Lovin' Literature!

 

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Ranger Rick magazine for children is created and published by the National Wildlife Foundation.  This month's issue, April 2008, features articles on tigers, outdoor fun, Dinotopia, and ants.  The rest of the magazine has its regular headlines such as riddles,  Ask Rick, and game pages.  Overall, this publication provides readers with numerous full color pages.  The articles are well-written.  For instance, the article on tigers puts a spin on the point of view and provides readers the life of tigers from a tiger cub's point of view - very clever and fun to read!  "Outside Fun" gives readers suggested activities to engage in while outside (everything from flying a kite to bird calling).  The Dinotopia section features glimpses into James Gurney's books, and even provides readers with the background for Dinotopia.  "Ask Rick" is a place where readers can submit questions and "Rick" writes back with the answers.  Young and old readers will enjoy learning about daddy longlegs, discover if porcupines are born with quills, and what happens to whales' bodies after they die.  There are many additional features and articles written with younger readers in mind.  The font size is large while the font style is appealing to younger reader.  The full color pictures mix well with the text.  Neither is overwhelming or over powers the other.  This magazine is a definite must for the outdoors person and/or animal lover. 

 

Lasky, Kathryn. Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes.  The Man Who Made Time Travel. New York: Melanie Kroupa Books, 2003. 

In the early 1700s, many ships and sailors were lost at sea without even knowing it.  They needed bearings to know where they were heading, but nothing had yet been invented that could provide accurate longitude coordinates.  In 1714, the British Parliament passed the Longitude Act which promised to pay $20,000 pounds (about $12 million today) to the person who could create a method for measuring longitude.  Many tried and failed.  The great scientists and astronomers believed that the answer was using the stars and the night sky to accurately determine the longitude location of ships.  Other suggestions were the Time on Tiptoe Method, a method using an injured dog aboard the ship, and one involved setting a fire on the ship!  It was not until a young man named John Harrison began working on an invention that a viable solution was produced.  However, Harrison was a perfectionist and wanted to make improvements on his invention (a clock).  After being deceived several times, Harrison finally collected the prize money.  By that time, he was nearly 80 years old and had completed his fifth revision for the ships.  Hawkes's full page, colorful illustrations add brilliant details to Lasky’s tale.  The writing is somewhat dense, but Lasky has presented it in a user-friendly way.  The illustrations add calm to the text that can be lengthy in places.  The story is presented in an interesting way.  The pages are large and colorful with text only devoted small sections of the pages.  This helps readers feel that they can stop if they feel overwhelmed with information.  However, most readers will want to know what happens to Harrison and will want to continue reading.  A bibliography at the end supports the facts found in Lasky’s book and can provide further reading for those interested.  

 

Gibbons, Gail . Halloween Is... New York: Holiday House, 2002. 

Text runs across both the tops and bottoms of these full-color pages depicting the origins of Halloween.  Much of the information given in the book can be found through additional sources; however, some of the information is questionable.  For instance, “in ancient times, people feared the coming of winter” and the implication that all winter long ghosts, witches, and goblins “roamed the earth, casting spells and playing evil tricks on people” might be misleading and not entirely accurate.  Another drawback is the lack of an author’s note, resources, or additional readings.  However, this book is not totally without merit.  Gibbons provides current illustrations of Halloween symbols such as pumpkins, decorations, costumes, trick-or-treating, and parties.  In addition, the folktale of how jack-o’-lanterns began and where the tradition of trick-or-treating started are provided with the modern-day renditions of how those traditions are still practiced.  In the pumpkin carving section and the trick-or treating pages, Gibbons adds a note to younger readers to have an adult present for both of these activities.  The lively, colorful illustrations in this book lend itself to young readers as well as older readers. 

 

Adler, David A. illustrated by Colin Bootman. A Picture Book of Harriet Beecher Stowe. New York: Holiday House, 2003. 

President Abraham Lincoln was reported as saying "So this is the little lady who made this big war" when he met Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1862.  This amazing book written by David Adler informs readers of Harriet Beecher Stowe's life and how her book, Uncle Tom's Cabin "was one of the causes of the Civil War."  Adler takes readers on a journey from Harriet Beecher Stowe's birth in 1811 and her family life growing up to her marriage to Calvin Stowe to her death in 1896.  Adler of course spends much of his book discussing Harriet Beecher Stowe's love of writing and her various writings including her most famous book, Uncle Tom's Cabin.  On the last page of the book, Adler provides sections devoted to an author's note where he discusses more information about Uncle Tom's Cabin, a timeline of Harriet Beecher Stowe's life, a selected bibliography, suggested books for further reading, and two web sites.  Bootman's oil illustrations bring Stowe's life and times up close and personal to the reader.  From differences in the dress of Stowe and the slaves to large mansions, Bootman's illustrations add life and depth to Adler's words, and readers will see a bit of history come to life. 

 

Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperTrophy, 1978. 

Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are sent to live with an old professor during World War I.  The Professor lives in a huge house - just perfect for hide-and-go-seek on rainy days.  While hiding in a wardrobe to avert the attention of the Professor’s housekeeper, these four siblings accidentally find themselves in the new land of Narnia.  While in this wondrous land, the children encounter many new creatures such as a Faun named Mr. Tumnus, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, the White Witch, and Aslan the lion.  The White Witch has special (and sinister) plans for the four siblings and enchants Edmund into doing her biding.  When he shows up at her castle without his brother and sisters, the Witch shows her true nature toward Edmund by binding his hands and almost killing him.  Later, when the children are united, they all help Aslan and other creatures such as centaurs, cheetahs, and unicorns to defend Narnia and defeat the White Witch and her minions.  Readers will feel that a story is being told to them instead of reading a novel with C. S. Lewis’s natural language and easy-to-read text.  The black-and-white illustrations at the beginning of each chapter and interspersed throughout the chapters help readers visualize what is happening in the text while adding substance and interest throughout the novel.  This is the first book of seven that was written for the Chronicles of Narnia series; although some would argue that The Magician’s Nephew is the first, but it is actually a prequel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and was published later.    

 

 

Smith, Jeff. Bone: The Great Cow Race. New York: Graphix, 2005. 

In The Great Cow Race, the second book in the Bone Series, readers find Phoney Bone up to his usual scheming ways and cousin Smiley Bone willing to help him while Fone Bone concentrates on his crush, Thorne.   Phoney Bone tries to get the town’s people to bet against Grandma Ben and bet on “the mystery cow” for the cow race.  Smiley Bone dresses as the mystery cow and plans to lose the race so Phoney and Smiley can keep the wagers.  The scheme would have worked had Lucius not bet his bar on Grandma Ben.  Readers will learn more about Thorne’s mysterious past through her strange dreams.  Alone, the humor throughout the novel is worth the read, but the graphics and color add such dimension to the characters and the plot line that readers' senses will be emersed in the book.  They will see nuances in character’s facial expressions and actions through the clean, clear lines and bold color of the illustrations which help this book read more like a movie or a movie board than a book.  Not only will readers find humor in the expressions of the characters, but they will also find the humor in the writing as well.  For instance, when Smiley and Phoney (dressed as the cow) end up in a pack of the rat creatures during the cow race, one of the rat creatures says, “Cow meat!” and Smiley response is, “Yes, it is a cow meet!”  Readers will not want the novel to end (and will definitely want to read the rest in the series) and will devour these humorous books with the underlying plots begging the questions, will the Bones make it back to Boneville?  Will Fone Bone ever let Thorne know his true feelings?  What is the secret that Grandma Ben and Lucius are keeping from Thorne, and is it related to Thorne’s dreams? 

 

Riordan, Rick. The Titan's Curse. New York: Miramax Books, 2007. 

Since discovering that he is the son of Poseidon (from the first book, The Lightning Thief), Percy Jackson’s life has never been the same.  In the third installment of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, Rick Riordan provides readers with the familiar characters from his first two books and invites them along with  Percy and his friends as they embark on a new quest, meet new monsters such as the Ophiotaurus, and encounter a new Titan - Atlas.  The Titan’s Curse begins with Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover finding two new half-bloods, Bianca and Nico.  During the battle to save the half-bloods, a manticore tries to kill them, Annabeth is lost over the side of a cliff, and Artemis’s Hunters aide in the attempted rescue of all of the half-bloods and Grover the satyr.  After the battle, Artemis promptly leaves in order to hunt and unknown creature.  When it is discovered that Artemis is in trouble and lost, Percy (hoping to find Annabeth) dones Annabeth's invisibility hat and joins the quest to search for Artemis.  Zoë (a Hunter), Bianca, Thalia, Grover, and Percy try to escape evil skeletons warriors during their travels from Washington to Las Vegas to San Francisco.  The modern-day Greek gods (Apollo drives a red Maserati, Aphrodite pulls up in a white limousine, and Ares is dressed in head-to-toe black and red leather) occasionally intervene throughout the quest.  Riordan provides the same humor as in the previous books while enlightening readers as to why there are two winged statues at Hoover Dam.  The focus of this book is to find Artemis and Annabeth while the underlying plots introduced in The Sea of Monsters continues to keep readers in suspense and wondering who is the half-blood who could destroy the Olympians? What will happen to Luke and Kronos?  Riordan leaves readers eagerly anticipating his next book in the series. 

 

Riordan, Rick. The Sea of Monsters. New York: Miramax Books, 2006. 

Percy Jackson is excited that he hasn’t been expelled from school - yet.  He still has to make it through the last day.  He has been looking forward to a great summer at Camp Half-Blood all school year.  Percy is a half-blood, a demigod, a son of the Greek god Poseidon.  In The Sea of Monsters, Rick Riordan’s second book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, Percy discovers that Camp Half-Blood is in trouble and he decides to go on a quest to find the mythological Golden Fleece.  Percy encounters gods, demigods, monsters, and other entities of Greek mythology while on his quest.  He also discovers that his friend, Tyson, is actually a Cyclops and a son of Poseidon - which makes Tyson Percy’s half-brother.  Percy’s quest teams him up again with his friends Annabeth, daughter of Athena, and Grover, a satyr.  Readers will enjoy the plot of this book as a stand alone novel as well as the underlying plot with Luke and Kronos.  Readers will recognize parts of the Odyssey when Percy, Tyson, Annabeth, and Grover have to escape from the Cyclops, Polyphemus, sail past the sirens, Syclla, and Charybdis, and meet Circe (where Percy is turned into a guinea pig).  A great sequel where enemies have the potential to be friends, “families are messy” but one shouldn’t give up on them (“no matter how tempting they make it”), and the real hero is not always the one with all of the accolades.  Riordan gives young readers background knowledge to Greek myths set in modern day America.  Readers will enjoy the humor, action, and magic Riordan weaves into this novel. 

 

Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts. New York: Scholastic, Inc, 2004. 

The year is 1935, and twelve-year-old Moose Flanagan has just moved to Alcatraz Island with his mother, father, and his severely autistic sister, Natalie.  Moose is trying hard to adjust to moving away from his friends, his school, and his former life - a life where he could be a kid.  Now that he is on the island, he feels trapped.  Piper, the warden’s daughter, seems to constantly bother Moose or coax him into her latest scheme, his parents don’t seem to listen to him, and he cannot play baseball with his new friends at his new school because he has to come directly home to baby-sit Natalie.  Moose’s mother has tried everything from voodoo dolls to UCLA experts to special schools to help Natalie.  Nothing seems to work except for Carrie Kelley, a woman who works with Natalie and expects the family to work with Natalie also.  Moose discovers that his sister is getting better when she begins to construct full sentences and seems more aware of her surroundings.  When Natalie is rejected a second time from the special school, Moose decides to take matters into his own hands and writes a letter to Al Capone asking for help.  Gennifer Choldenko provides readers with a well-constructed story line and believable characters set against the backdrop of 1935 Alcatraz Island.  At times, readers might forget that the time setting is in the 1930s, but Choldenko adds gentle reminders such as the women wearing hats, gloves, and dresses.  Her author’s note gives more details to her research findings.  For instance, Al Capone was on laundry duty for a while when he first entered Alcatraz; the officers and their families had apartments, a grocery store, and post office on the island, and many children were raised on the island (many trying to obtain the highly coveted “over-the-wall” baseball or handball).  In addition, Choldenko offers a list of literature circle questions and activities at the end of the book.   At 225 pages, Al Capone Does My Shirts is a wonderful book for fluent readers; beginners might become frustrated with the length but the vocabulary is suitable for younger ages. 

Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. New York: Yearling Books, 1989. 

 

In Copenhagen, 1943, ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her friend, Ellen Rosen quickly learn the horrors of the Holocaust and its effect on the people of Denmark in Lois Lowry’s gripping historical novel, Number the Stars.  One day Annemarie and Ellen are racing home from school and the next day, the Johansen family is taking part in hiding their Jewish neighbors and friends, the Rosens.  Ellen stays with the Johansen family while her parents are hidden in an undisclosed location.  Annemarie grows up very fast as she learns why some information is kept secret from her and as she learns that bravery means “not thinking about the dangers.  Just thinking about what you must do.”  Annemarie, Mama, and Kirsti take Ellen to Uncle Henrick’s home in the country.  It is there that Ellen finally meets up with her parents again.  Later in the night, Ellen’s family and four others are smuggled across the sea to Sweden where they will be safe.  Because readers might have a difficult time knowing where “fact ends and fiction begins,” Lowry provides an afterward to answer those questions.  The families and characters are fiction (with the exception of King Christian X); however, much of the information throughout the book is fact from history and stories told to Lowry from a friend who lived through it.  For instance, “the Danes sank their own entire navy in Copenhagen harbor as the Germans approached to take over the ships for their own use.”  In addition, the Jews were tipped off that the Germans were coming to “relocate” them.  Because of this tip, provided by German G. F. Duckwitz, “almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark - nearly seven thousand people - was smuggled across the sea to Sweden.”  Facts like these might astonish some readers; however, Number the Stars provides them with a blend of authentic history of the events in Denmark during the Holocaust and a fictional story.  With short chapters (about 10 pages each), believable characters, and a  fast-paced story line, Number the Stars is a book suitable for intermediate grades and up.