February 16, 2013

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Pick of the Day: The Freedom Maze (Audiobook)

By on January 18, 2013 Leave a Comment
Audiobook cover: illustration of girl in garden maze

The Freedom Maze. By Delia Sherman. 8 CDs. 8:19 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape. 2012. ISBN 978-0-499-01463-9. $55.
Gr 5-8–Sophie’s mother drops her off to spend the summer at her grandmother’s house in the Louisiana Bayou. Once a prolific sugar plantation, the property is derelict and overgrown. In the garden, Sophie discovers a maze, now in ruins, much like Sophie’s life since her parents’ divorce. It’s 1960, and the stigma of the divorce, combined with [...]

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Pick of the Day: Anna Hibiscus (CD)

By on January 17, 2013 Leave a Comment
Little African girl playing in field of flowers

Anna Hibiscus. By Atinuke. cassette or CD. 1 hr. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4618-3465-6, CD: ISBN 978-1-4618-3466-3. $15.75.
Gr 1-3–With this introductory phrase, “Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa. Amazing Africa,” we are introduced to the many facets of an African child’s daily life with her close-knit family. The culture, land, and people of Africa come shining through in Atinuke’s absolutely delightful stories (Walker, 2007) in this early chapter book. Four vignettes focusing on the child’s life with her large, noisy, [...]

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Pick of the Day: The Mighty Sky (CD)

By on January 15, 2013 Leave a Comment
CD cover with up close image of Earth from space

The Mighty Sky. CD. 31:31 min. with lyrics. NewSound Kids. 2012. ISBN unavail. $14.98.
K-Gr 4–This production is the brain child of Grammy nominee and NAMMY’s Songwriter of the Year (given by the Native American Music Association), Beth Nielsen Chapman. She was joined in the effort by songwriter Annie Roboff and lyricist Rocky Alvey, director of the Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory. The trio has put together a fantastic album of 11 songs in various musical styles including rock, doo wop, zydeco, English [...]

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Pick of the Day: Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles: America’s First Black Paratroopers

By on January 14, 2013 Leave a Comment
courage has no color

STONE, Tanya Lee. Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles: America’s First Black Paratroopers. 160p. appendix. bibliog. chron. notes. photos. reprods. Candlewick. Jan. 2013. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5117-6; ebook $24.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6405-3.
Gr 5 Up–A moving, thoughtful history of the United States military’s first black paratrooper unit. During World War II, African American soldiers were mostly relegated to service and security jobs, generally denied the same training and active-combat positions that were available to their white counterparts. [...]

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Pick of the Day: Splendors & Glooms (Audiobook)

By on January 11, 2013 Leave a Comment
Audiobook cover- kids on puppet strings with red background

Splendors & Glooms. By Laura Amy Schlitz. 10 cassettes or 10 CDs. 12 hrs. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4498-3568-2, CD: ISBN 978-1-4498-3572-9. $108.75
Gr 4-8–Set in a Dickensian London, Davina Porter is the perfect narrator to capture the nuances of the characters and the time period in Schlitz’s exceptional Victorian fantasy (Candlewick, 2012). Listeners will ache for the orphan children, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall, when they come up with money after pawning a watch. Should they have a proper meal [...]

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Pick of the Day: Son (Audiobook)

By on January 10, 2013 Leave a Comment
Boy in forest in green and white

Son. By Lois Lowry. 7 CDs. 8:11 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01448-6. $47.
Gr 6 Up–Those frustrated over the ambiguous ending of Lowry’s The Giver (1993) will be thrilled with the conclusion (2012, both Houghton Mifflin) to the quartet. Listeners are brought full circle, returning to the fate of Gabriel, the little baby saved from “release” by Jonas. The story begins with Claire, who emerges from unconsciousness following a difficult birth to [...]

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Pick of the Day: The Savage Fortress

By on January 9, 2013 1 Comment
lots of orange and yellow, girl and boy in foreground

CHADDA, Sarwat. The Savage Fortress. 292p. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-38516-9; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-46996-8. LC 2011046291
Gr 8 Up–On vacation in India with his aunt, uncle, and younger sister, pudgy Ash Mistry can’t wait to get back home to his video games and London friends. But when his uncle is offered a million pounds to assist mysterious Lord Savage with translations from an archaeological find, Ash becomes embroiled in an overwhelming and deadly real-life battle. He realizes [...]

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Pick of the Day: Planet Dinosaur (DVD)

By on January 8, 2013 Leave a Comment
Dinosaurs on DVD cover

Planet Dinosaur. DVD. approx. 3 hrs. Prod. by BBC Worldwide. Dist. by Warner Home Video. 2012. ISBN 0-7806-8447-8. $19.96.
Gr 5 Up–In the last two decades, paleontologists have made great discoveries about dinosaurs thanks to new computer-generated imaging (CGI) technology and cutting-edge research. The film, narrated by John Hurt and featuring computer-generated images, brings these prehistoric creatures to life. A whole new cast of dinosaurs are introduced, such as the Predator X, a sea creature that liked to tear the Plesiosaurs [...]

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Pick of the Day: Jinx

By on January 7, 2013 Leave a Comment
letters in gold, figure to left beneath, lots of green

BLACKWOOD, Sage. Jinx. 360p. HarperCollins/Harper. Jan. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-212990-1; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-212992-5.
Gr 4-8–“In the Urwald you grow up fast or not at all,” readers learn in the opening of this rich and fecund fantasy. Jinx is that staple of children’s literature: the scorned, ill-used orphan who proves to be so much more gifted and important than he ever imagined possible. He occupies a world that is simultaneously original and familiar, influenced by centuries of folklore, but newly [...]

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Pick of the Day: Henry Clay and the Struggle for the Union (DVD)

By on January 4, 2013 Leave a Comment
Painting of Henry Clay before the Senate

Henry Clay and the Struggle for the Union (Series). 3 DVDs.  20 min. ea. with tchr’s. guides online. Prod. by Witnessing History. Dist. by TMW Media. 2011, 2012 release. ISBN unavail. $69.95 ea. Includes: The Formation of the Union and Its Early Challenges; The Missouri Compromise of 1820 to the Tariff Compromise of 1833; The Compromise of 1850 to the Civil War.
Gr 6 Up–Henry Clay served in the House of Representatives and the United States Senate and worked to preserve the Union against the destructive forces [...]

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Pick of the Day: The Dustbowl (DVD)

By on January 3, 2013 Leave a Comment
Black and white photo of dust storm

The Dustbowl. 2 DVDs. 4 hrs. Prod. by The Dust Bowl Film Project. Dist. by PBS Dist. 2012. ISBN 978-1-608883-718-2. $24.99.
Gr 9 Up–Ken Burns, whose name is synonymous with the highest quality of documentary filmmaking, has turned his camera’s eye to the environmental and economic catastrophe that struck America’s heartland in the 1930s. After detailing the calamity’s prelude involving the easy credit available to farmers and the general lack of respect for the ecology of the land, the production methodically [...]

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Pick of the Day: Peace

By on January 2, 2013 Leave a Comment
sphere with pink cloud above

HALPERIN, Wendy Anderson. Peace. illus. by author. 40p. S & S/Atheneum. Jan. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-689-82552-1; ebook $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-6787-3.
Gr 3 Up–A beautiful book with rich watercolor artwork. Most of the paintings are spreads in a nontraditional layout, with sections sometimes divided into shapes by the meandering text. The book is about peace and how it can be achieved: in the world, in the country, in the city, in one’s school, and within oneself. The layout makes it a [...]

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Pick of the Day: Wild Horse Scientists

By on December 31, 2012 Leave a Comment
wild horse scientists

FRYDENBORG, Kay. Wild Horse Scientists. 80p. (Scientists in the Field Series Series). diags. further readig. glossary. index. maps. photos. reprods. websites. Houghton Harcourt. 2012. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-547-51831-2.
Gr 5 Up–Focusing on the wild horses of Assateague Island, Frydenborg effectively combines scientific facts such as coloration and size, as well as the actual definition of a wild animal, with a compelling narrative about several of the scientists who are working to protect and maintain the wild horse population there. A large [...]

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SLJ Pick of the Day: Little Seed: Songs for Children by Woody Guthrie (CD)

By on December 28, 2012 Leave a Comment
little seed

Little Seed: Songs for Children by Woody Guthrie. CD. 29 min. with booklet. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. 2012. ISBN unavail. $11.98.
PreS-Gr 3–Twenty years after Elizabeth Mitchell first discovered Woody Guthrie’s album, Songs to Grow On for Mother and Child, she performs 13 of those numbers in her clear, smooth voice on this outstanding album that coincides with the Woody Guthrie Centennial. Husband Daniel Littleton, daughter Storey, and others join Mitchell on several of the songs. These mostly folk and bluegrass style [...]

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SLJ Pick of the Day: Creepy Crawly Love (CD)

By on December 27, 2012 Leave a Comment
Insect playing instrument

Creepy Crawly Love. CD. 30:47 min. CDBaby.com. 2012. ISBN unavail. $14.99.
PreS-Gr 3–In his first album for children, Duke Otherwise hits all of the right notes. Clever lyrics abound in this collection of 12 original songs about topics such as food, animals, and word play. Children will enjoy listening to each song and trying to figure out what the twist may be. From the tune about “my uncle who’s an ant” to a lion being given the advice that he would [...]

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Pick of the Day: Spirit Seeker: John Coltrane’s Musical Journey

By on December 26, 2012 Leave a Comment
blue greens to right, musician to left

GOLIO, Gary. Spirit Seeker: John Coltrane’s Musical Journey. illus. by Rudy Gutierrez. 48p. bibliog. discography. further reading. websites. Clarion. 2012. RTE $17.99. ISBN 978-0-547-23994-1.
Gr 4-6–A well-conceived marriage of art and text breathes life and passion into this picture biography. Swirling strokes of vibrant colors give the book an almost cinematic quality, animating Coltrane’s passionate journey from a joyous, nurturing early childhood with a loving extended family to the despair of losing too many loved ones in a short time. The [...]

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Pick of the Day: Blue Clouds (CD)

By on December 21, 2012 Leave a Comment
A baby sitting on a red flower

Blue Clouds. CD. 39 min. with booklet. Smithsonian Folkways. 2012. ISBN unavail. $11.99.
PreS-Gr 3–Beautiful harmonies and Elizabeth Mitchell’s lovely, sweet voice are the hallmarks of this outstanding collection of traditional and original songs. She’s joined by her husband, Daniel Littleton, and daughter, Storey, as well as others. Mitchell has breathed new life into these traditional songs and has transformed several classic rock numbers into folk style with elegant and simple arrangements. In addition to the top-notch vocal performances, the band [...]

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Pick of the Day: Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku (Audiobook)

By on December 20, 2012 Leave a Comment
Grey cat with blue eyes

Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku. By Lee Wardlaw. cassette or CD. 15 min. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4640-4565-3, CD: ISBN 978-1-4640-4571-4: $15.75; hardcover book, ISBN 978-1-8050-8995-0: $16.99.
Gr 1-4–A cat sits in a shelter. There are other cats around him, yet he is alone. Will anyone choose him? Yes! But adjustments must be made…mostly by his new owners because, after all, he IS a cat. Wardlaw’s book (Holt, 2011) strikes just the right notes. Written in clever [...]

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Pick of the Day: Abe Lincoln’s Dream

By on December 19, 2012 Leave a Comment
white house, lincoln flying over it

SMITH, Lane. Abe Lincoln’s Dream. illus. by author. 32p. Roaring Brook. 2012. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-608-4.
Gr 2-5–A picture book that transforms the 16th president from a seemingly austere, severe figure into a sympathetic character. A young African American girl named Quincy encounters the ghost of Abe Lincoln on a school tour of the White House. He tells the child about a recurring dream in which he is sailing a ship on a stormy sea, unsure of where he’s heading. (The [...]

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Pick of the Day: See You at Harry’s (Audiobook)

By on December 18, 2012 Leave a Comment
Finished milkshake on blue checkered tablecloth

See You at Harry’s. By Jo Knowles. 5 CDs. 5:49 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-8958-7. $49.97.
Gr 7 Up–Twelve-year-old Fern is quiet and conciliatory, and often taken for granted. Left to take care of whatever the rest of the family members are too busy to deal with, she feels alone and resentful. Dad is constantly trying to boost business for the family restaurant, Mom is always escaping to meditate, Sarah is spending an embarrassing post-high school gap year working in [...]

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