Relax and enjoy The View from Saturday

The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg; published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York; 1998 (paperback edition).

In a book that feels like a collection of short stories woven together to create a single story, the Academic Team is introduced.  These four shy sixth graders call themselves The Souls.  They drink high tea every Saturday afternoon.  And they use their complementary skills to build their paraplegic teacher’s confidence.  Sound like an unlikely favorite read?  Give it a try and you’ll be surprised by how easy it is to make lemonade when life gives you lemons!

I was skeptical when I started reading this book.  I loved From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and I couldn’t believe that an author could write a second Newbery Medal winning book 30 years after her first.  Oh, but Ms. Konigsburg did it and did it well.  This coming of age tale weaves together seemingly disparate back stories into a climactic finale that includes high tea, of all things.  I will be recommending this book.  A colleague is using it in an upper elementary book discussion group; I’m anxious to hear what they have to say about it.  There are so many possibilities for a book club, including introducing high tea (when else might they have that opportunity?). 

Crafty Chloe kicks off new series

Crafty Chloe by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrations by Heather Ross; published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, New York; 2012.

Note: This review is based on an uncorrected color proof provided for free by the publisher.  The book is due on shelves February 21, 2012.

Chloe isn’t good at sports or video games but she is very good at making things.  Just give her a pile of scraps or found materials and her imagination goes wild.  With her best friend’s birthday just around the corner, Chloe goes shopping for the perfect gift only to discover a classmate has selected the same doll.  How will Chloe find another “perfect” gift?  With a pad of paper and a pencil, Chloe doodles a few ideas and creates the perfect gift to make.  Her gift is not only a hit with her best friend, but Chloe also saves the day for her classmate.

DiPucchio’s story captures the creative spirit perfectly.  Ross’ pictures match the spirit of the story and illustrate the creative process (sketches, hard work, and even headstands).  Bright colors, a font that looks handwritten, and end pages featuring orange-handled scissors and macaroni necklaces all add to the story of Crafty Chloe.

Chloe was teased for making a gift.  Sounds typical for kids, right?  Making fun of the kid that does things differently is, unfortunately, the status quo.  I was thrilled to read about a character who is not only true-to-life but also responds like a typical kid would.  After being teased, Chloe decides to skip her best friend’s birthday party; but then she comes up with a homemade gift that is unique and perfectly purple, all things that her friend will appreciate.  As parents, we often tell our children that homemade gifts are the best, and DiPucchio’s character proves that.  I look forward to more installments of this series that fosters creativity.  At the time of this review, the Crafty Chloe website, which promises to provide instructions for creating the crafts in the book, was not available.  I hope it’s up soon.**  One of my pet peeves about education today is that the opportunities to be hands-on creative have all but disappeared.  A kid like Chloe, and the resources to learn to craft like her, is much needed to offer informal creative learning opportunities.

I have taken over the monthly drop-in craft at work (in a children’s library).  Chloe is my inspiration for creating easy but interesting projects.  I’d like to start an art club for tweens this autumn.  Although the Crafty Chloe series is intended for a much younger crowd (preschool to early elementary), I would not hesitate to introduce her to tweens and provide them with the link to the website.  Who doesn’t believe that adding googly eyes to anything makes it more interesting?  At a conference I attended, Denise Fleming suggested giving kids sticks, rocks and googly eyes, then encouraging them to take pictures of their creatures in different settings and write a story around those images.  Chloe would agree.

I’ve already passed my copy of Chloe around to librarian friends.  We’re all excited to have a creative hero to share with children, teachers and parents.  She has also inspired some programming ideas.  Since March is National Craft Month, it seems fitting to introduce Chloe and her creative bent with a series of crafts.

** NOTE: I checked the website over the weekend (today is March 5) and the website is live.  Chloe gives instructions for making her glow in the dark pajamas in the first installment of crafts to make at home.  The site is easy to navigate and will be attractive for kids to use.  Visit Crafty Chloe here: http://craftychloe.squarespace.com/.

How They Croaked: wickedly gross, awfully interesting

How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous written by Georgia Bragg, illustrated by Kevin O’Malley; published by Walker Publishing Company, a division of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc., New York; 2011.

Any book with a disclaimer disguised as an introduction is going to get the attention of readers.  Introductions that include lines like the following, will hook reluctant readers for sure:

There are nice things to say about everybody, but this book is full of bad news.  There are funny crying parts and disgusting stupid parts and hideous cool parts, but it’s pretty much one train wreck after another.  And who can tear their eyes away from a train wreck? (from page 2 of the introduction)

Ooh, the disclaimer is true.  It’s gasp out loud gross full of oohs, aahs, and icks.  It’s also a compendium of the infamous in a timeline ranging from King Tut to Albert Einstein.  In addition to the historical facts about very specific people and the times in which they lived (and died), the book includes a couple of fact-filled pages after each chapter and a rich library of sources (“Further Reading and Surfing”) at the end.  O’Malley’s black ink illustrations highlight important and obscure information brilliantly.  He has visually set the tone for Bragg’s words.  Black end pages also add to the macabre elements.

I. Love. This. Book.  Who’d've thought that a graphically gross book about how some famous folk passed would be so gripping and entertaining?  When I say “graphically gross,” there are some descriptions that are very explicit.  Some of the language is middle school worthy too (lots of bodily function discussion).  I cannot imagine this won’t have appeal to upper elementary and middle school boys in particular.

Why did I pick this up in the first place?  A patron challenged me to help her find nonfiction books that read like fiction.  Her two upper elementary aged children had to read 5 nonfiction books each and she wanted to show them that “nonfiction” does not mean “dry and unpalatable.”  Of course I took her straight to Sy Montgomery/Nic Bishop books and the “Who Was…” series.  I showed her Kadir Nelson’s We Are the Ship.  But was there more to choose from?  When this macabre book came up in a further search, we were intrigued.  We thumbed through it together.  Then we almost fought over who got to check it out first (okay, my professional ethics kicked in and she won).  Be sure to make good use of this book!

Sometimes life gets turned Inside Out and Back Again

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai; published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, New York; 2011.

Ten year old Ha has lost her father.  He is missing in action.  With his disappearance, and the imminent fall of Saigon, Ha’s mother has packed up the family to flee the Vietnam War.  Their destination is Alabama.  How will this ten year old girl adapt to the American South?

Thanhha Lai’s stark yet brilliant novel in prose is perhaps the most beautifully written book I’ve read in a long time.  The precise choice of words sometimes strike like pin-pricks to the heart of immigration, bullying, fitting in, and family.  I actually read the book twice, once to learn Ha’s story, then again to be swallowed by the poetry.  Just when I felt too overwhelmed by Ha’s plight, I found myself laughing at some absurdly typical kid event, like learning and using new vocabulary or trying new food.  I see why this was chosen the winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

That being said, I do not think children will read the book.  Often the books we adults find enchanting and beautiful are boring and inaccessible to the intended audience.  With pushing, like as a school assignment or book challenge, it will be read and probably enjoyed.  But not without pushing and prodding.  Because it is so beautifully written and because it offers a lesson in diversity and acceptance, I hope it is pushed and pushed hard.  Teachers may want to share it as a classroom read aloud.  Librarians should use it in displays about immigration, ethnicity, and even bullying.

Washington at Valley Forge perfect partner for Anderson’s Forge

Washington at Valley Forge by Russell Freedman; published by Holiday House, New York; 2008.

Valley Forge marked a turning point for the rebels in the American Revolution.  Ragtag soldiers, most unprepared for harsh winter conditions, gathered at Valley Forge to prepare for new battles against the Redcoats.  In unbelievably cruel conditions, General George Washington stood shoulder to shoulder in the snow with his troops building shelters.  Why did Washington choose this place to spend the winter?  Where were the wagons, long overdue, bearing food, clothing and other supplies?  And how did the future first president of the United States of America keep morale strong and train this motley crew to win the war for freedom?  All these questions are answered in Russell Freedman’s Washington at Valley Forge.

I admit that I pulled this book off the library shelves shortly after finishing Laurie Halse Anderson’s Forge. So much of that story was new to me; how much literary license did the author take?  I also admit that it took me some time to actually open the cover of Washington at Valley Forge. After Anderson’s riveting tale, I wasn’t sure a nonfiction account would hold my interest.  With Russell Freedman behind the pen, I should not have worried.  I was drawn into the history immediately.  (Washington at Valley Forge was an Orbis Pictus honoree in 2009.)  I even discovered a few “aha!” moments, deeper explanations of Curzon’s experiences.  The maps were created with the assistance of an archivist from Valley Forge National Historic Park–talk about accuracy!–and really helped me picture Curzon’s movements in Forge.  The illustrations in Freedman’s book are reproductions of engravings, paintings, and magazine images.  Overall, the book provided history in words and images that made this turning point in the American Revolution real for me.

As a librarian, I am always thinking of how to pair fiction with nonfiction.  In the case of Forge and Washington at Valley Forge, synergy occurs; the two books offer a view of Valley Forge from different perspectives that work beautifully together to create a 360 degree view.  I believe these two books should be read together.  I also want to make clear that Washington at Valley Forge is not a picture book for preschoolers or even early elementary aged children; this book is for upper elementary students at the youngest, and most definitely for middle school students.

Synergy apparent in collaborations in Ballet for Martha

Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, illustrated by Brian Floca; published by Roaring Brook Press, New York; 2010.

The synergy of collaboration is the theme in this multiple-award winning book.  American composer Aaron Copland, choreographer Martha Graham, and artist Isamu Noguchi worked together to make Martha Graham’s concept of capturing America’s spirit in dance a reality.  The resulting ballet, Appalachian Spring, has become an American classic!

Just as the three visionaries worked together to capture the American spirit in art, so the writers and illustrators have collaborated to capture the process of creating Appalachian Spring.  From the robin’s egg blue end pages, through the storytelling, images, and resources at the end, the synergy of this book is remarkable.  Words and pictures drew me into the story of the artists as well as into the tale of a springtime wedding between a farmer and his bride.  It was no surprise to learn that Ballet for Martha was recognized with multiple awards (2011 Robert F. Sibert Honor book, 2011 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award, 2011 ALSC Notable Book List) and starred reviews.  Collaborating is not easy, but to do so successfully twice (in creating Appalachian Spring as well as writing about it!) is remarkable.  And just like the pieces of the ballet–the music, dance and set–work together to create a whole that is more than the sum of its parts, the book has done the same.  Part history lesson, part interpretation of music and dance, and part biography, Ballet for Martha tells the story of a collaboration that sums up the American experience.

During my tenure in an elementary school library, fulfilling book requests from the music teacher was a chore.  There were very few books to offer her.  I would enthusiastically recommend this book to her now, and include the links to the YouTube videos that captured a television performance of the ballet.  In any library, I would include this book in a family story time, and maybe only show part 3 of the YouTube videos (recognize that first song?).  Any spring displays would have to incorporate this book with a CD of Copland’s inspired score.

If the book has piqued your interest about the ballet, please watch the 4 part videos!  I’ve embedded them here so that librarians, music teachers, or anyone interested in watching this American classic can do so from this location!

The Storm in the Barn whisks reader back to dusty Kansas

The Storm in the Barn written and illustrated by Matt Phelan; published by Candlewick Press, Somerville, Massachusetts; 2009.

Eleven year old Jack hasn’t seen rain since he was seven.  His sister is struggling with dust pneumonia and members of the community begin to think Jack has “dust dementia.”  It’s 1937 and Kansas has become the Dust Bowl.  When the neighbors move away from the desolation of a dust-covered farm, Jack notices bizarre activity emanating from their locked barn.  In between his trips to explore the barn, life around him becomes more desperate.  All the farmers gather to round up and slaughter rabbits (who have been eating the meager green that dares grow in the dust).  Bullies torment Jack.  But it is Jack, in spite of the world falling apart around him, who is the hero.

Phelan has created a surreal yet dramatically accurate portrayal of the Dust Bowl era.  His illustrations in this graphic novel are predominantly overheated browns when we are following Jack’s historically accurate life.  When folklore or fable appear, in the storekeeper’s “Jack” stories or in scenes within the barn, full color or cool blues tell the story.  It was painful for me to look into the faces of Jack’s parents; Phelan captures the essence of the WPA photos of the Great Depression in their hopeless, gaunt countenances.  And the “phantom” in the barn is frighteningly ominous; I rooted for Jack’s victory but doubted he could vanquish this evil presence.

Words are spare in Phelan’s book.  Incorporating folklore from the era, along with excerpts from L. Frank Baum’s Oz books, not only assist in the storytelling but also put the reader firmly in the time period.  The author’s note at the end of the book helps fill in the blanks of the story as well as put us in his shoes as he created this remarkable project.

It is no wonder this book won the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction in 2010, the first graphic novel to do so.  Nor is it surprising that it made ALSC’s Notable Book List.  Paired with Karen Hesse’s Out of the Dust, the two would help sixth graders understand the desperation of this event in American history.  I’d also be sure to include images from the FSA’s photo project covering the Great Depression and Dust Bowl.  The Library of Congress has created a slideshow in Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/sets/72157618541455384/) that is invaluable.  This image is from the collection; Phelan must have been affected by this woman because his depiction of Jack’s mother is reminiscent of this photo.

"Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange

Teachers will be interested in reading through the suggestions on this website: http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/storminthebarn.html.  Certainly, I would include this book on a pathfinder about the Dust Bowl, especially since upper elementary and middle school students study the era.

Words and pictures tell story of The Dreamer

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan; illustrated by Peter Sis; published by Scholastic, New York; 2010.

Neftali Reyes was a sickly child.  Maybe that’s why he was a dreamer.  His overbearingly strict father worked hard to break his habit of collecting what appeared to be garbage and wasting time listening to the muse in his head rather than playing outside.  He watched his father change older brother Rodolfo from a happy boy with a future as a professional singer to a beaten businessman.  But Neftali was not like Rodolfo.  Nothing his father did broke his spirit.  In fact, he found a mentor in his Uncle Orlando.  With Uncle Orlando’s help, Neftali developed his writer’s voice and went away to college.  He also wrapped himself in an alter ego, becoming the real-life poet Pablo Neruda.

Ryan was inspired by a single story from the poet’s childhood.  The simple transaction of trading a treasured pine cone for a lamb pull-toy teased at her imagination.  What was it like for the poet growing up?  After much research, a story formed about Neruda.  Ryan’s combination of poetry, lyrical prose, and muse-like questions creates a vivid image of Pablo Neruda’s challenging childhood and dreamlike world within it.

With Sis’ incomparable way of illustrating the intangible, the book becomes complete.  Each chapter starts with a triptych illustrating important points in the coming chapter (all of which have single word names).  Then paired with questions posed by the muse or a snippet of a poem is a surreal image perfectly representing the unrepresentable.  My favorite is the fountain pen, flying on wings of Neruda’s childhood wanderings.  The cover is intriguing as well.  The inner world of the boy’s silhouette contrasts with the forest he’s standing in.  Sis has perfectly captured the dream world that Neruda inhabited as a child in Chile a hundred years ago.

The use of green ink ties the whole book together.  Fans of Pablo Neruda will understand the reference (he preferred to write in green ink, as it represented esperanza, or hope, to him).  And, like the cherry on top of a sundae, rich resources for further reading are included.  Ryan describes her research, provides a brief biography of the man, and a bibliography.  Some of the poems that most inspired this book are also included.

While I understand that this book is intended for upper elementary and middle school children, I think the historical and creative aspects of Neruda’s life would make for a great cross-curricular project.  I also think that parents and educators may want to read a chapter aloud to their children and then use the muse’s questions as a writing exercise.

Show Way is family, American history

Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson; illustrated by Hudson Talbott; published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, New York; 2005.

Jacqueline Woodson has created a book that chronicles a bit of American history along with some impressive family history.  The story of generations of women handing down their ability to share knowledge with others first through their needlework (creating “show ways” or maps to freedom on quilts) then in their ability to tell stories is written as though an oral history was captured on paper.  There’s a bit of a history lesson, about slavery and the pursuit of freedom, in Woodson’s words.  But even more importantly, there is a story of strength and love being passed from generation to generation; a story every mother wants to share with her children.  Remarkably, Hudson Talbott’s multi media illustrations further the story in breathtaking detail.  Look especially for the image of the sisters looking overwhelmed in front of a wall of hateful history.  Using watercolors, chalk, muslin and other fabrics adds dimension to the images, like piecing together the pieces of a patchwork quilt.  Put all together, Show Way sends a powerful message of love, hope and endurance.

All I thought about while reading Show Way was, “Why isn’t this book included in book lists for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day?”  When I worked in an elementary school library, I struggled to find powerful books about King and his message;   a way to use words and pictures to reach the minds and hearts of even the youngest students.  This book does all that.  I will recommend it to others for read-alouds in Black History Month or on MLK Day; I will refer it to parents wondering how to share family history with their own children.  Woodson has shown the way to do that!

Robot Zot: What’s he got? Scieszka & Shannon!

Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka; illustrated by David Shannon; published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York; 2009.

Jon Scieszka, champion of reluctant readers and king of kid comedy, has written the perfect read-aloud book for boys and girls alike.  Imagine reading Zot’s parts in Robot Voice and then shifting into TV commercial announcer voice and then into the voice of the narrator.  And there are refrains for the children to repeat in their best robot voices.  But wait!  There’s more!  Fans of David Shannon will recognize the over-the-top, larger-than-life illustrations.  His close-ups (like Robot Zot’s crazed face when faced with the terrible General), ground shots and overhead views creates an almost cinematic feel for the adventure story.  Big kids will find a hidden, sub-story in the illustrations (look for the befuddled pet owner throughout the story).  His acrylics-on-illustration-board images have been meticulously reproduced, including details like brush strokes.

Of course I recommend that this book be included on lists for reluctant readers.  Anyone planning story times must use this book; it’s a natural read-aloud.  Also, it’s a must-read for fans of Scieszka and Shannon alike.