01 January
2008
The Green Glass Sea
by Ellen Klages
This was my favorite children's book for December. It is about 2 misfit girls who grow up in Los Alamos during WWII. Although how the girls interact and their adventures are typical and realistic, which makes it appealing to children, the setting is anything but typical! Set amidst the back drop of the top-secret Manhattan Project, it provides a view into life "on the hill" for the children of the scientists.
It is a wonderful look at life during WWII, as well as the a great introduction to the Manhattan Project without it being overkill on the destruction and implications for the Cold War. Ellen Klages is an incredibly talented writer; she creates realistic characters and plots that speak to both children and adults.
The story moves a bit slow as a read alone, but it is a wonderful read aloud because Klages is such a master of words. They are a joy to hear aloud.
Additionally she is also an excellent researcher. She adds touches about the era that make it vivid and believable to adults, as well as children. I was hooked when she described "Woolworth Specials." Anyone who has spent time in New Mexico around the Taos/Santa Fe area know about Woolworth Specials - a bag of Fritos with chili and cheese. The cameos of Richard Feynman and Robert Oppenheimer also make the story a delight to read.
This book just won the Scott O'Dell award for historical fiction. It is a delight and really is a terrific look at WWII.
Read aloud grades 3-6
Read alone grade 5-8
London Calling
Edward Bloor (not The Clash)
Martin Conway, a middle-school scholarship kid, becomes intrigued with a WWII art deco radio her grandmother bequeaths him. He embarks on a time travel adventure that takes him back to 1940 and the London blitz. A boy named Jimmy befriends him and begs him "to do his part." In his own time Martin begins an independent study project on WWII. He starts learning about the people and things Jimmy has shown him. Some of his research is about his own grandfather and one of the revered local heroes and it begins to threaten family and community myths. He is propelled through the story in his hope to learn what "doing his part" is about. Despite some heavy topics like alcoholism, and death this book isn't heavy at all due to the wonderful story telling of Bloor. Through this book you learn about Winston Churchill, how the British felt about the Americans in 1940 (prior to their entry into the war), the significance of the title, and December 29, 1940. It is an excellent history text and really a good story.
04 January
2008
Shakespeare's Storybook
Folk Tales that Inspired the Bard
This book, and the accompanying CD, was a huge hit in my house last year. It is a collection of stories that were popular around the time of Shakespeare's childhood. The book contains stories that have been told and retold for hundreds of years, along with a short introduction to the corresponding Shakespearian play. The stories themselves are wonderful, and the connection for any child who knows the stories of Shakespeare is terrific. I'll even go out on a limb here and say that in the hands of Patrick Ryan these folk tales are some of the best. Even better they aren't part of the steady diet of folk tales typically introduced in school anthologies, etc.
Make sure to find the book with the CD if you can.
Read aloud 5-12
Bookstore Ghost
by Barbara Maitland
It is so hard to find fun, easy reads, but this one is kid tested! I've had a number of children really love this book. "Mr. Brown liked three things: ghost books, cheese, and cats." As you can understand from the quote, the book is all about Mr. Brown's adventure owning a bookstore with a cat.
The pages are just the right length and the pictures are wonderful! However what is great about the book is the plot - it is accessible using words that children can read while at the same time interesting enough to make them want to find out what happens!
The kids also love to read the sequels: Bookstore Burglar and Bookstore Valentine.
Reading level K-2
06 January
2008
The President's Daughter
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
What is it like to be the daughter of the President? Here is a terrific fictionalized account of Ethel, the ten-year old daughter of Teddy Roosevelt. It starts with the evening her father became president and covers her experience of living at the White House and the National Cathedral School boarding school. The author does a wonderful job capturing the President, sister Alice, and the rambunctious Roosevelt household. She even includes an afterword that breaks down the fiction from the facts of the story.
18 January
2008
Mandy
by Julie Andrews Edwards
I read Mandy as a child and remember loving it. I just reread it and still think it is a wonderful book, especially for girls wanting adventure and independence. Mandy is an orphan, who at 10 becomes dissatisfied with the sameness of her life at an orphanage. Although the matron, staff, and other children are all kind and nice, Mandy longs for something more. She isn't sure what it is but it starts her wandering from the orphanage and leads her to discover an abandoned cottage over the wall. Mandy then sneaks off as much as possible to her cottage to garden and work on the cottage. She finds herself in trouble as she is less than honest about where she is spending her time. Of course it all works out in the end and satisfies the desire for a "happy-ever-after" ending that children like.
Main Streeet
by Ann Martin
For those kids who like to read series, Ann Martin is a good author. This new series, by the author of the babysitter's club, is about 2 sisters living with their grandmother after their parents die in a car accident. The first in the series is about adjusting to their new life and meeting new friends. Ann Martin writes believable stories that are interesting to children, with the usual issues around friendship and life.
Great poem
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Yesterday I was previewing a book I received as a gift and this quote was at the front:
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
I was intrigued and found the whole poem - it yet again reminded me why Longfellow was the rock star of his day.
Click here
20 January
2008
Non fiction recommendation
The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida
A friend of mine asked what I like for non-fiction. Though I read this book 3 or 4 years ago it still influences my thinking. The book is about a new economic class in the US - a group made up of artists, scientists, engineers, architects, academics, and entertainers. This group's job is to create new ideas, contents, and technologies.
The book starts by asking what identifies the areas of the country that are economically successful today? Regions characterized by the 3 T's -- talent, technology, and tolerance.
Pattern Recognition
by William Gibson
William Gibson's brilliance is making you look at the world in a new way. As one review wrote about this novel, "Pattern Recognition is a masterful snapshot of modern consumer culture and hipster esoterica. Set in London, Tokyo, and Moscow, Pattern Recognition takes the reader on a tour of a global village inhabited by power-hungry marketeers, industrial saboteurs, high-end hackers, Russian mob bosses, Internet fan-boys, techno archeologists, washed-out spies, cultural documentarians, and our heroine Cayce Pollard--a soothsaying "cool hunter" with an allergy to brand names."
If you like science fiction, you will love this book. What made me think of this book is a new science fiction book, Rainbow's End, that has many similar elements as Pattern Recognition. I'll report back on Rainbow's End when I finish it.
McDuff Series
by Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers
I met Susan Jeffers at the Kennedy Center right before Christmas, which is what made me think of these books. I love her illustrations! My favorite books are definitely the McDuff books that Rosemary Wells wrote. I spent a year or two reading these stories at least once or twice a week! They are terrific read alouds for the preschool set. McDuff is a wonderful little terrier adopted by Fred and Lucy. The stylized drawings, invoking the 1930s/1940s with wonderful colors, are the biggest attraction for these books.
McDuff Moves In
McDuff Comes Home
McDuff and the Baby
McDuff Saves the Day
Mary on Horseback
Rosemary Wells
Writing about McDuff made me think about all the wonderful books Rosemary Wells has written. She is best known for her picture books, but this book is for older kids. I read it out loud and really enjoyed it. Here is a biography of Mary Breckinridge, founder of the Frontier Nursing Service in the Appalachian Mountains. She becomes a nurse after her husband and 2 children die. The story starts in 1923 when Mary settles in Kentucky. This book explores the hard ship of mountain living and shows what a difference Mary made in the lives of people. The details that Wells provides, along with the pictures makes for an accessible, yet interesting story.
26 January
2008
Mystery at Chilkoot Pass (AG History Mysteries)
Barbara A. Steiner
A friend reminded me about this book last night. It is a great story of a 12 year old named Hetty and her family who leave CA for the gold fields in the Klondike. The book is about the grueling and arduous journey of transporting 3 tons of supplies through the mountains, over Chilkoot Pass, and onward another 500 miles north to Dawson. In addition to combating the terrain and weather, there is a mystery for Hetty to solve because valuable and personal items keep disappearing. There is just the right mix of mystery, adventure, and historical fiction to make readers, young and old keep turning the pages. I read this out loud and really enjoyed it. I'd recommend Jack London to anyone who thoroughly enjoys this book.
Read aloud gr. 1-5
Read to self gr. 3-6
