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.