Review of Knit Your Bit, by Deborah Hopkinson and Steven Guarnaccia

Historical, History, Picture Book Review 0

Knit Your Bit

A World War I Story

by Deborah Hopkinson
illustrated by Steven Guarnaccia

G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2013. 32 pages.

Knit Your Bit is a historical fiction picture book. It’s based on the effort made by the American Red Cross during World War I to have people across the country “knit your bit” to provide soldiers in the trenches with warm clothes to get through the winter.

The picture book looks at a boy named Mikey and his sister Ellie. Their father has gone to war. Ellie decides right away to learn to knit for Pop, but Mikey thinks knitting is for girls. However, with the announcement of a Knitting Bee in Central Park and the girls saying that the boys are scared to learn, Mikey and two friends form a Boys’ Knitting Brigade to try to beat the girls.

The historical aspect of this picture book makes it extra interesting. I love the photos on the endpapers from actual World War I knitting groups, and the sheep that President Wilson kept on the White House lawn. An Author’s Note at the end gives more details, including a song that ends like this:

We are knitting for the boys over there;
It’s a sock or a sweater, or even better,
To do your bit and knit a square.

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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.

Review of Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum, by Meghan McCarthy

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

Pop!
The Invention of Bubble Gum

By Meghan McCarthy

A Paula Wiseman Book (Simon & Schuster), 2010. 40 pages.

This nonfiction picture book tells the story of the invention of bubble gum. Walter Diemer, the man who came up with the breakthrough, was actually an accountant in the Fleer candy factory. He started watching a pot for a chemist, and ended up testing out new combinations. He finally found the formula for bubble gum. Pink was the only color he happened to have on hand, so that was the color of the new invention.

This simple story is told with big bright illustrations. It’s true, and it’s about something near and dear to children’s hearts, so this is an excellent choice to get kids interested in nonfiction. Notes at the back tell more about Walter Diemer and facts about gum.

I’m posting this review today in honor of Nonfiction Monday, hosted today at A Mom’s Spare Time.

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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 my own copy, which I got at an ALA conference.

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 Hoop Genius, by John Coy and Joe Morse

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

Hoop Genius
How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball

by John Coy
illustrations by Joe Morse

Carolrhoda Books, Minneapolis, 2013. 40 pages.
Starred Review

Hoop Genius is a simple picture book about the invention of basketball. The story it tells is pretty much summed up in the subtitle: James Naismith was a desperate teacher who’d taken on a gym class that had already forced two teachers to quit. But the author and illustrator dramatize that story in an exciting way (showing the young men in the class with progressively more injuries, for example). Then they show where Naismith got the idea (from a childhood game) and how he worked out the rules with his class. Then briefly, we’re shown how basketball took off. (James Naismith met his wife when she played in a women’s game he refereed.)

I love the endpapers – with copies of the first draft of the rules of basketball.

The story’s simple, but so interesting! This marvelous presentation of the story of how Basketball began will captivate readers of all ages.

lernerbooks.com

I’m posting this review tonight 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.

Review of Miss Moore Thought Otherwise, by Jan Pinborough and Debby Atwell

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

Miss Moore Thought Otherwise

How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children

by Jan Pinborough
illustrated by Debby Atwell

Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2013. 40 pages.

This nonfiction picture book tells, in simple, accessible language, about Anne Carroll Moore, one of the first librarians for children.

The title phrase, “Miss Moore thought otherwise,” is used throughout the book. “In the 1870s many people thought a girl should stay inside and do quiet things such as sewing and embroidery.” “People didn’t think reading was very important for children – especially not for girls.” “Back then, an unmarried girl like Annie might keep house for her parents, or perhaps become a teacher or a missionary.” “New York was a big city. Some people thought it was a dangerous place for a young woman to live on her own.” “She saw that many librarians did not let children touch the books, for fear that they would smudge their pages or break their spines. They thought if children were allowed to take books home, they would surely forget to bring them back.” “When Miss Moore turned seventy years old, it was time for her to retire. Some people thought she should sit quietly at home.”

To all of those things, “Miss Moore thought otherwise.”

And besides telling the attitudes Anne Carroll Moore worked against, the book also displays the positive work she did – such as being an instrumental part of planning the Children’s Room in the New York Public Library’s new Central Branch. There are many pages about the bright and beautiful Children’s Room and what children could do there. I like this little tidbit:

One day the king and queen of Belgium visited the New York Public Library. “You must come see the Children’s Room,” Miss Moore told the queen. That day all the children in the library – from the richest to the poorest – shook hands with a king and queen.

(And the picture shows children all lined up to do so, with Miss Moore helping the next in line get ready.)

Notes at the end tell about more trailblazing librarians, give more details, and tell you where you can find out more.

The book text ends with a nice capstone paragraph:

Today libraries across America have thousands of books for children. And thanks to the help of a little girl from Limerick, Maine, who had ideas of her own, any child can choose a book from a library shelf, curl up in a comfortable seat to look through it – and then take it home to read.

missmoorethoughtotherwise.com
janpinborough.com
hmhbooks.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/miss_moore_thought_otherwise.html

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.

This review is posted today in honor of Nonfiction Monday, hosted today at Wrapped in Foil.

Review of Abe Lincoln’s Dream, by Lane Smith

History, Paranormal, Picture Book Review 1

Abe Lincoln’s Dream

by Lane Smith

Roaring Brook Press, New York, 2012. 32 pages.

I like this book. The idea is simple. The execution is complex. The impact will stick with you.

There’s talk of a ghost in the White House. Over the years, different White House dogs won’t go into a certain room. Then one day, a little girl wandering from her tour sees the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. He’s still sad and worried about the union. She leads him to the door.

“Oh no, I never leave the Executive Mansion,” he protested.
“You should,” she said. “A lot has changed since 1865. . .
including the name of the Executive Mansion. We just call it the White House now.”

The ghost did the flying.
The girl answered the questions.
“Are the states united?” he asked. “Did that work out?”
“Yes, that worked out fine.”

“And equality for all?” he asked.
“That’s working out too,” she said.
“It’s getting better all the time.”

And on it goes. It’s a simple story, and the concepts are simplified to something children can easily understand. Lane Smith throws in some corny jokes attributed to Lincoln and some White House trivia. He also includes that marvelous Lane Smith art work, recognizable as his own, but not exactly like anything he’s done before.

One of the things that made me like this book was that it reminded me that when I was in elementary school or junior high, I used to daydream about having Louisa May Alcott come to visit and showing her all that had changed for women since her time. Since Jo wanted to run and play with the boys, I thought she would be so excited to see me wearing pants, and I’d think about all I could show her. This book is like that. Despite all our remaining troubles, I do think Abraham Lincoln would be reassured if a little girl could take him on a tour of what America is today and what Americans have done.

And what a fun way to reflect on that!

lanesmithbooks.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 When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky, by Lauren Stringer

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

When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky

Two Artists, Their Ballet, and One Extraordinary Riot

by Lauren Stringer

Harcourt Children’s Books, 2013. 32 pages.
Starred Review

This picture book nonfiction book is extraordinary. It’s a picture book; the language is simple enough for young elementary school students to fully understand. The pictures exquisitely evoke the music and dance of the ballet The Rite of Spring.

I’ve seen a performance of The Rite of Spring years ago in Los Angeles, but I wasn’t prepared for how completely this book brought that performance — which I hadn’t thought about in years — to the forefront of my mind.

I hadn’t remembered that the first time the ballet was performed, it ignited a riot in Paris. That event is the climax of the book, but it gets there in such a delightful way.

First, the book talks about the music and dance that Stravinsky and Nijinsky created by themselves.

Then Stravinsky met Nijinsky
and his music began to change.

His piano pirouetted a puppet,
his tuba leaped a loping bear,
and his trumpet tah-tahed
a twirling ballerina.

And when Nijinsky met Stravinsky,
his dance began to change.

His torso trumpeted a melody,
his arms and legs sang from strings,
and his feet began
to pom-di-di-pom like timpani.

Stravinsky inspired Nijinsky.
Nijinsky inspired Stravinsky.

Together they decided to dream of something different and new.

The book goes on to talk about the creation of The Rite of Spring and the reactions of the musicians and dancers, and, eventually, the crowd in Paris.

I can’t stress enough how wonderful the illustrations are. They aren’t a literal, photographic description of the times. They use styles of the art of the times to symbolically represent what’s going on, while still showing concrete things like dancers in Paris. I love the faces of the people in the music hall and in the streets of Paris. Some are smiling beatifically. Others have their hands over their ears with their faces puckered in disgust.

I also love the picture of Stravinsky and Nijinsky in tuxedo with tails dancing together surrounded by a ring of music with costumed dancers and instruments and music with unusual time signatures. That goes to show I can’t describe it nearly as effectively as one glance at the picture will give you. Across the page, there’s an exuberantly dancing cat and dog.

This is a colorful and exuberant book that tells a good story about art and a true moment in history and the way two friends working together helped both attain greatness.

This review is posted today in honor of Nonfiction Monday, hosted today at Anastasia Suen’s Booktalking.

laurenstringer.com
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 the 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 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism, by Ha-Joon Chang

Current Issues, History, Nonfiction Review, True Stories 0

23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism

by Ha-Joon Chang

Bloomsbury Press, New York, 2010. 286 pages.

I have to recommend this book, because it was a huge eye-opener. I’m not sure I absorbed everything, mind you, but I was impressed.

Ha-Joon Chang is a professor of Economics at the University of Cambridge. In all of the short chapters, teaching some truths about economics, he uses examples from international economics and international politics. Here is someone who knows what he’s talking about! He uses statistics and clear counter-examples to show why some things commonly believed about capitalism are simply not true.

I’ll quote some excerpts from the Introduction to give you an idea what’s going on in this book. I do recommend this book highly for anyone who does any thinking about public policy.

This book is not an anti-capitalist manifesto. Being critical of free-market ideology is not the same as being against capitalism. Despite its problems and limitations, I believe that capitalism is still the best economic system that humanity has invented. My criticism is of a particular version of capitalism that has dominated the world in the last three decades, that is, free-market capitalism. This is not the only way to run capitalism, and certainly not the best, as the record of the last three decades shows. The book shows that there are ways in which capitalism should, and can, be made better. . . .

Once you know that there is really no such thing as a free market, you won’t be deceived by people who denounce a regulation on the grounds that it makes the market ‘unfree’ (see Thing 1). When you learn that large and active governments can promote, rather than dampen, economic dynamism, you will see that the widespread distrust of government is unwarranted (see Things 12 and 21). Knowing that we do not live in a post-industrial knowledge economy will make you question the wisdom of neglecting, or even implicitly welcoming, industrial decline of a country, as some governments have done (see Things 9 and 17). Once you realize that trickle-down economics does not work, you will see the excessive tax cuts for the rich for what they are — a simple upward redistribution of income, rather than a way to make all of us richer, as we were told (see Things 13 and 20). . . .

Human decisions, especially decisions by those who have the power to set the rules, make things happen in the way they happen, as I will explain. Even though no single decision-maker can be sure that her actions will always lead to the desired results, the decisions that have been made are not in some sense inevitable. We do not live in the best of all possible worlds. If different decisions had been taken, the world would have been a different place. Given this, we need to ask whether the decisions that the rich and the powerful take are based on sound reasoning and robust evidence. Only when we do can we demand right actions from corporations, governments and international organizations. Without our active economic citizenship, we will always be the victims of people who have greater ability to make decisions, who tell us that things happen because they have to and therefore that there is nothing we can do to alter them, however unpleasant and unjust they may appear.

This book is intended to equip the reader with an understanding of how capitalism really works and how it can be made to work better. . . .

Most of the issues I discuss in the book do not have simple answers. Indeed, in many cases, my main point is that there is no simple answer, unlike what free-market economists want you to believe. However, unless we confront these issues, we will not perceive how the world really works. And unless we understand that, we won’t be able to defend our own interests, not to speak of doing greater good as active economic citizens.

If you’d like to educate yourself to be a good economic citizen, this book is a great place to start. If you’d simply like to have some food for thought and some solid evidence behind your opinions, this book is also a great place to start. I’m not at all sure I grasped all the arguments or would be able to articulate them myself. But I at least was convinced myself! And my eyes were opened to worldwide economic situations I had known nothing about.

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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 the 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 Pun Also Rises, by John Pollack

Creativity, Current Issues, History, Nonfiction Review 0

The Pun Also Rises

How the Humble Pun Revolutionized Language, Changed History, and Made Wordplay More Than Some Antics

by John Pollack

Gotham Books, 2011. 212 pages.

I can’t help but love a book that traces the history of puns and reports the many ways they have contributed to human history.

When I saw this book was ordered by the library last year, I knew what I had to get my Dad for Father’s Day. Sure enough, he came to visit me right before Father’s Day, when he had not yet received my gift. The first thing his eye fell on when he walked into my dining room was the stack of books in the corner with this one on top. I had to laugh. I knew it was the right gift for my Dad. Never mind that I was also looking forward to reading it!

I enjoyed the introduction the most. The author tells about how he went to the eighteenth annual world pun championships to investigate competitive punning and ended up the winning the whole thing. He continues, talking about the noble history of the humble pun:

Critics and curmudgeons often deride the pun as the lowest form of humor. Others would counter that if that’s true, it would make punning the foundation of all humor. A close study of history reveals, however, that the reflexive association between puns and humor is a relatively recent development. In ancient Babylonia and Greece, to wit, punning often had religious implications and could even lead to armed conflict.

In any case, punsters throughout history have served as some of the most adventurous scouts on the frontiers of language. . .

It’s simple, and not so simple. As children gleefully learn to spot and evaluate secondary meanings in common words and phrases, they’re really learning how to think critically. To get the joke, they have to overlook the obvious to explore other possible interpretations of what they have just heard, and fast. . . .

So what’s the alchemy at work here? How do the best puns manage to layer so much meaning, humor, even irony into just a few words? And why in the world is punning so intrinsic to human expression that it sparks such mischievous delight in languages as diverse as Tzotzil, Yoruba, French, Pitjantjatjara and Japanese? . . .

But what, exactly, is the link between punning and civilization? What cultural, emotional or functional need does it fulfill across so many centuries and continents? What makes wordplay in general, and punning specifically, such an enduring part of language? Could it be biological and, if so, what evolutionary purpose might it serve? And why should laughter itself even matter in the survival of the fittest?

Ultimately, while puns may seem simple, the art and implications of punning are not. So why, exactly, do bears go barefoot, and what does that reveal about the human condition?

I hope you enjoy this hunt for answers.

I think this is enough for me to tell you. That was enough for me to know I had to read this book. If you feel vaguely repelled by this description, don’t bother. We don’t need you to know the truth. As John Pollack says at the end of his book:

Inevitably, some people will never like punning because it fogs up the lens of clarity through which they view the world and impose order, or at least the illusion of order. But if puns seem, at times, to confuse, they actually enlighten us through both laughter and insight. They keep us from taking ourselves too seriously, and sharpen our capacity for creative thinking. Ultimately, puns keep our minds alert, engaged and nimble in this quickening world, revealing new connections and fresh interpretations. And that’s why, even as we hurtle into a future of uncertain opportunities, puns will always be more than some antics.

penguin.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 the Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I write the posts for my website and blogs entirely 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.