Gary Golio speaks to SLJ about his latest picture book, Spirit Seeker: John Coltrane’s Musical Journey (Clarion, 2012), which deals with the tumultuous life of the legendary jazz musician.
On the Radar: Top Picks from the Editors at Junior Library Guild: Creepy Crawly Nonfiction
By on October 19, 2012 Leave a Comment
In October eyes are usually drawn to ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night, but reality can be just as scary. Wasps sting the brain of a cockroach, paralyzing it so that the predator can lay its eggs in the zombified body. Tarantulas liquefy their prey in order to suck up dinner with their stomach muscles. Crocodiles can grow 3000 teeth in their lifetime, but they can’t chew their food. Detection rats use their sense of smell to sniff out explosive land mines. Forest fire beetles can discover a conflagration more than 20 miles away. And there’s nothing more unique than the distinct about the shape of wombat poop.
Pick of the Day: Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature’s Undead
By on October 15, 2012 Leave a Comment
JOHNSON, Rebecca L. Zombie Makers: . 48p. bibliog. further reading. glossary. index. notes. photos. websites. CIP. Millbrook. Oct. 2012. RTE $30.60. ISBN 978-0-7613-8633-9; ebook $22.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-0125-9. LC 2011046181.
Gr 5-8–Ratchet up your ick-factor and practice your eeyuw’s because Johnson’s researched text will reveal enough details to cause squeamish (or highly imaginative) readers to quail. Hairworms that cause crickets to commit suicide; jewel wasps that turn cockroaches into walking pantries for their larvae; and a fungus that drives its ant host [...]
On the Radar: Top Picks from the Editors at Junior Library Guild: Picture Book Biographies for Older Readers
By on October 8, 2012 1 Comment
Sometimes ordinary people are able to do extraordinary things. Annie Sullivan thought of a way to teach a deaf and blind student to communicate. Charles Ives listened to the sounds of everyday life and created a new kind of music. Henri Rousseau became one of the most gifted self-taught painters in history. Sarah Winnemucca stood up against injustices and wrote the first autobiography by a Native American woman.
Pick of the Day: Their Skeletons Speak: Kennewick Man and the Paleoamerican World
By on October 3, 2012 1 Comment
WALKER, Sally M. & Douglas W. Owsley. Their Skeletons Speak: Kennewick Man and the Paleoamerican World. 136p. bibliog. diags. further reading. illus. index. maps. notes. photos. CIP. Carolrhoda. Oct. 2012. RTE $22.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-7457-2; ebook $17.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-0001-6. LC 2011051329.
Gr 8 Up–This detailed study of the discovery and forensic evaluation of the skeleton dubbed “Kennewick Man” puts forensic TV shows to shame. From his accidental discovery in 1996 through multiple examinations by scientists with ever-improving forensic tools and years of [...]
Beyond Barron’s: The College Maze
By on October 1, 2012 Leave a Comment
SLJTeen’s sister newsletter, Curriculum Connections, recently ran a terrific article that’s perfect for high school seniors who are thinking about college—and for those of us who work with them. “The College Maze: From Application to Admission (And Beyond)” offers a comprehensive round-up of titles that college-bound students, as well as their parents, caregivers, and counselors, won’t want to miss.
The recommended list of books—which cover everything from choosing a major to guidance for students with disabilities—is bound to spark ideas for [...]
Consider the Source: Convergence
By on September 26, 2012 2 Comments
Marc Aronson discusses a set of books that looks at the same moment in history from three different angles. Taken together, the three titles offer a more comprehensive picture of a time of invention and discovery than we’d typically get from an individual book: one title focuses on a remarkable genius; another on a breakthrough invention; and the third title, which explores a transforming theory, is really best seen as a moment in which circumstance, individuals, and technology converge to make change possible.
A Universe to Discover | From Galileo to Barnum Brown
By on September 25, 2012 1 Comment
Biographies and introductions on scientists can introduce young readers and listeners to the excitement that inspires a lifetime of study. They can also encourage students to consider such pursuits themselves—now and in the future. From Galileo to Barnum Brown, the titles recommended here range from gorgeously illustrated picture books to exciting stories of phenomenal discoveries supported by clear color photos, generous lists of additional resources, detailed author notes, and website updates.
Pick of the Day: The Impossible Rescue: The True Story of an Amazing Arctic Adventure
By on September 12, 2012
SANDLER, Martin W. The Impossible Rescue: The True Story of an Amazing Arctic Adventure. 176p. bibliog. chron. index. maps. notes. photos. CIP. Candlewick. Sept. 2012. RTE $22.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5080-3. LC 2011018618.
Gr 5 Up–Endurance. Fortitude. Bravery. Any of these words could easily describe the people involved in this amazing, but little-known rescue-adventure. The year was 1897 and whaling was big business in America. Whaleship captains hunting in the Arctic Circle, pushing for more whales and the profits they meant, ended up [...]
A Lifetime of Study | On Site with Scientists
By on September 4, 2012
What do scientists do in their laboratories and on their research expeditions? How do they become interested in the subjects they pursue? Biographies and introductions to professionals in the field can introduce young readers and listeners to the excitement that motivates a lifetime of study. They can also encourage students to consider such pursuits themselves—now and in the future.
Mold Gardens and Messy Mixtures
By on August 31, 2012
The plethora of projects and experiments suggested in this handful of recent books offer just such inspiration. Rather than simply providing one bare recipe after another, the collections below combine tested sets of ingredients and clearly described procedures with specific explanations of the physical or chemical principles , relevant historical background, probing questions about results, and tantalizing suggestions for further, more challenging experiments—an approach designed to give children both a stronger grasp on how the natural world works and a systematic method for reaching out to conduct enquiries of their own. More importantly, all convey an enthusiasm for science that requires no intervention from parents or educators to prove contagious.
Consider the Source: The Problem with Common Core’s ‘Appendix B’
By on August 24, 2012
We always warn kids not to “pile on”—adding an extra shove when another kid is already down. But in this case, I have to add my voice to Melissa Jacobs-Israel’s. Melissa has expressed her frustration with the Common Core’s infamous Appendix B: Text Exemplars and Performance Tasks, and I couldn’t agree more.Sadly, Appendix B isn’t down.
Pick of the Day: Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and the True Story of an American Feud (CD)
By on August 23, 2012
Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and the True Story of an American Feud. By Suzanne Jurmain. cassette or CD. 30 min. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4640-4043-6, CD: ISBN 978-4640-4042-9. $15.75.
Gr 2-4–Suzanne Tripp Jurmain makes early American history more accessible and our founding fathers more human for young students in her book (Dutton, 2011) about the friendship and feud between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. She profiles both the differences between these two men as well as the [...]
Pick of the Day: Island: A Story of the Galápagos
By on August 22, 2012
CHIN, Jason. Island: A Story of the Galápagos. illus. by author. 40p. diags. maps. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. Sept. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-716-6. LC 2011033797.
Gr 3-6–Chin combines a bit of storytelling, factual explanations, and large and small paintings to chronicle the “birth” and ongoing development of islands in this far-off ocean cluster. A focus on the evolutionary rise and fall of the islands and skillful arrangement of an especially large number of images distinguish his presentation from the many books [...]
Pick of the Day: My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden’s Childhood Journey (CD)
By on August 21, 2012
My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden’s Childhood Journey. By Jeanne Walker Harvey. cassette or CD. 15 min. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4640-0209-0, CD: ISBN 978-1-4640-0206-9. $15.75; hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-7614-5810-4: $17.99.
K-Gr 3–In a first-person narrative that incorporates some of artist Romare Bearden’s phrases and ideas, and using his famous painting “Watching the Good Trains Go By” as her inspiration, Jeanne Walker Harvey gives voice to the history and experiences that inspired his famous collages. Born in North Carolina, [...]
Pick of the Day: Monsieur Marceau: Actor Without Words
By on August 13, 2012
SCHUBERT, Leda. Monsieur Marceau: Actor Without Words. illus. by Gérard DuBois. 40p. further reading. notes. photos. CIP. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. Sept. 2012. RTE $17.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-529-2. LC 2011033798.
Gr 1-3–It is fitting that this superb picture-book biography is short on words and long on visuals. The spare text marvelously captures the essence of the artist, depicting a man whose choice to be silent was born of an awareness of the damages of war. Born in 1923 to a musical family who [...]
Pick of the Day: The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity
By on August 1, 2012
RUSCH, Elizabeth. The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity. 80p. (Scientists in the Field Series). bibliog. further reading. glossary. index. photos. websites. CIP. Houghton Harcourt. 2012. RTE $18.99. ISBN 978-0-547-47881-4. LC 2011012159.
Gr 7-9–Rusch covers not only the scientific aspects of Mars exploration but also the personalities of the people who made it happen, and profiles the rovers themselves, Spirit and Opportunity. Her comprehensive research shines through in her detailed style as she zeroes in on the [...]
My Sword & Shield: Why Social Studies Matters | Consider the Source
By on July 31, 2012
What binds us together as a nation? What do we hold in common? What are the invisible linkages of law, custom, trust—the “single garment of destiny,” as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., called it— which we weave with the intertwining threads of our lives?
Pick of the Day: Invincible Microbe: Tuberculosis and the Never-Ending Search for a Cure
By on July 30, 2012
MURPHY, Jim & Alison Blank. Invincible Microbe: Tuberculosis and the Never-Ending Search for a Cure. 144p. bibliog. index. maps. notes. photos. reprods. Clarion. July 2012. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-618-53574-3; ebook $18.99. ISBN 978-0-547-82268-6.
Gr 5-9—Starting with the dramatic cover photo of a row of girls lying in their hospital beds, Murphy and Blank unwind the tangled history of tuberculosis, a disease that continues to kill millions every year. The writing is crisp and clinical. Readers will be surprised to learn that [...]
The New Nonfiction—and Why It Matters | Consider the Source
By on July 24, 2012
One of the presentations that I had a chance to participate in at the American Library Association’s annual conference, in Anaheim, in June, featured some unexpected drama. On Sunday afternoon, Dr. Joe Sutcliff Sanders, Nina Lindsey, Jonathan Hunt, and authors Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Marina Budhos, and I were considering whether there’s a “new nonfiction,” if that even matters, and what kinds of nonfiction best serve today’s young readers.
