Literacy Now

When most of us begin to read, we are often drawn to books featuring familiar characters, settings, and experiences. Being able to see those experiences mirrored in our reading material can be validating and can keep readers returning to shelves in search of similar books. But as we grow older and more experienced as readers, we look for books that help us see the world differently. This week’s featured books highlight titles that help readers look at life through different lenses. Some of these just might change our lives and—at the very least—they may alter our worldviews.

Ages 4–8

Green Lizards vs. Red Rectangles. Steve Antony. 2015. Scholastic.

Sorting out what is at the root of most conflicts can be hard. Often, it’s something quite small such as being a different size, color, or shape. In this picture book, the only thing that’s clear from the start is the green lizards and the red rectangles are at war. As the conflict escalates, only one lizard even questions why they are fighting, and he ends up being beaten down for it. After exhausting all their resources, the two sides broker a peaceful coexistence in a creative way. Seems those lizards and rectangles had more in common than they originally thought. Originally published in the United Kingdom, the book makes excellent use of contrasting colors, shapes, and sizes to deliver its message.

Lenny & Lucy. Philip C. Stead. Ill. Erin E. Stead. 2015. Roaring Brook/Macmillan.

To his dismay and palpable unhappiness, Peter and his father move to a new place in the country. Nothing is as it was back home, and Peter draws comfort from his dog, Harold. But the house’s proximity to a bridge leading to some woods makes Peter anxious, and he fashions a Guardian of the Bridge with blankets and pillows. When he considers that this guardian, Lenny, might be lonely too, he creates a companion for him, Lucy. Then Millie, the girl next door, joins the group for play. The book’s cover is almost irresistible in its pathos as Peter watches all that is familiar being left behind. Created with carbon transfer printing, egg tempera, and charcoal, the illustrations are memorable, with a quietly meditative quality that prompts reflection. The story itself provides quiet reassurance that even in an unfamiliar place, there are new friends and routines to be found. Young readers may enjoy looking for the owl that appears on various pages and being reminded that having company helps dissipate most fears of the darkness and the unknown.

Ages 9–11

Claude in the Country. Alex T. Smith. 2016. Peachtree.

Claude, an adorable black-and-white dog who has more adventures than most humans, heads off for a trip to the country in this, his sixth outing. Along with his more reticent friend, Sir Bobblysock, the pair look for a day of relaxation and a change of scenery and find more than their share of trouble, as usual. After helping Mrs. Cowpat, a friendly farmer, by herding the sheep, gathering eggs, and cleaning the pigs, they head to the fair. The unflappable Claude even rescues a snooty judge from a raging bull. The story line and digital artwork are appealing to young readers for many reasons: the droll humor, the reference to cow patties, and curiosity as to what animals actually do while their humans are at work.

Happy Birthday, Alice Babette. Monica Kulling. Ill. Qin Leng. 2016. Groundwood/House of Anansi.

Birthdays are usually cause for celebration but, as this picture book shows, it is possible to enjoy the important day even when others seem to have forgotten it. In fact, celebrations can be fashioned from life’s most mundane moments or a walk through town. Based on the lives of writer Gertrude Stein and her companion, Alice B. Toklas, this picture book describes how Gertrude pretends not to have remembered Alice’s birthday while planning to surprise her with a feast complete with a cake. However, nothing goes as she plans. Although Gertrude gathers all the ingredients together with no problem, once she begins cooking and baking, she becomes distracted and forgets to keep an eye on the food. It is debatable whether getting down a certain thought or finishing a painting is more important than preparing a meal. Even though Gertrude’s plans to provide a splendid surprise for Alice don’t work out, Alice ends up having plenty of adventures—or, as she describes it, “a day of marvels”—as she meanders through the city. The illustrations, created with ink and then colored digitally, pay tribute to the delights of Paris where the story is set as well as a good friend’s best intentions, which surely should count for something.

Ages 12–14

Anna and the Swallow Man. Gavriel Savit. 2016. Alfred A. Knopf/Random House.

Holocaust stories abound, but this one offers something different. Set in Kraków, Poland, in 1939, the story follows young Anna Lania after she takes up with a man who has an affinity for birds. After her college professor father disappears during a purge of the city’s intellectuals, Anna has nowhere to go and she follows the mysterious man she knows only as the Swallow Man through the city streets and the woods. He teaches her survival skills and tells her stories. A master of disguises, he is clearly a brilliant man with some sort of tragedy in his past, but he never offers any explanations. When Anna befriends a Jewish man, the Swallow Man reluctantly allows him to join them. As they wander back and forth through various parts of the countryside, the Swallow Man keeps his own demons at bay until running out of medicine. Anna must figure out a way to save him for himself. Through it all, Anna learns important lessons about trust, difficult decisions, and the beauty that sometimes nestles within the harshest of moments. Readers will come to care for this young girl and hope with every fiber in their being that she finds something wonderful waiting for her at the end of her journey.

Claudia and Mean Janine (The Baby-Sitters Club #4). Raina Telgemeier. 2016. Graphix/Scholastic.

Based on the popular The Baby-Sitters Club series written by Ann M. Martin, this graphic novel version remains faithful to the original series’ intent and flavor, and readers will quickly relate to the characters as Claudia struggles with her feelings of inferiority because her parents seem to favor her older sister Janine who makes excellent grades while Claudia is lucky if she brings home Cs. The girls’ feuding continues even after their grandmother is hospitalized with a stroke. There is just enough focus on each of the members of the club and Claudia’s family and neighborhood to keep readers engaged, especially because there are shifting dynamics within the group as they head into their eighth grade year. Refreshingly, the book features self-empowered girls who aren’t caught up in the search for the right makeup or boyfriend. Readers will chortle at the depiction of many funny scenes concerning babysitting, including persuading a child that getting a little soiled is OK and the perils of washing a dog without a leash. Readers will never look at babysitting or family dynamics in quite the same way.

Up From the Sea. Leza Lowitz. 2016. Crown.

When a powerful earthquake and tsunami turn Kai’s life upside down on March 11, 2011, he must deal with the loss of his family and several classmates. The book’s opening pages describe the speed with which the sea rushes to shore, decimating the Tohoku region of Japan with almost 16,000 lives lost, as its force destroys almost all of the homes and trees in its path. The author relates Kai’s journey of recovery through a novel in verse, describing in vivid, heart-pounding language his desperate attempts to escape the water. Afterward, of course, there is almost nothing left, and Kai becomes depressed, embittered, angry, and unwilling to respond to the helping hands of others. When he has the chance to meet with disaster survivors from the Twin Towers terrorist attack in New York and hear their stories, however, Kai summons the strength and will to go on. Upon his return to Japan, he is beginning to heal, and finds a renewed purpose as he reaches out to others through his passion for soccer.

Ages 15+

Arrows. Melissa Gorzelanczyk. 2016. Delacorte/Random House.

Most readers can relate to the plight of Karma Clark, caught up in a relationship with a guy who everyone knows is wrong for her. No matter how bad things get—and they get very bad—she just can’t fight her feelings for Danny. As it turns out, her unreasonable passion for this cad can be blamed on an arrow which started that crazy thing called love from Aaryn (Cupid’s son). Another of Aaryn’s arrows, the one intended for Danny, was a dud, and Danny is unable to reciprocate Karma’s boundless passion. Karma, a talented ballerina, becomes pregnant, has a daughter named Nell, and postpones her college plans while Danny messes around in every sense of the phrase. The remorseful Aaryn tries to straighten out the mess he left behind in Wisconsin, but he falls for Karma while seeing how Danny mistreats her. This book is the perfect antidote for those contemplating changing themselves for someone else or those tempted to wrap up all their emotions, dreams, and plans for the future in another. Although the book offers several humorous moments, it also firmly reminds readers to avoid anyone who refuses to support them or tries to hold them back. Sure to prompt conversations about relationships and choices, this book offers a unique perspective on how much say we actually have when it comes to falling in—and out of—love.

Up to This Pointe. Jennifer Longo. 2016. Random House.

For most of her 17 years, Harper Scott has dreamed of a career in a ballet company. She has given up a great deal, including food, free time, and relationships, but is certain her sacrifices will be worth it. However, when the plans that she and her best friend, Kate, have don’t pan out, she impulsively heads as far away from her San Francisco home as she possibly can. Finagling her way onto a six-month-long research expedition in the Antarctic and trading on her ancestor’s name—yes, she’s related to the Robert Falcon Scott who explored the region a century ago—Harper has plenty of time to contemplate her choices and figure out a future that might still have room for dance. As an assistant to Charlotte, who is studying the effects of humans on the Adelie penguins, Harper realizes that running away from her problems hasn’t really made them go away. Eventually she must return to face the music and find a way to keep doing the thing she loves but on different terms than she originally planned.

Barbara A. Ward teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in literacy at Washington State University, Pullman. She spent 25 years teaching in the public schools of New Orleans, where she worked with students at every grade level, from kindergarten through high school as well as several ability levels. She is certified in elementary education, English education, and gifted education. She holds a bachelor's in Communications, a master's in English Education from the University of Tennessee and a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of New Orleans.

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Literacy Daily.

I love books—all books—but especially international books. I eagerly await the announcement in January of USBBY’s Outstanding International Books. Which of the books on the list have I read? Which did I miss? There are 42 books on the 2016 list, and I found I had some catching up to do. Here are the books that I missed during the year and enjoyed reading during the last few weeks.

Ages 4–8

I Am a Bear. Jean-François Dumont. Trans. from French by Leslie Matthew. 2015. Eerdmans.

A bear, who cannot remember how he got there, finds himself homeless in a city. Life is difficult for a bear on the streets. It’s hard to get food, although there seems to be no shortage of it. Trying to communicate with people is impossible. They seem to be afraid of him; some run from him when he approaches and others chase him away. He spends the day sheltering in cardboard boxes in a doorway. People pass by, not noticing him, pretending not to see him, or hurrying past with disapproving looks on their faces. He is left alone with sad thoughts. Then one day a little girl stops, asks him why he is sad, gives him a little smile, and says he looks like a teddy bear. The girl gives him a “Hello, teddy bear” greeting each morning that warms his heart. It makes his life brighter to know that although he is a bear lost in the city, he is a teddy bear. Dumont’s portrayal of the bear and the response of the little girl to to the bear in contrast to that of the adult urban dwellers offer a gentle lesson of compassion for the homeless.

Like a Wolf. Géraldine Elschner. Trans. from French. Ill. Antoine Guilloppé. 2015. Minedition.

A sad and lonely dog, chained to a concrete slab by an abusive owner, tells how his wolf-like appearance and nighttime howling has led humans in the city neighborhood to misunderstand him. He longs for the freedom to run and the touch of a friendly hand. Taken to an animal shelter, the abandoned dog loses hope of being rescued until a man carrying a long, thin stick reaches through the bars to pat him on his back and says, “You look like a real shepherd dog!” Now, the dog reports, he spends his days tending sheep in the fields and his nights beside his shepherd, singing to the moon. Black-and-white silhouette illustrations dramatically show the transformation of this mistreated dog, whose life is changed by one caring individual.

Why Dogs Have Wet Noses. Kenneth Steven. Ill. Øyvind Torseter. 2015. Enchanted Lion.

In this imaginative retelling of the story of Noah and the Ark, a bearded Noah, wearing a hoodie and boots and carrying an umbrella, stands in the rain—the kind of rain that looks like it will never stop. Noah builds a gigantic ark and then gathers together as many creatures as he can remember and invites them aboard. Last of all comes a mutt with a soft, black nose. Norwegian artist Torseter’s detailed cartoon illustrations featuring cutaway views of the ark show the activities on board throughout the long, crowded voyage. When the ark springs a leak, the resourceful Noah plugs the small hole with the dog’s nose. The loyal dog stays at his post night and day. When they reach land and the parade of animals depart, Noah frees and rewards him with a tummy rub. The dog gives Noah a kiss with his wet nose. Never again would Noah’s dog go to sea, but since then all dogs have had wet noses.

Ages 9–11

Adventures With Waffles. Maria Parr. Trans. from Norwegian by Guy Puzey. Ill. Kate Forrester. 2015. Candlewick.

Nine-year-old Theobald Rodrik Danielsen Yttergård (“Trille” to everyone in Mathildewick Cove) has a best friend and neighbor, Lena Lid. Actually, although Trille considers Lena to be his best friend, he’s not sure she feels the same way about him. Trille has a big family, including her mother, father, sisters, brother, Grandpa, and Auntie Granny—the maker of the best waffles ever. Lena just has a mother, but would love to have a dad, too. After a year of shared adventures that usually go awry and frequently end with an injury, things have changed. Auntie Granny has died; Lena is getting a father (a doctor, which should be a help with future broken bones, concussions, and other injuries); and Lena has declared that, of course, Trille is her best friends. After adding her “I do” at the wedding during the Midsummer Festival, Lena joins Trille to make waffles using Auntie Granny’s famous recipe for Waffle Hearts to share with Grandpa, who is missing his sister, Auntie Granny, on this festive day. This episodic novel full of fun and heart is a great read-aloud choice.

Dreams of Freedom: In Words and Pictures. Amnesty International UK. 2015. Frances Lincoln.

Dreams of Freedom is a collection of 17 statements from individuals from around the world on various aspects of freedom. Each quotation is paired with one of the fundamental rights of all people identified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights presented in language that can be understood by young children as well as an illustration by a renowned international artist. For “Freedom to Make a Difference”, Chris Riddell, a United Kingdom illustrator, created the artwork that offers a visual story of the Chinese proverb that inspired the founding of Amnesty International in 1961: “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” There are notes on the authors of the quotations and the illustrators.

Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees. Franck Prévot. Trans. from French by Dominique Clément. Ill. Aurélia Fronty. 2015. Charlesbridge.

This picture book biography of Wangari Maathai (1940–2011), with colorful stylized artwork, goes beyond her childhood in Kenya, in which she became aware of the destruction of the forests around her village, and her founding of the Green Belt Movement to replant trees and fight for women’s rights upon her return to Kenya after studying in the U.S. In focusing on Wangari Maathai life work as a political and human rights activist, Prévot’s well-crafted text clearly shows why Wangari Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 “for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy, and peace.” Extensive back matter includes a timeline of the life of Wangari Maathai, a map and notes on Kenya today, information on the continued destruction of forests in Kenya and throughout the world, and a page with quotations from Maathai, a bibliography of her books, and related websites.

Ages 12–14

Book: An Autobiography. John Agard. Ill. Neil Packer. 2015. Candlewick.

John Agard serves as transcriber of Book’s life story, which offers readers an interesting history of books from the beginning of writing on clay tablets more than 5,000 years ago by the Sumerians to the e-books of today. In his autobiography, Book covers the importance of libraries as depositories of knowledge and as resources to make books available to everyone. Book also includes information on dark periods in history in which books and libraries have been destroyed. Book’s narration is authoritative yet playful. Each chapter includes poems and sayings related to books and reading by individuals throughout history and black-and-white mixed media illustrations.

You Can’t See the Elephants. Susan Kreller. Trans. from German by Elizabeth Gaffney. 2015. Putnam/Penguin.

While her father remains in the city for his annual private grieving for his wife who died seven years ago, 13-year-old Mascha spends the summer with her grandparents in their small town, whose slogan is Together in Clinton. With nothing to do, Mascha spends her day sitting quietly at a nearby playground listening to her favorite music. There she meets a sister and brother, 9-year-old Julia and 7-year-old Max. She sees bruises and wounds the children have and begins to wonder about Julia’s explanations for them. When Mascha goes to their house to find out why they haven’t been coming to the playground, she hears screaming and witnesses the father’s violent abuse of Max through a window. She tells her grandparents but only gets the response that the family is “good people” and that such things do not occur in their peaceful town. As the problem escalates and she can get no adults to help, Mascha initiates a rescue of the two children on her own. Her well-meaning but ill-conceived plan falls apart, and Mascha is labelled a kidnapper by the outraged citizens of Clinton. Nonetheless, there are signs that her actions are leading some members of the community to see “the elephant in the room” and to face up to problems they are pretending did not exist.

Ages 15+

The Last Leaves Falling. Sarah Benwell. 2015. Simon & Schuster.

Abe Sora, a 17-year-old Japanese boy, has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Abe has read everything he can find on ALS to supplement what doctors have told him. Confined to a wheelchair and unable to attend school, his contact with people is limited to his mother and doctors until two teens he has chatted with online, Kaito and Mai, begin to visit. They involve Abe in normal teen activities and their friendship grows. As his symptoms worsen and control of his body diminishes, Abe knows that he does not want the undignified ending to life that ALS brings. He wants to face death under his own terms and he must involve Kaito and Mai in assisting him in ending his life with dignity.

Carolyn Angus is former director of the George G. Stone Center for Children's Books, Claremont Graduate University. She served on USBBY’s 2007, 2008, and 2009 Outstanding International Books committees.

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Literacy Daily.

This week’s collection of books contains nonfiction and fiction intended to stimulate discussion in social studies lessons and promote thought-provoking independent reading. The books suggest multiple perspectives on familiar and not-so-familiar topics while showing the viability of using first-person narrative as material for social studies topics.  

Ages 4–8

Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah. Laurie Ann Thompson. Ill. Sean Qualls. 2015. Schwartz & Wade/Random House.

Emmanuel was born with a deformed leg but, with the support of his mother, he grew up doing things other Ghanaian children with disabilities did not do, including going to school (hopping two miles each way on one leg) and learning to ride a bicycle. At the age of 13, Emmanuel went to Accra to find work to support his family. Determined to show everyone that “being disabled does not mean being unable,” Emmanuel dreamed of cycling around Ghana. After training on a bike from the Challenged Athletes Foundation and canvasing door to door for support, Emmanuel made a 400-mile cycling journey across Ghana in just 10 days. The author’s note details Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah’s work on behalf of the disabled since completing his first long-distance bike ride across Ghana in 2001.

—CA

Gingerbread for Liberty! How a German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution. Mara Rockliff. Ill. Vincent X. Kirsch. 2015. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Responding to cries of “Revolution! Independence! Liberty!”, a German-born baker known throughout Philadelphia for his delicious gingerbread—“the best in all the 13 colonies”—joins General George Washington’s army and begins feeding the hungry Continental soldiers. Sent by Washington into enemy territory to persuade German troops hired by the British to defect to their side, he wins over the hungry soldiers not with words, but with the promise of “No empty bellies here. Not in my America.” Kirsch’s cut-paper illustrations feature the chubby baker and a lot of skinny soldiers as gingerbread cookie characters with white icing detailing. The author’s note provides information on Christopher Ludwick (1720–1801), the German baker who “helped win the American Revolution.” A simple gingerbread cookie recipe is on the endpapers.

—CA

The Inventor’s Secret: What Thomas Edison Told Henry Ford. Suzanne Slade. Ill. Jennifer Black Reinhardt. 2015. Charlesbridge.

Young Thomas and Henry wanted to know how things worked. Their curiosity frequently led to experiments that got them into trouble. When they were older, they developed inventions that made life better for people. Henry’s interest in engines inspired him to invent a two-cylinder, four-stroke car. People laughed at Henry’s gas buggy, but they loved Thomas’s light bulb. Wondering what Edison’s secret was, Henry set out to meet Edison in New York City in 1896. In a conversation during a dinner where the famous inventor was the guest of honor, Edison revealed his secret to Ford, “Keep at it.” The illustrations, rendered in watercolor, ink, and black pencil, add detail and humor to the information about Ford’s development of a series of cars that he wanted to make affordable and suitable for families, from Model A to Model T (the Tin Lizzie). The back matter includes information on the friendship between the inventors, notes on Edison’s and Ford’s inventions featured in the story accompanied by archival photographs, source notes, a timeline of the lives of Edison and Ford, and a bibliography of websites and books.

—SW

Ages 9–11

The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower or John Howland’s Good Fortune. P.J. Lynch. 2015. Candlewick.

With a text based on historical facts set against dramatic double-spread paintings done in watercolor and gouache, Lynch tells the story of the Pilgrims’ voyage from England on the Mayflower and their first year in New Plymouth through the first-person narration of John Howland, an indentured servant of Pilgrim John Carver. Young John had the good fortune of surviving a fall from the deck of the ship in stormy waters. Lynch ends John’s story with a last-minute decision not to return to England on the Fortune the following year. In the author’s note, Lynch explains that this decision was fortunate for John because the Fortune was taken by French pirates on the voyage back to England. Lynch adds that this decision was also fortunate for the Plymouth Colony as John Howland became one of its foremost citizens.

—CA

In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse. Joseph Marshall III. Ill. Jim Yellowhawk. 2015. Amulet/Abrams.

Jimmy McClean’s mother is Lakota and his father is half white. They live on the edge of the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in southwest South Dakota, but that does not spare him the ridicule of students at his school because of his light brown hair. To help Jimmy understand his heritage, his grandfather Nyles High Eagle suggests a journey to visit the ancestral and historical sites where Crazy Horse, who also had light-colored hair as a young Lakota man, grew up and served his people. Their journey through three states to places that figured in American history includes stories of “the way it was” between 1852—when Crazy Horse was 13—and 1877, when he surrendered at Fort Robinson and died from a bayonet wound. A detailed map shows the journey Jimmy and Nyles took. In an author’s note, Marshall, a Sicangu Lakota (Rosebud Sioux), explains his purpose in in writing his book. Back matter includes a glossary and references.

—SW

Two White Rabbits. Jairo Buitrago. Trans. Elisa Amado. Ill. Rafael Yockteng. Groundwood/House of Anansi.

A man and his young daughter travel by foot through a desert environment and come to train tracks where many other people are waiting. The story, told from the daughter’s point of view, suggests adventure, but the father’s worried expression depicted in the illustrations suggests their lives are precarious as they travel on a train’s roof with many other adults and children. Having to escape soldiers who stop the train, the father finds work in a town while the child plays with a boy who gives her two rabbits. Once they resume their journey, this time in the bed of a truck, the father’s concern for the welfare of his child deepens. Upon reaching the border with its high fence, the father frees the rabbits. The father and child have yet to cross the border. The double-page illustrations, created digitally in muted, somber tones, show the hope and danger of their unfinished journey. A note at the end of the story provides information on the dangerous trips refugees take in attempting to make it across the border into the United States.

—SW

Ages 12–14

Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound. Andrea Davis Pinkney. 2015. Roaring Brook/Macmillan.

Pinkney offers a lively history of the Motown music label, narrated in a folksy tone by the Groove. Berry Gordy Jr., a member of an entrepreneurial Detroit family, achieved his dream of starting a recording company that would bring together talented black song writers, singers, and musicians with the establishment of Motown Records in 1959. A key to Gordy’s success was that he not only brought black artists into the Motown family and treated them fairly but also produced hits, songs that everyone wanted to hear. The reader of Rhythm Ride learns how the Motown sound changed the music world and influenced social and political history in the last half of the 20th century. Back matter includes an author’s note, a timeline, a selected discography, source notes, resources (books, magazines, and DVDs; websites; and theatrical productions), and an index. 

—CA

Taking Hold: From Migrant Childhood to Columbia University. Francisco Jiménez. 2015. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

In this memoir, Jiménez sets out on a journey, leaving family, friends, sweetheart Laura, and teachers behind in California as he begins graduate studies at Columbia University in New York City. He connects the experience with the journey his family had taken 19 years earlier when he was 4-years-old and came across the Mexican border, not knowing what they would find when they entered the United States. Following his earlier books, The Circuit: Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child (1999), Breaking Through (2002), and Reaching Out (2009), Jiménez recounts the challenges of making his way in the culture of New York City and Columbia, supporting his family, and adjusting to the breakup with Laura. The memoir ends with his marrying Laura and her moving to New York to take a teaching position, the completion of his degrees, and his return to California as a professor at his undergrad alma mater, Santa Clara University.

—SW

Ages 15+

My Seneca Village. Marilyn Nelson. 2015. Namelos.

In a “Welcome to My Seneca Village” introduction, Nelson explains she made up the characters on the basis of their names and identifications in U.S. census records for Seneca Village, Manhattan’s first African American community of property owners on the upper west side of Manhattan Island. From 1825 to 1857, the village grew with schools, churches, gardens, and cemeteries and eventually incorporated Irish and German immigrants, until it was condemned to make way for Central Park, designed by Alfred Olmstead. Nelson begins each poem with an introduction to the characters, many of whom appear multiple times. Each poem, written in first person, recounts an event in the community. These personal stories of Nelson’s characters also chronicle historical events of the period such as economic recession, a cholera epidemic, the California Gold Rush, and the abolition movement. In an afterword, Nelson explains the structure of the poetry.

—SW

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad. M.T. Anderson. 2015. Candlewick.

Anderson’s biography of the famous 20th-century composer is also a biography of 20th-century Russia. It begins with the Bolshevik Revolution and the early days of the Soviet government, when Shostakovich was a child in Leningrad. As a young composer and teacher, he composed music for the vibrant, hopeful, and experimental art world of music and theatre of 1920s Leningrad. Anderson details the era of Stalin in the 30s and his purges that decimated the art, military, and economic intelligentsia and the five-year plans that resulted in the deaths of millions of people in the countryside. The alliance between Hitler and Stalin fails in 1941 when Hitler’s military forces, believing the Russians were subhuman, attacked Russia and surrounded Leningrad in a strangle-hold siege that lasted almost 900 days. Anderson recounts the dramatic events that led to the first performance of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, which became known as “The LeningradSymphony,” during the siege. Anderson includes extensive source notes to supplement the historical record discussed in the book.

—SW

Sandip Wilson serves as associate professor in the College of Health and Education of Husson University in Bangor, ME. Carolyn Angus is former Director of the George G. Stone Center for Children's Books, Claremont Graduate University, CA.

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Literacy Daily.

This collection of biographies, which have garnered honors in 2015, offers engaging and stimulating reading in a range of formats and topics. The biographies give insight into the lives of famous people and their legacies. These reviews identify the honors each book received.

Ages 4–8

Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova. Laurel Snyder. Ill. Julie Morstad. Chronicle.

A visit to the ballet one snowy night changes the life of a young girl. “Now Anna cannot sleep. Or sit still ever. She can only sway, dip, and spin… .” Two years later, Anna begins formal ballet training. After five years of hard work, she steps alone onto the stage as the swan. She travels the world, bringing the beauty of ballet to everyone until she falls ill. On her deathbed, Anna calls for her feathered swan dress. Snyder’s spare, lyrical text and Mortstad’s exquisite mixed-media artwork beautifully convey the life story of Anna Pavlova (1881–1931). An author’s note offers more information on the Russian dancer who is recognized widely as the greatest ballerina of all time. 2016 Orbis Pictus Honorable Mention.

—CA

W Is for Webster: Noah Webster and His American Dictionary. Tracey Fern. Ill. Boris Kulikov. 2015. Margaret Ferguson Books/Farrar Straus Giroux.

For Noah Webster, a farm boy with little schooling, nothing was more important than learning and language so, in 1774, his father took out a loan on the farm and sent 16-year-old Noah to study at Yale. Noah immersed himself in words. Becoming a teacher in the newly independent American colonies, he believed that a “national language is a national tie” and created his first speller in 1789. After publishing a small dictionary in 1806, he was determined to write the definitive dictionary of English in America. Lively and humorous mixed-media illustrations show how Webster dedicated his efforts over two decades, in the face of public ridicule and during years in which he and his wife, Rebecca Greenleaf, raised their eight children, to writing An American Dictionary of the English Language, the largest English dictionary ever written. 2016 Orbis Pictus Recommended Book.

—SW

Ages 9–11

Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine. Laurie Wallmark. Ill. April Chu. 2015. Creston.

From an early age, Ada Byron Lovelace (1815–1852) loved numbers. They became her friends in equations and inventions she developed during the long absences of her mother, who had left her father, the poet Lord Byron, when Ada was a baby. Ada longed to build a flying machine and experimented with the effects of wind on the sails of a toy boat. At the age of 17, she began working with mathematician Charles Babbage, who designed a mechanical computer, his Analytical Engine, but had not built it. Recognizing that the computer would need instructions to solve complex math problems, Ada created an algorithm for the Analytical Engine. In doing so, she also created a new profession, computer programming. An author’s note includes information on Ada Byron Lovelace’s lifelong interest in math and science and Ada’s software, the world’s first computer program. 2016 NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book.

—SW

Game Changer: John McLendon and the Secret Game. John Coy. Ill. Randy DuBurke. 2015. Carolrhoda Books/Lerner.

In 1944, five basketball players on the Duke University Medical School team set out to play a secret game with the starting lineup of the North Carolina College for Negroes team, coached by John McLendon, who learned the sport from James Naismith. Although the players were apprehensive and awkward at its beginning, the game picked up. The illustrations, rendered in paint and graphite, depict the fast-paced game the African American team generated as they demonstrated moves not seen by white teams before and that became the standard of the game. The game remained secret for decades because the Ku Klux Klan considered “mixing the races” a crime punishable by death. The author’s note includes additional information on Coach McLendon’s life and work. 2016 Orbis Pictus Recommended Book.

—SW

My Story, My Dance: Robert Battle’s Journey to Alvin Ailey. Lesa Cline-Ransome. Ill. James E. Ransome. 2015. Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster.

Movement and dance were as natural as breathing to 6-year-old Robert after the removal of braces worn to straighten his bowlegs. Raised by his aunt, uncle, and cousin, he loved the music of his home life and grew in confidence through singing at the AME Church. Dance was the center of his life; he began ballet lessons at the age of 13 and then won a scholarship to Juilliard. James E. Ransome’s pastel illustrations show Battle’s expansive, expressive dance style as a student and later as a professional dancer before becoming the artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Company in 2011. Robert Battle provides an inspiring foreword. Back matter includes author’s and illustrator’s notes; a bibliography of articles and video, radio, and Internet resources; and suggestions for further reading. 2016 Orbis Pictus Recommended Book.

—SW

Ages 12–14

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir. Margarita Engle. 2015. Atheneum/Simon & Schuster.

In a series of beautifully crafted poems, Margarita Engle, the daughter of a Cuban mother and an American father, tells of her love of the two worlds to which she belonged as a child: the tropical island world of her mother’s family, with its warm acceptance of her on summer visits, and the busy world of Los Angeles, where her family lives the rest of the year and she attends school with children who are not friendly. Engle recalls the disturbing upheaval of her young life as conflict between Cuba and the United States escalates during the Cold War era and the United States bans travel to Cuba. The last poem expresses the hope Margarita, at the age of 14, has for the future. “Someday, surely I’ll be free / to return to the island of all my childhood / dreams” (p. 185). The author’s note brings the reader up to date. 2016 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist; 2016 Pura Belpré Award.

—CA

Steve Jobs: Insanely Great. Jessie Hartland. 2015. Schwartz & Wade/Random House.

With black-and-white, hand-lettered cartoon panels, Hartland creates a graphic biography of Steve Jobs (1955–2011), the creative genius and entrepreneur who, at 21 years old, started Apple Computer in his family’s garage with Stephen (Woz) Wozniak. After leaving the company, Jobs took on the leadership of Pixar, a computer graphics company, and turned it into a major animation studio. In 1997, Jobs returned to the now-struggling company he had founded and, guided by his insistence that “our job is to figure out what the consumer is going to want before they do,” led the development of Apple into the giant of the personal technology industry it is today. In chronicling the life and work of Steve Jobs, Hartland also provides readers with a decade-by-decade history from “Technology in the 1960s” with rotary-dial phones with cords and typewriters in the 1960s to “What’s New?” in the 21st century with mobile phones spread worldwide, global positioning systems, and the iCloud. 2016 NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book.

—CA

This Strange Wilderness: The Life and Art of John James Audubon. Nancy Plain. 2015. University of Nebraska Press.

John James Audubon (1785–1851) is best known for his The Birds of America, with its life-size paintings of almost 500 North American bird species posed naturally against backgrounds of their habitats. Plain’s engaging biography reads like a great adventure story. Her well-crafted text, peppered with quotes from Audubon, presents Audubon as an early 19th-century artist, writer, naturalist, hunter, and explorer who clearly deserves his recognition as the founder of modern ornithology. The inclusion of numerous color plates of Audubon’s wildlife paintings and an appendix that includes a glossary, source notes, a bibliography, and an index makes This Strange Wilderness a splendid introduction to Audubon’s life and art. 2016 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist.

—CA

Ages 15+

Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War.Steve Sheinkin. 2015. Roaring Brook.

Sheinkin’s account of the personal and public life of Daniel Ellsberg covers the decade from 1964 and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave the President of the United States authority to escalate military action in Southeast Asia, to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1973. It looks into this tumultuous period and the actions of four Presidents related to Southeast Asia, military forces and war, the Federal courts, American newspapers, and top-secret documents. As an advisor to the State Department, Ellsberg went to South Vietnam to observe the war firsthand for two years. He gradually came to believe that a top-secret study of American policy in Vietnam needed to be made public. He leaked the document, which became known as the Pentagon Papers, to the press in 1971. Was he a hero or a traitor? In his author’s note, Sheinkin details his research. The book, illustrated with archival photographs, opens with a cast of characters and includes source notes, references, an index, and a map. 2016 Orbis Pictus Recommended Book; 2016 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award. 

—SW

Sandip Wilson serves as associate professor in the College of Health and Education of Husson University in Bangor, ME. Carolyn Angus is former director of the George G. Stone Center for Children's Books, Claremont Graduate University, CA.

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Literacy Daily.

It’s not often that a third-grade student becomes a published author, but you can find Violetta Lamb’s book, Plants and Animals (StarWalk Kids Media) on Amazon. The publisher worked with the superintendent of Lamb’s Blue Springs, MO, school district to pair the author with an illustrator, Susan L. Roth, to work together on the final product. Lamb said she was excited about the book and learned a lot from the experience.

How long have you been writing?

Since I was in kindergarten, but I hadn’t written an actual story until second grade.

What was it like working with Susan L. Roth?

It was fun learning how to work with the art materials that Susan L. Roth provided. She is amazing, and I am so glad to have met her!

What was the inspiration for the story?

At my old school, my teacher Mrs. Hilbert had talked about author and illustrators. She talked about Susan L. Roth and Seymour Simon, and I love their work. That’s where I got the idea and had hoped it would be like that: informative, but fun!

Do you plan to write more books in the future and make it your career?

I am still really young and don’t know what I will be when I grow up. But yes, I have continued writing!

Most of our readers are teachers who work with young people. What is the one piece of advice you would give students about writing and publishing?

Never give up—ever. If it is your dream, do it.

April Hall is editor of Literacy Daily. A journalist for 20 years, she has specialized in education, writing and editing for newspapers, websites, and magazines.