, Picadilly and the Palace, hoping to put on a show. But everywhere they went, people just scoffed.

A girl swimmer?

Too plain. Too plump. Too weird.

Too wet. Too bad!”
Comments from children:
The four kindergarten boys liked the splashing water, but they were not interested in the swimming.
236. One Beetle Too Many: The Extraordinary Adventures of Charles Darwin by Kathryn Lasky
Charles Darwin was a child who was allowed to explore and he grew up, despite his terrible conflicts with schools, to be a man who explored the world of nature.
Lasky, as she has done in every book, writes the story of Darwin’s life brilliantly. Darwin feels as round and human as any fictional character. He comes across as both a student easily bored and a thoughtful observer.
The pictures make Darwin feel even more real, smart yet bumbling.
I loved the richness of the writing and the fun of the pictures. A bibliography is included at the end.
A sample:
“He was told it was something no clergyman should do. That it was a wild scheme. That the boat was unsafe. That the voyage would be useless. That this was a most unsuitable occupation and would ruin his character. And if all that were not enough, he would surely get horribly seasick and furthermore the natives would probably eat him. In spite of all these objections from his father and sisters and aunts and uncles, Charles still wanted to go.”
237. Pippo the Fool by Tracey E. Fern
The people of Florence wanted their cathedral to be complete, to be crowned with a beautiful dome. They initiated a contest. Many tried to design a dome, but all were failures until Pippo the Fool appeared. Pippo was the object of derision to many, but his design was flawless. It took Pippo many years to complete his work, but it was spectacular when finished.
This is the kind of story that we adult nonfiction readers crave these days, what we call a piece of nonfiction that reads like a story. Children crave it, too, I think.
Pippo the Fool is a lovely story, with excellent complementary illustrations.
A bit:
‘Finally the judges turned to Pippo’s plans. They could not believe their eyes. Surely this was the craziest idea yet! Pippo’s dome seemed to float over the cathedral like a great balloon. It had no columns, no earth, no scaffolding to support it.
“How do you plan to build such a dome?” the judges asked. “What will hold it up?”
Pippo would not tell. He was worried that Lorenzo would steal his idea.’
Comments from children:
Half were seven and half were eight, with five girls and three boys.
“I didn’t like the pictures and the words were too long.”
“I liked the building he made.”
One person liked the pictures.
Not many were interested in a builder.
238. The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors by Chris Barton

So how would you illustrate a book about the two brothers who invented day-glo paint? But of course. And, boy, are day-glo colors effective in the telling of this story and its illustration.
Bob and Joe Switzer never set out to be inventors. Joe wanted to be a magician. Bob wanted to be a doctor. They did not realize their dreams, but a greater future lay ahead of them; they gained fame as the inventors of day-glo paint.
The story of the two brothers is a serendipitous tale of how inventors invent, of how one thing unexpectedly leads to another, of how dreams are realized even when one thinks they have been traveling down the wrong path.
I love how the illustrator used just a bit of day-glo here and there to make a point. Beautiful and fun.
Just a bit:
“After Joe got married in 1938, he and his wife, Elise, moved into a run-down old farmhouse so he would have room for his own laboratory. It wasn’t the best place for a young family, as their baby boy liked to chew on chemical-splattered shoes.”
Comments from children:
“I liked the paint.”
“I liked the story.”
Four kindergarteners, two boys and two girls rated the book.
5, 5, 5, 5, 5
239. What Darwin Saw by Rosalyn Schanzer
I know, I know. It looks like a comic book. It sounds like a comic book.

It’s not a comic book.

Or, at least, it’s not your grandfather’s comic book. So to speak.

What Darwin Saw is the story of Darwin’s voyage on the Beagle, a trip that changed the way people saw the world. It looks like a comic book. It sounds like a comic book.

But this is no Superman here. The text enclosed in little speech balloons comes from primary sources, often. This is the textbook comic book. Or a comic book textbook. Something like that.

A sample: A view of the Amazon, with monkeys and parrots and frogs hanging from trees, alligators swimming close to Darwin’s rowboat, and in the speech balloons coming from Darwin’s mouth: “Among the scenes which are deeply impressed on my mind, none exceed in sublimity the primeval forests, undefaced by the hand of man.” Huh? I am imagining the reaction of a fifth grader.

The pictures tell the story, or help tell the story. All the complex ideas are made clearer with the pictures in this book.

The book concludes with an author’s note explaining the making of the book and a bibliography.
240. Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story by Paula Woo
Paula Woo! How well I remember her previous book, Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds. What a fantastic story.
So I could not wait to read this one, another biography of an Asian American. This time Woo tells the story of Anna May Wong, an actress in Hollywood in the 1930’s through the 1950’s. Wong did not like the stereotypical roles of an Asian American woman she often had to play, but it was not until near the end of her career that she decided to stop playing those roles.
The story of Wong is well told, with clear words and expressive pictures.
A little, from the very beginning of the book:
‘Anna May Wong struggled to free herself. Tight ropes bound her to the railroad tracks. A plume of smoke puffed into the sky as a train rumbled toward her.
“Stop daydreaming!”
Startled, Anna May opened her eyes. The train vanished. Steam, not smoke, hissed from a nearby boiler filled with dirty clothes.
“Get back to work,” snapped her father. “We have a full day’s worth of laundry to clean and press.”‘
There is an author’s note, giving more information about Wong, along with a list of sources and films viewed at the end.
241. Keep On! The Story of Matthew Henson, Co-Discoverer of the North Pole by Deborah Hopkinson

An exerpt:

“Matthew Henson
was born in a Maryland cabin,
at a time when boys dreamed of finding glory,
of planting flags at the ends of the Earth,
making the unknown known,
and recording their names into history books.

Young Matt had that same hunger to explore,
but most folks would have laughed at his dreams.
For Matt was born in 1866, just after the Civil War,
a time when poor black boys like him
had few chance to roam the next county,
to say nothing of another country, the seven seas,
or the top of the world.”

The line breaks in this book make the worlds read like poetry. Each double page has a quote that emphasizes the ideas on the pages.

The story tells the most important events of Henson’s trip with Peary to the North Pole. The book concludes with an author’s note telling more about Henson, a time line, and a list of resources.
242. Pharaoh’s Boat by David Weitzman

In 1954, a crew of men found a secret wall. As they began to dig at the wall, they were amazed to discover a boat built almost 4,600 years ago.

This book is the story of the unearthing of that boat, the process the men went through to rebuild it, and the amazing patience of the leader of the men.

I don’t know why, but books like these go right over my head. Lots and lots of things were unclear to me, but it may just be my own lack of understanding.

An example:
“The rope lashing did more than just hold the hull together. When sewn ships like this were launched, the wood soaked up water like a sponge and expanded. At the same time, the rope shrank as it got wet, pulling the planks together and closing any little spaces between them to make the ship watertight.”
Comments from children:
“I liked the pictures but there were too many words.”
“I liked the whole idea of how they made the boat. I liked the ropes, the ax, and how it was put together.”
0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 5, 5, 1, 3, 1, 1
243. Life-Size Zoo by Teruyuki Komiya
I like this book so much. I pushed it off on several parents seeking books for their kids. How could someone go wrong with this book?

Here are things I liked about it: An information sheet about the animals on the front endpapers. A table of contents created to be like a zoo map (oh so clever). A part of the animal presented in full life-size. Things to look for on the drawing, up close. Cool facts about the animal.

And what great choices for animals: a panda, zebra, tiger (those scary teeth), gorilla, rhino (with a horn made of hair?), anteater (what a nose!), koala (much smaller than I would have expected), and more.
244. Nic Bishop: Butterflies and Moths by Nic Bishop
The photographs are incredible. The text is pretty darn good, too.

Nic Bishop: Frogs won last year’s Cybil nonfiction picture book award. Does that hurt this year’s Nic Bishop entry? Or does it help it?

Just a dollop:

“There is no mistaking a butterfly. Its colorful wings skip in the air like petals blown by the wind. Blues, reds, and yellows dance in the sunlight. Some shimmer like tinsel.”
Only one of the kindergarten boys said he would like to check out this book over and over. One boy said he would check it out for his mother!
A lot of kids said they would check it out a lot. But one boy said he thought some of the pictures were too creepy.
They liked the pictures a lot and seemed to understand the text.
5, 5, 5, 5, 0
245. Bubble Homes and Fish Farts by Fiona Bayrock

“Bubbles are soft and squishy and full of air. They shimmer. They float. And they are very handy. Animals make bubbles, ride bubbles, breathe bubbles, and even live in bubbles. Animals use bubbles in amazing ways.”

Each two page spread tells about another way an animal uses bubbles. There is a paragraph full of fascinating text and an overblown picture to help explain the difficult parts, with a speech bubble (of course!) to add a little more information.

The back of the book has additional facts about bubble makers along with a glossary and a list of acknowledgments to those who helped the author in writing the book.
246. Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
“You can’t live with such fears and keep on whistling. The waiting builds up in you like a tide. You start wanting it to be done with. You find yourself saying to the sky, Just do it. Do your worst. Get it over with. She could feel the coming tremor of it running through her spine, asleep or awake….”
Well. Year of the Flood. If one-quarter of the horrible things that happened in this book were to occur in the world, I would hate to still be around. A dystopia as bleak as The Road. Almost as bleak as The Road. The Road is bleak.
Let’s see if I can reveal a little about the plot. The creatures of the earth are changing rapidly. A corporation is using biotechnology to merge species for their own purposes and to inflict disease on those it doesn’t like. At the same time, a cult has developed that holds the creatures of the earth as sacred.
The story is told from the points of view of Ren and Toby, two young women, in alternating chapters. Other important characters are Ren’s friend, Amanda; Zeb, Ren’s stepfather; Jimmy, Ren’s boyfriend; the Painballers, a group who seem almost without human feeling after being punished in subhuman ways; and Adam One, the leader of the cult, the Gardeners.
The story shifts from year five to year ten and on up, to year twenty-five, the year of the flood. A natural disaster (“the waterless flood”) occurs in year twenty-five and most of humanity is destroyed.
Every page made me think, about human life, about relationships, about ecology, about kindness and cruelty. A very thoughtful, if scary book.
247. Haunted Houses: The Unsolved Mystery by Lisa Wade McCormick
An absolutely perfect haunted house book for an elementary school library. The pictures are spooky without being horrifying and the text is mysterious and provocative but not nightmarish. The text is simple enough for even young readers to attempt it. It tells just the barest of facts about haunted houses, just right for elementary readers.
I got a quick look at this book last week when a book salesman visited my library. I liked it so much that I bought it for my school library.
Given that Halloween has just passed, I’ll be very interested to see what kids at my school think of this one!
A little of this book:
“What Are Haunted Houses?
Strange events happen in
haunted houses. Some people
hear screams. Others see lights
turn on and off by themselves.”
Children’s comments:
This book was a big hit with the group of children who looked at it. The group consisted of half kindergarteners and half first graders and they were equally divided between boys and girls. They all wanted to check it out, they said. They were very interested in haunted houses. The text and the pictures were scary, they said, but not so scary that they would not want to read it. They seemed to understand the words.
248. Building on Nature: The Life of Antoni Gaudi by Rachel Rodriguez
This book is the story of Antoni Gaudi, an architect from Spain. It tells how Gaudi came to create buildings that imitated things he saw in nature.
I had never heard of Gaudi or any of his buildings, so the whole book was new information for me. I liked the simplicity of the text and way the author shows how Gaudi’s work evolves and grows, how he tries ideas no one has ever tried before.
An author’s note, a list of photos available online, and a bibliography in the back adds more information about Gaudi for those who are interested in learning more.
A bit:
“He designs a gate for his friend
Guell’s country home.
A dragon perches atop diamonds and squares,
baring his fangs and slithery tongue.
Gaudi’s creations get braver.”
Children’s comments:
Children always surprise me. The group of first graders who looked through this book loved it. They liked the buildings Gaudi made. They rated this book mostly 5’s and 3’s, with a couple of 1’s.
249. Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin
Rhyming text accompanied by the waxing and waning of the moon—this is Faces of the Moon. The pictures include cutaways of the moon. As the pages turn, the moon grows from a crescent to a full moon and then back to a crescent moon again. The pictures make a complicated event clear.
A sample:
“A few days pass, and Moon’s less shy;
her smile lights the twilight sky.
The more her sunlit surface shows,
the more Moon’s WAXING CRESCENT grows.
Waxing Cresent* Moon rises in the mid-morning
and sets in the mid-evening.”
*The notes for both waxing crescent and waning crescent spell the word incorrectly.
Children’s comments:
I tried this out with a group of sixteen students, half boys, half girls, and half kindergarteners and half first graders. They loved the cutouts that showed how the moon waxed and waned. They said they understood the text.
250. John Brown: His Fight for Freedom by John Hendrix
John Brown led an attack on Harper’s Ferry in an attempt to obtain weaponry for his army, an army he hoped to use to defeat slavery. The attack did not go off as planned and Brown was hung for his efforts.
I’ve always seen Brown as a terrorist, but he is not presented this way in the book; he comes across as a man who deplored slavery, loved God, and desperately wanted to stop slavery in America.
The pictures are fun and bright and add a lot to the book. The text is a bit long winded for younger readers, but it would be perfect for an older group of readers, such as junior high or high school students.
An author’s note explains why Hendrix came to write the book and shows where Hendrix obtained his information. The book also includes a list of sources.
A bite of the book:
“Like a great fuming tornado, John swept across the plains to fight for Kansas. He fought many battles on those windy plains, but it was a dark night along Pottawatomie Creek that made him notorious. John and his sons stormed the houses of five pro-slavery settlers who had been threatening his family and other abolitionists, took the men to the creek, and killed them with broadswords. John’s ruthless tactics spread fear into the hearts of the Border Ruffians and others, but also branded John a crazed madman….”
Children’s comments:
The children, eight first grade students, who previewed this book didn’t really know what to make of it. The story was unfamiliar to them and they really didn’t even know enough about the Civil War or slavery yet to be able to really understand what was going on. The ratings with this group were a mix of 3’s and 1’s, but I imagine that upper elementary students would enjoy it a lot more.
251. Tarra & Bella: The Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends by Carol Buckley
Tarra was a roller-skating elephant in the circus, in a movie, and on television. Finally, she was retired and taken to live in a sanctuary for elephants in Tennessee. Usually, an elephant will befriend another elephant, but Tarra did not make a friend there for a long time. One day, however, she met Bella and, unexpectedly, the two became best friends.
The text is simple and easy to understand. The book is illustrated with photographs of Tarra and Bella.
A little:
“Bella was rushed to the animal hospital, where the vets said she had a spinal cord injury. No one knew if Bella would ever walk again, but they took Bella home and made her comfortable in the heated office above the elephant barn while they tried to nurse her back to help. Through a large window Bella watched longingly as the elephants played outside. Meanwhile, for two full days, Tarra remained standing at the exact spot where Bella had been found, waiting for Bella to return.”
Children’s comments:
One child said, “I like how a little bitty animal and a big animal are friends.” Another child said she liked how loving the pictures are. Both boys and girls liked this book. Most gave it a five, but a few thought it was a three.
252. Dinosaur by Stephanie Stansbie
Wow! I can see this will probably be very popular with the kids! The cover is a scary picture of a dinosaur with long, bloody teeth. The title is written in gold letters. Inside are pages that fold open, pockets with papers inside that pull out, windows, all containing little snippets of information about dinosaurs. It has a beautiful, fun look.
The text is actually quite high level, certainly beyond the readers at a primary school. But, like many books of this ilk, it is not really a book designed to be read, paragraph after paragraph, page after page; it’s designed to be read in little chunks, as one wishes.
A random snippet:
“As the biggest predator in its area, the Albertosaurus would not have needed camouflage to hide from attackers. But it could have crept up on speedier prey if it had blended into the trees like a brown bear. Perhaps it was speckled with spots like a hyena to blur its outline further.”
Children’s comments:
The cover was so inviting that everyone wanted to look at this book. But, when they opened it, and looked through it, the children realized it was too hard for them to read.
253. It’s a Snap! George Eastman’s First Photograph by Monica Kulling
George Eastman had to leave school early and get a job to help support his family. He decided he needed a hobby and he chose photography. Cameras were enormously heavy and pictures took a long time to develop and George decided to improve this. He did and history was made.
With pictures as clever as those in a child’s story book and with text as readable as a child’s story book, this book should easily appeal to children of all ages.
‘At the stone bridge, George had a brain wave. “Bunch together, everyone,” he shouted. “I’m going to take your photograph!”
“How exciting,” said the grocer.
“You betcha,” said the baker.
“I don’t know anyone who can take a photograph,” said the blacksmith.
“What’s a photograph?” asked the cobbler.’
Children’s comments:
There was some interest among the children for this book. They were interested in learning about the old days of photography. Most of the children rated it a 3, with a couple of 5’s.
254. About Penguins: A Guide for Children by Cathryn Sill
About Penguins is just that: about penguins. Each two page spread contains a picture that is as detailed as a photograph and a sentence about the picture. Each sentence is clearly written and is an interesting fact that kids want to know.
In the afterword to the book, the author expands upon the sentence and provides a paragraph of information about each picture.
Here are three pages of text from the book:
“Some penguins build nests on top of the ground.
Others dig burrows under the ground.
Others have no nest. They hold the egg and then the chick on their feet.”
Children’s comments:
This book was perfect for the children at my school, PreK to second grade. Even some of the kindergarteners could read it. The pictures were inviting. The subject matter is popular with this group as well. Everyone rated it very high, with all 5’s and 4’s.
255. In the Boreal Forest by Brenda Z. Guiberson
I had never heard the phrase, “boreal forest.” After reading this book, I’ve learned it refers to the large expanses of forest that spread widely across the northern part of the world.
The pictures beautifully depict those who live in the forest. The text pops and crackles with onomatopoeia. The words and pictures combine to present a clear picture of this enormous forested land.
A bit:
“Grrowll! The bear needs a five-inch layer of body fat to survive a long winter sleep. In one frenzied day he gobbles 70,000 berries. His droppings spread seeds that grow into new bushes.”
Children’s comments:
The children who looked through this book liked the pictures and the text.
256. Nugget on the Flight Deck by Patricia Newman
Kids can’t get enough of our military and their jeeps and tanks and airplanes and ships. Kids will love this one.
Nugget on the Flight Deck is written in present tense, as if you, the reader, are accompanying me, the guide, on a trip up in fighter plane. The lingo is filled with jargon used by military pilots.
The pictures are action packed. The text is action packed.
I’m probably one of the people in the world who knows very little about flying or the military, but I loved reading this book.
A clip:
“Watch this. We’ll slow down and pull up hard into a high yo-yo. Hold on to your stomach! When Mookie flies by, we’ll drop down behind him. He’s in our sights now, and he knows it. Dogfight over! Give him a wave to thank him for the practice.”
Children’s comments:
This book was an unexpected big hit with half of the children in the large group who previewed it—the boys. The boys loved the pictures and loved the way the text was written, almost like a game, as one boy said. And there was one girl who really loved it, but the rest of the girls were not interested in it.
257. S is for Story: A Writer’s Alphabet by Esther Hershenhorn
You know this series. You’ve read others like it from this publisher. You like the others? You will like this one.
The author moves through the alphabet, hitting highlights of the writing process, expounding upon character and drafts and editing and genre and many more. The pictures are inviting and the text is clear.
A sample:
“G begins the French word Genre,
a way to group stories by kind.
History, Mystery,
Folktale, Myth.
Each boasts rules to mind.
Writers and readers classify stories by kind or genre, pronounced zhan-ruh. Each category has its own structure and set of rules. Genre choices for fiction include folktales, fantasy, and science fiction. Genre choices for nonfiction include essays, memoirs, and autobiographies.”
Children’s comments:
I showed this book to a group of eight first graders, all strong readers. They all liked the pictures and enjoyed browsing through the text, trying to anticipate the word for each letter and reading through the information about stories.
258. Q is for Question by Tiffany Poirier
The philosophy section of my primary school library is empty; I can see a real need for a book like this. The author uses the alphabet book format to talk briefly yet intriguingly about ideas that philosophers discuss. The text is a nice mix of thoughtful comments and clever questions. The illustrations give the book a homemade look, but it helps the approachability of the book. Philosophy can be a daunting subject, but this book is a great introduction to it for young students.
A bite:
“Free Will
Do you feel like
you’re pulled by strings?
Is a puppet master
in the wings?
Did destiny plan
your life for you?
Or can you choose
the things you do?”
Children’s comments:
I borrowed eight GT first graders to try out some of my most difficult books, including this one. One first grader summed up what the others said, “It’s an interesting book. I don’t really understand it all, but I like it.”
259. Let There Be Peace: Prayers from Around the World selected by Jeremy Brooks
The Reverend Jeremy Brooks searched all over the world for prayers asking for peace. He focused on finding prayers written by those in the midst of conflict. I was very moved by the words, some spoken by millions, some spoken for hundreds of years, some spoken by a few.
One prayer:
“O Lord,
remember not only the men and women of goodwill,
but also those of ill will.
But do not only remember the suffering they have inflicted on us,
remember the fruits we bore thanks to this suffering,
our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility,
the courage, the generosity,
the greatness of heart which has grown out of all this.
And when they come to judgement
let all the fruits which we have borne
be their forgiveness. Amen. Amen. Amen.
Found beside the body of a Jewish child
in a German concentration camp, 1945”
Comments of children:
This was a love it-hate it book; kids either really liked it or really hated. it. About half the group rated it a 5 and half gave it a 1. After I read the poems aloud, there was a great stillness in the room.
260. Cycle of Rice, Cycle of Life: A Story of Sustainable Farming by Jan Reynolds
This book relates the story of rice farming in Bali. For centuries, farming in Bali was done in the same way, with planting, harvesting, and allowing fields to lie fallow. Then modern methods were brought in. Rice production unexpectedly fell. Farmers went back to the old ways.
I had a hard time trying to stay with the story in the book. I have some interest in the subject, but not enough for a book of this length.
A little of the book:
“Kadek strikes harvested stalks against the side of a basket. This knocks off the kernels of rice which are collected in the basket below. The rice kernels will then be tossed in large, round sieves to separate out any small pieces of stalk or other materials. Finally, the rice will be laid in the sun to dry thoroughly, before it is packed into bags.”
Children’s comments:
No one liked this book. The children said this book had too many words. No one was interested in reading about growing rice.
261. If America Were a Village: A Book about the People of the United States by David J. Smith

If the World Were a Village is one of my favorite all-time books. I’ve always wanted to use that book at school to talk to kids about what people are like all over the world.

So I was very happy to see this new book, a sequel of sorts. And it is satisfying for someone such as me who loves statistics and who is always trying to figure out what makes people the way they are.

Smith reduces the 306 million people in the United States down to a village of 100 people. He does this to make it clearer to children (and grownup readers) what the people of the US are like.

A few random facts that interested me from the book:

“In 1900, 96 percent (of American immigrants) came from Europe….In 2000, 15 percent came from Europe, 49 percent came from Latin America, 31 percent from Asia and 5 percent from other places.”

“…Americans are not the top users of cell phones…the highest number, 158 per 100 people, in Luxembourg.” Why? I wonder.

“Americans are also the world’s top users of water….You’d need an Olympic-sized swimming pool to hold the water each American uses, on average, each year – about 456,000 gallons….” Whew! That’s a half million gallons of water for each person!

And in one day, Americans use 4 million plastic cups. Scary!

Another scary fact: “Sixty-five people (out of our 100) are overweight.” Oh dear.

I wish the pictures had helped tell the story a little more. For me, I would have liked pictures that enhanced the difficult concepts a bit more. A great place for thinking maps.
Children’s comments:
The children who previewed this book were not very interested in it. They did not like the pictures and the statistics went over their heads. Most children rated it a 3 or a 1. Perhaps it needs an older audience.
262. The American Revolution from A to Z by Laura Crawford
Boys at my school are very interested in war. There is very little out there for these boys. I noticed when I was reading all the old Newbery winners that many of the older titles dealt with fighting and war, subjects that appeal to boys. Why are these types of books no longer written about?
This is a simple alphabet book about the Revolutionary War.
A sample:
“J is for Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson, one of the founders of the United States, was the main author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president. He was a lawyer, architect, writer, inventor, and musician. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.”
Children’s reactions:
This was not a popular choice among the children who previewed the book. A few boys liked the book’s scenes of fighting, but, for the most part, there was a ho-hum reaction. It seems to need an older reader.
263. Just the Right Size: Why Big Animals are Big and Little Animals are Little by Nicola Davies
I’m a person who has a great deal of trouble with scientific concepts. This book explained some principle in science, I think, and I believe I understand the principle better after reading this book, though I couldn’t tell you the name of the principle and I doubt if I could explain it very well. It has something to do with why animals cannot be enormous in size and it has something to do with volume and doubling height causing a big jump in volume. (Glad I am not being tested on the material in this book as I quite obviously am barely grasping any of this.)
The pictures are funny and helped me understand this concept better. If I really wanted to understand this concept, this book would be just the one to read, I think.
A bit:
“Here is a Little Thing. It could be anything—a car, a log, a bar of soap—but it just happens to be a creature (even if it looks a bit like a cube)….
Now let’s meet Big Thing. Big Thing is TWICE the size of Little Thing….
How many Little Things would it take to make one Big Thing?
If you look carefully, you can see that Big Thing’s surface area and cross section are FOUR times bigger than Little Thing’s. But Big Thing’s volume and weight are EIGHT times bigger.”
Children’s reactions:
The group of eight first graders who looked at this book had very little interest in this book. Perhaps this book is aiming at an older audience.
263. Darwin: With Glimpses into His Private Journal & Letters by Alice B. McGinty
The third Cybils nominee that takes on Darwin. Like the other two, this one tells of Darwin’s life. This book includes excerpts from Darwin’s journal and letters.
A bit:
“In 1831, Charles Darwin set sail on the HMS Beagle, beginning what would become a five-year trip around the world. Seasick, he got off at every stop. He explored islands and coasts. He followed rivers. He climbed mountains and hiked through tropical rainforests. What Charles saw filled him with awe and left him believing firmly in a God who had created these wonders.”
Children’s reactions:
I showed a group of eight first graders all three Darwin books. This was the least favorite, though they found the text in this book easy to understand. They liked the pictures better in the other two books.
264. My Japan by Etsuko Watanabe
This book is shows the life of a girl in Japan, told from her point of view. The pictures are as helpful as the text in telling the story. I was fascinated to read about the differences in the lives of a Japanese girl and an American girl.
A bit:
“In Japan, we sleep on futons. They are light and very easy to fold and carry. When you air them out in the sun, they feel warm and fluffy. Mmmm, very nice to sleep on!”
Reactions:
The children were mildly interested in this book. I was surprised to find they were not as interested in the book as I would have predicted. I avoided the page with naked people; a parent has leafed through the book just before I showed it to the children and she did not like that page. I would have trouble putting it into my library as that page would cause a lot of titters from kids.
265. Zero is the Leaves on the Tree by Betsy Franco
The author uses metaphors from children’s lives to explain the concept of zero. I could see this book being used a lot with students to better understand zero or as a writing prompt.
A little from the book:
“Zero is…
the balls in the bin at recess time.”
Reactions from children:
Two unexpected problems with the book: We live in the southern part of the United States and many of the metaphors involved concepts our children never experience (the sound of snowfall, for example). The younger children liked it, but the older children said they got tired of zero.
266. You Are the First Kid on Mars by Patrick O’Brien
With photograph-like paintings and detailed text, this book relates what might happen if a child were to visit Mars. I was taken by the pictures and the details of what a child might experience.
A little from the book:
“You can’t go out on the surface of Mars without a space suit. There’s not enough oxygen to breathe, and it is much too cold. You carry air in tanks on your back, and your suit keeps you warm. Gravity on Mars is less than half as strong as on Earth, so you take big, bouncing steps.”
Children’s reactions:
The children who looked at this book commented on how real the pictures looked.
They were pretty evenly divided as to those who liked the book and those who did not.
267. Tyrannosaurus Math by Michelle Markel
A tyrannosaurus, T-Math, goes through his life and solves math problems. The pictures are bright and fun and the story is compelling and fun. The ending is wonderfully satisfying.
A bit:
“When a meteorite sped toward the earth, he asked himself, ‘sphere or cube?’ before dashing to safety.
And when a volcano launched colorful rocks onto the plain, he arranged them in rows to count them swiftly before lava caught up to him.”
Children’s thoughts:
The large group of first graders and kindergarteners who previewed this book loved it. The illustrations were a big plus for kids who looked at this book. They all said they loved math, so they thought they would like this book. One boy said that he liked how you could read and learn math at the same time.

The bright pictures in this book reminded me on every page of the power of the sun. I felt a glow radiating out of the illustrations. The text focused on the connections between people and plants and light and energy.

An unusual feature of this book was a note that explains the simplifications the authors made for the sake of their young audience. Interesting. I’ve never seen a note explaining what was omitted from a book.

The children liked the bright pictures and the interactive way the text began. Some of the more complicated connections between energy and plants seemed to elude them.

A Sample:

“ Without plants,
you would have no oxygen.
Without plants,
you would have no food.
Without plants,
you could not live.
Without plants,
there would be no life on Earth.”

Children’s Comments:

Jesse, 5, said, “I liked the pictures.”
Ethan, 6, said, “I loved how bright the pictures are.”
Ramsey, 6, said, “I liked when the sun was talking to us.”
Elizabeth, 6, said, “I liked the sentences that tell what is happening in the story.”
Rodrigo, 6, said, “I liked how it exploded.”
Aria, 7, said, “I liked the dedication page.”
Cailyn, 5, “I liked the title of the book.”
Children’s Ratings: 3, 5, 3, 5, 5, 5, 5, 3, 5, 5, 5, 3, 5, 5, 5, 1, 3, 5, 1

I felt like I was the fourth passenger on Apollo 11 when I read this book. I saw what the crewmen saw; I felt what the crewmen felt.

The pictures are fun, like cartoons. The pictures, together with the text, carry you right into the story. Both the pictures and the text are simple, but there is more detailed information for those who want to know more in the back.

The children who listened to the story liked the pictures and the text a lot. They especially liked the way the words were written on the page.

A Sample:

“In the dust and stone

beneath their feet,

no seed has ever grown,

no root has ever reached.

Still secrets wait there,

the story of the Moon:

Where did it come from?

How old is it?

What is it made of?

(Not green cheese.)”

Children’s Comments:

Stevie, 6, said, “I liked the book because it was awesome. The words looked like they were coming out at you.”

Kaylin, 6, said, “It looked cool to be floating in space.”

Joaquin, 6, said, “I liked it when the rocket blasted off and the dirt went up in the air.”

Children’s Ratings: 5, 5, 5, 5

I read the adult version of this book, Three Cups of Tea. I loved the story, but thought the book was poorly written. Perhaps it should have been a magazine article rather than a story. Or perhaps a stronger writer should have taken it on. But the grownup version was a disappointment to me.

Like Three Cups of Tea, I really wanted to like this book. The story is the same powerful tale. An American climber is unable to carry on and comes upon a village where the people nurse him back to health. He wants to find a way to repay the village. One of the village wise men suggests that he listen to the wind. The climber hears children’s voices, studying outdoors, with no school, no pencils or books, and only the occasional teacher. The climber commits to returning to the village and building a school for the children.

Once I read the artist’s note, I came to love the fabric collages used for illustration.

The children I read the story to liked the story and admired the man who came to help the children who had no schools. They had mixed feelings about the illustrations.

A Sample:

‘When Dr. Greg was well enough to go

Home, he asked Haji Ali, our wisest man,

To help him think of something special

He could do for Korphe.

Haji Ali answered Dr. Greg with a puzzle.

“LISTEN TO THE WIND,” he said.’

Children’s Comments:

Lily, 7, said, “I liked the part when they built the bridge.”

Ashlyn, 6, said, “I liked the pictures.”

David, 6, said, “I liked it when they built the school.”

Trenton, 5, said, “The pictures were good where the man was climbing the mountain.”

Kylea, 6, said, “I liked the illustrations.”

Children’s Ratings: 5, 1, 3, 3, 5, 5, 3

Pictures by award-winning illustrator Kadir Nelson.

Text by poet Ntozake Shange.

Excellence. I anticipated excellence.

But perhaps poets are not the best authors of picture books. I had trouble following the text and I’m a grownup. I had to think too much about the words on the page and it wasn’t because they were so rich but because the writing wandered around so much. I’d hoped for powerful words, but I found them to be wobbly.

The children thought the pictures were very realistic. They were moved by the story of Coretta walking to school. The writing was a little too abstract for many of them and they weren’t clear in places about what the writer was trying to say.

The poetic writing, with its whimsical sentence structure, was unclear to them.

Nevertheless, they loved the sounds of the words and the beautiful pictures. They liked the pictures so much that they forgave the text for not serving them well and gave the book a high rating.

A Sample:

“white school bus

left a

funnel of dust

on their faces

but

songs and birds of all colors

and rich soil

where slaves fought freedom

steadied them

in the face of danger”

Children’s Comments:

Jayla, 5, said, “I liked the pictures.”

Silvana, 6, said, “I liked how she changed the laws.”

Abby, 5, said, “I liked them praying.”

Gage, 6, said, “I liked the part where they had to walk five miles to school.”

Jimmy, 6, said, “I liked the people gathering together in the book.”

5, 1, 5, 5, 1, 5, 5, 5, 5

My Thoughts:

One Giant Leap is the story of the first man to step on the moon. The text is written as if it is actually happening, in present tense, and adds a sense of immediacy to the story. Or it did for me.

The paintings were rich and as realistic as a photograph. I loved the beauty of the words and the pictures in this book.

The children liked the cover of the book a lot. They didn’t really like a lot of the other pictures. The story seemed to move too slowly for them.

A Sample:

“Armstrong knows that back on Earth,

Hundreds of millions of people are watching.

He jumps to the landing leg’s round footpad.

He holds on. He pauses. He points his foot and steps off.

The surface is as fine as powdered charcoal.

The treads of his boot leave a perfectly crisp print in the dust.

On the weatherless moon, it will last for millions of years.”

Children’s Comments:

Colt, 6, said, “I liked when they put the flag in the moon.”

Sammy, 6, said, “I liked when the rocket was floating down into the water.”

Juan Pablo, 7, said, “I liked where they were worried if the rocket ship wouldn’t work.”

Children’s Ratings: 5, 1, 5, 5, 5, 1, 1, 5, 3, 3, 5, 3, 5, 4, 1, 5

My Thoughts:

The text of this book wowed me. I could not stop reading to see what would happen to Cousteau. I liked its simplicity and its clearness. I liked how accessible the text was, even for the youngest of readers.

The illustrations were fun and cartoonish. I didn’t like the colors the Yaccarino used for the water at first, every color except ocean blue, I think, but the colors grew on me, and I grew to love them. I was very surprised how much the children liked this book and how much they were interested in this man’s life.

The book also included a table of Cousteau’s life and sources for further study.

A Sample:

“The fish off the coast of Africa were friendly and curious and did not swim away. Cousteau was the first human being they had ever seen.”

Children’s Comments:

Alexis, 6, said, “I liked how he went down in the ocean.”

Vanessa, 6, said, “I liked how he made a camera all by himself.”

Jony, 6, said, “I liked how he saw the seahorse.”

Melanie, 6, said, “I liked when he went down in the ocean.”

Tabitha, 7, said, “I liked how he was on tv.”

Joey, 6, said, “I liked how he got sick and had to go under the water.”

 Children’s Ratings: 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5