Cape Spin! An American Power Struggle excellently chronicles the political, social, and cultural dimensions of the campaign to establish the United States’s first offshore wind farm in Massachusetts’ famed Nantucket Sound.
Pick of the Day: Cape Spin! An American Power Struggle (DVD)
By on February 15, 2013 Leave a Comment
Pick of the Day: The Great Unexpected (Audiobook)
By on February 14, 2013 Leave a Comment
“Rich symbolism abounds, and many common threads are woven together” in Sharon Creech’s The Great Unexpected. Read SLJ’s starred review of the audiobook version.
Pick of the Day: Nelly May Has Her Say
By on February 13, 2013 Leave a Comment
With one smart heroine and witty wordplay, Nelly May Has Her Say, which is based on the English folktale “Master of All Masters,” will delight.
Pick of the Day: Sophia’s War (Audiobook)
By on February 12, 2013 Leave a Comment
Sophia’s War. By Avi. 6 cassettes or 6 CDs. 7:15 hrs. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4703-2043-0, CD: ISBN 978-1-4703-2042-3. $66.75.
Gr 5-9–Set in 1776 during the American Revolution when New York was under siege by the British, Avi’s tale (S & S/Beach Lane Books, 2012) of resistance features an amazing female protagonist, trials aplenty as she tries to avenge her brother’s death, and a little romance thrown in for good measure. Sophia’s family believes in freedom and desperately wants America [...]
Pick of the Day: Bunnies on Ice
By on February 11, 2013 Leave a Comment
WRIGHT, Joanna. Bunnies on Ice. illus. by author. 32p. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-404-2. LC 2012001187.
PreS-Gr 1–This budding champion (a white snow bunny) loves to ice skate so much that she patiently waits for perfect conditions. When the other bunnies are doing summer things, she is planning what she will do when the snow falls. She proceeds to wait through the fall as she dresses her scarecrow with a pair of skates. Then when the snow [...]
Pick of the Day: Hi! Fly Guy (DVD)
By on February 8, 2013 Leave a Comment
Hi! Fly Guy. DVD. 7 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-47807-6. $59.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-47823-6: $29.95; CD with paperback book, ISBN 978-0-545-47822-9: $18.95; CD, ISBN 978-0-545-47806-9: $12.95.
PreS-Gr 2–Fly Guy’s adventures begin with Tedd Arnold’s Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Book (Cartwheel, 2005), and the sweet series for beginning readers soars to new heights with this outstanding DVD version. Buzz is looking for a smart pet to take to the Amazing Pet Show, and finds one talented fly for [...]
Pick of the Day: Ozomatli Presents OzoKids (CD)
By on February 7, 2013 Leave a Comment
Ozomatli Presents OzoKids. CD. approx. 37 min. Hornblow Group/Megaforce Records. 2012. ISBN unavail. $11.98.
PreS-Gr 3–The Grammy award-winning Los Angeles-based Latin fusion group, Ozomatli, continues to defy being pigeon-holed. Never afraid to try new things, they accepted a challenge from PBS television to shed gang-violence and explicit lyrics and record several education-focused songs. Their new album is aimed at youngsters yet maintains a gritty, urban edge that should have wide appeal. Fusing Latino, hip-hop, reggae, techno pop, and rock, these 14 [...]
Pick of the Day: The Goldilocks Variations
By on February 6, 2013 Leave a Comment
AHLBERG, Allan. The Goldilocks Variations. illus. by Jessica Ahlberg. 40p. Candlewick. 2012. RTE $17.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6268-4.
PreS-Gr 2–With whimsical illustrations and interactive features such as flaps, pop-ups, and pull tabs, the Ahlbergs showcase six silly variations on the classic tale. The standout of the bunch has the heroine wandering into the “trood (or spaceship) of The Three Bliim.” Full of silly alien words, the tale begs to be read aloud. In other adventures, Goldilocks takes on 33 bears, the furniture (chair, [...]
Pick of the Day: We Are America: A Tribute from the Heart (Audiobook)
By on February 5, 2013 Leave a Comment
We Are America: A Tribute from the Heart. By Walter Dean Myers. CD. 33:51 min. with hardcover book. Live Oak Media. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4301-1112-2. $29.95.
Gr 3 Up–The sweeping scope of Myers’s free verse poems (HarperCollins, 2011) is captured beautifully and interpreted dramatically on this CD by a diverse cast of narrators. This eminently patriotic book celebrates free expression and attempts to paint with word pictures the depth and breadth of the varied American experience. Rarely are all ethnicities given voice [...]
Pick of the Day: A Trip to the Bottom of the World
By on February 4, 2013 Leave a Comment
VIVA, Frank. A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse. illus. by author. 40p. Toon Bks. 2012. RTE $12.95. ISBN 978-1-935179-19-1. LC 2011049499.
PreS-Gr 2–From the endpapers, Mouse asks the timeless question of many young travelers, “Are we there yet?” Inspired by Viva’s experiences traveling to Antarctica aboard a Russian research ship, the oblong picture book offers basic facts about the region (it is cold and penguins live there, for instance), while Mouse tries to figure out when it [...]
Pick of the Day: Show Way (DVD)
By on February 1, 2013 Leave a Comment
Show Way. DVD. 12 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-47811-3. 59.95. CD, ISBN 978-0-545-47810-6: $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0545-47827-4: $29.95.
Gr 2-5–A Show Way was a quilt that had messages stitched into it showing the family’s journey North to freedom, offering hope and a guide for slaves in the South. That theme of “leading the way” is a thread running through Jacqueline Woodson’s carefully woven story (Putnam, 2005). Soonie’s great-grandma was only a child when she was sold away [...]
Pick of the Day: The Titanic Inquiry (DVD)
By on January 31, 2013 Leave a Comment
The Titanic Inquiry. DVD. 59 min. Prod. by Network Ireland. Dist. by MVD Entertainment Group. 2011, 2012 release. ISBN unavail. $59.97.
Gr 9 Up–The fate of steamship Titanic is probably one of the best-known incidents of the 20th century. There was just one inquiry into the cause of the ship’s sinking. This absorbing dramatic recreation focuses on the question of whether the death toll might have been reduced—or eliminated—if help had come from a nearby ship, the Californian. Based on the [...]
Pick of the Day: Peanut
By on January 30, 2013 Leave a Comment
HALLIDAY, Ayun. Peanut. illus. by Paul Hoppe. 216p. Random/Schwartz and Wade. Jan. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86590-9; PLB $18.99. ISBN 978-0-375-96590-6.
Gr 7 Up–Worried about transferring to a new school, Sadie comes up with the idea of faking a peanut allergy. She thinks that pretending to have a life-threatening condition will draw attention to her and generate sympathy. Her predictions come true, and she makes several new friends and even attracts a boyfriend. But as time passes, Sadie finds it harder [...]
Pick of the Day: Balloons Over Broadway: The Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade (Audiobook)
By on January 29, 2013 Leave a Comment
Balloons Over Broadway: The Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade. By Melissa Sweet. cassette or CD. 15 min. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-4703-2922-8, CD: ISBN 978-1-4703-2921-1. $15.75; hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-5471-9945-9: $16.99.
K-Gr 3–The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is a holiday tradition. But where did those big balloons begin? With puppeteer Tony Sarg, of course! The informative, enthusiastic text of Sweet’s Robert F. Siebert Medal picture-book biography (Houghton Mifflin, 2011) tells a little about Sarg’s life and his career [...]
Pick of the Day: The Price of Freedom
By on January 28, 2013 1 Comment
FRADIN, Judith Bloom & Dennis Brindell Fradin. The Price of Freedom: How One Town Stood Up to Slavery. illus. by Eric Velasquez. 48p. bibliog. further reading. photos. websites. Walker. Jan. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8027-2166-2; PLB $17.89. ISBN 978-0-8027-2167-9. LC 2012015781.
Gr 3-6–In 1856, John Price escaped from slavery in Kentucky by crossing the frozen Ohio River. Two years later, slave hunters arrived in Oberlin, Ohio, and attempted to take him back at gunpoint. Shopkeepers, farmers, teachers, and college students formed [...]
Pick of the Day: Zero the Hero (CD)
By on January 25, 2013 Leave a Comment
Zero the Hero. By Joan Holub. CD. 12:45 min. with hardcover book. Spoken Arts. 2012. ISBN 0-8045-4242-2. $29.95.
Gr 1-3–Zero dons superhero garb and tries to change his reputation because he’s tired of feeling like nothing. It’s clear that he makes no impact in addition, subtraction, or division. And in multiplication he sends the other numbers fleeing in fear of extinction. Finally, in despair, Zero rolls away. However, once he’s gone the other numbers miss him. They can’t make 10. They [...]
Pick of the Day: The Fire Chronicle: The Books of Beginning, Bk. 2 (Audiobook)
By on January 24, 2013 Leave a Comment
The Fire Chronicle: The Books of Beginning, Book 2. By John Stephens. 10 CDs. 12:22 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-87982-0. $37.
Gr 4-7–In The Emerald Atlas (2011), the first book in John Stephens’s series, we met Kate, Michael, and Emma who were searching for their missing parents and got caught up in a magical adventure that nearly turned deadly, tested their family bonds, and gained them the first Book. In this second [...]
Pick of the Day: Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty
By on January 23, 2013 Leave a Comment
BOLDEN, Tonya. Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty. 120p. bibliog. chron. glossary. illus. index. notes. photos. reprods. Abrams. Jan. 2013. RTE $24.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0390-4. LC 2012000845.
Gr 5-9–After a dramatic opening description of abolitionists waiting for word that the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed, this title reviews the events that led up to the Civil War, examines Lincoln’s reasons for writing it, and details the role of abolitionists. Bolden makes excellent use of primary sources; the pages are filled [...]
Pick of the Day: Pete Remembers Woody (CD)
By on January 22, 2013 Leave a Comment
Pete Remembers Woody. 2 CDs. range: 57:42-53:56 min. Prod. by Appleseed Recordings. Dist. by CDBaby.com. ISBN unavail. $20.
Gr 9 Up–This masterful album celebrates the centennial of Woody Guthrie’s birth in 1912. Producer David Bernz has compiled a number of stories that Pete Seeger (now in his 90s) told about Woody and himself, which were recorded in informal sessions over a span of time in their private homes. These reminiscences are interspersed with Woody’s songs, performed by a number of well-known [...]
Pick of the Day: Henry and the Cannons
By on January 21, 2013 Leave a Comment
BROWN, Don. Henry and the Cannons: An Extraordinary True Story of the American Revolution. illus. by author. 32p. bibliog. Roaring Brook. Jan. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-266-6. LC 2012013450.
Gr 1-4–As the American Revolution was getting underway, George Washington knew he needed cannons to defeat the British. Unfortunately, he was camped outside British-held Boston, and the nearest big guns were 300 miles away at Fort Ticonderoga, New York. They were thought to be impossible to retrieve, until Henry Knox agreed to [...]
