Review of The Scraps Book, by Lois Ehlert

Art, Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

scraps_book_largeThe Scraps Book

Notes from a Colorful Life

by Lois Ehlert

Beach Lane Books, New York, 2014. 72 pages.
Starred Review

Lois Ehlert makes wonderful picture book art, including the classic which I bought for my oldest son and quickly became a favorite in our family, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

This book tells a bit about how art found Lois Ehlert since childhood and led to her satisfying career. I say “a bit” because this is a picture book. There’s a little bit of text on each page, but mostly the book is made up of images.

There are pictures of the author as a child with her parents. There is a picture of the folding table her father set up for her to do art. There is a picture of the pinking shears her mother used on fabric, which Lois still uses. And on almost every page, there are elements of art that went into her many different books. She shows her method of collage and has a word of encouragement for budding artists: “If you feel that way too, I hope you’ll find a spot to work, and begin.”

The text is simple, with just a sentence or two of the main thread on each page, with the rest made up of many little notes about the art. The style reminds me of that in Feathers for Lunch, since you can read it on a couple different levels – reading the overarching main text, or getting delightfully absorbed in the details.

This book is fascinating for someone like me who has no desire to be an artist, in that it looks behind the scenes at the creation of some brilliant picture books. How much more inspiring I think it will be for kids who are interested in doing art.

KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Review of A Boy and a Jaguar, by Alan Rabinowitz

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

boy_and_jaguar_largeA Boy and a Jaguar

by Alan Rabinowitz
illustrated by Cátia Chen

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, 2014. 32 pages.
Starred Review

This is a picture book biography, with Alan Rabinowitz telling his own story. The book stands out because his story is riveting and inspiring, and the paintings by Cátia Chen are a perfect match.

Alan Rabinowitz has always been a stutterer. When he was a child, he was put in a class for disturbed children, because the teachers said that whenever he tried to speak, it disrupted the class.

He explains his predicament simply:

I try to explain, but my mouth freezes, just as I knew it would. I am a stutterer. If I try to push words out, my head and body shake uncontrollably.

However, the book begins with Alan standing in front of his favorite animal, a jaguar, at the Bronx Zoo. He explains why:

I can do two things without stuttering. One is sing – only I can’t sing well – and the other is talk to animals.

Alan builds a special relationship with animals. People treat him as broken because he stutters.

I know that my pets listen and understand. Animals can’t get the words out, just as I can’t get the words out. So people ignore or misunderstand or hurt them, the same way people ignore or misunderstand or hurt me.

I make a promise to my pets.

I promise that if I can ever find my voice, I will be their voice and keep them from harm.

Alan gets through school and college and learns to speak without stuttering, but he still feels broken on the inside. So he sets off to study animals.

Later, in Belize, I am the first person to study jaguars. The jungle makes me feel more alive than I have ever felt.

He’s in a wonderfully atmospheric jungle scene for this spread.

But jaguars are being hunted. Alan needs to speak to the prime minister of Belize for a plea to set up a jaguar preserve. Can he do it without stuttering? Can he keep his promise he made to animals in his youth?

The book finishes off with an amazing encounter. As an adult, back in the jungle studying jaguars, he comes face to face with a large male jaguar.

I know I should feel frightened, but I squat down and look into the jaguar’s eyes, just as I had with the sad old female at the Bronx Zoo. But this animal isn’t sad. In this animal’s eyes are strength and power and sureness of purpose.

We are both whole.

We are both at home.

I lean toward him a little, the way I had at the Bronx Zoo so many years before.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

This is a truly beautiful book with an inspiring message. This is a case where what stands out is the strong story and you realize later that because it’s true, technically, it’s a biography, not a storybook. I do hope that readers will find it in the nonfiction section. We’re going to have to make an effort to pull it out and give it the attention it deserves.

panthera.org
stutteringhelp.org
hmhbooks.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Review of Dare the Wind, by Tracey Fern

Adventure, Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, History, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

dare_the_wind_largeDare the Wind

The Record-Breaking Voyage of Eleanor Prentiss and the Flying Cloud

by Tracey Fern
pictures by Emily Arnold McCully

Margaret Ferguson Books, Farrar Straus Giroux, New York, 2014. 36 pages.
Starred Review

How wonderful! A nineteenth century young woman navigated clipper ships for her sea captain husband and actually broke speed records because of her daring and mathematical prowess! Who knew? Now this is a true story I’m eager for little girls to know about!

The book starts with Ellen Prentiss as a child, loving the sea. Her father teaches her how to navigate. The illustration shows her using a sextant outside their house, by the sea, under her father’s observation. “Ellen worked for hours by the kitchen fire, learning the complicated calculations needed to navigate a ship.”

Ellen eventually marries a sea captain, Perkins Creesy. He becomes captain of a new clipper ship, built for speed.

If Ellen and Perkins could make the trip faster than any ship ever had, they would receive a bonus – and bragging rights as the best sailors in the world. It was the adventure Ellen had always dreamed of catching!

The author goes on to dramatize Ellen and Perkins’ record-breaking journey, using information from the log. There was plenty of adventure on the voyage, including a broken mast, and time spent in the Doldrums, with Ellen taking a daring new route to escape them.

In the end, on August 31, 1851, they reached their destination and brought passengers and cargo to the California Gold Rush faster than any other ship ever had.

An Author’s Note at the back gives more details of the journey, along with sources of more information for the curious reader.

This is a wonderful picture book about a woman who used her brains to become the best in the world!

traceyfern.com
emilyarnoldmccully.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Review of Randolph Caldecott: The Man Who Could Not Stop Drawing, by Leonard Marcus

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, History, Starred Review 0

randolph_caldecott_largeRandolph Caldecott

The Man Who Could Not Stop Drawing

by Leonard Marcus

Frances Foster Books (Farrar Straus Giroux), 2013. 64 pages.
Starred Review

I got to hear Leonard Marcus speak about this material at the 75th Anniversary Caldecott Preconference last June in Chicago. There and in this book, he tells why Randolph Caldecott completely changed children’s books, and why his name is a fitting title for the award for the most distinguished picture book each year.

The book is filled with art work done by Caldecott and related images such as pictures of the places he lived or contemporary art work shown for contrast. Every double-page spread has at least two images, usually more. The format is large, like a picture book, but the text is detailed, like a chapter book.

The material is varied as well, with sketches interspersed with watercolors and photographs. The story told is the story of someone who started out as a bank clerk but eventually doodled his way to a distinguished career as an artist who will never be forgotten and who made books for children all the more accessible.

leonardmarcus.com
mackids.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Review of To Dare Mighty Things, by Doreen Rappaport

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, History, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

To Dare Mighty Things

The Life of Theodore Roosevelt

by Doreen Rappaport
illustrated by C. F. Payne

Disney Hyperion Books, New York, 2013. 44 pages.
Starred Review

This book does exactly what a picture book biography should do. It gives the reader a fantastic introduction to the life of a great man. There are big, beautiful pictures, showing active scenes. The text covers the highlights of his life, beginning with his curious childhood. I especially like the quotations featured on each page, in large bold print.

Here’s text from a two-page spread about his childhood. The quotations are much larger than the rest of the text.

Teedie stuffed hedgehogs into drawers.
Sometimes they escaped.
Guests were warned to check water pitchers for snakes before pouring.

“He has to be watched all the time,” his mother told his father.

He illustrated and wrote books about ants, spiders, ladybugs, fireflies, hawks, minnows, and crayfish.
His fingers were always stained with ink.
He collected animal and bird specimens and created a museum in his room.
He smelled. The whole house smelled.

“All growing boys tend to be grubby; but the ornithological boy is the grubbiest of all.”

Of course, with the cover image simply the head of Theodore Roosevelt, I’d love to see people pose with the book in front of their face.

This is an accessible book for young children, giving them an overview of Theodore Roosevelt’s life and work in a beautiful package that will catch anyone’s interest.

doreenrappaport.com
cfpayne.com
disneyhyperionbooks.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Review of March, Book One, by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Graphic Memoir, History, Starred Review 0

March
Book One

by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

Top Shelf Productions, 2013. 123 pages.
Starred Review
2014 Coretta Scott King Honor Book

This is not a graphic novel, it’s a graphic memoir, and all the contents are true. Congressman John Lewis tells about what it was like for him as a young man involved in the Civil Rights Movement. The comic book format combined with the personal remembrances give this book an immediacy that will stick with the reader.

There’s a frame that’s in place on the day of Barack Obama’s inauguration. The congressman is telling two kids visiting his office what it was like when he was their age. And then he tells how he first heard about people speaking up for civil rights, and how he went to nonviolence training, participated in and organized sit-ins, and began the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

This is only Book One. There’s a sort of prologue scene crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the March on Washington. We don’t get that far in the story, though we do learn, right at the start, that of all the speakers that day, John Lewis is the only one who’s still around.

This graphic memoir makes history come alive in a dramatic way.

I’m reading it because it’s the last contender I hadn’t read for School Library Journal’s Battle of the Books, which starts next week. I’m not surprised to find some powerful reading here. It fits in well with the other contenders.

topshelfcomix.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Review of Albert Einstein and Relativity for Kids, by Jerome Pohlen

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Science, Stand-outs, Starred Review 0

Albert Einstein and Relativity for Kids

His Life and Ideas with 21 Activities and Thought Experiments

by Jerome Pohlen

Chicago Review Press, 2012. 126 pages.
Starred Review

Wow! This book not only tells you about Albert Einstein’s life, it also gives you a grasp of the basic ideas behind relativity. In a way kids can understand. In a way I can understand!

The majority of the book is a serviceable, well-written biography. It tells about Einstein’s life, his family, where he lived, and how the two world wars affected him. There are many old photographs and other visual aids.

But along with the biography, you’ve got a series of thought experiments and other activities to help the reader understand the concepts. It starts with one of Albert Einstein’s earliest experiments, playing with a magnet and compass. In the section on his childhood, you’re challenged to build a house of cards, something he liked to do as a child. It continues with a cool experiment calculating the speed of life with a chocolate bar in a microwave and an experiment with milk in a water bottle that shows why the sky is blue. Especially interesting are thought experiments which Einstein himself described to help understand Relativity.

The combination of facts with activities and thought experiments makes this an especially interesting book that kids will understand at a deeper level.

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Review of The Goat Lady, by Jane Bregoli

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review 0

The Goat Lady

by Jane Bregoli

Tilbury House, Gardiner, Maine, 2004. 32 pages.

I’m reviewing this book in honor of my friend Kathe Barsotti. Kathe is working for zoning changes to let pygmy goats be allowed in the Town of Herndon, because their milk eases her arthritis. I mentioned that to my coworker Mary, after Kathe’s picture was in the local paper. Mary immediately said that I had to read The Goat Lady. In the past, Mary has booktalked this book in the schools.

Sure enough, the Goat Lady had started raising goats because their milk cured her arthritis. Though the Goat Lady of the book ended up with far more goats than my friend Kathe tends.

The story of the Goat Lady, Noelie Houle, is told from the perspective of neighbor children. When they moved to the neighborhood they were fascinated by a nearby rundown farmhouse with a yard full of white goats. They got to know the neighbor and her friendly goats, and learned to help care for them.

The children’s mother, who turns out to be the author of this book, was an artist. She painted many portraits of Noelie and her goats, which are used throughout the book.

Mom finished enough paintings of Noelie and her goats to fill the walls of the town hall for an art show. On opening night of the show, lots of people came: the “Meals on Wheels” drivers who brought Noelie’s lunch on weekdays; the young man who helped her feed the goats between his school bus runs; the church lady who helped her with grocery shopping; the men who delivered hay and dried corn; the nurse who changed the bandage on her sore leg; the nurse’s husband, who liked to talk in French with Noelie; and a young woman who had been able to drink only goat’s milk when she was a child.

My only complaint? There are many lovely pictures of Noelie in the book, but they chose one for the cover in which she looks rather dumpy.

A sad thing about this book is that it’s buried in the biography section. It is indeed a picture book biography about a remarkable person. She lived a quiet life, and children won’t think to look for her by name. But those who discover her story will be delighted.

I’m reviewing this book today in honor of Nonfiction Monday, hosted today at Wrapped in Foil.

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Review of Becoming Babe Ruth, by Matt Tavares

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, History, Picture Book Review 1

Becoming Babe Ruth

by Matt Tavares

Candlewick Press, 2013. 40 pages.

Who knew Babe Ruth went to reform school at age 7? Becoming Babe Ruth looks at George Ruth’s childhood and how even he had to work at becoming a great baseball player.

The book focuses on his years at St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, where he played baseball and learned from Brother Matthias. Years later, when he was famous, he still had a special relationship with the school and helped them raise money to rebuild after a fire. The band from the school got to go on the road with the New York Yankees for the last two weeks of the 1920 baseball season, special guests of Babe Ruth.

This is also a beautiful picture book, with extra large pictures of a larger-than-life baseball player. I like the focus on a boy down on his luck who works hard and makes it big, but still remembers where he came from.

The author says in a note at the end, “Becoming the king of baseball took countless hours of practice and plenty of support and guidance from his school and from his teacher and mentor, Brother Matthias. And even at the height of his fame, he remained eternally grateful to those who helped him become Babe Ruth.”

candlewick.com

I’m posting this review today in honor of Nonfiction Monday, hosted today at Booktalking.

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

Review of Revolutionary Friends, by Selene Castrovilla and Drazen Kozjan

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, History, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Revolutionary Friends

General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette

by Selene Castrovilla
illustrated by Drazen Kozjan

Calkins Creek (Highlights), Honesdale, Pennsylvania, 2013. 40 pages.
Starred Review

This is what a nonfiction picture book should be. It tells a story, complete with flourishes, such as inserting French words in spots. And it also gets in the facts, particularly in the form of pictures of parchment on many pages, with quotations from Lafayette or Washington, talking about the episode featured on that page.

I didn’t know much about Marquis de Lafayette. I knew he was important during the American Revolution, but didn’t really know why. Now I do. And now I understand his deep friendship with George Washington, which began during the war and extended through the rest of their lives.

The book begins in 1777, when nineteen-year-old Lafayette came to America and introduced himself to General Washington, eager to help. Washington was not so impressed — at first. Other Frenchmen had come but had held themselves above the Americans and not bothered to learn English.

Lafayette was blissfully unaware of Washington’s opinions.

He had adopted the motto cur non — “why not.” Having come this far, why not go further?

Lafayette was anxious to be trained and eager to communicate. He had studied English while on the rough sea.

He adored America. And because Washington represented America, Lafayette idolized him.

Washington approached.

Enchanté!

The commander complimented Lafayette on his noble spirit and the sacrifices he had made. He invited Lafayette to live in his quarters.

Voilà!

To Lafayette, the cementing of their bond was as simple as that.

The book goes on to tell how the Americans were in a tight spot, and Congress wouldn’t trust Lafayette with a command. He finally proved himself in a way they couldn’t ignore, risking his life at the Battle of Brandywine. Washington told the doctor, “Take charge of him as if he were my son, for I love him with the same affection.”

There are several pages of back matter after this ending, the decisive cementing of their friendship. It tells how the friendship continued, gives timelines for both their lives, and even lists places to visit.

The strong point of this book, well supported with the rest, is the accessible story, a story of two men who became friends in a time of war. And changed the world.

SeleneCastrovilla.com
DrazenKozjan.com
calkinscreekbooks.com

This review is posted today in honor of Nonfiction Monday, hosted today at Shelf-Employed.

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.