NonFiction #3  

Bomb: The Race To Build - And Steal - The World's Most Dangerous Weapon

Author: Steve Sheinkin    

Credit: Steve Sheinkin 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sheinkin, Steve. The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon. New York: Roaring Book Press, 2012. ISBN 978-1-59643-487-5

PLOT SUMMARY

Spies, mystery, and risk-taking this story has it all. During December of 1938, a Chemist in Germany makes a shocking discovery. This leads to the research and development of the atomic bomb by our United States government. Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal, the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, is a detailed account of the creation of the atomic bomb to the conclusion of the war that ended World War II.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon is a nonfiction book about World War II, that reads like a story or narrative. Sheinkin includes dialogue and actual photographs. He also includes "characters" from real life and the story (plot) had amazing details about our world's history, including top secrets, along with the conclusion of the creation of the atomic bomb and dropping at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Sheinkin includes an epilogue at the end of the book that keeps you updated on all the important "characters" of the book and the devastation that the bombs created. He also included source notes and quotation notes at the back of the book. The font of the book reads and looks like a newspaper, which I found interesting. It felt like I was going back in time.  If you want excitement, risk-taking, spies, mystery, deceit, you have it all in Bomb!

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

* Newbery Medal Honor Book - 2013

* School Library Journal Best Books of the Year - 2012

* American Library Association Notable Books for Children - 2013

* Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award - 2013

* YALSA Award For Excellence In Nonfiction - 2013

* National Book Awards - Finalist - 2013

* Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year - 2013

* Washington Post Best Books of the Year - 2013

* Vermont Dorthy Canfield Fisher Award - 2013

* “In his highly readable storytelling style, Sheinkin (The Notorious Benedict Arnold) weaves together tales of scientific and technological discovery, back-alley espionage, and wartime sabotage in a riveting account of the race to build the first atomic weapon.” -  Publishers Weekly

* “Sheinkin here maintains the pace of a thriller without betraying history (source notes and an annotated bibliography are exemplary) or skipping over the science; photo galleries introducing each section help readers organize the events and players. Writing with journalistic immediacy, the author eschews editorializing up through the chilling last lines: It's a story with no end in sight. And, like it or not, you're in it.” -  Horn Book Magazine

CONNECTIONS

Activities To Use With This Book:

* Research the atomic bomb and watch video footage of the dropping of the atomic bomb and the effects of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

* Locate on a map Hiroshima and Nagasaki, create a timeline of the bombings.

Book Connections:

* The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery - 
    ISBN 978-1250024602
* Lincoln's Grave Robber's - ISBN 978-0545405720

* Blog created for the purpose of TWU, Children's Literature Course #5603, and for the love of reading!

Biography #2 - What To Do About Alice?

Author: Barbara Kerley   Illustrator: Edwin Fotheringham

Credit: Barbara Kerley & Edwin Fotheringham

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kerley, Barbara, and Ed Fotheringham. What To Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy! New York: Scholastic Press, 2008.

ISBN 978-0-439-922231-9

PLOT SUMMARY

* What To Do About Alice? is a charming informational storybook about Alice Roosevelt and her love of life! She was the daughter of our 26th president, who had many amazing adventures throughout her life. Her heart is as big as her spirit. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

* Barbara Kerley writes a fun and witty story about an amazing young lady in our history.  At the back of her picture book she shares additional information with her readers entitled "Author's Note", this helps with the accuracy of her information. Kerley's uses humor throughout her story, along with the text that jumps around the page that express Alice's feelings and strong emotions. For example, "he grumbled, Alice was UNRULY and INCONSIDERATE. She was turning into a TOMBOY"! Everyone all of all ages will fall in love with this adventurous story about Alice. 

The beautiful design of the book helps give credit to the illustrator, Edwin Fotheringham. The picture book has a very inviting cover of Alice riding a bike in front of the White House messing up the flowers like any typical kid. The illustrations are bright, vivid and authentic to what we are reading. The organization of the picture book is at times confusing due to to much being on a page. Sometimes the illustrations cane be overwhelming on a page, while the text is small.  

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

* Horn Book Honor Book
* Irma Black Award Honor Book
* Parents Choice Award
* Washington State Scandiuzzi Children’s Book Award
* A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
* A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
* A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
* An ALA Notable Book


*“Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she was….The large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for spectacular art.” -Booklist 

* “Kerley’s text gallops along with a vitality to match her subject’s antics, as the girl greets White House visitors accompanied by her pet snake, refuses to let leg braces cramp her style, dives fully clothed into a ship’s swimming pool, and also earns her place in history as one of her father’s trusted advisers. Fotheringham’s digitally rendered, retro-style illustrations are a superb match for the text.” - School Library Journal

CONNECTIONS

Activities To Use With This Book:

* Research Roosevelt family tree, compare and contrast Theodore Roosevelt and his daughter Alice Roosevelt, use a Venn Diagram.

* Find key vocabulary words and use context clues to define words.

* Making Connections - Writing Activity - "If I was Alice?..." - Her love of life, etc. 

Book Connections:

* Those Rebels, John and Tom - ISBN 978-0545222686

* Blog created for the purpose of TWU, Children's Literature Course #5603, and for the love of reading!

NonFiction #1 - Never Smile At A Monkey

Author: Steve Jenkins

Credit: Steve Jenkins

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jenkins, Steve. Never Smile at a Monkey: And 17 Other Important Things to Remember. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2009. ISBN 978-0-618-96620-2

PLOT SUMMARY

Never Smile At A Monkey gives the reader a small amount of informative information on 18 unique, different dangerous animals and how the reader can protect themselves from danger. At the end of the book, Jenkins gives the reader more detailed information about each animal. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Jenkins shares information about dangerous animals in this wonderful concept book created to give brief facts how to protect themselves if the reader were to come in contact with one of these animals. He shares accurate information about each animal and precedes to share additional information and facts at the back of his picture book. Organizationally, he adds in bright bold font the title of each animal and what not to do. I believe this helps grabs the readers attention with the word "NEVER".  The simplicity of the book adds to the overall appeal of the design. The illustrations are a collage of each animal, with a background of each page on simple white paper with the text. The text ranges from big and bold, to smaller font in shades of gray.  Steve Jenkins has a very creative style and  a unique ability for his characters in all of his books to come alive. Children love to hear about all the gory details in his books, this it makes it fun to learn. For example, "the spitting cobra can spit its venom more than eight feet and cause intense pain". Kids would love to hear about this and its true facts. His illustrations come alive. Look closely at the monkey on the front cover of Never Smile At A Monkey. The fur looks nice and soft, he looks like a sweet and innocent monkey. Turn over the book to the back and now the same monkey looks vicious with sharp pointy teeth. These are just a few examples of Jenkins amazing qualities. 

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

* Junior Library Guild Fall Selection - 2009
* NDLA Flicker Tale Children's Book Award - 2011
* Horned toad Tales List - 2010-2011

*  "A visually stunning book illustrated with cut paper and torn collages...
This superlative illustrator has given children yet another work that educates and amazes".  - School Library Journal

*  "With his trademark cut-paper technique, Jenkins proves there may not be a texture that he can’t mimic on the page. The high-interest marriage of animals and danger, along with large, vibrant visuals, makes this a prime candidate for group sharing, and additional details and artwork at the end will flesh out some of the finer points for older children." - -Booklist

CONNECTIONS

Activities To Use With This Book:

* Research the country (environment) the animals come from and share with the class.
* Jenkins creates amazing illustrations through paper collages. Have students create their own animal collages. Discuss how their animal protects itself, how it is dangerous like in the book.
*Virtual Field Trip - Microsoft Education through Skype to a zoo and see these amazing animals in real life!

Book Connections:
* Creature Features - ISBN 9789573278184 
* Actual Size - ISBN 9785044582385
* What Do You Do With A Tail Like This? - ISBN 9780618997138

* Blog created for the purpose of TWU, Children's Literature Course #5603, and for the love of reading!

Poetry #3 - Brown Girl Dreaming

Author: Jacqueline Woodson

Credit: Jacqueline Woodson

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Woodson, Jacqueline. Brown Girl Dreaming. New York: Penguin, 2014. ISBN 978-0-399-2521-8

PLOT SUMMARY

Brown Girl Dreaming is a powerful autobiography written in free verse during the 1960's and 1970's about a young African American girl and her struggles during the Civil Rights Era. As the world changes around her, she struggles to find her place in the world.

Credit: Jacqueline Woodson

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Jacqueline Woodson writes a beautiful novel by using her own voice to share her stories with the world. The novel is written in free verse, by using her carefully chosen words she creates emotions and feelings that explode off the page. For example: 

My southern grandfather missed slavery by one generation. 

His grandfather has been owned. 

His father worked

the land from dawn till dusk

for the promise of cotton

and a little pay.

So this is what he believe in

your hands in the cool dirt

until the earth gives back to you

all that you've asked of it.

Credit: Brown Girl Dreaming - Jacquelin Woodson

Woodson begins her novel with a family tree and ends with actual photographs of characters you read about in Brown Girl Dreaming, bring her novel even more to life with long and short poems. Woodson shares her life, her pain and her dream of growing up in the south. This is a beautiful book and truly enjoyed reading about her life.

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

* A Coretta Scott King Award Winner - 2015

* Newbery Honor Book - 2015

* National Book Award Winner for Young People’s Literature - 2014

* Woodson cherishes her memories and shares them with a graceful lyricism; her lovingly wrought        vignettes of country and city streets will linger long after the page is turned. - Kirkus Review

* The writer’s passion for stories and storytelling permeates the memoir. - Publisher's Weekly

CONNECTIONS

Activities to use with this book:

* Create a family tree
* Discuss the following themes that were discussed in the book: family, friendship, home, self-        discovery, growing up and historical people and events.

* Research Civil Rights Movement and discuss with the class.

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Book Connections:

* The Other Side - ISBN 9780399231162 
* Each Kindness ISBN 9780399246524
* Coming On Home Soon ISBN 9780399237485

* Blog created for the purpose of TWU, Children's Literature Course #5603, and for the love of reading!

Poetry #2 - Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials

Author: Stephanie Hemphill

Credit: Stephanie Hemphill

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hemphill, Stephanie. Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials. New York: HarperCollins, 2010. ISBN 9780061853302

PLOT SUMMARY

Wicked Girls is a fictionalized account of the Salem Witch Trials in the 1690's, told from the perspectives of the young ladies in verse form. A chain of events will change their town forever due to Ann Putman Jr. and a group of young ladies as they begin accusing the town of witchcraft. The tension grows in the town as men and women are singled out one by one and accused of witchcraft and are condemned to jail or death. We can witness the thoughts, feelings, and actions of Ann, Mercy, and the young ladies of Wicked Girls.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Stephanie Hemphill writes a beautiful, haunting free verse historical novel about the Salem Witch Trials. Her voice and style is found and heard on every page of this book by using the details of the history from the Salem Witch Trials. At the beginning of her novel, she sets the scene of "Salem" through haunting words and foreshadowing. For example, "The cold is gray and fierce, bitter as a window at the grave". Throughout the book, Hemphill will use the seasons to change not only the setting but the mood of her novel. "Autumn Ahead" is a change for the better, a foreshadow that "The leaves promise, to hold tight their branches, but their colors soon be changing." Hemphill  stayed with the style of writing, and the characters spoke with the dialect of the English of the 1600's.  The strong emotions and feelings are felt throughout the book. For example:

They drop the noose

over Goody Nurse's head

All's quiet and still

as the air round a loaded gun.

The old woman

kicks her knees,

torments

as she's snuffed into hell.

I turn my eyes to the dirt.

Before she's hanged,

the next witch,

Goody Good, the old beggar woman,

one of the first witches accused, hollers, 

"I'll not lie to thee now

as I never would afore.

I am innocent."

Credit: Stephanie Hemphill

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

* Best Children's Books of the Year - 2011

* Booklist Book Review - 2010

* Kirkus Book Review - 2010

* School Library Journal Best Books - 2010

* “In subtle, spare first-person free-verse poems, the author skillfully demonstrates how ordinary people may come to commit monstrous acts. Haunting and still frighteningly relevant.” — Kirkus Reviews 

* “Wicked Girls weaves a fresh interpretation of the events put forth in Arthur Miller's The Crucible and revisited more recently by Katherine Howe in The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane…Teens may need some encouragement to pick up this book, but it deserves a place in most high school collections.” — School Library Journal

CONNECTIONS

Activities to use with this book:

* Research Salem Witch Trials and share with the class. Create a PowerPoint to share with the class. Each student can select a character from the book to research their history to share.

* Discuss the character traits of all the characters in groups of 2/3, list them to share with the class as the students re-read the poems.

* Read the poems aloud in groups of 2/3, discuss the feelings and emotions the characters are going through.

Book Connections:

* Your Own, Slyvia - ISBN 9780440239680

*  Sisters Of Glass - ISBN 9780307981417 

* Blog created for the purpose of TWU, Children's Literature Course #5603, and for the love of reading!

Poetry #1 - Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reverso Poems

Author: Marilyn Singer     Illustrator: Josee Masse

Credit: Marilyn Singer & Josee Masse

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Singer, Marilyn, and Josée Masse. Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reverso Poems. New York, NY: Dutton Children's Books, 2010. ISBN 9780525479017

PLOT SUMMARY

This unique blend of poetry and traditional literature create a beautiful picture book for all ages. Both sides of these famous fairy tales are told from different viewpoints to create a reversible verse from Beauty and the Beast to Sleeping Beauty and the Prince. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Marilyn Singer manages to provide both sides of the story from famous fairy tales using a new style of poetry called reverso. You can read the poems from top to bottom and then you can reverse the lines and read them from bottom to top to give these poems a new turn of events. The poems in Mirror, Mirror are complex. Understanding both perspectives of the poem could be challenging for some readers, thus reading these reverso poems aloud would be beneficial. There is no rhyming in this poem, but for poetry does not need to rhyme. The use of imagery is often repeated through her use of language and strong emotion is portrayed throughout the picture book.  An example, "In The Hood" Little Red Riding Hood is, "skipping through the wood, carrying a basket, picking berries to eat - juicy and sweet what a treat!" While the Wolf is thinking "But a girl! What a treat - juicy and sweet, picking berries to eat, skipping through the wood in my 'hood."

Illustrator, Josee Masse creates vibrant images and imagery to portray the fairy tale characters feelings and emotions in this beautiful picture book. For example, in Beauty and The Beast, the image shows a side by side shot of Beauty and the Beast, with a heart in the middle showcasing their love and longing for one another. In the midst of the heart, their arms are reaching for each other. It then shows an up close shot of their arm intertwined.

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

* Cybil Award in Poetry and the Land of Enchantment Picture Book Award - 2010

* Horn Book Fanfare list - 2010

* New York Public Library's - 2010 

* Best 100 Children's Books - 2010 

* Publishers Weekly's Best Children's Books - 2010

* Booklist's Editors' Choice list - 2010 

* A mesmerizing and seamless celebration of language, imagery, and perspective. - Kirkus Review 

* A must-purchase that will have readers marveling over a visual and verbal feast. - Booklist

CONNECTIONS

Activities to use with this book:

* Create own reverso poems to share with the class.

* Read more reverso poems by Marilyn Singer and in a group of 2/3 act out the poems to share with the class

Book Connections:

* Echo, Echo: Reverso Poems About Greek Myths - ISBN 978-0803739925                           

* Follow, Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems - ISBN 978-0803737693

* Blog created for the purpose of TWU, Children's Literature Course #5603, and for the love of reading!

                                Last Stop On Market Street                                

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/fK5AaH85Bv0
Credits: iMovie & Flickr

By: Matt De La Pena

Illustration: Christina Robinson

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Pena, Matt De La, and Christian Robinson. Last Stop on Market Street. New York: Penguin, 2015. ISBN 9780399257742

PLOT SUMMARY

C.J. and his Nana set off on a journey of discovery. C.J. has many questions for his Nana as she opens his eyes to the beauty of their world, even though they may live in they bad part of town. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Matt De La Pena tells the story of a young boy and his Nana and their life in the inner city. To bring his book to life, he uses the life experiences of Nana to answer the young curious child. Each question C.J. has for his Nana is met with positive encouragement and enlightenment. 

Christian Robinson does a beautiful job illustrating the setting of C.J. and his Nana on their adventure. He uses vibrant colors to illustrate life in the city. One of my favorite pages is when C.J. raises his hands up in the air and realizes this world is a beautiful place. Robinson uses bright colors to illustrate C.J.'s happiness.

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

* Newbery Medal - 2016

* Caldecott Honor Book - 2016

* Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book - 2016

* A #1 New York Times Bestseller

* Finalist for the 2014 E.B. White Read-aloud Book Award

* A Winter 2014-2015 Kids’ Indie Next Pick

* “That material poverty need not mean spiritual or imaginative poverty becomes beautifully clear in the quietly moving in the pages of Last Stop on Market Street.” – The Wall Street Journal

* “The urban setting is truly reflective, showing people with different skin colors, body types, abilities, ages, and classes in a natural and authentic manner… A lovely title.” — School Library Journal

CONNECTIONS

Activities to use with this book:

* Character traits of C.J. and his Nana, create a Venn diagram and discuss their similarities and differences.

* Discuss how C.J. changed from the beginning of the book to the end and give examples.

* Sequencing activity - 1st, 2nd, 3rd and discuss.

Book Connections:

* Ball Don't Lie - ISBN 978-0385734257

* Mexican WhiteBoy - ISBN - 978-0440239383

* Blog created for the purpose of TWU, Children's Literature Course #5603, and for the love of reading!