Speak

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, Laurie Halse. 2009. Speak. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN-10: 0142414735 ISBN-13: 978-0142414736

PLOT SUMMARY
“I am an Outcast” Melinda Sordino, a 14-year-old freshman thinks as she walks down the hall on her first day at high school. Her former friends have ostracized her for calling the cops at an end of summer party. Speak is a gripping story about an incident that is so terrible Melinda retreats into herself and refuses to talk to anyone unless it is necessary, and even then, it seldom comes out in the way she intends. No one seems to care about her lack of talking, her lack of hygiene, the gnawing of her lips until they scab over and bleed, cutting classes and failing grades - including her parents - except for her art teacher in whose class she seems to find solace, compassion and safety. Melinda has built a protective shield around herself so no one can come in. Retreating into this private shell allows her the protection of not having to tell the world what has happened to cause her this total destruction of her previously happy world. This story continues with her slowly deteriorating until she is confronted with the Beast who caused her withdrawal and does she find the courage to survive?

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Written in first person, you see and hear who Melinda is and how deeply distressed she feels.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson deals with a terrifying subject (teen rape) and allows us to see through the victims mind how devastating this act of violence can impact a young girl’s mental state. High school can be very intimidating on a normal day with young people trying to figure out who they are, what groups they want to be involved in, how they look, etc. A stressful passage of life we all go through under normal times. How horrible it must be to be 14, scared, afraid, and thinking that she is alone with no one whom she trusts to share this pain.

Laurie Halse Anderson allows us to see this experience in a gentle but harsh reality. I was afraid that Melinda was going to result in suicide but was glad that was not the case. I also was encouraged to read that this book is used in high school curriculums to address this problem that happens more than we realize and that choices of support are provided allowing young people to realize they are not alone. This book should also be read by parents who will be able to see the warning signs and not be afraid to talk openly with their children. Thank goodness for caring teachers who also should be aware of their students’ mood changes and seeing the signs through cutting classes, grades changing and not speaking. Great story on a subject no one likes to address with such clarity.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Library Journal
Gr 8 Up-A ninth grader becomes a social pariah when she calls the police to bust a summer bash and spends the year coming to terms with the secret fact that she was raped during the party. A story told with acute insight, acid wit, and affecting prose. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up-Young, talented actress Mandy Siefried becomes Melinda, a troubled teen who struggles to cope after a rape, as she reads Laurie Halse Anderson's award-winning novel (Farrar, 1999). Although Melinda calls the police, she remains silent about the incident even with her parents and friends. Siefried's expressive voice depicts the tender, insecure youth and her freshman year at high school. This compelling novel presents a realistic portrayal of life in a contemporary high school. The narrator reads at a quick pace, pausing effectively to increase the dramatic mood. She easily recreates the sound of a power saw, and does a fine job of whining, singing, and presenting the cheerleaders' "Go horny Hornets." Listeners will become emotionally involved in this very effective presentation which is sure to please teen audiences.-Claudia Moore, W.T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Review
A frightening and sobering look at the cruelty and viciousness that pervade much of contemporary high school life, as real as today's headlines. At the end of the summer before she enters high school, Melinda attends a party at which two bad things happen to her. She gets drunk, and she is raped. Shocked and scared, she calls the police, who break up the party and send everyone home. She tells no one of her rape, and the other students, even her best friends, turn against her for ruining their good time. By the time school starts, she is completely alone, and utterly desolate. She withdraws more and more into herself, rarely talking, cutting classes, ignoring assignments, and becoming more estranged daily from the world around her. Few people penetrate her shell; one of them is Mr. Freeman, her art teacher, who works with her to help her express what she has so deeply repressed. When the unthinkable happens—the same upperclassman who raped her at the party attacks her again—something within the new Melinda says no, and in repelling her attacker, she becomes whole again. The plot is gripping and the characters are powerfully drawn, but it is its raw and unvarnished look at the dynamics of the high school experience that makes this a novel that will be hard for readers to forget. (Fiction. 12+)

CONNECTIONS
Laurie Halse Anderson
http://madwomanintheforest.com
Speak – Teacher’s Section
http://madwomanintheforest.com/teachers/youngadult-speak/
Teacher’s Guide
Sexual Assault Survivor Resources
Listen-A Poem by Laurie
Here’s the thing-Speak Sequel?
Hand –on Activities and Social Action Projects

AWARDS/HONORS
National Awards
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Top-10 Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults
Edgar Allan Poe Award finalist
IRA Young Adult Choice
Junior Library Guild Selection
Michael L. Printz Honor Book (American Library Association)
National Book Award Finalist
New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
New York Times Bestseller List
SCBWI Golden Kite Award
YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults
State Awards
Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award runner-up
California Young Reader Medal nominee
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award nominee (Maryland)
Garden State Teen Book Award (New Jersey)
Iowa Teen Book Award nominee
Heartland Award (Kansas)
Kentucky Bluegrass Award
Maud Hart Lovelace Youth Reading Award nominee (Minnesota)
Teen Three Apples Award nominee (New York)
2005 New York Reads Together Book
Carolyn W. Field Award (Pennsylvania)
Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Young Adult List
Rhode Island Teen Book Award nominee
South Carolina Young Adult Book Award
Volunteer State Young Adult Book Award (Tennessee)
Tayshas High School Reading List (Texas)
Evergreen Young Adult Book Award (Washington)
Sequoya Book Award (Oklahoma)
Young Reader’s Award Nominee (Nevada)
Bookseller and Media Recognition
Booklist Editors’ Choice
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Blue Ribbon Book
Fanfare, The Horn Book’s Honor List
Los Angeles Times Award finalist
Publishers Weekly Bestseller
Booklist Top 10 First Novels (1999)
Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year (1999)

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Krosoczka, Jarrett J. 2009. Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN-10: 0375846832 ISBN-13: 978-0375846830

PLOT SUMMARY
Lunch Lady, who is a secret crime fighter, and her assistant Betty do more than just serve up lunch. When a favorite teacher, who has never missed a day of work, is taken ill and replaced with a creepy substitute, Lunch Lady knows something is just not right. With three curious students, her assistant Betty and her assortment of crime fighting gadgets, Lunch Lady will serve up lunch while saving the school form the Cyborg Substitute. HIIYAAAH!

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute is a graphic novel targeted towards a younger audience, but will be enjoyed by adults as well. The story is easy to follow and predictable but wonderful for engaging young children, especially ones who don’t like to read.

The drawings are fun and the gadgets are hysterical. Who wouldn’t want to see a yellow-gloved lunch lady using fish-stick nunchucks, a spatu-copter, boomerang banana, lunch-tray laptop, milk-cam and more. Here is an unusual heroine, who uses witty sayings like, “Should I serve up some whaaamburgers and cries?” while fighting the army of cyborg substitutes. Three curious students, who follow Lunch Lady, to see where she goes after work, get to see Lunch Lady in action.

There is a good lesson about bullying and how the three children, after watching Lunch Lady in action, realize that you don’t have to be big to stand up to the school bully.

The illustrations in this book were created using ink on paper and digital coloring. The Lunch Lady’s yellow gloves were the inspiration for the only color besides black used in the illustrations. Jarrett J. Krosoczka drew each page in brush and ink and some pen. The color is done on the computer but given the look of the old printing press.

When I was teaching 6th grade there were several boys who drew cartoons. It was fun entertainment. I can see Jarrett J. Krosoczka in the boys I had and can only imagine his cartoons then. Here he has taken his hobby and turned it into a very rewarding career. I hope that the young people reading these graphic novels will be encouraged to continue with their visions. Lucky for us that Jarrett J. Krosoczka continued with his, for they are hilarious and entertaining. You will find yourself laughing out loud!

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Publishers Weekly
In this campy graphic novel series debut, Krosoczka (Punk Farm) introduces Lunch Lady, a scrappy, permed crime fighter with rolled-up sleeves, yellow dishwashing gloves and an apron. Down in the school's boiler room, she and her older sidekick, Betty, test gadgets (like a handheld spatula-helicopter and a banana boomerang) and keep an eye on things. Three children—Hector, Dee and Terrence—speculate about Lunch Lady's after-school life and follow her when she jumps on her moped, in hot pursuit of a suspicious substitute teacher. Krosoczka's plot is somewhat thin: the title and cover illustration announce the trouble with the sub; the only mysteries are the mastermind and motive behind the sub's deployment. Yet Krosoczka crafts Lunch Lady as a tough, capable heroine who deploys such exclamations as “Nutritious!” and bon mots like “Should I serve up some whaaamburgers and cries?” when on a robot-destroying tear. With plenty of silliness and slapstick in the text and panel art alike, this comic should alleviate lunch-line boredom with visions of servers wielding fishstick-nunchucks and growling, “Today's special is a knuckle sandwich.” Also available: Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians. Ages 7–10. (July)

Children's Literature
This book is a wonderful way to introduce mysteries to the younger child. The super detective is called the Lunch Lady and has a helper called Betty. While busily investigating a missing teacher and a strange substitute, she still finds time to make the school lunch that consists of pizza with gravy, as she likes to put gravy on many items. During her investigation she has a variety of tools at her fingertips like a spatu-copter and a lunch-tray laptop. She also uses chicken nuggets for bombs and fish sticks for nunchucks. Gee, I wonder how old and dried up they were? Three students help her in her quest to solve the mystery. Not only do the children fight for what is right, they also learn more about themselves. This is a delightful mystery with a surprise ending that will please the reader. Books written in graphic format are favorites of mine. They make it just the thing for students who are reluctant readers and never seem to finish a book on their own. They are also a wonderful way to introduce a variety of genres to young people. Young readers who want to read anything they can get their hands on will enjoy the graphics and fast-paced text. The full-color graphics make an enormous impact on the story. Lunch Lady is a colorful character, and both boys and girls will enjoy the mystery! Reviewer: Kathie M. Josephs

Kirkus Reviews
Punk Farm creator Krosoczka breaks out of picture books with this agreeably silly graphic novel for young readers. Classmates Hector, Dee and Terrence have always wondered about the Lunch Lady: What does she do when she's not making chickenpatty pizza? Tending to her many cats? Taking care of her family? After some amateur sleuthing, the kids discover that their Lunch Lady is out fighting the forces of evil, of course, with her trusty sidekick, Betty. This dynamic duo uncovers a nefarious plot hatched by a villainous teacher to overrun the school with cyborg substitutes. Backed up by Betty's ingenious arsenal of amalgamated cafeteria utensils including Spatucopter, Chicken Nugget Bombs and Lunch Tray Laptop, the two are on the case. This graphic novel alternates between boxy, regular panels and fullpage spreads, keeping readers' visual interest piqued. Filled with goofy puns and grayscale art with cheery yellow accents, this is a delightfully fun escapist read. Be sure to recommend this to fans of Captain Underpants. Publishes simultaneously with Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians (9780375946844; paper 9780375846847). (Graphic fiction. 710)

CONNECTIONS
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
http://www.studiojjk.com
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at
www.randomhouse.com/teachers

AWARDS/HONORS
Winner 2009-Kid’s Indie Next List “Inspired Recommendations for Kids from Indi Booksellers”

The Graveyard Book

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. 2008. Read by Neil Gaiman. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN-10: 0061551899 ISBN-13: 978-0061551895

PLOT SUMMARY
Nobody Owens (Bod) is a normal boy, who happens to live in a graveyard and is being raised by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, ghosts, who were childless and dead for 250 years. Bod’s family was killed by a man Jack, who continues to look for him. The ghosts grant him the “Freedom of the Graveyard” (a special charm that gives Bod sanctuary within the graveyard’s boundaries). Silas, who may be a vampire, agrees to be his guardian, provides what he needs and his education was provided by an array of instructors including a werewolf. Although safe in the graveyard, dangers exist with witches, an ancient Indigo Man, a gateway to a desert inhabited by ghouls, the Sleer, and the man Jack.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Neil Gaiman is a true master of mystery. Not only is he an accomplished writer, but an entertaining performer. I listened to the unabridged audio book and was swept away with his narration of the story, the gypsy music at the beginning of each CD, which set the tone for the graveyard, the English environment, the language of the time and the descriptions of the characters. Listening to the story allows the audience to use their imagination and create their own pictures of the graveyard and its inhabitants. The first sentence, “There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.”, should have you hooked into wanting more. This is a story of good versus evil.

The story is fiction, but reads with an element of truth. Neil Gaiman has taken an odd setting of a graveyard and turned it into a place of mysteries to explore, compassion, friendships, home, education, and love. Bod is loved and cared for by usual inhabitants, dead and alive, grows into a confident and educated young man who craves contact with the living. The story begins with evil and this battle is still underlying to the climatic ending.

The Graveyard Book is a must have in book and audio book for any library. What more could you ask for than mystery, intrigue, love, humor, ghosts and surviving evil!

The opening music is Danse Macabre played on the banjo by Béla Fleck. This music really set the tone for mystery and excitement.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
From School Library Journal
Grade 5–8—Somewhere in contemporary Britain, "the man Jack" uses his razor-sharp knife to murder a family, but the youngest, a toddler, slips away. The boy ends up in a graveyard, where the ghostly inhabitants adopt him to keep him safe. Nobody Owens, so named because he "looks like nobody but himself," grows up among a multigenerational cast of characters from different historical periods that includes matronly Mistress Owens; ancient Roman Caius Pompeius; an opinionated young witch; a melodramatic hack poet; and Bod's beloved mentor and guardian, Silas, who is neither living nor dead and has secrets of his own. As he grows up, Bod has a series of adventures, both in and out of the graveyard, and the threat of the man Jack who continues to hunt for him is ever present. Bod's love for his graveyard family and vice versa provide the emotional center, amid suspense, spot-on humor, and delightful scene-setting. The child Bod's behavior is occasionally too precocious to be believed, and a series of puns on the name Jack render the villain a bit less frightening than he should be, though only momentarily. Aside from these small flaws, however, Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family.—Megan Honig, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Bookmarks Magazine
Neil Gaiman's fantasies have entranced both younger readers and adults; this gothic fantasy, a coming-of-age story modeled after The Jungle Book and with slight nods to Harry Potter, will appeal to all ages. By juxtaposing the world of the dead with the world of the living, Gaiman creates a fantastical world where the thoughtful protagonist comes to understand the power of family as he experiences the fear, pains, confusions, and joys of growing up. Critics praised each illustrated chapter as its own little gem, with moments both tender and terrifying—and each equally exciting. The Graveyard Book is sure to become a book to last the ages.
Copyright 2008 Bookmarks Publishing LLC --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* While a highly motivated killer murders his family, a baby, ignorant of the horrific goings-on but bent on independence, pulls himself out of his crib and toddles out of the house and into the night. This is most unfortunate for the killer, since the baby was his prime target. Finding his way through the barred fence of an ancient graveyard, the baby is discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a stable and caring couple with no children of their own—and who just happen to be dead. After much debate with the graveyard’s rather opinionated denizens, it is decided that the Owenses will take in the child. Under their care and the sponsorship of the mysterious Silas, the baby is named “Nobody” and raised among the dead to protect him from the killer, who relentlessly pursues him. This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming. Although marketed to the younger YA set, this is a rich story with broad appeal and is highly recommended for teens of all ages. Grades 6-10. --Holly Koelling --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

CONNECTIONS
Neil Gaiman
http://www.mousecircus.com
http://www.neilgaiman.com/
Béla Fleck
http://www.belafleck.com/

AWARDS/HONORS
Booktrust Teenage Prize, 2009 Winner United Kingdom Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 2009 Honor Book Fiction and Poetry United States
Cuffies: Children's Booksellers Choose Their Favorite (and not-so-favorite) Books of the Year, 2008 Honorable Mention Best Novel for Young Readers That Adults Would Love If They Knew About It United States
Cybils, 2008 Winner Fantasy and Science Fiction (Middle Grade) United States
Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award, 2009 Winner United States
Indies Choice Book Award, 2009 Winner Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book United States
John Newbery Medal, 2009 Winner United States
Locus Award, 2009 Winner Young Adult Book United States
Los Angeles Times Book Prize, 2008 Finalist Young Adult Literature United States
School Library Journal Battle of the (Kids') Books, 2009 Nominee United States

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Klages, Ellen. The Green Glass Sea.2006.Read by Julie Dretzin.Recorded Books, LLC.2007. ISBN-10: 1428146393 ISBN-13: 978-1428146396

PLOT SUMMARY
Dewey Gordon is a ten-year-old girl who loves inventing electronic devices and reads a book for boys about mechanics. Her father, a Harvard mathematician, is working for the government on a top secret project, so Dewey is living with her grandmother. Her grandmother suffers a stroke, so Dewey is shipped out on a train to meet up with her father in Los Alamos, New Mexico – a top secret location that does not exist on the map. With apprehension, Dewey worries about the unknown until she is reunited with her dad. She finds a wonderful place that is a treasure trove of discarded electronics in the dump yard for her inventions, and she realizes she is the happiest she has ever been.

Suze Gordon is another girl who lives on “the Hill”, which is what they call Los Alamos, where both of her parents are scientists – working on the same project as Dewey’s dad. Due to Dewey’s dad being called to Washington for meetings the girls are brought together and Dewey will be staying with the Gordon’s until her dad comes back to “the Hill”. This does not make Suze happy, since Dewey is considered a strange girl and she doesn’t want to have to be associated with her. Suze is not as popular as she would like to be and eventually the girls become friends. They share a unique life during a very changing world.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The Green Glass Sea is an awesome historical fiction story. I believe this should be incorporated in school curriculum required readings, not just for middle school, but also for high school. The facts about World War II, the Manhattan Project and the sacrifices that these scientists and their families experienced can be compared to events that we are faced with during the present. The struggles that children go through coming of age, trying to find out who they want to be, while dealing with the pressures of peers and family, are the same for each generation.

Ellen Klages’ writing helped me to understand the frustrations of the living conditions in Los Alamos, the quality-of-life in general during this time, the music, and the cars. I was also able to understand the frustrations of the scientists while making the bomb, as well as the controversy they endured over the ramifications and repercussions of making something so powerful. This is a very powerful book which caused me to experience so many emotions including laughter, anger, surprise, new knowledge and tears. I will encourage the reading of this book.

I chose this book in unabridged audio format. I was very pleased with Julie Dretzin’s performance in narration. She brought the characters alive by expressing their personalities, experiences, emotions and the setting of the story through her talent as a story teller.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8–Two girls spend a year in Los Alamos as their parents work on the secret gadget that will end World War II. Dewey is a mechanically minded 10-year-old who gets along fine with the scientists at the site, but is teased by girls her own age. When her mathematician father is called away, she moves in with Suze, who initially detests her new roommate. The two draw closer, though, and their growing friendship is neatly set against the tenseness of the Los Alamos compound as the project nears completion. Clear prose brings readers right into the unusual atmosphere of the secretive scientific community, seen through the eyes of the kids and their families. Dewey is an especially engaging character, plunging on with her mechanical projects and ignoring any questions about gender roles. Occasional shifts into first person highlight the protagonist's most emotional moments, including her journey to the site and her reaction to her father's unexpected death. After the atomic bomb test succeeds, ethical concerns of both youngsters and adults intensify as the characters learn how it is ultimately used. Many readers will know as little about the true nature of the project as the girls do, so the gradual revelation of facts is especially effective, while those who already know about Los Alamos's historical significance will experience the story in a different, but equally powerful, way.–Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
In November 1943, 10-year-old budding inventor Dewey Kerrigan sets off on a cross-country train ride to be with her father, who is engaged in "war work." She is busy designing a radio when a fellow passenger named Dick Feynman offers to help her. Feynman's presence in this finely wrought first novel is the first clue that Dewey is headed for Los Alamos. The mystery and tension surrounding "war work" and what Dewey knows only as "the gadget" trickles down to the kids living in the Los Alamos compound, who often do without adult supervision. Although disliked by her girl classmates, "Screwy Dewey" enjoys Los Alamos. There are lots of people to talk with about radios (including "Oppie"), and she has the wonderful opportunity to dig through the nearby dump for discarded science stuff. However, when Dewey's father leaves for Washington, she is left to fend off the biggest bully in Los Alamos. The novel occasionally gets mired down in detail, but the characters are exceptionally well drawn, and the compelling, unusual setting makes a great tie-in for history classes. John Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

CONNECTIONS
Ellen Klages
http://www.ellenklages.com/
Sequel to The Green Glass Sea
Klages, Ellen. White Sand, Red Menace. ISBN-10: 0670062359 ISBN-13: 978-0670062355
Nonfiction Science Books
Klages, Ellen. The Science Explorer. (with Pat Murphy, et. al.). ISBN-10: 0805045369 ISBN-13: 978-0805045369
Klages, Ellen. The Science Explorer Out and About.(with Pat Murphy, et. al.). ISBN-10: 0805045376 ISBN-13: 978-0805045376



AWARDS/HONORS
Winner, 2007 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
Winner, 2007 Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature
Winner, 2007 New Mexico State Book Award (YA)
Finalist, 2007 Quill Awards (Young Adult)
Finalist, Northern California Book Awards, 2007 (Children's)
Finalist, Locus Awards, 2007 (Best First Novel)
Book Sense #1 Children's Pick - Winter 2006/2007
One Book, One Nebraska for Kids - 2009
2009 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award Master List, (Illinois)
2008 NeNe Award List (Hawaii)
2008 Bluegrass Award Master List (Kentucky)
2007-08 Maine Student Book Award List
2007-08 Isinglass Teen Read List (New Hampshire)
2009 Rhode Island Teen Book Award List
2008-09 South Carolina Junior Book Award List
Starred Review in Publisher's Weekly
Starred Review in The Horn Book
A Horn Book Fanfare selection
A Junior Library Guild selection
A Scholatic Book Club selection

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Choldenko, Gennifer. 2004. Al Capone Does My Shirts. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN-10: 0142403709 ISBN-13: 978-0142403709

PLOT SUMMARY
Here is a story about coming of age with more pressures than a normal kid should deal with. It is 1935. Moose Flannagan and his family have moved again, this time to Alcatraz Island, where his father has taken a job as an electrician and prison guard. Leaving his best friend Pete has left Moose feeling depressed and mad, because his sister Natalie, who is autistic, has an opportunity to enter the Ester P. Marinoff School, where she can finally receive the help she needs. His mother is willing to try anything to help Natalie, including voodoo, prayers, moving away from family and friends and having Moose take his sister with him everywhere he goes. As you can imagine, living on an island with the most dangerous criminals does have an appeal to the other students at the school Moose attends in San Francisco. Moose also has to deal with the enterprising warden’s daughter, Piper, who does no wrong in her father’s eyes, but is quick to bully the other children on the island into her schemes. Ultimately Piper comes up with a plan that involves Al Capone, who has a hand in helping Natalie get into the school that will help her. The title alone should entice you into wanting to find out more.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Gennifer Choldenko got the idea for Al Capone Does My Shirts from an article she read in the San Francisco Chronicle about the prison guard families who grew up on Alcatraz Island. She includes a wonderful historic photograph of Alcatraz Island that reads like a map of where everyone lives and what the names of the buildings were. This really is a great way for the reader to connect with Moose and visualize what his living conditions were like during 1935, while comparing the differences and similarities to present day. It will be easy for readers - young and old - to relate to the struggles that Moose faces, empathize with him and celebrate how much he has contributed to his sister’s success. Here is a young boy who truly cares for his family while dealing with everyday issues and challenges that most children don’t encounter. It is always refreshing to experience compassion towards others while enjoying a happy ending.

Ms. Choldenko includes an author’s note at the end of the story with historical facts about the island and an explanation of autism. She dedicates the book to her sister, Gina Johnson who had a severe form of autism.

Book designed by Gina DiMassi. Text set in Caslon.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-8--In this appealing novel set in 1935, 12-year-old Moose Flanagan and his family move from Santa Monica to Alcatraz Island where his father gets a job as an electrician at the prison and his mother hopes to send his autistic older sister to a special school in San Francisco. When Natalie is rejected by the school, Moose is unable to play baseball because he must take care of her, and her unorthodox behavior sometimes lands him in hot water. He also comes to grief when he reluctantly goes along with a moneymaking scheme dreamed up by the warden's pretty but troublesome daughter. Family dilemmas are at the center of the story, but history and setting--including plenty of references to the prison's most infamous inmate, mob boss Al Capone--play an important part, too. The Flanagan family is believable in the way each member deals with Natalie and her difficulties, and Moose makes a sympathetic main character. The story, told with humor and skill, will fascinate readers with an interest in what it was like for the children of prison guards and other workers to actually grow up on Alcatraz Island.--Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Gr. 5-8. Twelve-year-old Moose moves to Alcatraz in 1935 so his father can work as a prison guard and his younger, autistic sister, Natalie, can attend a special school in San Francisco. It is a time when the federal prison is home to notorious criminals like gangster Al Capone. Depressed about having to leave his friends and winning baseball team behind, Moose finds little to be happy about on Alcatraz. He never sees his dad, who is always working; and Natalie's condition-- her tantrums and constant needs--demand all his mother's attention. Things look up for Moose when he befriends the irresistible Piper, the warden's daughter, who has a knack for getting Moose into embarrassing but harmless trouble. Helped by Piper, Moose eventually comes to terms with his new situation. With its unique setting and well-developed characters, this warm, engaging coming-of-age story has plenty of appeal, and Choldenko offers some fascinating historical background on Alcatraz Island in an afterword. Ed Sullivan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

CONNECTIONS
Sequel to Al Capone Does My Shirts
Choldenko, Gennifer. AL Capone Shines My Shoes. ISBN-10: 0803734603 ISBN-13: 978-0803734609
Alcatraz History 1
http://www.alcatrazhistory.com/mainpg.htm
Alcatraz History 2
http://www.alcatrazhistory.com/rs1.htm
Alcatraz Facts the True History of Alcatraz Island
http://www.sftravel.com/Alcatraz1950on.html
Al Capone
http://www.chicagohs.org/history/capone.html
Teacher Lessons
http://www.alcaponedoesmyshirts.com/teachers/ideas_shirts_01.html

AWARDS/HONORS
A Newbery Honor Book
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
An ALA Notable Book
People magazine Best Kids’ Book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Editor’s Choice
A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Award
A New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
A Junior Library Guild selection
A Children’s BOMC selection

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lasky, Kathryn. 2004. An American Spring: Sofia’s Immigrant Diary, 1903, Book Three, (My America Series), Vol. 3. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc. ISBN-10: 0-439-37045-0 ISBN-13: 978-0439370462

PLOT SUMMARY
Sofia is a 10 year old Italian immigrant living in 1903 Boston’s North End. Her friend Maureen, who is the same age, is living with Sofia’s family. They met while quarantined on Ellis Island, where Maureen’s mother died. Her father had to return to Ireland with her brother and sisters. Both the girls are in the 5th grade and are learning about American history with a teacher that they love and who makes learning fun and enjoying, celebrating American holidays. The Monari family has just opened a grocery store in which the girls work. Sofia’s older sister is a budding seamstress, who also requires their help. Going to school also keeps Sofia very busy. She chronicles her life and thoughts through a diary.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The My America diaries series was written for younger readers ages 7-10. An American Spring: Sofia’s Immigrant Diary is book three and the final book in the series. This story is a continuance of Sofia and her Italian family’s life as immigrants in early America, blending facts with fiction. The story will appeal to young girls, who will celebrate in Sofia’s family’s successes, relate to her family hardships, and her difficulty in learning new customs while maintaining her Italian culture. It is really nice how Kathryn Lasky has combined the facts in such a way that children will be fascinated to learn about the Pilgrims and the American Revolution through solving riddles. Her style should inspire readers to check out “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (Lasky, 17).

Kathryn Lasky offers a brief history of Boston, Massachusetts from 1630 to1903 at the end of the book, discussing the Pilgrims, Isabella Stewart Gardner, The North End and the adjustments of being an immigrant in America, which she conveys throughout the story. I also liked how she included Italian words throughout the story. This is a great multicultural introduction to the Italian language.

The display type was set in Edwardian Medium. The text type was set in Goudy. Photo research by Amla Sanghvi. Book design by Elizabeth B. Parisi.


REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Cindy L. Carolan - Children's Literature
Sofia Monari and her family live in the North End of Boston in 1903. Speaking not one word of English, they came on the steamship Florida from Italy to Ellis Island. Sofia is excited because her best friend, Maureen, who also came to America on a ship (the Mayflower), is now living with her because Maureen's mother died and her father returned to Ireland with the rest of her siblings. Sofia shares her thoughts about life in the neighborhood where so many newcomers to America started out. Written in journal format, readers will be oblivious that they are learning a great deal about the early history of the United States, just as Sofia and Maureen do during a sixteen riddle hunt for their fifth grade history course! A four page "Historical Note" at the end of the book briefly explains historical developments in the geographic area from the landing of the Pilgrims onward. This is the third book in the "My America" series about Sofia and her experiences. The author has written numerous books for children and adults including the Newbery Honor winning book Sugaring Time. Highly recommended. 2004, Scholastic Inc, Ages 8 to 12.

CONNECTIONS
Kathryn Lasky
http://www.kathrynlasky.com/KK/Books.html
Other Books in this Series
Lasky, Kathryn. My American: Hope In My Heart, Sofia’s Ellis Island Diary, Book One. ISBN-10: 0439449626 ISBN-13: 978-0439449625
Lasky, Kathryn. My American: Home At Last, Sofia’s Ellis Island Diary, Book Two. ISBN-10: 0439206448 ISBN-13: 978-0439206440


AWARDS/HONORS
No awards for this book. Kathryn Lasky has received many awards for her other books.

Boston Globe/Horn Book Award, 1981, for The Weaver's Gift; Notable Books designation, American Library Association (ALA), 1981, for The Night Journey and The Weaver's Gift; National Jewish Book Award, Jewish Welfare Board Book Council, and Sydney Taylor Book Award, Association of Jewish Libraries, both 1982, both for The Night Journey; Notable Book designation, New York Times, and Best Books for Young Adults designation, ALA, both 1983, both for Beyond the Divide; Newbery Honor Book, and Notable Books designation, both ALA, both 1984, and both for Sugaring Time; Best Books for Young Adults designation, ALA, 1984, for Prank; Notable Books designation, ALA, 1985, for Puppeteer; Best Books for Young Adults designation, ALA, 1986, for Pageant; "Youth-to-Youth Books: A List for Imagination and Survival" citation, Pratt Library's Young Adult Advisory Board, 1988, for The Bone Wars; Golden Trilobite Award, Paleontological Society, 1990, for Traces of Life: The Origins of Humankind; Parenting Reading Magic Award, 1990, for Dinosaur Dig; Edgar Award nominee for Best Juvenile Mystery, 1992, for Double Trouble Squared; Sequoyah Young Adult Book Award, 1994, for Beyond the Burning Time; National Jewish Book Award and Notable Books designation, ALA, both 1997, both for Marven of the Great North Woods; John Burroughs Award for Outstanding Nature Book for Children, and Editor's Choice designation, Cricket magazine, both 1998, both for The Most Beautiful Roof in the World: Exploring the Rainforest Canopy; Western Heritage Award, National Cowboy Hall of Fame, and Edgar Award nominee, both 1999, both for Alice Rose and Sam. In 1986, Lasky won the Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award for her body of work; she is also the recipient of several child-selected awards.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fleming, Candace.2009.The Great and only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P.T. Barnum. Ill. by Ray Fenwick. New York, NY: Schwartz & Wade. ISBN-10: 0375841970 ISBN-13: 978-0375841972

PLOT SUMMARY
Are you ready to be Entertained? P.T. Barnum truly had a larger-than-life story with hardships, fun, success, failure, family, politics and more. What more could you ask for in a biography, than to read about a person’s life, bearded ladies, skeleton collections, midgets, three-ring circuses, wax museums, jumbo elephants, dancing bears, mermaids and much more. Have I gotten your attention yet? Ladies and Gentlemen, prepare to be Entertained!

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Candace Fleming is as wonderful storyteller. Not only did we learn everything good and bad about P.T. Barnum, we also got a glimpse of how much life changed in Barnum’s 81 years of life. As Barnum said about himself, “I am a Showman” (Fleming, 2009, 3) and what a showman he was. His main goal was to make money and he didn’t mind embellishing the truth to accomplish that goal. He single mindedly changed the world of entertainment for Americans. His escapades with supposedly 161 year old slave women, exploitation of people with curiosities, animals, and the lack of attention to family is a testament to how important it was to be number one and to make his fortunes. Fortunes he did make, but at what cost? He was innovative and driven, but it cost him a relationship with his wife and daughters. He is attributed with a lot of firsts. The American Museum, with its many showcases of variety which people would never have gotten to see, and the vision he had with the circus and then moving it around the United States on the trains and much more are examples of these firsts. He suffered a lot of losses with the museum burning down, his political career, losing his fortune and then bouncing back with the circus.

I enjoyed this story and did not realize that P.T. Barnum first had the American Museum before the circus. Candace Fleming told this story without leaving anything out. This story also lets you realize how driven he was. You understood every aspect of Barnum’s life. This was an easy read that I feel young readers to adults will enjoy. The pictures, museum posters, tickets and drawings really enhanced the time period of his life. The sidebars, for example Hawkers and Walkers, No Black People, The History of the Circus, etc. offered great definitions and short explanations into the history of this time.

The text of this book is set in ITC Usherwood. The illustrations were rendered in good old black ink, and then cleaned up on the computer. Book design was by Rachael Cole and Helen Capone.


REVIEW EXCERPTS
From School Library Journal
Grade 6 Up—It is unlikely that Barnum ever actually said "There's a sucker born every minute," but he freely admitted to being a master of the "humbug"—a spectacle that both fooled and entertained the public. This highly readable biography uses primary sources, including Barnum's own words, to trace the man's roller-coaster life from his boyhood in Connecticut to his early career as the creator of the country's most famous "museums" (comparable to sideshows) to his later role as the master of enormously successful circuses, winning and losing several fortunes along the way. Fleming captures Barnum's exuberant personality and describes how his gift for promotion and dedication to delivering what the public wanted made him the world's most famous showman. She also reveals the private Barnum, a man who valued culture, had deep religious beliefs, and devoted considerable time and funds to charity and public service. Fleming is admiring of Barnum, but does not dismiss his weaknesses and faults. The text is supplemented with sidebars and reproductions of period photos and illustrations, including several of Barnum's advertisements. The bibliography includes Web sites and a selection of primary- and secondary-source books, and notes are done in paragraph format. This book goes beyond traditional biography to give students an objective and informative glimpse into the sometimes-exploitative world of 19th-century entertainment. An outstanding choice for all middle level and secondary collections.—Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO END

New York Times Book Review, December 6, 2009: “Lively… an engrossing portrait…honest and fun”

Starred Review, Booklist, June 1, 2009:
“The material is inherently juicy, but credit Fleming’s vivacious prose, bountiful period illustrations, and copious source notes for fashioning a full picture of one of the forbearers of modern celebrity.”
Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2009:
"As revealing as it is entertaining."
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, October 2009: "the extensive gallery of period photos, engravings, and advertising bills, are worth the price of admission, and bibliography, source notes, index, and web resources will assist students in turning a rousing good read into an entertaining school report."
Publishers Weekly, August 31, 2009: "Audiences will step right up to this illuminating and thorough portrait of an entertainment legend"
School Library Journal, September 2009: "An outstanding choice for all middle level and secondary collections."
Instructor, November/December 2009: "You'll want to invite readers to step right up to this three-ring circus of a biography, which not only tells the story of P.T. Barnum, but also the circus culture he helped create and his impact and modern entertainment."

CONNECTIONS
Websites that have information about P.T. Barnum
www.ringling.com/activity/email/index.aspx
www.lostmuseum.cuny.edu/home.html
www.The_Life_of_PT-Barnum_1888_by_1.html
Hear P.T. Barnum speaking
http://historybuff.com/audio/barnum.mp3

AWARDS/HONORS
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults, 2010 Finalist United States
Best Children's Books of the Year , 2010 ; Bank Street College of Eduation; United States
Booklist Top 10 Biographies for Youth, 2010 ; American Library Association; United States
Choices, 2010 ; Cooperative Children's Book Center; United States
Kirkus Best Young Adult Books, 2009 ; United States
Kirkus Book Review Stars, August 15, 2009 ; United States
Notable Children's Books, 2010 ; ALSC American Library Association; United States
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books, 2009 ; United States
Washington Post Best Kid's Books, 2009 ; United States

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jenkins, Steve.2009. Never Smile at a Monkey. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN-10: 061896620x ISBN-13: 978-0-618-96620-2

PLOT SUMMARY
Never Smile at a Monkey is about 18 wild animals, insects, birds, and reptiles. Steve Jenkins has put together a group of wild animals that are familiar to us and some that are not as well known. Whenever these animals feel threatened, they will defend themselves quickly and aggressively. “NEVER harass a hippopotamus” (Jenkins, 2009, 5-6) or it could result in a very violent attack, which could severely hurt you or even kill you. So read on and BEWARE of your surroundings when dealing with the world’s habitats and their inhabitants.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Science can be so wonderful and is a subject that seems to not be taught as thoroughly as it could be. Children love to learn all about animals and their habitats. Steve Jenkins, who was raised with a father who was a physicist, thought at one time that he would also go into science. Instead he went to art school and lucky us. He has written a wonderful, factual book about the aggressive instincts that animals will employ when they feel threatened. Steve has combined his love of science and art to bring us a book that will not only teach, but maybe inspire future scientists and artists alike.

Check out Steve Jenkins website (www.stevejenkinsbooks.com) to learn more about his science background and a wonderful step-by-step process that he goes through when constructing his cut paper collages. It is amazing how many different steps and the thought process it takes to just make one picture. There are many words to describe his work, but for me it would be a true mastery of colorful, detailed, informative depiction of animals as they appear in real life.
The text of this book is set in Adobe Garamond Pro. The illustrations are collages of cut and torn paper.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 1–4—A visually stunning book illustrated with cut paper and torn collages. Jenkins's introductory warnings are gently alliterative: "NEVER pet a platypus"; "NEVER touch a tang." The gentleness stops there, however. "NEVER jostle a jellyfish. A box jellyfish, that is. Most jellyfish can sting people, but….If you are unlucky enough to become really entangled with a box jellyfish, you can die very quickly." Readers may enjoy staring deadly danger in the face, knowing that it is distant and rare. They'll also be treated to fascinating facts about creatures like the cassowary, electric caterpillar, cane toad, and puffer fish. Further reading is provided in the back matter, including an explanation of animals' need for powerful protection from their predators in the wild. This exceptionally well-written portion of the book is generously illustrated. The most eloquent of these cut paper and torn collages are on the front and back covers, which feature a rhesus monkey looking solemnly out, and then opening its large mouth filled with scarily sharp teeth. This superlative illustrator has given children yet another work that educates and amazes.—Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY END

Children's Literature
Youngsters know that many creatures are dangerous. Here, Steve Jenkins chooses to focus on some whose threats are not obvious. He devotes one or two pages to each of eighteen animals that can be hazardous in a variety of ways. "Never " warns each informative introduction. The sentences finish "pet a platypus," "collect a cone shell," "harass a hippopotamus," "jostle a jellyfish," or "step on a stingray." This liberal use of alliteration leads to descriptions of the unfortunate consequences of such actions. The final advice—"NEVER smile at a monkey!"—warns that showing your teeth may be interpreted as an aggressive gesture, and the result may be violent. Jenkins achieves remarkable naturalistic results with his cut paper collages; he designs his pages using extra-large type for the headings and blocks of regular text for the descriptions. The final four pages offer further information along with a small picture of each creature included in the text and a bibliography. The strikingly contrasting pictures of the monkeys on the front and back of the jacket and cover are sure to attract attention. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Kirkus Reviews
Judi Barrett may have cautioned readers to Never Take a Shark to the Dentist (illustrated by John Nickle, 2008), and Jean Conder Soule's sage advice to Never Tease a Weasel (illustrated by George Booth, 1964, 2007) has been passed on for generations. However, Jenkins's current list of instructions are for the more practical and realistic explorer. That is, if one happens to stumble upon a cassowary or a blue-ringed octopus. Eighteen alliterative rules showcase the dangerous defense mechanisms of animals found in the wild. Jenkins warns readers to "never pet a platypus," "never harass a hippopotamus" and, true to the title, "never smile at a monkey"-a Rhesus monkey to be precise. Baring teeth can be seen as an aggressive gesture and the monkey may attack. Illustrated with the author's trademark ingenious paper collage, the animals look serene and unassuming, as is often the case in nature. But turn to the detailed endnotes, and jaws and claws are out with a vengeance. Another stunning environmental lesson from an aficionado of animal behavior. (further reading) (Informational picture book. 5-8)

CONNECTIONS
Other Books
Jenkins, Steve. Biggest, Strongest, Fastest. ISBN-10: 0395861365 ISBN-13: 978-0395861363
Jenkins, Steve and Robin Page. What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? ISBN-10: 0439703840 ISBN-13: 978-0-618-25628-0
Steve Jenkins
www.stevejenkinsbooks.com
National Geographic
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/rehesus-monkey.html
Free Lesson Plan on Retile Adaptions K-5
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/reptileadaptations/

AWARDS/HONORS
Booklist Editor's Choice citation, 1995, for Biggest, Strongest, Fastest, and 2001, for Slap, Squeak, and Scatter: How Animals Communicate; Scientific American Young Readers Book Award, 1996, for Big and Little; Booklist Editor's Choice citation, 1997, and Outstanding Trade Book for Children citation, National Science Teachers Association, 1998, for What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eat You?; named to list of recommended books, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), 1998, for Animal Dads; School Library Journal best books of the year citation, 1999, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Nonfiction, and American Library Association Notable Children's Book designation, both 2000, all for The Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest; Booklist Editor's Choice citation, and School Library Journal best books of the year citation, both 2002, and NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended Book citation, 2003, all for Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution; Caldecott Honor book, 2004, for What Do You Do with a Tail like This?

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Deem, James M. 2008. Bodies from the Ice. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 978-0-618-80045-2

PLOT SUMMARY
Imagine hiking with a friend on an icy mountain range, enjoying being in nature and you discover a body buried in the ice. This book is just what the title says – Bodies in the Ice. Due to glaciers melting at rapid rates, many mysteries of our past are being discovered opening the door to answers about missing persons and insights to our past. The story takes you step by step through how scientists work to uncover the answers, while also providing detailed information about glaciers.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Here is a book that is written by James M. Deem who likes an adventure. Deem’s writing is very factual and compelling. The pictures are graphic in their details, but also illustrate what you should expect to see when looking at mummies that are hundreds to thousands of years old. He provides factual history about Otzi, a 5,300-year-old-body discovered in the Austrian Alps, George Mallory, who died climbing Mt. Everest, Inca children who were sacrificed to the gods, and the step-by-step process that scientist go through when investigating these mummies.

I really enjoyed the wealth of glaciological information (the study of glaciers). He provides information on types of glaciers, the father of glaciology - Louis Agassiz, mountain information, and personal ways we can help the environment. There are also great websites about glaciers, Otzi the Iceman, Inca discoveries, George Mallory and Kwaday Dan Ts’Inchi Archaeology. Be sure to check out his list of glaciers to visit with several that we have in Alaska and Canada.
This book offers lots of science, great authentic photographs, maps, sidebars, artifacts, historical paintings, bibliography and an index. Great for ages 9-adult.

The book design is by YAY! Design. The text of this book is set in Meridien. Maps by Jerry Malone

REVIEW EXCERPTS
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 5–8—Deem's lucid account explores mummified remains recovered from several glacial locations and time periods. The many discoveries presented include the famous 5300-year-old Alpine Iceman Ötzi, the mummified Incan children of the Andes Mountains, and the identification of George Mallory's body on Mount Everest. The background and methodology of glaciology are examined, as are relevant issues in climate change and archaeology; historical photographs of glaciers are compared to modern photographs of the same, much-receded ice. Full-color photographs, reproductions, and maps are clearly captioned; grand images of glaciated mountain peaks span entire pages, and detailed pictures of recovered objects, including the mummies themselves, the Iceman's ax, and surviving fabric fragments are presented. To nitpick one point, Deem states that scientists "don't understand" why the Ice Age glaciers retreated, instead of mentioning the Milankovitch cycles as a consensus explanation. Nonetheless, this volume provides updated information, including new insights into the causes of the Iceman Ötzi's death. With its extensive bibliography, suggested Web sites, and a listing of glaciers to visit, Bodies is a fantastic resource. Deem superbly weaves diverse geographical settings, time periods, and climate issues into a readable work that reveals the increasing interdisciplinary dimensions of the sciences.—Jeff Meyer, Slater Public Library, IA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
There are books about melting glaciers and books about frozen bodies, but this attractive offering combines the topics in a way that will intrigue readers. It begins with a chance discovery by walkers in northern Italy who find a thawing corpse originally thought to be from the 1800s. Scientists later realized the body was more than 5,000 years old. As glaciers melt throughout the world, more frozen bodies are appearing, adding greatly to the knowledge researchers have about history and culture. Individual chapters cover types of glaciers and why they are fertile territory for housing bodies; the Chamonix glacier, which saw women climbers in the early 1800s; and the mystery of George Mallory, who died trying to climb Mt. Everest. Perhaps most fascinating to kids will be the chapter on recently discovered Incan children sacrificed to the gods. The pictures of these children, looking as though they might be sleeping, are arresting. Heavily illustrated with historical memorabilia as well as photos of bodies, scenery, artifacts, and rather simplistic maps, this offers a lot to look at and learn about. Grades 4-7. --Ilene Cooper

CONNECTIONS
Other Books
Deem, James M. Bodies from the Ash: Life and Death in ancient Pompeii. ISBN-10: 0618473084 ISBN-13: 978-0618473083
Deem, James M. Bodies from the Bog. ISBN-10: 0618354026 ISBN-13: 978-0618354023
James M. Deem Website
http://www.jamesmdeem.com
Glaciers – Student Activities
http://www.amphi.com
Hands on Lessons and Activities about Glaciers
http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org

AWARDS/HONORS
2009 Robert F. Sibert Informational Award Honor Book
awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association
Finalist for the 2010 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books
Kirkus Reviews' Best Children's Books of 2008
Notable Book for Children 2009
chosen by the American Library Association
2009 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12
chosen by the National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council
2008 New York Public Library, 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book 2009 (10-14)
Nominated for:
the Young Hoosier Book Award, Middle Grades, 2010-2011
the South Dakota Library Association Prairie Pasque Awards for Grades 3-5, 2010-2011
the Garden State Teen Book Award for Nonfiction Grades 6-12, 2011

Quiet Night by Marilyn Singer and Illustrated by John Manders

Bibliography
Singer, Marilyn.2002.Quiet Night.Ill by John Manders.New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 0-618-12044-0


Plot Summary
Quiet Night by Marilyn Singer is really not that quiet, which becomes evident as one experiences the many night-time sounds made by the creatures that appear in sequence from page to page. One frog bar-rums, two owls whoo-hoo all the way to ten campers’ yawn-yawn. This was great fun, rhyming words while counting from one to ten.

Critical Analysis
Quiet Night is a wonderful rhyming poem that young children will enjoy listening to and then reading back to you. The nonsensical words like bar-rums, whap-slap and rowl-yowl are quickly remembered and will be repeated again and again. I also like that this is a counting book from one to ten. Rhyming poems and counting go hand in hand. The animals, birds and insects were by far my favorite part of this book. Frogs, owls, raccoons, coyotes and mosquitos, just to name a few, were perfect choices for the forest.
This book is not one to read before bed if you are planning on a soothing transition for sleep because you will have too much fun repeating the animal rhymes again and again.


John Manders illustrated this book with colors that coincide with the theme of a night in the forest. The opening page shows the large yellow moon, blue black background, the large green frog with his mouth open as large as the moon and long pink tongue will make you laugh and convince you to turn the page for more. The eyes of the animals were captured with watchful surprise the way forest animals would react to movement in their habitat. John Manders did a wonderful job with the moon shadows of the geese flying over the pond, the eyes of the animals, playfulness of the raccoons, the camper’s frustration over the noise and the frozen surprise of the forest animals. The illustrations were painted on Arches hot press watercolor paper using Winsor & Newton gouache and Prismacolor pencils.

I feel this is a wonderful book and should be added to your collection of poems for children.

Review Excerpts
From Publishers Weekly
"The moon is big. The moon is bright. A frog bar-rums on a quiet night." But the moonlit woods are actually far from idyllic. With each succeeding spread, Singer (Didi and Daddy on the Promenade) and Manders (Dirt Boy) add cumulatively larger groups of audibly antsy, comically exaggerated animals. "Somebody's got an appetite!" observes a narrator, as the gouaches reveal guilty-looking raccoons chowing down on garbage. These scavengers join a tally of critters ("Six raccoons churr-rurr, Five coyotes rowl-yowl, Four fish whap-slap, Three geese honk-honk, Two owls whoo-hoo," plus the original frog) while the animals' attention moves from general noise-making to approaching a dark tent. The species' convergence triggers a slapstick wildlife melee, which in turn provokes the appearance of "10 sleepy campers" and one very bright flashlight. Singer expertly builds her bumptious population to what should be a boffo finish, but the book ends on a weak note: "What a NOISY night!" Manders initially conveys the magic semi-stillness of a night outdoors; as the landscape gradually becomes standing room only, the rich, darker hues become a wonderful visual foil for the burgeoning, goofy critters who get carried away by just doing what comes naturally. Ages 2-6.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
reSchool-Grade 3--This fantastic counting book will strike a chord with young children and has all the right stuff to become an interactive storytime classic when used with small groups. It begins with a full yellow moon and a frog, and ends with a cacophony of rowdy, rambunctious activity during a night that's anything but quiet. The audience-participation options are almost limitless-the book could work performed as a round, in sequence with a gradually climbing crescendo, with stick puppets, or children could simply chime in whenever onomatopoeia is required. The illustrations are laugh-out-loud funny; Manders's owls don't just hoot, they really get into the action. So do his raccoons, fish, coyotes, and finally his tent full of campers. At last everybody scatters in a frantic, explosive display, leaving the dust to settle against the backdrop of a blue-black, tranquil night. The simple text rhymes nicely and boasts a wonderfully rhythmic cadence. (However, "The grass is white," to rhyme with "night," features green grass in the illustration.) Children will enjoy this delightful picture book for more than the racket it produces. Then again, any opportunity to create a din is always welcome. Buy several copies, and be sure to tuck one away on the storytime shelf.
Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SC
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Connections

Other books by Marilyn Singer

Nine O’clock Lullaby ISBN-13: 978-0064433198 ISBN-10: 0064433196

I’m Your Bus ISBN-13: 978-0545089180 ISBN-10: 0545089182

Websites

Marilyn Singer http://www.marilynsinger.net

John Manders http://johnmanders.com


Awards/Honors
Children's Choice Award, International Reading Association, 1977, for The Dog Who Insisted He Wasn't, 1979, for It Can't Hurt Forever, 1988, for Ghost Host, and 1991, for Nine o'Clock Lullaby; Maud Hart Lovelace Award, Friends of the Minnesota Valley Regional Library, 1983, for It Can't Hurt Forever; American Library Association (ALA) best book for young adults citation, 1983, for The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth; Parents' Choice Award, Parents' Choice Foundation, 1983, for The Fido Frame-Up, and 2001, for A Pair of Wings; New York Times best illustrated children's book citation, and Time best children's book citation, both 1989, Notable Trade Book in the Language Arts, National Council of Teachers of English, 1990, and Texas Bluebonnet Award nomination, 1992, all for Turtle in July; South Carolina Book Award nomination, 1992-93, for Twenty Ways to Lose Your Best Friend; Iowa Teen Award nomination, 1993, for Charmed; Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, National Council for the Social Studies and Children's Book Council, 1995, for Family Reunion, and 2000, for On the Same Day in March; Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award nomination, 1996, for Chester the Out-of-Work Dog; Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award nomination, 1997-98, for All We Needed to Say; Society of School Librarians International Best Books, 1997-98, for Deal with a Ghost, 1998-99, for Bottoms Up, and 2001, for Tough Beginnings; Best Books for the Teen Age selection, New York Public Library, 1998, for Stay True: Short Stories for Strong Girls, 2001, for I Believe in Water: Twelve Brushes with Religion, and 2005, for Face Relations: Eleven Stories about Seeing beyond Color; Edgar Award nominee, 1998, for Deal with a Ghost; Tayshas List selections, 1998-99; for Deal with a Ghost, and 2001-02, for I Believe in Water: Twelve Brushes with Religion; Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults selection, Young Adult Library Services Association, 2000, for Stay True: Short Stories for Strong Girls; Top Ten Science Books for Children selection, Booklist, 2000, for On the Same Day in March; Animal Behavior Society Award, 2002, for A Pair of Wings; Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students, National Science Teachers Association/Children's Book Council, 2002, for Tough Beginnings; ten best books for babies citation, Beginning with Books, 2003, for Boo Hoo Boo-Boo; Children's Book of Distinction, Riverbank Review, 2003, for Footprints on the Roof: Poems about the Earth; best book citation, School Library Journal, 2003, for Fireflies at Midnight; honor book, Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, 2005, for Creature Carnival.

The Llama Who Had No Pajama by Mary Ann Hoberman and Illustrated by Betty Fraser

Bibliography
Hoberman, Mary Ann. 2006. The Llama Who Had No Pajama; 100 Favorite Poems.Ill by Betty Fraser. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN-13:978-0152-05571-4 ISBN-10: 0-15-205571-1

Plot Summary
There are 100 poems in this book covering a variety of themes. You can celebrate a birthday on The Birthday Bus, change from a tadpole to a frog, play in the snow, ice skate or take a ride to Poughkeepsie. Young and old will enjoy these poems over and over again with their rhyming words and colorful pictures.

Worm
Squiggly
Wiggly
Wriggly
Juggly
Ziggly
Higgly
Piggly
Worm.

Watch it wiggle
Watch it wriggle
See it squiggle
See it squirm!

This little poem is just an example of what you will experience in this collection of poems. Enjoy!

Critical Analysis
Mary Ann Hoberman complied 100 of her favorite poems and The Llama Who Had No Pajama is the result also offering several of her out of print poems. Her poems paired with the beautiful artwork of Betty Frasier will delight all readers. Most of the poems are about animals and insects totaling 52. The rhyme and rhythm of the words make it easy to visualize what the poems are about while encouraging you to participate in the fun and imagination of the reading. This collection is a wonderful way of introducing children to how much fun poetry can be. Children ages 5 to 10 will love the rhymes and reasons in this book of poems.

Betty Fraiser has illustrated many books for children and is a published author. The illustrations in this book were done in Winsor & Newton gouache and watercolor on Bristol paper. The display was set in Goudy Sans. The text type was set in Bembo.

Review Excerpts
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4?Hoberman's poems, accompanied by Fraser's illustrations, have been delighting children for 40 years. Now, many poems from their out-of-print books are available in this satisfying collection. The selections are mostly humorous, sometimes contemplative, and deal with animals, family, play, and plain silliness. Hoberman's rhythms are lively and agile, and her imagination and sense of humor are still in tune with young readers. Fraser's simple but detailed gouache and watercolor illustrations exhibit the same qualities. The layout is masterfully varied and never overwhelms the poems. There is a table of contents as well as an index of first lines. Good for beginning or experienced readers of poetry, this should indeed become a favorite.?Nina Lindsay, Vista School, Albany, CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Hoberman's rhythms are lively and agile, and her imagination and sense of humor are still in tune with young readers. Fraser's simple but detailed gouache and watercolor illustrations exhibit the same qualities . . . Good for beginning or experienced readers of poetry, this should indeed become a favorite."--School Library Journal

"This collection of some forty years of Hoberman verse is a charmer."--The Horn Book

Connections

Other books by Mary Ann Hoberman

A House Is a House for Me ISBN-13: 9780142407738 ISBN-10: 014240779

The Seven Silly Eaters ISBN-13: 9780152024406 ISBN-10: 0152024409


Website

Mary Ann Hoberman http://www.maryannhoberman.com/

Awards/Honors
Gold Award Winner - 1998 National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA)
Best Books of the Year - Child Magazine

what my mother doesn't know by Sonya Sones

Bibliography
Sones, Sonya. 2003. what my mother doesn't know. New York: Simon Pulse.
ISBN-13:978-0-689-85553-5 ISBN-10:0-689-85553-2

Plot Summary
Great Book! This is about coming of age through the eyes of 15 year old Sophie. Moving from a young girl into maturity is a passage that we all have gone through experiencing the ups and downs of this journey. Sophie is a typical girl having best friends, looking for love, dealing with her changing body and issues with her parents. She learns to trust herself while transforming into a confident young adult.


Critical Analysis
what my mother doesn’t know by Sonya Sones is a novel written in verse of one poem after another. Teenagers will really enjoy how the poems are written in Sophie’s own voice as if she is talking to you and how easy the text flows from one emotion to another. Adolescence is one of the worst periods of a teenagers’ life. Sophie manages to find herself, deal with her peers, cope with parental issues, and finds true love. Teenagers will truly relate to Sophie and the issues she addresses. Sophie emerges with confidence in herself.

I had never read a young adult book in poetry verse and once I started it I could not put it down. The title alone will capture the interest of teenagers looking for a book to read. The cover was designed by Russell Gordon at Simon & Schuster. Sonya Sones drew the flipbook in the right hand corner on pages 231-259 patterned after the painting mentioned in the book called “Le Bal a Bougival” by Jean Renior. Sonya Sones was inspired to draw this flipbook due to the years she spent as an animator, and then later worked as a film editor for TV and movies. The text of this book was set in Tekton.

Review Excerpts
Amazon.com Review
Meet Sophie. She sees herself as the too-tall "Mount Everest of teenage girls," who, along with her friends, often suffers from "lackonookie disease." She's dating smoky, sexy Dylan, covertly chatting online with "cybersoul"-mate Chaz, and secretly nursing a crush on sweet, geeky Murphy. Her two best friends are closer to her than sisters, and she "hates hating" her soap opera-addicted mom, wishing "she would show half as much interest in my life as she does in Luke and Laura's." In other words, Sophie is a typical teenage girl. What is not so typical is how author Sonia Sones records all of Sophie's thoughts in a freewheeling verse that is such a naked outpouring of inner longing, most readers will blush in embarrassed recognition of their own remembered or current teenage desires. Sones gently leads both the reader and Sophie towards an understanding of the difference between love and lust as Sophie slowly comes to realize that Dylan's outsides are no match for Murphy's insides. Autobiographical of Sones, perhaps? The author claims it isn't so, and she's probably right. With her frank manner, lusty thoughts, and hidden insecurities, Sophie reflects many teenage girls, past and present. No woman will be able to read this heartfelt verse novel and not find a bit of herself in Sophie's secret, sexy thoughts. Sones's decadent, almost shamefully delicious collection of angst poems is a loving and amazingly accurate tribute to adolescent girlhood. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
*Starred Review* Drawing on the recognizable cadences of teenage speech, Sones (Stop Pretending) poignantly captures the tingle and heartache of being young and boy-crazy. The author keenly portrays ninth-grader Sophie's trajectory of lusty crushes and disillusionment whether she is gazing at Dylan's "smoldery dark eyes" or dancing with a mystery man to music that "is slow/ and/ saxophony." Best friends Rachel and Grace provide anchoring friendships for Sophie as she navigates her home life as an only child with a distant father and a soap opera-devotee mother whose "shrieking whips around inside me/ like a tornado." Some images of adolescent changes carry a more contemporary cachet, "I got my period I prefer/ to think of it as/ rebooting my ovarian operating system," others are consciously clich‚d, "my molehills/ have turned into mountains/ overnight" this just makes Sophie seem that much more familiar. With its separate free verse poems woven into a fluid and coherent narrative with a satisfying ending, Sophie's honest and earthy story feels destined to captivate a young female audience, avid and reluctant readers alike. Ages 12-up.

Connections
Other Verse Novels by Sonja Sones

What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know
ISBN-10: 0689876033 ISBN-13: 978-0689876035

One Of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
ISBN-10: 1416907882 ISBN-13: 978-1416907886

Stop Pretending
ISBN-10: 0064462188 ISBN-13: 978-0064462181

Website
http://www.sonyasones.com For more information about Sonya Sones and her other works visit her website.

AWARDS/Honors
winner of the Iowa Teen Book Award (2005 -2006)
named by the American Library Association as one of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2004 and of 2005
Michigan Thumbs Up Award Honor Book (2002)
unanimously chosen an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults (2002)
unanimously chosen an American Library Association Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2002)
named an International Reading Association Young Adults' Choice (2003)
named a Booklist Editor's Choice (2001)
voted a VOYA Top Shelf for Middle School Readers (2003)
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award: YA Recommended Title (2003 -2004)
named a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age (2002, 2003, and 2004)
named a Texas Lone Star State Reading List Choice (2003 – 2004)
named a Top Ten Editor's Choice by Teenreads.com (2001)
named a Bookreporter.com Best of 2001 for Teens
chosen a Junior Library Guild selection
chosen a Scholastic Teen Age Book Club selection
chosen a Scholastic Trumpet Book Club selection
chosen a Scholastic Book Fair selection

Nominated for the following state awards:
Volunteer State Book Award (TN) (2004 – 2005)
Utah Children's Choice Beehive Award (2003 – 2004)
Garden State Teen Book Award (NJ) (2003 - 2004)
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (2004)
Rhode Island Teen Book Award (2004)
South Carolina Young Adult Book Award (2003 – 2004)
Missouri Gateway Reader's Choice Award for Teens (2003 – 2004)
Wyoming Library Association Soaring Eagle Book Award (2003 -2004)

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Taback, Simms.1997.There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.Ill. by Simms Taback. New York: Viking Penguin. ISBN: 0670869393 ISBN-13: 9780670869398

PLOT SUMMARY:
This is a story about an old lady who swallows a fly. We don’t know why she swallowed a fly and by the look on her face she doesn’t like it either, but ooh she did and this will make you laugh out loud. The Old Lady obviously thinks she needs to get rid of the fly (what was she thinking) so she thinks she needs to “swallow a spider that wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her. I don’t know why she swallowed the fly. Perhaps she’ll die.”(Taback 1997) This eating frenzy turns into a snowball effect with the old lady swallowing a menagerie of animals (bird, cat, dog, cow, and horse) while continuing to grow larger and larger with each animal consumed. It is fun to watch the expressions on her face and the looks on the animals’ faces with each swallowing. Last she swallows a horse and she dies, of course. “Moral of the story – Never swallow a horse.”(Taback 1997) The animals she had eaten offered a eulogy at her demise. Cow said, “It was the last course.” Cat said, “It is such a loss.” “Even the artist is crying….”(Taback 1997) Not to worry she will be remembered because this story will be read/sung over and over again. Of course!

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
"There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. I don’t know why she swallowed a fly. Perhaps she’ll die.”(Taback 1997) This story is one of my all-time favorites and I can’t start it without wanting to sing the story. The cover of the book says it all showing a very colorful old lady, gray hair, large hat, surprised blood shot eyes, reading glasses, round open mouth surrounded with teeth and a fly inside. You can’t help but laugh and think, “oh, gross.” The rhyming poem makes this an easy story to learn, quickly making it an immediate favorite of children. Simms Taback has taken it a step further and added humorous recipes for spider’s soup, a newspaper article about a cat attacked, with a picture of the old lady, missing dog ad, and more. This allows the adults and older children to enjoy the story with added humor making it not only a children’s story, but one for any age.

Simms Taback was not only the author of this book, but the illustrator also. The artwork was done using watercolor, Gouache, pencil, and ink. His use of the shiny black and yellow backgrounds allowed the stories characters to come alive. The die cut effect (which is a way of cutting shapes into the paper) was fun in allowing the reader to see inside of her stomach with each swallowing and to see the look on the animals faces at their unfortunate fate of being eaten. Readers should be sure to look at the page with the birds on the branch for each one is different and labeled with their names. The page of the cow shows all the items that come from the milk of a cow. I was also impressed with the back cover of the book showing 18 different types of flies with their names labeled. Who knew there were so many? This is a great story for all ages. Just a bit of trivia on Simms Taback - he designed the first McDonald’s happy meal box in 1977.

REVIEW EXCERPTS:
Children's Literature
This song is a favorite with children, although, you might wonder why, perhaps it is the rollicking rhythm and the simple absurdity of it all. Taback takes the song to new heights in his interpretation. The die cut artwork lets kids look inside this unusual looking old lady's stomach to see what is going on. There is plenty to grab kids attention both in her stomach and in the asides and other goodies tucked within the page. It's a wild and wacky version that offers lots of colorful visual humor. Caldecott Honor book.

School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 3--From cover to moral (never swallow a horse), this cleverly illustrated version of an old folk favorite will delight children. Each page is full of details and humorous asides, from the names of different types of birds, to a recipe for spider soup, to the rhyming asides from the spectating animals. As for the old lady, with her toothy grin and round bloodshot eyes, she looks wacky enough to go so far as to swallow a horse. A die-cut hole allows readers to see inside her belly, first the critters already devoured and, with the turn of the page, the new animal that will join the crowd in her ever-expanding stomach. The pattern of the lady's dress, with its patchwork of bright, torn colored paper pasted on black, is used as the background motif for the words. The text is handwritten on vivid strips of paper that are loosely placed on the patterned page, thus creating a lively interplay between the meaning of the words and their visual power. All in all, this illustrator provides an eye-catching, energy-filled interpretation that could easily become a classic in itself.--Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI

Kirkus Reviews
A die-cut hole approach to an old favorite that offers a view of the old lady's stomach and its expanding bestiary. The text has the look of a ransom note (a touch the devoured creatures might appreciate), but the jaunty colors—set skipping by a judicious use of black—keep the dark side of the poem at bay. Those accustomed to the streamlined version of this ditty won't know what to make of the comments scattered throughout the pages, little asides quipped by animals not yet swallowed; these rhyme with the "perhaps she'll die" line of the poem. Fortunately, these additions can be easily ignored or inflated according to taste, and full concentration given to the poem itself and the wild, eye-catching artwork: It is good fun to watch the old lady bulge and bloat, and the sheer corniness of the verse continues to be deeply gratifying.

CONNECTIONS:
Other similar stories:
Colandro, Lucille. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat!. ISBN-13: 978-0439737661; ISBN-10: 0439737664
Colandro, Lucille. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell!. ISBN-13: 978-0439873802; ISBN-10: 0439873800

Websites with Activities, Games and Lesson Plans: http://www.kizclub.com/storypatterns/swallowed(c).pdf
http://teachingheart.net/oldladybat.html
http://teachingheart.net/oldladyshell.html
www.castlehill-p.schools.nsw.edu.ax.../There%20Was%20an%20Old%20Lady%20Who%

AWARDS/HONORS:
Best Illustrated Books designation, New York Times, 1965, for Please Share That Peanut! A Preposterous Pageant in Fourteen Acts; Children's Book of the Year selection, American Institute of Graphic Arts, 1970, for There's Motion Everywhere, 1979, for Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, and 1980, for Laughing Together; Notable Book designation, American Library Association (ALA), 1998, and Caldecott Honor Book, ALA, 1998, both for There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly; Caldecott Medal, 2000, for newly illustrated edition of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat.

Turtle's Race with Beaver by Joseph and James Bruchac and Illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Bruchac, Joseph and James Bruchac.2003.Turtle’s Race with Beaver. Ill. By Jose Aruego & Ariane Dewey. New York: Dial. ISBN: 0-8037-2852-2; ISBN-13: 978-0803728523

Plot Summary:
This story is a Native American folk tale that deals with conflict and sharing. The story begins on a beautiful woodland pond with a happy striper turtle sunning herself on a rock surrounded by water lilies and dragon flies. By the smile on her face, life is good and can’t get any better. With the seasons come change and summer moves to winter. Turtle swims to the bottom of her pond to hibernate for the winter. At the same time, Beaver is looking for a new home and comes across the beautiful woodland pond. He sees that it will be a perfect place for his new home. He works hard and builds a nice dam and a lodge of sticks and mud. Sitting in his new home, life is good. Turtle awakens, swims to top of the pond and meets Beaver. Beaver says that the pond is his and Turtle suggests they share the pond. Beaver challenges Turtle to a race for the pond with winner takes all. Strength versus intellect - where you would think size will prevail. Turtle outsmarts Beaver by using Beaver’s strength and speed by attaching herself to his tail. He swims quickly and right before the finish line, Turtle bites his tail. In pain Beaver flicks his tail and Turtle into the air, allowing Turtle to be propelled ahead of Beaver. Turtle crosses the finish line and wins.

Critical Analysis:
This is a nice rendition of Aesop’s “The Tortoise and the Hare” using Native American story traditions. Joseph and James Bruchac have spent years studying Native American storytelling and have retold a classic. Lesson learned is that everything is better when shared with others. The art for this book was prepared using pen-and-ink, gouache, and pastel. The pictures are simple with wonderful colors and expression. Children will love the animals and will want to cheer for their favorite during the race. Joseph Bruchac wants children to be engaged and I feel he has accomplished this with the animals, the challenge, and chanting of the spectators. Who does not like a competition and the winning of the underdog?


Review Excerpts:
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-This delightful folktale closely resembles Aesop's "The Tortoise and the Hare." A sweet-looking turtle lives contentedly in a beautiful pond until one spring she emerges from hibernation and discovers that another creature has overrun her domain. Beaver's dam and lodge have changed the pond's ambience very much indeed, but Turtle benevolently offers to share her home with the newcomer. However, impudent Beaver scoffs at the invitation and challenges her to a race. Word spreads throughout the forest and all the animals gather to witness the improbable spectacle. At the outset of the competition, Turtle sinks her teeth into Beaver's broad tail, and the pain eventually causes him to flip it in such a way that she is hurled across the finish line in first place. Humiliated, he leaves for another pond, and when his new home's terrapin resident agrees to share, he gratefully acquiesces. This appealing variant of the time-honored, cross-cultural tale conveys the need for cooperation, perseverance, and humility within group settings. Children will be so involved in the storytelling that they'll absorb these lessons effortlessly. Done in pen and ink, gouache, and pastel, the cheerful artwork is a wonderful match for this well-told tale.Rosalyn Pierini, San Luis Obispo City-County Library, CA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 1-3. A clever twist and a final bit of psychological realism give this variant on a Seneca Indian "Tortoise and Hare" tale unusually broad audience appeal. Little Turtle wakes from her winter sleep to find that her beloved pond has been taken over by an aggressive beaver, who proposes a race to see who stays and who goes. The result seems inevitable. However, at "GO!" Turtle latches on to Beaver's tail and hitches a ride. As the end of the race approaches, Turtle chomps down on the tail, and Beaver's reflexive twitch flips Turtle over the finish line first. When Turtle magnanimously offers to share the pond, Beaver swims away--but instead of commandeering another turtle's pond, he humbly asks its resident whether he can stay. A chorus of cheering animal spectators invites audience participation, and there are plenty of visual cues to the contestants' emotional states in the illustrators' bright, flowing scenes. A natural candidate for reading aloud, and for follow-up discussions, too. A source note is appended. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Connections:
Bruchac, Joseph and James Bruchac. How Chipmunk Got His Stripes. ISBN-13: 978-0142500217; ISBN-10: 0142500216
Bruchac, Joseph and Anna Vojtech. The First Strawberries. ISBN-13: 978-0140564099; ISBN-10: 0140564098

Websites with Activities, Games and Lesson Plans:
http://childcareseminars.com/Turtles_Theme_Unit_Folder.pdf

Awards/Honors:
Joseph Bruchac
Parent Reading Magic Award
American Book Award for Breaking Silence
Horn Book honor for The Boy Who Lived with the Bears
Scientific American Children’s Book Award for The Story of the Milky Way
Cherokee Nation Prose Award
Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children’s Literature
2005 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award
2001 Parents Guide to Childrens' Media Award for Skeleton Man
2000 Parents Choice Gold Award for Crazy Horse's Vision
1999 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas
1999 Jane Addams Childrens Book Award for Heart of a Chief
1998 Writer of the Year Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas
1998 Storyteller of the Year Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas
1997 Paterson Award for Dog People
1996 Boston Globe Book Award for The Boy Who Lived with the Bears
1995 Knickerbocker Award

James Bruchac
In 1999 Jim was nominated as STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR by the Wordcraft Circle of Native Authors and Storytellers.

Jose Aruego
His book, Herman the Helper, was an Honor Book for the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in 1974. The picture book was written by Robert Kraus and illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. We Hide, You Seek, and Dance Away (written by George Shannon) were nominated for Nebraska's Golden Sower Award. Three books, illustrated by Ariane Dewey and Jose Aruego, are included in Barnes & Noble's Reader's Catalog of the Best 40,000+ Best Books in Print. These include Gregory, the Terrible Eater, Mitchell Is Moving, and Mushroom in the Rain. Aruego's books frequently are included in Best Books Lists, such as 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know from the New York Public Library. The list includes Mushroom in the Rain and Leo the Late Bloomer. In 1976 Mr. Aruego was honored by the government of the Philippines with the Outstanding Filipino Abroad in the Arts Award.
Ariane Dewey
No awards found.