AUTUMN ACROSS AMERICA by Seymour Simon

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Simon, Seymour. 1993. Autumn Across America. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 1562824686

Autumn Across America by Seymour Simon is the first of his series of children’s nonfiction books depicting changing seasons. Simon, an acclaimed writer of hundreds of juvenile science titles, has created a rich resource for children of all ages to enjoy the world around them. Through spectacular scenes showcasing nature photography, the author teaches the reader about the signs of autumn in different parts of the country. He explains in detail the scientific phenomenon of leaves changing color, migration of insects and birds, harvesting crops, and weather changes.

This title just like most of Simon’s works is an eye-catching photo essay the likes of which are unparalleled in children’s nonfiction literature today. The quality of the photography and exposition of the text truly speaks volumes about the author’s knowledge and reputation. There is no doubt in one’s mind that he is a master of this genre and it is worth noting that he worked previously as a science teacher, which is evident in his style of writing. His love for nature and the earth resonates in his messages about ecological awareness. The layout and design of Autumn Across America is brilliantly simple yet dramatic enough to be displayed as a coffee table book.

Seymour Simon has received the Eva L. Gordon Award for outstanding contribution to science literature from the American Nature Study Society and the 1992 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Forum on Children’s Science Books.

This book would make a wonderful visual extension for older children studying American geography, weather, seasons, or travel. Students can be introduced to concepts of conservation and other earth science topics. 

Books in Print. TWU Library. Accessed on October 31, 2013 http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125

ALMOST ASTRONAUTS: 13 WOMEN WHO DARED TO DREAM by Tanya Lee Stone

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Stone, Tanya Lee. 2009. Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream. Somerville: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763645021

In Almost Astronauts, award-winning author Tanya Lee Stone exposes the extraordinary never-been-told stories of the 13 women who were tested to see if women were as equally qualified to be astronauts as men. Using a combination of historical narrative, interspersed with first-person interviews, and archival photographs, Stone has created an incredible work of young adult nonfiction that almost defies categorization. Part photo essay and part social history, Almost Astronauts brings the age of the 1960’s space program to life for modern readers.

Stone provides evidence of extensive research in portraying the reality of gender discrimination rampant in society against women. Many documents including newspaper reports and White House correspondence reveal the prevailing attitudes of the time. For the most part, the text follows a clear chronological order. The passage of time can be clearly observed from the photographs which start out in black and white and progress to color. There is a lot of visual appeal to the book in the way the large borderless pictures bleed off the page to create a pictorial memory book. Stone’s writing style is dramatic, conversational, and poetic. The author’s notes at the end of the book reveal that her initial manuscript included poems she had written in honor of each of the 13 pioneers which were eventually featured as supplemental material on her website.

Almost Astronauts is the winner of the Sibert Medal.

This title would be an excellent choice for middle school aged students to explore women's history themes in conjuction with other works by the author such as Ella Fitzgerald, Amelia Earheart, or Laura Ingalls Wilder. 

Books in Print. 2013. TWU Library. Accessed October 29, 2013 http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125

AMELIA LOST: THE LIFE AND DISAPPEARANCE OF AMELIA EARHART by Candance Fleming

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Fleming, Candace. 2011. Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earheart. New York: Random House Children’s Books. ISBN: 9780375945984

Notable children’s author Candace Fleming has created a fascinating factual account of the life and disappearance of Amelia Earhart in Amelia Lost. In this juvenile biography, Fleming recreates Earhart’s passion for flying through the use of authentic sources of research. Fleming cites primary documents such as archives from the pilot herself, Earhart’s own published works, as well as books written by her husband, and family letters. The author does a remarkable job in cutting through the mythical image of Earhart and bringing her persona down to earth.

This true life account of the world’s most famous female pilot is told in a unique and interesting way. The book’s chapters, which alternate between the last hours of her life and her childhood, capture the reader’s attention immediately. Throughout the work, photographs, maps, newspaper clippings, and handwritten notes add authenticity to the dramatic events narrated in the text. The layout of the book brings to mind an old family album or scrapbook, which adds to the historical appeal of Earhart’s story. The 1930’s inspired typeface used in the book also helps to evoke the feel of that era in history. The subheadings, sidebars, and other verbal access features come together to make Amelia Lost a genuine source of information and entertainment for young and old readers alike.

Amelia Lost is the winner of a Cybil Award in 2011 as well as an Orbis Pictus Award in 2012.

This biography can be paired with another title by the same author, Eleanor:  A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Rooselvelt’s Remarkable Life as part of a study on amazing women in history. As an extension activity, children can be asked to create a timeline or scrapbook highlighting major events in their lifetime and possibly predicting future ones.

Books in Print. 2013. TWU Library Accessed October 28, 2013 http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125

CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein

Code Name Verity Book Trailer

STOP PRETENDING by Sonya Sones

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Sones, Sonya. Stop Pretending: What happened when my big sister went crazy. (1999). New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 9780060283865.

In the verse novel Stop Pretending, author Sonya Sones has captured a deeply powerful, poignant, and personal story. This young adult book written in a simple, straightforward style takes readers on a complex emotional roller coaster ride based on the true life of the author. Sones' poetry reflects the mind of a young girl and what her family is facing from the fallout of the elder sister’s mental illness and hospitalization.

While neither rhyming nor rhythmic, each poem in the book realistically reflects the natural language and expressions of a teenage girl. The feelings conveyed at different moments are raw and palpable. The words spoken by the young narrator, Cookie, are intensely profound in their heartbreaking tenderness. Each small page of short lines, written as if glancing inside her private journal, is a lesson in brevity. The author’s blunt writing leaves no question of the pain, frustration, and helplessness of the situation. Every poem recounts the sad abnormality in otherwise normal everyday life events. In the poem ”Mass Pike”, Sones writes: “On the way home from the hospital / my father starts crying so hard/ that he has to pull over/ by the side of the road,/ and we weep with him/ while cars filled/ with happy families/ whiz past.” The book closes with an author’s note and list of organizations, rounding out what School Library Journal hails as, “An unpretentious, accessible book that could provide entry points for a discussion about mental illness--its stigma, its realities, and its affect on family members.”

Stop Pretending was awarded in 2000 by ALA as a Best Book for Young Adults and Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.

This verse novel can be shared with teens as a prompt to inspire realistic journal writing or possibly even fictional diary writing.  

Books in Print. TWU Library. Accessed October 8, 2013 http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125

BOOKSPEAK! by Laura Purdie Salas

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Salas, Laura Purdie. 2011. BookSpeak!: Poems About Books. Ill. by Josee Bisaillon. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 9780547223001

In the humorous collection BookSpeak!, Laura Purdie Salas has created playful poems that books themselves would have penned if books could write. This illustrated children’s poetry book is delightfully unique in its point of view as each individual poem gives the spotlight to a specific part of a book—index, cover, bookplate, middle, end, plot, pictures—as if they’ve been given the stage to finally speak.

This personification of books is at once charming and mesmerizing, compelling the reader to get lost inside the psyche of a book. The poems offer a good variety of styles including free verse, rhyming couplets, and acrostic. The general layout, styling, and lettering of the collection is playfully attractive for children. The decorative collage art by Josee Bisaillon accompanying each poem adds visual whimsy to the amusing rhythmic verses. School Library Journal agrees, ”Bisaillon skillfully incorporates the printed poems into the artwork so that the words and images have a single, unified, visual effect.”  In the poem titled “Conflicted”, the confession of a conflict has a real endearing quality: “I’m trouble, I’m misery, problems unplanned./ I’m an earthquake, an illness, a ransom demand./ My characters hate me. They don’t think I’m grand./ But without me their plots would be dreary and bland.”

BookSpeak! received the 2012 CYBIL for poetry as well as a Beehive Children’s Poetry Book Award in 2013.

This collection can be paired with poems about libraries to promote National Library Week. Similar themed books include Please Bury Me In the Library by J. Patrick Lewis or Judy Sierra’s Wild About Books. 

Books in Print. TWU Library. Accessed October 7, 2013 http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125

WORLD RAT DAY by J. Patrick Lewis

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Lewis, J. Patrick. 2013. World Rat Day: Poems about real holidays you’ve never heard of. Ill. by Anna Raff. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763654023

The poems crafted by J. Patrick Lewis in World Rat Day are a silly celebration of actual holidays that sound too good to be true. For every month from January to December, Lewis has compiled a list of crazy reasons to have a party. Young children will be astonished to learn that such off the wall days do exist. Lewis offers odes to completely obscure events such as National Hippo Day, Worm Day, Bat Appreciation Day, and International Cephalopod Awareness Day.

Not only is the author asking children to mark their calendars, he may also be asking them to suspend their disbelief. Whether the holidays are truth or fiction, the poems themselves come across as nonsensical and forced. The writing is surprisingly dubious and erratic for a poet of such high caliber. The author displays laziness in poems such as “If the skunk did not exist,/ Then the skunk would not be mist”. One wonders how the single sentence “No one will ever forget Ewe.” could be considered poetic. Among the mishmash of styles, one standout is the poem created for Pink Flamingo Day which is drawn in the outline of a flamingo. Perhaps the best form of poetry is aptly presented on Limerick Day, where Lewis writes not one but five little limericks to commemorate this day dedicated to the fun familiar rhyme scheme. “The Hip”, a clever offering, goes like this: “A centipede said on vacation,/ “Don’t bug me—I’m into gyration./ And when I go on trips/ I’m so hip that my hips/ Hula hundreds of times in rotation.”” Anna Raff’s cute illustrations may be the one redeeming quality in this well intentioned collection. Publishers Weekly contends, “Raff's loose washes with ink details exude personality.” Otherwise, these very short non-fiction poems with no back matter will do little to pique children’s interest in poetry.

J. Patrick Lewis is the current U.S. Children's Poet Laureate named by the Poetry Foundation. 

Possible extension activities for this work could include an author study in the month of May in honor of Lewis’ birth. Children can be presented with other works of his including If You Were A Chocolate Mustache and Countdown to Summer: A Poem for Every Day of the School Year. The latter collection in conjunction with the reviewed title can also serve as an introduction to the concepts of calendars, months, or seasons. 

Books in Print. TWU Library. Accessed October 6, 2013 http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125