Unfortunately, strict Internet filtering is the reality in many schools. Check your district’s Internet Use Policy and make sure there’s a provision to unblock sites that students may need. Perhaps you could meet with other teachers and see which sites kids will need to complete their upcoming assignments. Then ask the IT person to unblock them in advance.

My school district is adamant that our students must meet the Common Core standards for reading and literature. I’m especially concerned about the “Production and Distribution of Writing” standard, which requires kids to “Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others.” Our school’s computers are heavily filtered, and the district’s policy doesn’t allow students to use email or social media during the school day.

Schedule a meeting with those who have the power to change the policy, including members of the IT department. Point out that this particular standard is impossible for kids to meet because the district’s current policy is so strict. Perhaps the IT department can come up with a solution. It’s also important to check your state’s privacy policy. Perhaps student writing should only be posted with a student’s first name or a unique screen name. You might also want to consider asking your district to subscribe to SchoolTube, which is a site where students can share their work.

One of our high school students is doing his senior project on Robert Cormier. He’s especially interested in exploring why many of Cormier’s novels were often censored. As part of the research, the student is required to use books, periodicals, newspapers, and websites. We have online access to some magazines and newspapers, but they don’t date back to when Cormier’s works were first challenged. I’ve done a quick search for online resources, but many of the sites that deal with censorship are blocked in our district. Any suggestions?

There’s a book about Cormier’s work in the “Authors of Banned Books” series that’s called, Robert Cormier: Banned, Challenged, and Censored (Enslow, 2008). If you check its chapter notes, you’ll find many valuable resources, including the names of websites with their URLs. If your school library doesn’t own this series, the local public library may. Consider getting it through interlibrary loan if you can’t purchase it by the time the student needs to complete his research. I’m sure that the public library can supply almost anything the student needs—make sure he has a public library card!

I’m an elementary school librarian. Recently, our principal asked me to remove the entire “The Popularity Papers” series from our collection after a parent complained about it. Our girls—and even some of the boys—really love these books. The fact that one of its main characters has two dads has never been an issue until the parent complained. When I asked our principal if he wanted me to remove the series because of the gay parents, he replied, “Yes, we can’t support that.” I haven’t removed the books. What should I do?

Does your district have a Materials Reconsideration Policy that deals with specific challenges? If it does, review the policy with your principal and the parent. Let them know that following a proper procedure is the most professional way of handling a challenge. The courts have already said that school administrators can’t pull a library book based on their “personal opinion or bias.” Point to the case in Davis County, UT, where the school district removed Patricia Polacco’s In Our Mothers’ House (Philomel, 2009) from its shelves. Parents who wanted their kids to have access to the book sued the district. The school board has reinstated the book, but the court case isn’t settled. If you don’t have a policy, now is the time to develop one.

Pat Scales is chair of the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee. You can send your questions or comments on censorship to her at pscales@bellsouth.net.

I vividly remember being disappointed during my first year of teaching: my students weren’t nearly as excited about primary source documents as I was. Primary source documents, as you know, offer readers a unique, real-world perspective, and I thought my kids would love delving into them. I soon learned that my disappointing results weren’t due to the documents that I’d selected, but rather how I was having students use them. That first year, they weren’t doing anything but reading them. Today, Web-based tools enable students to discover more primary sources than ever before and engage them in dynamic ways. The following items are some of my favorites.

The U.S. National Archives Experience Digital Vaults (pictured above) offers students a good introduction to discovering and working with primary source materials. Rather than turning kids loose on millions of records in the National Archives, Digital Vaults focuses on a curated collection of 1,200 items. Within the site, there are activities designed to help students discover important connections between primary sources. One section, Pathways Challenges, provides quizzes that ask kids to analyze a specific resource and then find the related document within the collection. Teachers and students can create their own quizzes or take advantage of the premade challenges. Students who create free Digital Vaults accounts can collect primary source documents and images and use them to create digital posters and videos within the available templates.

A related resource, National Archives Docs Teach offers seven free tools that educators can use to create interactive learning activities based on any primary source in the National Archives. The seven tools are: Finding a Sequence; Focusing on Details; Making Connections; Mapping History; Seeing the Big Picture; Weighing the Evidence, and Interpreting Data. To get a sense of how each of these works, you can view activities that teachers have created and shared.

Historical Scene Investigation, hosted by the University of William & Mary School of Education, provides a good model for primary source-based classroom activities, presenting historical cases for students to crack. Each case presents kids with clues to analyze in order to form a conclusion to each investigation. The clues come in the form of primary documents and images and include secondary sources. HSI provides students with “case files” in which they can record the evidence they find in the historical content. At the conclusion of their inquiries, kids must answer questions and decide if the case should be closed or if more sleuthing is necessary. If the premade activities don’t fit your curriculum, use the model to create your own historical scene investigations with your own resources.

The World Digital Library is a database of more than 7,000 primary source documents and images from around the world. Sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, WDL can be searched by date, era, country, continent, topic, and type of resource. Search tools and content descriptions are available in seven languages. And roughly half of WDL’s resources, in my estimation, consist of historical maps and images. Students can also search the database by clicking through the map on its homepage. Use the Historical Scene Investigation or Pathways Challenge model to develop activities for your students to complete when they visit the World Digital Library.

How about your students? If they’re not wild about primary sources, then try using these tools to get them to interact with the documents—instead of just passively reading them. You ust might be able to change their attitudes for the better.

The Association for Library Service for Children (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), divisions of the American Library Association (ALA), released their 2013 audio picks at the ALA Midwinter meeting in Seattle, WA, in January.

The items on ALSC’s Notable Children’s Recordings list are intended for listeners 14 years of age and younger. YALSA’s Amazing Audiobooks list features recordings covering a wide range of interests for young adults.

ALSC Notable Recordings

Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian. By Eoin Colfer. Read by Nathaniel Parker. 6 CDs. 7:30 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-99121-8. $37. Gr 5-9

Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring. By Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan. Read by Sarah Jessica Parker. CD. 46 min. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-7731-7. $29.97. Gr 2-6

Can You Canoe? A Mississippi River Adventure Album. Performed by the Okee Dokee Brothers. CD. 38 min. with DVD. RedEye Dist. 2012. $14.99. K-Gr 5

The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens Tale. By Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wight. Read by Katherine Kellgren. 4 CDs. 4:14 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01028-0. $30. Gr 4-7

A Dog’s Way Home. By Bobbie Pyron. Read by Emily Eiden and Chuck Carrington. 6 CDs. 6:57 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01388-5. $39. Gr 4-7

Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct. By Mo Willems. Read by Mo and Cher Willems. CD. 7 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-37498-9: $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-44813-0: $29.95. PreS-Gr 2

The False Prince: The Ascendance Trilogy, Book 1. By Jennifer Nielsen. Read by Charlie McWade. 7 CDs. 8:14 hrs. Scholastic Audiobooks. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-39166-5. $34.99. Gr 5-8

The Fire Chronicle. By John Stephens. Read by Jim Dale. 10 CDs. 12:22 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-87982-0. $37. Gr 4-8

Ghost Knight. By Cornelia Funke. Read by Elliot Hill. 4 CDs. 4:53 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-58336-9. $30. Gr 4-6

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site. By Sherri Duskey Rinker. Read by Dion Graham. CD. 8 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-50222-1. $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-50223-8: $29.95. PreS-K

The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe’s Very First Case. By Alexander McCall Smith. Read by Adjoa Andoh. CD. 55 min. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01142-3. $15. Gr 2-4

Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion. By Mo Willems. Read by Mo and Cher Willems. CD. 10 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-44758-4: $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-44810-9: $29.95. PreS-Gr 2

The Library Dragon. By Agra Deedy. Read by author. CD. 21 min. Peachtree. 2012. ISBN 978-1-5614-5640-6. $6.95. K-Gr 3

Little Seed: Songs for Children by Woody Guthrie. Performed by Elizabeth Mitchell. CD. 29 min. with booklet. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. 2012. $11.98. PreS-Gr 3

Merry Christmas, Splat. By Rob Scotton. Read by John Keating. CD. 6 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-52330-1. $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-52329-5: $29.95. PreS-Gr 2

The Mighty Miss Malone. By Christopher Paul Curtis. Read by Bahni Turpin. 7 CDs. 7:55 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-96824-1. $44. Gr 4-7

The Mighty Sky. Performed by Beth Nielsen Chapman. CD. 31 min. with lyrics. NewSound Kids. 2012. $14.98. K-Gr 4

The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism and Treachery. By Steve Sheinkin. Read by Mark Bramhall. 6 CDs. 7 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01498-1. $45. Gr 7 Up

One Year in Coal Harbor, By Polly Horvath. Read by Kathleen McInerney. 5 CDs. 5:30 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01414-1. $30. Gr 4-7

Ozomatli Presents OzoKidz. Performed by Ozomatli. CD. 37 min. Hornblow Group/Megaforce Records. 2012. $11.98. PreS-Gr 3

The Red Hen. By Rebecca and Ed Emberley. Read by Walter Mayes. CD. 7 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-44760-7: $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-44812-3: $29.95. PreS-Gr 2

Same Sun Here. By Silas House and Neela Vaswani. Read by authors. 5 CDs. 5:49 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-2231-7. $49.97. Gr 5-8

A Sick Day for Amos McGee. By Philip Stead. Read by David de Vries. CD. 8 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-44756-0: $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-44809-3: $29.95. PreS-Gr 2

Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World. By Sy Montgomery. Read by Meredith Mitchell. 3 CDs. 2:48 hrs. AudioGo. 2012. ISBN 978-1-935430-82-7. $39.95. Gr 5-8

Titanic: Voices from the Disaster. By Deborah Hopkinson. Read by full cast. 4 CDs. 4:55 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01505-6. $30. Gr 6 Up

Wonder. By R. J. Palacio. Read by Nick Podehl, Kate Rudd, and Diana Steele. 7 CDs. 8:12 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-4420-3. $64.97. Gr 4-7

Words in the Dust. By Trent Reedy. Read by Ariana Delawari. 7 CDs. 8:27 hrs. Scholastic Audiobooks. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-47282-1. $29.99. Gr 5-8

Notable Children’s Recordings Committee: Lynda  Salem-Poling, Brewitt Neighborhood Library, Long Beach (CA) Public Library; Winnie  Awarski, Cuyahoga County (OH) Public Library; Eliza T. Dresang, University of Washington Information School, Seattle; Donna M. Funcke, King County Library System, Issaquah, WA; Sharon  Haupt, San Luis Coastal Unified School District, San Luis Obispo, CA; Sharon L. Ledford, Harrison Elementary School, Lexington, KY; Linda L.  Martin, Sugar Hill Elementary School, Gainesville, GA; Sharon  McKellar, Oakland (CA) Public Library; Danielle A. Shapiro, Brooklyn (NY) Public Library, Highlawn Branch.

YALSA Amazing Audiobooks

(Starred items represent the ‘top ten’ picks in the category)

Nonfiction

Warriors Don’t Cry. By Melba Pattillo Beals. Read by Lisa Renee Pitts. 10 CDs. 13 hrs. Tantor Audio. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4526-0494-7. $39.99. Gr 8 Up

Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem. By Rosalyn Schaner. Read by Jessica Almasy. 2 cassettes or 2 CDs. 2:15 hrs. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4640-4313-0, CD: ISBN 978-1-4640-4314-7. $25.75. Gr 5-7

Fiction

Almost Perfect. By Brian Katcher. Read by Kirby Heyborne. 9 CDs. 10:40 hrs. Listening Library. 2011. ISBN 978-0-307-94229-6. $44. Gr 8 Up

Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian. By Eoin Colfer. Read by Nathaniel Parker. 6 CDs. 7:30 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-99121-8. $37. Gr 5-8

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick. By Joe Schreiber. Read by Steven Boyer. 4 cassettes or 4 CDs. 5 hrs. Recorded Books. 2011. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4498-6129-2, CD: ISBN 978-1-4498-6133-9. $51.75. Gr 8 Up

The Catastrophic History of You and Me. By Jess Rothenberg. Read by Suzy Jackson. 8 cassettes or 8 CDs. 8:45 hrs. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4640-3352-0, CD: ISBN 978-1-4640-3351-3. $87.75. Gr 9 Up

Code Name Verity. By Elizabeth Wein. Read by Morven Christie, and Lucy Gaskell. 9 CDs. 10 hrs. Prod. by Bolinda Audio. Dist. by Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-7428-5764-0. $93.95. Gr 9 Up

Crusher. By Niall Leonard.Read by Daniel Weyman. 6 CDs. 6:42 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-3853-6841-4. $45. Gr 7 Up

Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip. By Jordan Sonnenblick. Read by Luke Daniels. 5 CDs. 5:08 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-61106-147-5. $49.97. Gr 6-9

Dancing Carl. By Gary Paulsen. Read by Nick Podehl. 2 CDs. 2:21 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-4070-1. $39.97. Gr 5-7

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever. By Jeff Kinney. Read by Ramon De Ocampo. 2 cassettes or 2 CDs. 2:15 hrs. Recorded Books. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4640-2145-9. $25.75. Gr 3-6

The Diviners. By Libba Bray. Read by January LaVoy. 15 CDs. 18 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. cassette: 978-1-4640-2146-6, CD: ISBN 978-0-449-80875-7. $60. Gr 10 Up

Enchanted. By Alethea Kontis. Read by Katherine Kellgren. 7 CDs. 7:49 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-0292-1. $69.97. Gr 7-9

The Fault in Our Stars. By John Green. Read by Kate Rudd. 6 CDs. 7:19 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-6987-9. $59.97. Gr 9 Up

The Fire Chronicle. By John Stephens. Read by Jim Dale. 10 CDs. 12:22 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-87982-0. $37. Gr 4-7

The Freak Observer. By Blythe Woolston. Read by Jessica Almasy. 5 CDs. 5:36 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4558-1639-2. $54.97. Gr 8 Up

Graffiti Moon. By Cath Crowley. Read by Ben MacLaine, Hamish R. Johnson, and Chelsea Bruland. 5 CDs. 6:05 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-96819-7. $34. Gr 8 Up

I Hunt Killers. By Barry Lyga. Read by Charlie Thurston. 8 CDs. 9:30 hrs. AudioGo. 2012. ISBN 978-1-61113-187-1. $74.99. Gr 9 Up

Inheritance. By Christopher Paolini. Read by Gerard Doyle. 24 CDs. 31 hrs. Listening Library. 2011. ISBN 970393-7250-0. $60. Gr 7 Up

The Isle of Blood: The Monstrumologist, Book 3. By Rick Yancey. Read by Steven Boyer. 12 cassettes or 12 CDs. 14:30 hrs. Recorded Books. 2011. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4407-3653-7, CD: ISBN 978-1-4407-3657-5. $108.75. Gr 9 Up

A Monster Calls. By Patrick Ness. Read by Jason Isaacs. 5 CDs. 4 hrs. with bonus CD. Brilliance Audio. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4558-2249-2. $54.97. Gr 7 Up

Monstrous Beauty. By Elizabeth Fama. Read by Katherine Kellgren. 7 CDs. 8 hrs. Macmillan Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4272-2217-6. $29.99. Gr 9 Up

October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard. By Leslea Newman. Read by Emily Beresford, Luke Daniels, Tom Parks, Nick Podehl, Kate Rudd, and Christina Traister. 2 CDs. 1:20 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-0636-3. $54.97. Gr 8 Up

Personal Effects. By E. M. Kokie. Read by Nick Podehl. 8 CDs. 9:08 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-0637-0. $54.97. Gr 9 Up

See You at Harry’s. By Jo Knowles. Read by Kate Rudd. 5 CDs. 5:49 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-8958-7. $49.97. Gr 5-7

Son. By Lois Lowry. Read by Bernadette Dunne. 7 CDs. 8:11 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01448-6. $47. Gr 6 Up

Three Times Lucky. By Sheila Turnage. Read by Michal Friedman. 7 CDs. 8 hrs. Penguin Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-61176-136-8. $29.95. Gr 5-7

The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic. By Allan Wolf. Read by Michael Page, Phil Gigante, Christopher Lane, Laural Merlington, and Angela Dawe. 9 CDs. 10:16 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4558-2937-8. $59.97. Gr 9 Up

Wonder. By R.J. Palacio. Read by Diana Steele, Nick Podehl, and Kate Rudd. 7 CDs. 8:12 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4558-4420-3. $64.97. Gr 4-7

Words in the Dust. By Trent Reedy. Read by Ariana Delawari. 7 CDs. 8:28 hrs. Scholastic Audiobooks. 2011. ISBN 978-0-5454-7282-1. $29.99. Gr 5-8

Amazing Audiobooks Committee: Gretchen Kolderup (chair), New York Public Library; Catherine Andronik, Brien McMahon High School, Norwalk, CT; Mary Burkey, Olentangy Liberty Middle School, Powell, OH; Randee Bybee, Upland (CA) Public Library; Jennifer Campbell, Notre Dame de Sion High School, North Kansas City, MO; Lynn Carpenter, Birmingham (AL) Public Library; Donna Cook, Central High School, Pollok, TX; Pamela Spencer Holley, Eastern Shore Public Library, Accomac, VA; Karilyn Steward, Calabasas (CA) Library; Colleen Seisser (admin. asst.), Mount Prospect (IL) Public Library.

Photo: Thinkstockphoto

Many teacher librarians find ways to provide leadership through their teaching, programs, and facilities. As the recent Pennsylvania study confirmed, effective school library programs positively impact student learning. While library leadership is essential, it may not be enough. We must think bigger. As information professionals, we have the expertise, connections, and skills to extend our leadership beyond libraries and make ourselves invaluable to principals, district administrators, and other decision makers. We can help plan, articulate, and implement major programs that will define schools in the future. In this new column, which will appear six times a year, I’ll identify pivot points—opportunities for librarians to leverage our profession’s strengths to lead, teach, and offer support.

The Pivot: BYOD

Until recently, most schools didn’t allow students to use their own technology devices in the classroom. Despite students’ use of mobile devices elsewhere, many districts impose strict policies that force children to power down as they enter the classroom. Enter BYOD. Bring Your Own Device programs offer students and teachers access to the Internet and the permission to use those devices in the classroom. Some districts see BYOD as a strategy to fill technology gaps, while others see it as a way to better prepare students for college, careers, and life. Unlike 1:1 programs, BYOD classrooms include anything from smartphones to laptops. BYOD is about flexibility with students working and learning in a variety of ways—not unlike a high-functioning library.

The Points

Digital citizenship. Personal devices require personal responsibility in the form of digital citizenship. With the flip of a switch, schools can shift from aging computer labs and a “no cell phone” policy to students and teachers using almost any device at school. While teachers retain the ability to define when those devices can be used, the need for students to understand appropriate uses of technology is suddenly everyone’s business. Many teacher librarians have long promoted digital literacy, responsibility, and citizenship, often to the bemusement of other teachers. As personal devices come to school, teacher librarians can parlay this experience into an opportunity to collaborate with teachers, helping to solve a new challenge that all educators must confront. Whether integrated into library instruction or articulated with classroom content, expertise in digital citizenship becomes a vital asset in Bring Your Own Device schools.

Leadership. Teacher librarians can inform and guide decision making whether a district is considering BYOD or is well on its way to implementing a BYOD program. As digital citizenship connects teacher librarians with teachers, it offers a similar opportunity to connect with IT, curriculum, and other departments. BYOD requires districts to shift thinking about teaching and operations. Teacher librarians can locate and curate best practices, ideas, and resources for the benefit of both district leadership and teachers. When administrators seek out other districts to inform decision making, teacher librarians can tap into librarian networks to connect with kindred districts. Teacher librarians can also help review or develop digital citizenship materials, curriculums, or communications connected to the implementation.

Test beds. Finally, school libraries can serve as test beds to explore the use of personal devices in schools, offering administrators, teachers, and the public a safe way to examine a BYOD program. By providing proof of concept, a successful BYOD pilot in a school library might lead to a broader implementation. Overnight, your library can become the focus of the school and district, representing forward thinking and innovation.

Great school libraries have always been about providing access to both technology and resources to create a learning commons. BYOD extends this ethos to the entire school. As others follow our lead, teacher librarians can play a valuable role, supporting educators for whom this brave new world represents change and uncertainty. We know change and uncertainty. And we know digital citizenship, digital literacy, and educational technology. BYOD offers teacher librarians a choice: Do we step in to lead, teach, and support learning? Or do we leave our patrons to their own devices?

Mark Ray (Mark.Ray@vansd.org) is the manager of instructional technology and library services at the Vancouver (WA) Public Schools.

“If you think about math teachers, they’ve always been able to give assignments in which students are required to show their work. That makes it easy for them to check individual understanding, pretty much on a daily basis. English and humanities teachers who give extended reading assignments have never had that luxury. Instead, they’ve comparatively been flying blind, taking it on faith that most students have done the required reading, without knowing for sure, and moving along daily without solid evidence that kids are really ‘getting it.’”

That’s what Jason Singer, the CEO and founder of Gobstopper, told me was the central issue his product is designed to address: the challenge of ensuring that every student is meaningfully moving forward in a given reading assignment—and not just faking it. Gobstopper is an ereading application that also promotes ongoing feedback between teachers and kids. How does it do that? By giving teachers the ability to embed customized, Common-Core-based, formative assessments right into the etexts that they assign to their kids. Teachers can also insert scaffolded support in the form of annotations, Web links, or links to video-sharing sites. (Imagine the power a teacher would have if she posted videos that explained her own reactions to and interpretations of portions of a text.) Teachers can also add polls and quizzes, turning those assigned texts into ongoing class conversations and providing students, through Gobstopper’s reporting tools, with both qualitative feedback and quantitative snapshots about individual and group progress and comprehension.

Just by glancing at their Gobstopper dashboards, teachers can see what percentage of kids in a specific class did their homework, how much time they spent reading, and what percentage of questions in a given Common Core standard such as “determining author intent” or “understanding historical context” their students answered correctly. Not only does that option eliminate the immense amount of time a typical humanities teacher wastes in class just trying to get a basic feel for who has actually completed and understood their assigned reading, but it cuts down on manual grading and attendant paperwork as well. Teachers needn’t necessarily enhance the etexts they assign from scratch, either. Instead they can select from among what Gobstopper calls “curriculets,” adding layers of ready-made content and assessments based on the skills they want to cover, and then tweaking the items to taste. For more information or to sign up and try Gobstopper, visit the welcome page for SLJ readers.

Subtext, launched a year ago and currently available as a free iPad and Edmodo app, is another application that doubles as a collaborative reading platform that focuses on Common Core skills. Subtext’s ereader has all the features—including text-to-speech capability, full-text searching, font selection, and a built-in dictionary—that you’d expect from a modern ereader app. Plus, in the right-hand margins of assigned selections, you’ll find teacher and student comments, links, embedded YouTube videos, quizzes, and polls, all indicated by familiar Facebook-like avatars that transform the normally solitary act of assigned reading into a friendly, ongoing social exchange that encourages students to “talk to the text” and to talk to one another. At the end of each chapter of the novels I previewed, students were asked—in Facebook’s thumbs up/thumbs down fashion—to rate the section. They were also invited to add a comment or prediction, start or join a discussion thread, or blog about the chapter they’d just finished reading.

Subtext works with any native or converted EPUB document, integrates with Google Books and Feedbooks, and Web pages can also be imported. According to Heidi Perry, Subtext’s marketing VP, lots of instructors choose to share assigned texts—and all of the ongoing classroom sidebars—on their interactive whiteboards during class time, not exactly “flipping” the typical ELA classroom, but certainly turning it inside out in a way that exposes the collective metacognitive underpinnings of the reading experience. Teachers can set up classes in Subtext from scratch or students can log into Subtext using their existing school-provided Google or Edmodo accounts. Subtext is working on creating an Android app and Web reader for the 2013-2014 school year. To find out more or to download the free app, visit www.subtext.com.

Both Gobstopper and Subtext are currently free at their most basic levels and when used with public domain texts. Neither has set a pricing plan for premium service levels that they’ll be offering in the future. Both companies, though, plan to monetize, in part by sharing profits on ebook sales. Subtext already partners with Google Books to offer convenient in-app ebook purchases that can be seamlessly delivered to entire classes, and Gobstopper is looking to have publishers on board by next fall.

Subtext and Gobstopper excite the English teacher and school librarian in me, opening up lots of new possibilities for collaboration and curation. And both applications completely blow the tired old book report options out of the water and instead encourage reading, analysis, and writing on a formative, rather than a summative, basis.

Plus, I can totally imagine using either app to remotely administer a summer reading program… preferably as I relax on a private island somewhere in the tropics. Sound good?

Photograph by Kathryn Smith

You use nifty interactive flaps to tell the story of an unlikely friendship between a gawky bird and a vulnerable girl. How’d you come up with the idea?

When I was little, I thought that Lee Iacocca and the Ayatollah were interchangeable and that flamenco dancing was flamingo dancing. I had this amazing talent for missing the obvious. It’s a running gag in my family. I was 10 before I realized that the names of A. A. Milne’s characters—Kanga and Roo—together made “kangaroo.” Then one day, I said to my mom, “Ooh, do you get that?” And she was like, “Please tell me you’re joking?”

Did your kids inherit that talent?

When they were learning to talk and play with language, they were coming up with all of these really funny phrases, like “fire extinguisher” was “fire stinking shirt.” And I started thinking back to when I was little, and I remembered this thing about flamingo dancing, and I thought, Oh, I want to draw a dancing flamingo.

The story comes across like a choreographed dance between the two characters.

Yes, absolutely, even though the flamingo is at first an unwilling partner. [Laughs] I watched a lot of ballet performances trying to find some poses from different pas de deux that would allow the characters to interact in ways that would move the story along. But I tried not to get too hung up on what this little girl and this flamingo would look like. Instead, I concentrated on the line and the feel of the movement.

There’s so much movement in your drawings. Did you pick that up when you worked at DreamWorks?

I can’t help but be influenced by my work in animation. Animation is always about creating an illusion of movement. I enjoy bringing a sense of movement to a still image—that kind of dichotomy really interests me.

What’s up with you and Prismacolor pencils?

It’s a love affair. For starters, they have this amazing range of colors, not unlike what you would find with wash or oil paint or watercolor. You can layer them in very much the same way as paint, and they give me total control as to where the pigment goes that I just haven’t found with paint. I know some painters are just amazing with their control, but for me, it was a constant battle with paint: go here! No, I don’t want you to go over there! My goal was to make pencils do what I wanted, and Prismas are perfect for that. If they ever go out of business, I don’t know what I’ll do.

I’m amazed at how neat and clean you keep your studio in Tempe, AZ.

I’m super-compulsive. I am type A, and there’s just no way around it. I like things neat, and I like to straighten my papers. Then I straighten the paper clips that hold the papers together—I’m crazy like that. Before I had kids, the house was always totally put together. My hangers were evenly spaced and color-coded. Then you have kids and that has to take a backseat. So now even though the house is slightly messy and there are piles of laundry, the studio is my little temple of organization and peace.

The story’s about friendship and dance, but I hear you’re not much of a dancer.

No, I am not. I’m awkward like Elaine on Seinfeld. I am so heavy on my feet, it’s kind of depressing. There’s an old movie maxim that says, when you make a musical, you sing when you can no longer talk and you dance when you can no longer walk. That’s the way I feel about pictures. I can draw a picture when the words that I might have said seem to fall short. That’s my dancing.

Rick Margolis is SLJ’s features editor.

The following examples range from picture book read-alongs for younger children to novels and nonfiction titles for middle and high school, and connect to a variety of Common Core Anchor Standards for Reading. There are, of course, other standards which would work equally as well in building curriculum units. The final Anchor Standard, “CCSS.ELA–Literacy.CCRA.R.10 Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently,” seems to address specifically what we hope to showcase this month: that stories and informational audiobooks paired together are, indeed, a winning combination for increasing both knowledge and literacy skills.

A Waddle of Penguins

One Cool Friend. Written by Toni Buzzeo. Illustrated by David Small. Narrated by Chris Sorenson. CD. 15 min. with hardcover book. Recorded Books. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4640-3571-5. $37.75. K-Gr 2

On an unwanted trip to the aquarium, Elliot delightedly discovers penguins and decides to take one home. Hilarity ensues as Elliot blithely changes household routines to care for his new friend, Magellan. Sorenson’s tone is inviting and his pacing allows time to absorb Small’s clever, understated 2013 Caldecott Honor illustrations which provide the perfect foil for Buzzeo’s straightforward text. Fanciful and amusing, this charming read-along gives listeners a fresh perspective on penguins.

Penguins. Written and illustrated by Gail Gibbons. Narrated by George Mazzoli. CD. 16:59 min. with paperback book. Live Oak Media. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4301-0951-8. $18.95. PreS-Gr 2

Mazzoli’s measured narration, with an underbed of penguin calls and sounds from the habitat, introduces these remarkable, flightless, feathered inhabitants of the Southern Hemisphere. The simple, direct text is enlivened by Gibbons’s trademark brightly-colored illustrations and includes facts about penguin physiology, nesting patterns, and a geographic locator map.

Common Core Anchor Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2 Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

Instructional Extension: Students can explore the real world of Magellanic Penguins to determine if Elliot could really have kept his friend at home by visiting the Bronx Zoo’s wonderful website. Teachers will find lots of useful information, activities, and photos suitable for classroom use on Kidzone’s penguin pages.

World of Dance

Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring. Written by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan. Illustrated by Brian Floca. Narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker. CD. 1 hr. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-7731-7. $29.97. Gr 2-5

The true story of the inspired collaboration among choreographer/dancer Martha Graham, composer Aaron Copeland, and set designer Isamu Noguchi that led to the creation of the ballet, Appalachian Spring. With Parker’s mellow inflections and measured pacing and the effective underbed of music from Appalachian Spring, this fascinating description of an inspired creative process is an effective introduction to dance, music, and design. This fine audiobook also includes a complete performance of the ballet music and fully narrated back matter. Students may want to keep a print copy nearby to look at Floca’s lovely illustrations.

Ballet Shoes. Written by Noel Streatfield. Narrated by Elizabeth Sastre. 6 CDs. 6 hrs. Listening Library. 2004. ISBN 978-1-4000-9497-4. $35. Gr 3-5

Great Uncle Matthew, off on world travels, discovers three little orphans and sends them home to his niece Sylvia in post-World War I London. When GUM, as he is affectionately known, fails to return, the three adopted sisters grow up in genteel poverty, attending a ballet academy, dancing on the stage, and making their own way in the world. This old-fashioned story is narrated to perfection by Sastre, who manages a variety of British accents and genders with ease. Her tone and pacing invite listeners into a fascinating world long past.

Common Core Anchor Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.3 Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

Instructional Extensions: Students can watch a production of Appalachian Spring on YouTube, danced by Martha Graham and the original company, with Noguchi’s sets to compare Floca’s interpretation in the print edition of Ballet for Martha. They might also watch the 2007 British television film version of Ballet Shoes (Koch Vision) and discuss how that medium is different from the audiobook.

Civil Rights Movement

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963. Written by Christopher Paul Curtis. Narrated by LeVar Burton. 4 CDs. 4:45 hrs. Listening Library. 2003. ISBN 978-0-8072-1777-1. $38. Gr 5-8

In 1963, Kenny Watson’s family takes a summer trip from Flint, Michigan, to Birmingham, Alabama, unaware that they are traveling to one of history’s darkest days. LeVar Burton’s narration combines humor and distress, creating an exceptional listening experience as events unfold in that violent summer when four young girls died in their church as a result of a bombing. Curtis blends comedy with drama as the Watsons confront the segregated South alongside the hopefulness of the Civil Rights Movement in this 1996 Newbery and Coretta Scott King Honor title.

We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March. Written by Cynthia Levinson. Read by Ervin Ross. 6 CDs. 6:22 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-385-36151-4. $40.. Gr 4-8

Unadorned narration, extensive bonus material, the singing of the gospel song composed for the Birmingham March, an author’s note, and interviews with the now-adult marchers make this a strong nonfiction offering for classroom use. Listeners will be engaged by the individual stories of Audrey, Booker, Arnetta, and James as their experiences during the Civil Rights Movement are recounted and then reinforced by hearing their own grown-up voices in author interviews. This serves as a good example of an audiobook that surpasses a print reading; hearing the actual voices of the witnesses to history adds a valuable dimension.

Common Core State Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

Instructional Extension: An excellent video excerpt of Mighty Times: The Children’s March can be watched on YouTube, making a fine accompaniment to these audiobooks. The full documentary is available online or on DVD, with a teacher’s guide provided by Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Peachtree Publishers has also recently launched a website based on the print edition of We’ve Got a Job that includes information featured in the book for students to explore at their own pace.

The Holocaust

Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust. Written by Doreen Rappaport. Narrated by Emily Beresford and Jeff Crawford. 5 CDs. 5 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-0625-7. $64.97. Gr 5 Up

Beginning with the heartfelt introduction read by Rappaport (“Even as a Jew, growing up in a Jewish household, I had only ever heard that ‘Jews went like lambs to the slaughter’ during the war.”) and moving to incredibly brave attempts—often by teenagers—to combat the Nazi machine, the events in this well-researched book will surprise listeners. Beresford and Crawford alternate the telling of uprisings large and small from Warsaw to Sobibor, and from Greece to Theresienstadt, highlighting a seemingly endless string of courageous acts against an incomprehensible enemy. The narration is without frills, employing measured pacing and consistent intonation that allows the strength of the text to tell the harrowing, yet often hopeful, story. Viewing the bonus CD, which includes photographs and other information from the print edition, expands the listening experience.

Once. Written and narrated by Morris Gleitzman. 3 CDs. 3 hrs. Prod. by Bolinda Audio. Dist. by Brilliance Audio. 2005. ISBN 978-1-7409-4902-6. $24.95. Gr 5-8.
Then.Written and narrated by Morris Gleitzman. 3 CDs. 3:35 hrs. Prod. by Bolinda Audio. Dist. by BrillianceAudio. 2008. ISBN 978-1-7420-1545-3. $24.95. Gr 5-8

Gleitzman narrates his own work in these two stories of the Holocaust. In Once, ten-year-old Felix is living in a Catholic orphanage, hidden there by his parents who hoped to keep him safe from the Nazis. In a naive attempt to reunite with his parents, Felix runs away from the orphanage to go back home. On his way, he meets six-year-old Zelda and, together, they flee from the relentless evil of Nazi cruelty. Their story continues in Then as they escape from a death train and find shelter on a Polish farm. Gleitzman’s unvoiced reading alternates between childlike innocence and the sure knowledge that life should not hold so many horrors. Listeners will believe Gleitzman as he takes on the persona of Felix, the storyteller.

Common Core Anchor Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

Instructional Extension: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website has pages particularly geared to students, where they can do further research on a wide variety of topics and view many photographs from the period.

Sharon Grover is Head of Youth Services at the Hedberg Public Library, Janesville, WI. Lizette (Liz) Hannegan was a school librarian and the district library supervisor for the Arlington (VA) Public Schools before her retirement. They are co-authors of Listening to Learn: Audiobooks Supporting Literacy (ALA Editions, 2011).

]]> http://www.slj.com/2013/04/books-media/collection-development/listen-in/fact-and-fiction-listen-in-april-2013/feed/ 1 http://www.slj.com/2013/04/opinion/nonfiction-booktalker/the-bear-facts-these-astonishing-books-about-cuddly-creatures-will-mesmerize-your-readers-nonfiction-booktalker-april-2013/ http://www.slj.com/2013/04/opinion/nonfiction-booktalker/the-bear-facts-these-astonishing-books-about-cuddly-creatures-will-mesmerize-your-readers-nonfiction-booktalker-april-2013/#comments Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:00:10 +0000 Kathleen Baxter http://www.slj.com/?p=37470

Cozy, cuddly, cute—yes, I’m talking about bears. Penguins may be popular, but bears are perennial. And K–4 readers can virtually cuddle away when they stare at the bruins in these colorful books.

Lia Kvatum’ s Saving Yasha: The Incredible True Story of an Adopted Moon Bear (National Geographic, 2012) introduces us to a cub whose mother was killed by hunters in eastern Russia. A group of scientists rescued Yasha and two black bear cubs, and then spent two years teaching them how to live in the wild, replicating what their mothers would have done. The cubs began in a specially built house and then slowly ventured out to explore and climb in the surrounding woods. The scientists wore special clothes that covered up their smell. They didn’t interact with the cubs, but made plenty of notes. Their goal was to integrate them fully into the wild, not make them comfortable around human beings. Show your booktalk listeners the photos of Yasha and her playmates romping. Irresistible!

When the baby bears in Suzi Eszterhas’s Brown Bear (Frances Lincoln, 2012) are born in Alaska in the dead of winter, it’s so cold they don’t leave their den until spring. They need two straight years being cared for and taught by their mother, who never leaves their side. The games they play teach them basic survival skills, most excitingly how to fish. At first, the mom has to fish for her entire family. Catching your dinner in the water is tricky.

Eszterhas’s book explores the full growing cycle of the bears. When the cubs are two and a half, their mother leaves—and in another 12 months, they separate from each other. Looking at the great photo of the two nearly fully grown bears fighting, it’s hard to believe it’s only make-believe.

Although pandas aren’t considered “true” bears by biologists, young readers, as well as adults, think of them as members of the same family. Joanne Ryder’s Panda Kindergarten (HarperCollins, 2009) and Sandra Markle’s How Many Baby Pandas? (Walker, 2009) open windows on the lives of panda cubs growing up in Wolong Nature Preserve in south-central China. A peculiar panda problem: the mothers can take care of only one cub at a time. Usually, when twins are born, one will die, but not at this special nature center. The mom’s cub is switched every week, so each cub gets the attention it needs. When the pandas are old enough to be separated from their mothers, they go to panda kindergarten. Ask your booktalk audience if that sounds like a fun class to attend.

Did you know that almost no one in North America had ever seen a panda until 80 years ago? The creatures were considered legends like the Loch Ness monster. But William Harkness, an American millionaire, decided to head to China and find out for himself. Unfortunately, he died early in the expedition in Shanghai, but his wife, Ruth, carried on his mission. Alicia Potter’s Mrs. Harkness and the Panda (Knopf, 2012), with beautiful pastel illustrations by Melissa Sweet, describes the journey the American fashion designer took up the Yangtze River to find a panda.

On the surface, Ruth didn’t seem the adventurous type, but she had astonishing luck. She found a healthy baby panda and brought it back to Illinois. Apparently, she never worried about the baby’s poor mother, or how it would survive. She named the cub Su Lin, which means “a little bit of something very cute” in Chinese.

Su Lin lived only a year and a half. Afterward, she was stuffed and placed in the Field Museum of Chicago, where tourists still flock to visit her. Su Lin’s story is a great topic of discussion for your audience. Every zoo wants a panda. People love to see them. Ask if it’s right to move pandas away from their native home, away from their families, so we can “ooh” and “aah” over them. All of these insightful books are fine choices to implement the Common Core. And as a friend of mine said, these books are so cute they make your teeth hurt!

ATLAS OF THE WORLD. 19th ed. 448p. charts. illus. index. maps. photos. Oxford Univ. 2012. Tr $89.95. ISBN 978-0-19-993782-0.
Gr 8 Up–Available only in a print version but updated annually, this large-format resource continues to earn pride of place on the atlas case’s top shelf for its combination of currency and eye-widening graphics. The physical, political, and country and regional maps that make up the volume’s core are works of art–brilliantly designed for easy comprehension, rendered in bright colors and sharp detail, and impossible to resist poring over. An immense index and a detailed gazetteer take up nearly half of the page count. Distinctive additional features include an array of satellite images, more than 50 (simplified) city street maps, a survey article titled “Will the World Run Out of Food?” and about two dozen maps related to climate, natural resources, population, and trade, not to mention star charts and a tour of the solar system. There were no major changes in the world since the 18th edition, but new material includes fresh statistical information;  updated flags for two African countries; changes to the selections of city maps and satellite photos; and, in the maps themselves, the additions of significant buildings, UNESCO World Heritage sites, and new roads and railways. Atlases are among the quickest reference sources to age, so for classroom or library collections in which students search in vain for information about, for instance, South Sudan or even Kosovo, this makes a first-rate replacement. –John Peters, Children’s Literature Consultant, New York City

BATES, Christopher G. Global Social Issues: An Encyclopedia. 3 vols. 1148p. bibliog. charts. diags. further reading. illus. index. notes. photos. reprods. websites. Sharpe Reference. 2012. PLB $349. ISBN 978-0-7656-8292-5. LC 2012021425. Online: Sharpe Online Reference
With articles ranging from adoption to war crimes, this set covers a multitude of subjects that affect various cultures and countries. Each entry offers a history of the topic and describes its effects and potential impact. Medical, environmental, political, and, of course, social issues are all explored, so that, for example, both slavery and social networking are examined on a global scale. What sets this work apart, however, is the inclusion of two primary sources in each article. They usually include one historical and one more-contemporary document per entry. For instance, the piece on alcohol use and abuse includes both Benjamin Rush’s 1805 “Effects of Ardent Spirits Upon Man” and the World Health Organization’s 2006 “Interpersonal Violence and Alcohol in the Russian Federation.” Each topic is followed by cross references and back matter includes a bibliography. A solid choice for reference collections.–Carol Fazioli, Barth Elementary School, Pottstown, PA

FERRARA, Miranda H. From Green Industries to Green Jobs. 460p. bibliog. further reading. index. websites. Gale. 2012. PLB $525. ISBN 978-1-4144-9623-8. LC 2012005309. Online: Gale Virtual Reference Library
Gr 9 Up –Covering 100 titles, this clearly and concisely written work expands on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook . The jobs are divided into 12 different sectors, including agriculture and forestry, energy trading, environmental protection, and transportation. Each profile within a sector includes the nature of the work, working conditions, employment, training and qualifications, job outlook, earnings, related occupations, sources of additional information, and further reading. Job titles are quite varied and span a wide array of education levels, including entries ranging from hazardous-materials-removal workers to fuel-cell engineers. Although sources aren’t formally cited within each entry, in most instances a casual reference is made to the material’s origin. Much of the data is from U.S. government publications and professional organizations. A useful addition to school and public libraries.–Lindsay Cesari, Baldwinsville School District, NY

GANS, Judith, ed. Debates on U.S. Immigration. 624p. bibliog. charts. further reading. illus. index. SAGE Reference. 2012. PLB $125. ISBN 978-1-4129-9601-3. LC 2012016287. Online: SAGE Reference Online
Gr 8 Up–This comprehensive roundup of beliefs and commentary on current issues relating to U.S. immigration should be required reading for serious students of any aspect of the topic. In 33 pairs of “Point” and “Counterpoint” articles, academics square off (though in eight cases the pro and con sides are presented by the same author) on subjects from whether Arizona’s S.B. 1070 is or could ever be a successful model law to the putative relationship between immigration and crime rates. Gathered into the three broad areas of political, economic, and cultural debates–each section with an overview introduction–the article-pairs open with two pithy platform statements, then develop each one in substantial detail, with frequent references to supporting scholarship. Each article ends with an ample list of sources and of further reading. Though the approach and level of discourse can be characterized as intellectual rather than an exchange of passionately held views, the prose is rescued from aridity by a briskly argumentative tone. A closing section of sometimes-lengthy speeches, policy papers, and court decisions, beginning with President Coolidge’s disparagement of the Immigration Act of 1924, provides some primary-source material while underscoring this resource’s close focus on contemporary attitudes and arguments. For historical balance, shelve it with Patrick J. Hayes’s Making of Modern Immigration: An Encyclopedia of People and Ideas (ABC-CLIO, 2012).–John Peters, Children’s Literature Consultant, New York City

NOWLAN, Robert A. The American Presidents, Washington to Tyler: What They Did, What They Said, What Was Said About Them, with Full Source Notes. 450p. bibliog. charts. diags. further reading. illus. index. maps. notes. reprods. websites. McFarland. 2012. pap. $55. ISBN 978-0-7864-6336-7. LC 2011039072.
Gr 7 Up–A readable, detailed account of each of the first 10 men who held the highest office in the United States. Within each chapter is a thorough account of the man’s term, including major events in foreign affairs, primary-source documents by and about him, and, in some cases, how he was viewed by his contemporaries and other presidents. The book is thoroughly researched and contains a wealth of additional resources, grouped by president. Of particular note is the extensive collection of illustrations, which includes images of the men as well as major events from their presidencies. It should be noted, however, that Wikipedia is cited as a resource for some of the images.–Wayne R. Cherry, Jr., First Baptist Academy Library, Houston, TX

ROBERTS, Priscilla. Voices of World War II: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life. 236p. appendix. bibliog. chron. further reading. glossary. index. reprods. websites. Greenwood. 2012. PLB $100. ISBN 978-0-313-38662-6. LC 2012010300. Online: ABC-CLIO eBook Collection
Gr 8 Up–Offering voices from all sides of the conflict, this source includes 32 documents ranging from letters to statements and from speeches to poems, divided into six sections from “The Coming of War in Europe” to “The War’s Social and Economic Impact” that will help users to understand the course of the war. With documents such as “Father Johannes A. Siemes Recalls the Atomic Attack on Hiroshima of August 6, 1945,” “The Final Solution: Minutes of the Wansee Protocol, January 20, 1942,” and “Comfort Women: Account of Ms. K, an Anonymous Korean Woman,” the book discusses sensitive events such as treatment of women and racial and religious minorities during war, and the horrors of conflict. The section on how to understand and use primary documents includes information about how author and reader biases affect the consumption of information. It will aid newcomers to this type of material. Each document has an introduction, points to keep in mind, sidebar glossaries, questions to ask, and topics to consider, along with suggestions for books, websites, and media with further information. Access is enhanced by appendixes of people and terms in addition to the index. Even with only 32 documents, this title offers a greater overview of the range of people involved in the conflict than Max Arthur’s Forgotten Voices of World War II (Lyon Press, 2004) and Veronica Kavass’s Last Good War: Faces and Voices of World War 2 (Welcome Books, 2010), which have British and American slants, respectively. Students in AP history and literature classes and general library users who want to read words from those who lived through the war years will find this a useful resource.–Ann West LaPrise, Huron School District, New Boston, MI

SCHOLASTIC POCKET DICTIONARY OF SYNONYMS, ANTONYMS & HOMONYMS. 240p. charts. Scholastic. 2012. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-545-42667-1.
Gr 5 Up–This pocket dictionary boasts 12,000 syonyms, 10,000 antonyms, and 2,000 homonyms. Word entries in bold are presented alphabetically and offer synonyms, and then antonyms in parentheses. For example, the entry for “daft” includes synonyms such as “silly” and “idiotic” and antonyms such as “sane” and “practical.” Common homonynms (e.g., their, there, they’re) are featured in the second section of the book. A brief review of  “The Parts of Speech” and “Four Kinds of Sentences” and a “Glossary of Grammar Terms” are also featured. For patrons who might find traditional, large-volume reference books daunting, this useful and portable source may be less intimidating.–Cara Moffett, A.R. Lewis Elementary School, Pickens, SC

TUCKER, Spencer C. Almanac of American Military History. 4 vols. 2524p. appendix. bibliog. charts. chron. further reading. glossary. illus. index. maps. photos. reprods. websites. ABC-CLIO. 2012. PLB $415. ISBN 978-1-59884-530-3; ebook $415. ISBN 978-1-59884-531-0. LC 2012034656. Online: ABC-CLIO eBook Collection
Gr 9 Up The material in this well-researched set is divided into 11 chapters covering the Colonial era, Westward movement, the Civil War, World War II, the Korean and early Cold Wars, and the post-Cold War era, including recent conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Each chapter begins with an extensive overview of the era, followed by date entries that vary from just a few lines to multiple pages in length. Entries about important battles are marked by a stylized sunburst. When appropriate, articles are accompanied by informatively captioned black-and-white charts, battle maps, art reproductions, and/or vintage photos; all are followed by further reading suggestions. Adding significantly to the value of the set are the numerous boxed articles. Usually at least a page long, they offer, for example, biographies of military leaders and descriptions and histories of planes, ships, and various weapons. Chapters conclude with excerpts from primary documents, statistics, and an extensive bibliography. Volume 4 contains appendixes of general statistics, military ranks, and military awards and decorations; a glossary; a comprehensive bibliography; and chronological and general indexes. This is by far one of the best military chronologies available today and it deserves a place in most collections.–Eldon Younce, Anthony Public Library, KS

Resource Update

New Volumes in Established Series

AKERS, Donna L. Culture and Customs of the Choctaw Indians. 176p. (Cultures and Customs of Native Peoples in America Series). photos. reprods. bibliog. chron. index. notes. Greenwood. 2013. PLB $50. ISBN 978-0-313-36401-3. LC 2012032912.

BELLENIR, Elizabeth, ed. Fitness Information for Teens. 3rd ed. 387p. (Teen Health Series). diags. index. websites. Omnigraphics. 2012. PLB $69. ISBN 978-0-7808-1267-3. LC 2012024737.

DERKS, Scott. Working Americans 1880-2012. Vol. I: The Working Class. 650p. ISBN 978-1-59237-564-6.
–––– . Vol. XIII: Educators & Education. 549p. ISBN 978-1-59237-877-7.
ea vol: charts. illus. photos. reprods. bibliog. index. Grey House. 2012. PLB $150.

HILLSTROM, Kevin & Laura Collier Hillstrom. Woodstock. 240p. (Defining Moments Series). photos. bibliog. chron. further reading. glossary. index. notes. Omnigraphics. 2012. PLB $40. ISBN 978-0-7808-1284-0. LC 2012026921.

JURINSKI, James John. Tax Reform. 2nd ed. 276p. (Contemporary World Issues Series). charts. chron. further reading. glossary. index. websites. ABC-CLIO. 2012. PLB $58. ISBN 978-1-59884-322-4; LC 2011053033.

SPRINGER, Paul J. Military Robots and Drones. 2nd ed. 296p. (Contemporary World Issues Series). charts. chron. further reading. glossary. index. websites. ABC-CLIO. 2012. PLB $58. ISBN 978-1-59884-322-4; ebook $58. ISBN 978-1-59884-733-8. LC 2012031879.

National Geographic: People, Animals, and the World

“National Geographic: People, Animals, and the World” is part of the National Geographic Virtual Library. The database allows access to full-text books on travel, science and technology, history, the environment, animals, photography, and peoples and cultures. Also included are full-text articles from National Geographic Traveler magazine from 2010 to the present, 325 videos, 655 full color maps and atlases, and 600 downloadable images.

Cost National Geographic Virtual Library (which includes National Geographic Magazine Archive 1888-1994; 1995-Current; and People, Animals, and the World) is based on the FTE of the academic institution or the size of the population a public library serves. Annual pricing starts at $1,264 for public libraries and $1,584 for academic libraries (a 20 per cent discount for both).

Overview The full-text books and articles and the media mentioned above are divided here into six umbrella topics: Animals, Environment, History, People and Cultures, Science and Technology, and Travel.

How it Works Selecting one of the umbrella topics directs the user to a new page displaying the following content types: images, books, feature articles, videos, and maps. A search box is on the left of the screen, and entering a search term creates a shorter list of content types, with the number of hits in each type displayed. The default selection for sorting the results is by relevance, but a drop-down menu on the right of the screen allows users to list results by date (newest or oldest first) and by document title.

Beneath the list of content types is another search box for narrowing the original search. There is also a list of recommended subjects for cross reference and for further focusing the work on a specific content type. For example, a search in the animals category for “rats” produces one featured image, seven books, 141 feature articles, and two videos.

Electing to search through the hits for books creates a list of over two dozen overlapping subjects. Choosing to look at the videos results in a list of only seven additional subjects that are relevant. The search does not allow for variations, so a search for “rat” creates its own set of hits, including some new ones.

A drop-down menu to the top right of the screen allows switching between topics, but does not save the search; so users who move from “Animals” to “People and Culture,” for example, would need to re-enter their query. Again, there is some overlap of results.

Upon choosing a featured article, the full text appears as the main feature of the page, with a sidebar to the right displaying a search box, a citation for the article in view, and related subjects. Running along the bottom of the screen are thumbnails representing some of the other feature articles that were part of the search. The article as it appears on the screen defaults to 14 per cent, but it can be expanded to full screen, which improves readability. While in full-screen mode, researchers can only scroll through the article a page at a time, using arrows at the top of the screen. There is more flexibility when using the reduced-size screen, however, which allows navigation within the article by entering page numbers.

It should be noted that the search box is designed to search the entire issue in which the article appeared, not just the article itself. Searching a book is similar, but with a key distinction: use of the search box finds the actual references within the text of the book. The page numbers are clickable and lead to the correct page with the search term highlighted.

Special Features Setting up a personal account allows users to create tags and save documents. Citation tools include print and email commands, a citation generator, and bookmarks.

Videos include closed captioning; it is also possible to listen to an audio version of the information that is printed beneath the video. The text is highlighted as the audio plays. Users can control the speed of the highlighting, so that it features individual words or complete sentences, or to turn this extra off altogether. The audio files can also be downloaded.

Unfortunately, backtracking is not easy in this resource. A “Back to Search Results” feature is available when a document is first selected, but as soon as the researcher begins to move within or away from the document—following a link to a suggested, relevant topic, for example—the feature disappears and the only way to return to the original list of results is to use the browser’s back arrows or to simply return to the homepage and re-enter the search. When users select an article from the feature articles results list, they must reenter their search term in the search box (unless they plan to read the article from start to finish). Because this creates a search through the entire issue, it generates a new set of results (including the original article), which creates an extra step to work through. Finally, the results can be slow to load in the sidebars.

Verdict The name “National Geographic” is a respected and trusted brand for armchair travelers and professional researchers alike, and this database should prove popular with patrons. Because it draws from the parent magazine and from publications for an adult readership, it is best for high school and public libraries, though features such as the videos, images, and maps could prove attractive to younger users.

Kara Schaff Dean is the youth services librarian at Walpole Public Library, MA

A study of this never-to-be-forgotten time in history calls for the deeper learning characterized by the Common Core State Standards. From picture-book biographies to fictional representations in books and film to documentary footage to archival documents and photographs, this material can teach students to evaluate and understand perspective and content. Illustrated books introduce younger students to the topic while exploring drawings and photographs plays a critical role in adding to the meaning of a text. Older students can compare and contrast fictional portrayals of the Kindertransport in novels with the historical accounts found in informational titles. Add testimonies from the USC Shoah Foundation and students dig even deeper by analyzing multiple accounts of the same topic.

Most importantly, these stories of resistance, rescue, courage, ingenuity, and survival are a beacon of light amid the dark horrors of the Holocaust. They inspire today’s readers to live by Helmuth Hubener’s words in The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti: “I don’t want to remember a time I could have done something but didn’t.”

Righteous Gentiles

Fiction

BARTOLETTI, Susan Campbell. The Boy Who Dared. Scholastic. 2008. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-439-68013-4.
Gr 6-9—Helmuth Hubener, a German teen executed for treason and whom Bartoletti profiled in her Hitler Youth (Scholastic, 2005), is the main character in this fictionalized account. Imprisoned, Helmuth reflects on his crimes of listening to foreign newscasts, creating and distributing pamphlets, and committing acts of resistance to the Nazi Party. Audio version available from Listening Library.

CLARK, Kathy. Guardian Angel House. (Holocaust Remembrance Series for Young Readers). Second Story. 2009. pap. $14.95. ISBN 978-1-897187-58-6.
Gr 4-7—Based on the experiences of her mother and aunt, Clark provides a compelling, fictionalized account documenting the courage and compassion of a group of nuns in Budapest who saved more than 100 Jewish children. Miraculously, the sisters are reunited with their parents through the aid of Raoul Wallenberg. Augmented with black-and-white photographs.

DEEDY, Carmen Agra. The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark. illus. by Henri Sørensen. Peachtree. 2000. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-56145-208-8.
Gr 3-5—Although no documented proof exists to support the legend of the king riding through the streets of Copenhagen with a yellow star sewn on his coat, the lyrical prose and dramatic full-page paintings make for an inspiring picture book and a powerful introduction to the remarkable story of the Jews of Denmark during World War II.

Nonfiction

BORDEN, Louise. His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg: Courage, Rescue, and Mystery During World War II. Houghton Harcourt. 2012. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-618-50755-9.
Gr 5-8—Similar in format to Borden’s The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey (Houghton Harcourt, 2005), this book pairs photographs, documents, maps, and drawings with simple descriptive prose to retell the inspirational story of the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jewish citizens in Budapest. Wallenberg’s life is also explored in the award-winning movie Wallenberg: A Hero’s Story reissued by Paramount in 2011.

MCCLAFFERTY, Carla Killough. In Defiance of Hitler: The Secret Mission of Varian Fry. Farrar. 2008. $19.95. ISBN 978-0-374-38204-9.
Gr 7 Up—Fry was sent to Marseille as the representative of a rescue organization in order to help several prominent Jewish writers, artists, and scientists escape the Nazis. Instead, he stayed for more than a year, saving at least 2,000 people of all backgrounds. A gripping, suspenseful profile in persistence, passion, and moral conviction. Archival photos are included.

MELTZER, Milton. Rescue: The Story of How Gentiles Saved Jews in the Holocaust. HarperCollins. 1988. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-024209-1; pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-446117-7.
Gr 6-10—Meltzer tells the stories of non-Jews, such as Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg, the people of Le Chambon, and the citizens of Denmark, who risked their lives to hide, smuggle, and feed Jews throughout Europe. Organized by country, each chapter includes a detailed map and historical information along with first-person testimonies, memoirs, diaries, oral histories, and letters.

MOCHIZUKI, Ken. Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story. illus. by Dom Lee. Lee & Low. 1997. RTE $15.95. ISBN 978-1-880-00049-6; pap. $8.95. ISBN 978-1-584-30157-8.
Gr 3-5—When Jewish refugees lined up at the door of the Japanese consul to Lithuania, Chiune Sugihara chose to help more than 6000 people escape the Nazis. Illustrated with dark, sepia-toned illustrations, the story is told from the perspective of Sugihara’s five-year-old son. Audio version available from Live Oak Media. The docudrama The Visas That Saved Lives (Marty Gross Film Productions, 2010) re-creates Sugihara’s efforts.

OPDYKE, Irene Gut & Jennifer Armstrong. In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer. Random. 2001. Tr $18. ISBN 978-0-679-89181-9; pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-0-553-49411-2; ebook $7.99. ISBN 978-0-307-55702-5.
Gr 9 Up—A 17-year-old student nurse when the Nazis invaded Poland, Opdyke worked in an officer’s club adjacent to a Jewish ghetto. She describes the incredible risks and the unspeakable brutality she endured to get food into the ghetto, smuggle Jews out of the ghetto, and hide Jews in the basement of a Nazi major’s house. Audio version available from Listening Library

VAUGHAN, Marcia. Irena’s Jars of Secrets. illus. by Ron Mazellan. Lee & Low. 2011. RTE $18.95. ISBN 978-1-60060-439-3.
Gr 3-6—Irena Sendler, a young Catholic social worker, helped hundreds of Jews by smuggling food, clothing, and medicine into the Warsaw Ghetto and saved more than 2,500 children by smuggling them out of the ghetto to convents, orphanages, and Polish foster parents. Somber, double-spread illustrations rendered in oil on canvas add drama and emotion to the text.

Jewish Resistance

Fiction

FRIEDMAN, D. Dina. Escaping into the Night. S & S. 2009. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-416-90258-4; pap. 8.99. ISBN 978-1-416-98648-5; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-1-416-99665-1.
Gr 6-9—Based on the Bielski Brothers, a unit of partisans in the forests of western Belorussia, this fictionalized account of a 13-year-old girl who escapes the ghetto and joins the resistance illuminates the story of the thousands of Jews who fought back. The PBS documentary Resistance: Untold Stories of Jewish Partisans (2008) includes rare archival footage and interviews with surviving partisans.

HESSE, Karen. The Cats in Krasinski Square. illus. by Wendy Watson. Scholastic. 2004. RTE $17.99. ISBN 978-0-439-43540-6.
Gr 3-5—With spare, powerful free-verse prose, Hesse tells the little-known story of how a group of young resistance fighters and stray cats outsmart the Gestapo at the Warsaw train station. Sensitive illustrations depict the sadness but not the horror of the time, making this an excellent read-aloud for younger students.

JABLONSKI, Carla. Resistance. Bk. 1. illus. by Leland Purvis. First Second. 2010. pap. $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-291-8.
Gr 7-10—In this gripping graphic novel, siblings Paul and Marie live outside Vichy, France, during the Nazi occupation and work together to hide their Jewish neighbor, Henri. When they discover that people close to them are members of the French Resistance, they devise a dangerous plan to help Henri. First in a trilogy that continues in Defiance (2011) and Victory (2012).

MEYER, Susan Lynn. Black Radishes. Delacorte. 2010. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-385-73881-1; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-385-90748-4; pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-375-85822-2; ebook $6.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89614-9.
Gr 5-8—Shortly before France is invaded by Germany, 11-year-old Gustave and his parents leave Paris for a small country village that luckily turns out to be south of the demarcation line. Along with his new friend Nicole, Gustave lends his hand to the French Resistance in this suspenseful tale.

STUCHNER, Joan Betty. Honey Cake. illus. by Cynthia Nugent. Random. 2008. Tr $11.99. ISBN 978-0-375-85189-6; PLB $13.99. ISBN 978-0-375-95189-3; pap. $4.99. ISBN 978-0-375-85190-2; ebook $4.99. ISBN 978-0-307-47790-3.
Gr 3-5—David is only 10 years old when his father sends him out into the Nazi-occupied streets of Copenhagen with a box of chocolate éclairs to deliver to a friend. Unknowingly, David is carrying a secret message for the Danish Resistance. With soft pencil sketches, this is a gentle introduction to the period for transitional readers.

Nonfiction

KACER, Kathy. The Underground Reporters. (Holocaust Remembrance Series). Second Story. 2003. pap. $15.95. ISBN 978-1-896764-85-6.
Gr 4-7—Alternating narratives interspersed with historical facts, photographs, maps, and drawings tell the story of an underground magazine created by a group of children during the Nazi occupation. The book provides a detailed picture of what everyday life was like in Czechoslovakia and how the children’s stories, poems, and drawings were a small, yet significant, form of resistance.

RAPPAPORT, Doreen. Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust. Candlewick. 2012. Tr $22.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-2976-2.
Gr 7 Up—Going beyond the well-known accounts of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the escape from the Sobibor death camp, Rappaport retells 20 stories of defiance and resistance. The book is meticulously researched and masterfully organized, with archival photos and an accessible layout and design. Audio version available from Brilliance Audio.

Hiding to Survive

Fiction

ORLEV, Uri. Run, Boy, Run. tr. from Hebrew by Hillel Halkin. Houghton Harcourt. 2003. Tr $16. ISBN 978-0-618-16465-3; pap. $6.95. ISBN 978-0-618-95706-4; ebook $6.95. ISBN 978-0-547-53099-4.
Gr 4-7—Full of action, adventure, and excitement, this novel tells the story of eight-year-old Srulik, who miraculously survived after being left alone in the Warsaw Ghetto. Orlev’s The Island on Bird Street (Houghton Harcourt, 1984) also tells the story of a young survivor in the Ghetto and was made into a film of the same name (First Look Pictures, 2008).

PROPP, Vera W. When the Soldiers Were Gone. Putnam. 2001. Tr $15. ISBN 978-1-422-35310-3; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-0-698-11881-2.
Gr 3-6—Eight-year-old Henk learns, only when his Jewish parents come to claim him in 1945, that the couple he calls Mama and Papa are Dutch Christians who sheltered him on their farm during the war. Similar to Johanna Reiss’s The Upstairs Room (HarperCollins, 1972), this is a gentler, yet no less dramatic, introduction to the subject for younger readers. Audio version available from Penguin Audio.

ROY, Jennifer. Yellow Star. Marshall Cavendish. 2006. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-761-45277-5.
Gr 6-9—In 1939, 270,000 Jews were forced to move into the Lodz Ghetto. In 1945, there were only 800 survivors. Told in verse, the simple yet descriptive narrative relates the story of Syvia Perlmutter, the author’s aunt and one of the 12 surviving children. Audio version available from Brilliance Audio.

RUSSO, Marisabina. I Will Come Back for You: A Family in Hiding During World War II. illus. by author. Random. 2011. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86695-1; PLB $20.99. ISBN 978-0-375-96695-8; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98515-7.
Gr 3-5—Nonna tells how her idyllic childhood in Rome ended abruptly when Italy joined the Germans. Papa is taken away, but Nonna, her brother, and mother escape to the countryside and survive the war hiding on a farm. Vivid gouache illustrations make this a gentle, hopeful introduction to the time period, much like the author’s Always Remember Me: How One Family Survived World War II (Atheneum, 2005).

Nonfiction

KACER, Kathy. Hiding Edith: A True Story. (Holocaust Remembrance Series). Second Story. 2006. pap. $14.95. ISBN 978-1-897-18706-7.
Gr 4-6—After fleeing Vienna with her family, 12-year-old Edith was sheltered in a safe house for Jewish children in the town of Moissac, France. This retelling effectively combines the history of the war and hidden children with the specific experiences of an individual child. High-quality black-and-white photographs add appeal for student researchers and independent readers.

MCCANN, Michelle R. & Luba Tryszynska-Frederick. Luba: The Angel of Bergen-Belsen. illus. by Ann Marshall. Tricycle. 2003. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-582-46098-7.
Gr 3-5—With the women of her barracks, Luba Tryszynska-Frederick saved 52 Dutch children left in the forest to freeze by Nazi soldiers. Beautiful oil and collage illustrations depict Luba’s life, her fellow inmates, and the children in Bergen-Belsen without displaying the horrors. Luba’s story is featured in the 2008 History Channel anthology, Heroes of the Holocaust: Tales of Resistance and Survival.

RUELLE, Karen Gray & Deborah Durland DeSaix. The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust. illus. by authors. Holiday House. 2009. RTE $18.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2159-6; pap. $8.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2304-0.
Gr 3-6—Beautiful full-spread oil paint illustrations, along with a detailed afterword, glossary, and bibliography, add to this unique tale of interfaith relations that relates the little-known story of Jews who were hidden by Muslims in the Grand Mosque of Paris during World War II.

RUELLE, Karen Gray & Deborah Durland DeSaix. Hidden on the Mountain: Stories of Children Sheltered from the Nazis in Le Chambon. Holiday House. 2007. Tr $24.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-1928-9.
Gr 6 Up—First-person accounts and black-and-white photos uncover the amazing story of the thousands of children who were sheltered in the tiny mountainous French village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. Fascinating and inspiring, this is a wonderful companion to the documentary Weapons of the Spirit (Chambon Foundation, 1989).

TAYLOR, Peter Lane with Christos Nicola. The Secret of Priest’s Grotto: A Holocaust Survival Story. Kar-Ben. 2007. PLB $18.95. ISBN 978-1-58013-260-2; pap. $8.95. ISBN 978-1-58013-261-9.
Gr 6 Up—Full-color photographs and a compelling text reveal how 38 Jews endured with no training or special equipment for more than a year in the underground caves of the Western Ukraine. Readers also learn how their amazing story was discovered. The documentary No Place on Earth (Sierra Tango Productions, 2012) records the journey of four survivors back to the cave after more than 60 years.

Rescued Children

 Fiction

CHAPMAN, Fern Schumer. Is It Night or Day? Farrar. 2010. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-374-17744-7; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-429-93413-8.
Gr 6-9—Using her mother’s experiences as inspiration, Chapman delivers a moving account of Edith, a girl who travels to America with the assistance of One Thousand Children, an organization that rescued German children during the Holocaust. Edith’s reunion, 70 years later, with the girl she befriended on her voyage, was profiled on the Oprah Winfrey Network’s Lost and Found (January, 2013).

TAYLOR, Marilyn. Faraway Home. illus. by E. B. Lewis. Harcourt. 2000. RTE $16. ISBN 978-0-520-0036-3; ebook $17. ISBN 978-0-547-76906-6.
Gr 5-8—While most of the Jewish children on the Kindertransport were sent to Great Britain, a small minority traveled to Northern Ireland. This Irish import blends historical facts with fiction to tell the story of 13-year-old Karl, who is sent to work on a farm, and his younger sister, Rosa, who is taken in by a wealthy family.

THOR, Annika. A Faraway Island. tr. from Swedish by Linda Schenck. Delacorte. 2009. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-385-73617-6; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-385-90590-9; pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-375-84495-9; ebook $6.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89370-4.
Gr 5-8—In addition to the Kindertransport to Great Britain, 500 Jewish children were moved to safety in Sweden. This is the first in a series of novels about two sisters sent to a remote island near Göteborg. See also The Lily Pond (Delacorte, 2011); the third book, Deep Sea, is forthcoming. Audio version available from Listening Library.

WATTS, Irene. Good-bye Marianne: A Story of Growing Up in Nazi Germany. Tundra. 2008. pap. $7.95. ISBN 978-0887764455; ebook $6.99. ISBN 978-1-77049-057-4.
Gr 4-7—Watts re-creates the first book of her trilogy that includes Good-bye Marianne (1998), Remember Me (2000), and Finding Sophie (2002) as a graphic novel. Based on her childhood in Berlin and her eventual move to England via the Kindertransport, this version is made more accessible to reluctant or less-proficient readers with simple yet expressive black-and-white pencil drawings.

Nonfiction

HODGE, Deborah. Rescuing the Children: The Story of the Kindertransport. Tundra. 2012. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-77049-256-1; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-1-77049-366-7.
Gr 4-7—In this succinct overview of the Kindertransport rescue operations that took almost 10,000 Jewish youngsters to Great Britain between December 1938 and the start of World War II, the stories of eight individual children are enhanced by photos, text boxes, quotes, drawings, maps, and a time line.

Rachel Kamin is the Director of the Joseph and Mae Gray Cultural & Learning Center at North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park, IL.

Jason Sellers and class onscreen at
the French American International School, San Francisco, CA.

Jason Sellers wanted his 10th-grade English students at the French American International School to improve their descriptive writing skills. So, while subbing for a fellow teacher earlier this year, he launched a three-day classroom project—on writing code.

Sellers, the San Francisco school’s academic technology coordinator and the technology liaison for the University of California Berkeley’s Bay Area Writing Project, says, “You hear a lot about gaming and engaging kids in STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] subjects, and I wondered, what does gaming look like in English?”

For three days Sellers found out, adopting interactive fiction as his vehicle. As opposed to programming code such as Java or C++, interactive fiction sites use a pseudo code that’s only recognizable inside a particular game, which organizes the language into commands and variables that tells the game what to do. It’s the principles of code writing, but with more latitude; by stringing together words, kids can create an interactive world, which comes to life onscreen. One of Sellers’ students calls it “3-D writing.”

Lessons are based in Playfic, an online community where users write, share, and play games using Inform 7, a programming system for creating interactive fiction based on natural language. Games are simple to play—users just click and write as they would a text message. While low on graphics and sound, the games can nevertheless be engrossing.

Having played Zork games on a used Commodore 64 when he was a kid, Sellers had some experience with interactive fiction. Even so, he had to spend the previous evening boning up before presenting his lesson to the class. And it was a hit. “It wasn’t just something for their teacher to assess and get a grade,” says Sellers. “They were creating a game for classmates to play and that was fun.”

Most games feature some simplistic narrative, such as rescuing a commando force from enemy fire. But writing narrative code as an English assignment—as opposed to writing code to create a narrative game—not only allows greater creativity in the game design process, but also enhances writing skills and text comprehension in a different genre—an aspect of the new Common Core State Standards.

“What Jason is doing is giving them more tools to create games as producers and not just as consumers,” says Paul Oh, senior program associate for the National Writing Project (NWP). “They’re being given the opportunity to understand the narrative of the game and how to construct their own narrative.”

After posting his project on NWP’s Digital Is site, Sellers has developed a bit of a following. He and four of his 10th graders recently attended the California Association of Teachers of English conference in Santa Clara to present the project, helping teachers in the room craft some code themselves.

Should he try the lesson again, Sellers says he would strengthen the emphasis on descriptive writing, as some of his students were more focused on building a playable game rather than creating a world through descriptive language. But did he feel he got them hooked into a new world of gaming?

“I’m competing with a lot of other ways to spend their free time,” he says. “But I think it’s pretty cool.”

BARON , Jeff. I Represent Sean Rosen. 324p. HarperCollins/Greenwillow. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-218747-5; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-06-218749-9.
Gr 6-8–Sean Rosen has an idea for a movie, one that he’s certain is worth a lot of money. Unfortunately, he can’t get it sold because he needs an agent or a manager. Since nobody wants to represent a 13-year-old boy, he moves to plan B: he invents Dan Welch to represent him. When the vice president of an entertainment company responds to Dan’s email about his client, Sean must keep the myth alive while struggling with the decision to accept the offer he has received. In this hilarious debut novel, Baron gives readers interesting insight into the creative process. The ending, though a bit of a surprise, brings the story to a logical and perfect conclusion, but one gets the feeling that this may not be the last time readers hear from Sean Rosen. Fans of Jeff Kinney’s “Wimpy Kid” (Abrams) and Carl Hiaasen’s books will not be disappointed.–Wayne R. Cherry, Jr., First Baptist Academy Library, Houston, TX

BLAGDEN , Scott. Dear Life, You Suck. 320p. Houghton Harcourt. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-90431-3.
Gr 9 Up–In present-day Maine, Cricket Cherpin is the oldest resident at the Naskeag Home for Boys. Since he arrived at age 10 with a scar in the shape of an “X” marring one side of his face, he has been both trouble to the nuns who raise him and a godsend to the Little Ones who look up to him. Taught to box by the caretaker of the property, Cricket protects the younger kids from bullies, one school-yard fight at a time. But it comes at a cost. He is one fight away from expulsion and eight months away from his 18th birthday. His request to remain a boarder at the home is denied, and Cricket must decide where he will go when the nuns can no longer protect him. The way he sees it, he has three options: go from collecting fees for a drug dealer to dealing himself, take Caretaker’s advice and box for real, or choose the easy way out and end his life. Throughout this first novel, Cricket evolves from an angry young man into the role model the younger boys believe him to be. His internal dialogue evolves as well. The beginning pages are wrought with sarcasm and teen speak that will likely be as difficult for some teen readers to decipher as it is for adults. However, as the character changes, so does the writing.This is a truly original work, and fans of Sherman Alexie may find a new favorite in Blagden.–Jennifer Furuyama, Pendleton Public Library, OR

MEDINA , Meg. Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass. 272p. Candlewick. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5859-5; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6354-4. LC 2012943645.
Gr 7 Up–Piedad  Sanchez moved at the beginning of her sophomore year, and a few weeks into classes at her new school a girl comes up to say that “Yaqui Delgado wants to kick your ass.” As a first line, it sets the focus for Piddy, who has always had friends, gotten good grades, and managed quite well in her old school. There’s no real reason for the enmity, but the threat is more than real and begins to permeate Piddy’s life. Gradually readers see that her mother’s best friend, who works at a hair salon and has been her support, is the only adult who even has a clue about what is going on. The Queens, New York, neighborhood is solidly Hispanic and the language reflects the culture. Piddy does a downward spiral as the torment gets increasingly worse. The school reaction and the dilemma she faces are realistically portrayed. Yaqui can get to her in and out of school,  and she is vulnerable to being terrorized by a whole group of  Yaqui supporters. The way that the abuse and threats impact Piddy to try to become a bad girl herself is logically presented. The plight of a pair of abandoned kittens parallels her own loneliness and loss. The Latino cultural milieu adds a richness and texture that lifts this up above many problem novels. The plot points are dexterously intertwined, and the characters are distinct. A real bonus for those looking for a bullying book for older readers that is not simplistic.–Carol A. Edwards, Denver Public Library, CO

SAUNDERS , Kate. Magicalamity. 304p. Delacorte. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74077-7; PLB $23.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98968-1; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98928-5. LC 2011041882.
Gr 4-6–This funny, outrageous romp through fairyland has it all: spies, secret organizations, fairy godmothers, flying carpets, and magic. Tom Harding is under the mistaken impression that he is a normal 11-year-old, until the day that his parents disappear and he finds a bumbling fairy in his kitchen, making eggs for breakfast. It turns out that she is one of his three fairy godmothers, his father is a fairy in mortal danger, his mother has been hidden in a jar of sun-dried tomatoes, and he is a demisprite, a persona non grata in the fairy kingdom. Despite this, it is clear to Tom that he will have to save his parents from the fury of the ruling Falconer family. With the help of his fairy godmothers and Pindar, a renegade Falconer, he uses his determination, courage, and clear-sightedness to bring the story to a satisfying resolution. Children who prefer their fantasy lighthearted will love this action-packed adventure, brimming with sly humor and clever asides, such as the Realm Wide Web with the Abracadabra browser. This book should fly off the shelves, with or without a magic carpet.–Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City

THOMPSON , Holly. The Language Inside. 528p. further reading. websites. Delacorte. May 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-385-73979-5; PLB $20.99. ISBN 978-0-385-90807-8; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89835-8.
Gr 7 Up–Emma, a 15-year-old American raised in Japan, feels adrift when she is transplanted to her grandmother’s home in Massachusetts so her mother can undergo breast-cancer treatment. Though she is not Asian, she considers Japan her home. But to her surprise, she starts putting down roots in her new home by volunteering at a long-term care center and navigating a tentative relationship with another volunteer, a Cambodian American boy named Samnang. Emma’s story weaves together a variety of disparate topics, including reverse culture shock, cancer, the Cambodian refugee experience, dance, volunteerism, and teen alcoholism. The number of themes could seem overwhelming, but is made manageable by the spare beauty and clarity of free verse. The format flows naturally from the plot, as Emma is a poet herself, and her volunteer service involves helping a stroke victim cope through the exercise of writing poetry. Today’s teens, said to volunteer at a higher rate than previous generations, will see themselves in Emma as she looks beyond herself to understand and help others even while grappling with her own concerns. She is driven to help in the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, and readers will cheer her on as she faces the challenge of contributing to relief efforts from a distance. Her longing for Japan will also resonate with those familiar with the country and its culture, as Thompson captures perfectly the feeling of belonging elsewhere. A sensitive and compelling read that will inspire teens to contemplate how they can make a difference.–Allison Tran, Mission Viejo Library, CA

VAUGHN , Lauren Roedy. OCD, the Dude, and Me. 240p. Dial. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8037-3843-0. LC 2012025357.
Gr 9 Up–Readers will enjoy 17-year-old Danielle Levine’s antics as she writes about her senior year in essays assigned by her English teacher. Ms. Harrison doesn’t always appreciate the latitude Danielle takes with each assignment and is frank in her responses, making readers feel the curse of the red pen. Danielle goes to an alternative high school in California where she struggles with OCD, has no friends, has to attend social-skills class, and has to deal with her crush, Jacob, who sends her mixed signals throughout the book. The teen is surely down on herself and readers will wonder why. As the plot turns, this well-developed character eventually reveals what caused her to leave her old school. Readers will watch her grow and appreciate her insightfulness into a variety of situations and classmates. Reluctant readers will appreciate the style of writing, and novice writers will see how it is therapeutic for Danielle. Initially readers understand why no one likes her, but by the end of her transformation, her classmates see her differently, and teens will, too. It is apparent that Vaughn understands adolescents and what it is like to watch them develop as writers and work through a traumatic experience. With a touch of humor and sarcasm throughout, this one is sure to find an appreciative audience.–Karen Alexander, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MI

ZARR , Sara. The Lucy Variations. 320p. Little, Brown. May 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-316-20501-6; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-23201-2.
Gr 8 Up–When 16-year-old Lucy walked out of a concert in Prague two years earlier, following a devastating discovery, her grandfather and mother abandoned their dreams of her career as a pianist. With Lucy’s younger brother, Gus, now the rising star of the family, she must adjust to life as an average high school student. But the arrival of Will Devi, Gus’s new piano tutor, inspires Lucy to reexamine herself and challenge her family’s assumption that she lacks devotion to her craft. Though self-possessed and intelligent, Lucy is often an impulsive and uncertain protagonist, which makes her an at times frustrating but always realistic adolescent with whom readers will readily identify. Adult characters receive an equally rich treatment; Lucy’s cold, dominating grandfather in particular reveals a softer side that keeps him from verging on cliché. The novel’s measured plotting, which includes brief flashbacks to Lucy’s previous life, effectively conveys both the rigorous discipline and joy that defined her commitment to music. The quiet, restrained prose is well suited for this thoughtful story about the struggle to find one’s voice. Exploring relationships is where Zarr soars; in addition to Lucy’s difficult rapport with her overbearing mother and stern grandfather, she must also cope with Gus’s anger and jealousy as Will’s interest in her career grows, her increasingly strained friendships, and her complicated feelings for Will himself. This strong coming-of-age story about music, passion, and the search for identity will appeal to longtime fans of Zarr’s work and newcomers alike.–Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

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The following titles are reviewed in the April print issue. Visit Book Verdict for the full reviews.

Fiction

ARATO , Rona. The Last Train: A Holocaust Story. 144p. photos. Owlkids. 2013. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-1-926973-62-3. LC 2012945654.

ARMENTROUT , Jennifer L. Cursed. 288p. Spencer Hill. 2012. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-0-9831572-7-4.

AUCH , Mj. One + One = Blue. 262p. Holt/Christy Ottaviano. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8050-9405-3; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-8050-9846-4.

AVERETT , Edward. Cameron and the Girls. 232p. Clarion. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-61215-7. LC 2012015765.

BARROW , Randi. Finding Zasha. 344p. chron. maps. Scholastic. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-45218-2; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-53223-5. LC 2012030834.

BENEDIS-GRAB , Daphne. The Girl in the Wall. 256p. Merit. 2012. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-4405-5270-0; ebook $17.95. ISBN 978-1-4405-5271-7.

BERK , Josh. Strike Three, You’re Dead. 250p. (A Lenny & the Mikes Mystery Series). Knopf. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-87008-8; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-97008-5; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98736-6. LC 2012023892.

BRESLIN , Theresa. Prisoner in Alcatraz. 71p. Stoke. 2012. pap. $6.95. ISBN 978-1-7811-2124-5; PLB $22.60. ISBN 978-1-78112-125-2.

BROOKS , Kevin. Johnny Delgado: Private Detective. 81p. ISBN 978-1-7811-2115-3; ISBN 978-1-78112-116-0.
––––. Watcher. 51p. ISBN 978-1-7811-2106-1; ISBN 978-1-78112-107-8.
ea vol: Stoke. 2012. pap. $6.95; PLB $22.60.

CASSIDY , Anne. Killing Rachel. Bk. 2. 313p. (The Murder Notebooks Series). Walker. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8027-3416-7.

CASTLE , M. E. Cloneward Bound. Bk. 2. 262p. (The Clone Chronicles Series). Egmont USA. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-60684-233-1; ebook $15.99. ISBN 978-1-60684-405-2.

COLEY , Liz. Pretty Girl-13. 344p. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-212737-2; ebook $11.99. ISBN 978-0-06-212738-9.

COLLOMORE , Anna. The Ruining. 316p. Penguin/Razorbill. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-59514-470-6.

CRUTCHER , Chris. Period.8. 304p. HarperCollins/Greenwillow. Apr. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-191480-5; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-06-219024-6; PLB $18.89. ISBN 978-0-06-191481-2.

DAMICO , Gina. Scorch. 332p. Houghton/Graphia. 2012. pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-0-547-62457-0; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-0-547-92782-4. LC 2012014799.

EULBERG , Elizabeth. Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality. 272p. Scholastic/Point. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-47699-7; ebook $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-52078-2.

FRY , Michael. Bully Bait. illus. by author. 224p. (The Odd Squad Series). Hyperion/Disney. 2013. RTE $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-6924-6. LC 2012014286.

FUKUDA , Andrew. The Hunt. 296p. St. Martin’s Griffin. 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-250-00514-4; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-250-00856-5.

FUKUDA , Andrew. The Prey. 324p. St. Martin’s Griffin. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-250-00511-3; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-250-02075-8.

FUNKE , Cornelia & Lionel Wigram. Fearless. Bk. 2. tr. from German by Oliver Latsch. 432p. map. (Mirrorworld Series). Little, Brown. Apr. 2013. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-0-316-05610-6; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-21512-1.

GAIMAN , Neil, Michael Reaves, & Mallory Reaves. The Silver Dream. 240p. (InterWorld Series). HarperCollins/Harper. May 2013. pap. $18.99. ISBN 978-0-06-206796-8.

GIBBS , Stuart. Spy Camp. 336p. S & S. Apr. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5753-9; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5755-3.

HAGER , Mandy. The Crossing. Bk. 1. 275p. (Blood of the Lamb Trilogy). PYR. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-61614-698-6.

HEALEY , Karen. When We Wake. 298p. Little, Brown. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-316-20076-9; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-21500-8. LC 2012028739.

HILL , C. J. Erasing Time. 368p. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen. 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-212392-3; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-212394-7. LC 2011044624.

HITCHCOCK , Shannon. The Ballad of Jessie Pearl. 131p. Namelos. 2013. Tr $18.95. ISBN 978-1-60898-141-0; pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-1-60898-142-7; ebook $8.95. ISBN 978-1-60898-143-4.

HOLUB , Joan & Suzanne Williams. Poseidon and the Sea of Fury. Bk. 2. illus. by Craig Phillips. 128p. (Heroes in Training Series). S & S/Aladdin. 2012. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5798-0; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5265-7; ebook $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5266-4. LC 2012947276.

HUCKLESBY , Jill. Samphire Song. 304p. Albert Whitman. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8075-7224-5. LC 201203182.

HUGHES , Shirley. Hero on a Bicycle. 224p. Candlewick. Apr. 2013. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6037-6; ebook $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6359-9.

JOHNSON , Alaya Dawn. The Summer Prince. 304p. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-41779-2; ebook $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-52077-5.

KRISHNASWAMI , Uma. The Girl of the Wish Garden: A Thumbelina Story. illus. by Nasrin Khosravi. 32p. Groundwood/House of Anansi. 2013. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-55498-324-7.

LANAGAN , Margo. Yellowcake: Stories. 224p. Knopf. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86920-4; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-96920-1; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98931-5. LC 2012013139.

LAWLOR , Joe. bully.com. 248p. Eerdmans. Apr. 2013. pap. $8. ISBN 978-0-8028-5413-1. LC 2012038990.

LIPINSKI , Maureen. Cleopatra Ascending. Bk. 2. 223p. (Shadow’s Edge Series). Flux. 2013. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-7387-3193-3. LC 2012033960.

LITTLE, Kimberley Griffiths. When the Butterflies Came. 326p. Scholastic. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-42513-1; ebook $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-52952-5. LC 2012014722.

LIU , Carol with Marybeth Sidoti Caldarone. Arlene, the Rebel Queen. 236p. Emerald. 2013. pap. $8.95. ISBN 978-1-937110-50-5.

MCDONALD , Abby. Jane Austen Goes to Hollywood. 336p. Candlewick. Apr. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5508-2.

MACDONALD , Maryann. Odette’s Secrets. 224p. Bloomsbury. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59990-750-5.

MARTINEZ , Jessica. The Space Between Us. 400p. S & S/Simon Pulse. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-2055-7.

MEYER , Carolyn. Victoria Rebels. 272p. S & S/Paula Wiseman Bks. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-8729-1. LC 2012023255.

NIELSEN , Jennifer A. The Runaway King. Bk. 2. 331p. (Ascendance Trilogy). Scholastic. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-28415-8. LC 2012035290.

NYLUND , Eric. Titan Base. Bk. 3. 276p. (The Resisters Series). Random. 2013. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97854-7; PLB $12.99. ISBN 978-0-375-97127-3; ebook $6.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98120-3. LC 2012008449.

OSTERLUND , Anne. Salvation. 276p. Penguin/Speak. 2013. pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-0-14-241770-6; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-1-10-159543-5.

OSTLER , Heather. The Shapeshifter’s Secret. 328p. Sweetwater. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4621-1033-9.

PHELAN , James. Chasers. Bk. 1. 246p. (Alone Series). Kensington/KTeen. 2012. pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-0-7582-8066-4.

QUIRK , Katie. A Girl Called Problem. 245p. photos. glossary. Eerdmans. Apr. 2013. pap. $8. ISBN 978-0-8028-5404-9. LC 2012025468.

RANDALL , Alice & Caroline Randall Williams. The Diary of B. B. Bright, Possible Princess. illus. by Shadra Strickland. 184p. Turner. 2012. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-61858-015-3. LC 2012014192.

REID , Kimberly. Sweet 16 to Life. Bk. 3. 256p. (Langdon Prep Series). Kensington/KTeen. 2013. pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-0-7582-6742-9.

ROSKOS , Evan. Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets. 320p. Houghton Harcourt. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-92853-1; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-544-03565-2.

SAUNDERS , Kate. The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop. 294p. Delacorte. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74301-3; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-99090-8; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-307-98034-2.

SCHRAFF , Anne. Unbroken. ISBN 978-1-61651-960-5.
––––. Vengeance. ISBN 978-1-61651-961-2.
ea vol: 204p. (Urban Underground Series). Saddleback. 2012. pap. $9.95.

SHAN , Darren. Zom-B: Underground. Bk. 2. illus. by Warren Pleece. 160p. (ZOM-B Series). Little, Brown. 2013. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-0-316-21412-4; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-21411-7.

SMITH , Kirsten. Trinkets. 276p. Little, Brown. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-316-16027-8; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-21548-0. LC 2012005477.

SMITH , Sherri L. Orleans. 324p. Putnam. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-399-25294-5.

SNADOWSKY , Daria. Anatomy of a Single Girl. 240p. Delacorte. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-385-73798-2; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89737-5. LC 2012012186.

SPALDING , Amy. The Reece Malcolm List. 308p. Entangled Teen. 2013. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-1-62061-240-8.

SUMA , Nova Ren. 17 & Gone. 352p. Dutton. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-525-42340-9.

THOMPSON , Paul B. The Fortune-Teller. Bk. 2. 160p. (Brightstone Saga Series). Enslow. 2013. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-0-7660-3983-4; ebook $9.95. ISBN 978-1-4645-1169-1. LC 2012005214.

TOWNSEND , Angela J. Amarok. 224p. Spencer Hill. 2012. pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-1-937053-22-2; ebook $6.99. ISBN 978-1-937053-23-9.

UNDERDAHL, S. T. No Man’s Land. 270p. Flux. 2012. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-7387-3305-0.

URBAN , Linda. The Center of Everything. 198p. Houghton Harcourt. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-547-76348-4.

VAN TOL , Alex. Shallow Grave. 136p. ISBN 978-1-4598-0202-5; ISBN 978-1-4598-0203-2.
Ross, Jeff . Coming Clean. 128p. ISBN 978-1-4598-0331-2; ISBN 978-1-4598-0332-9.
Rodman, Sean. Dead Run. 128p. ISBN 978-1-4598-0244-5; ISBN 978-1-4598-0245-2.
ea vol: (Orca Soundings Series). Orca. 2012. pap. $9.95; PLB $16.95.

WELLS , Robison. Feedback. 310p. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-202610-1; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-219012-3. LC 2012004296.

WOODING , Chris. Pale. 67p. Stoke. 2012. pap. $6.95. ISBN 978-1-78112-091-0; PLB $22.60. ISBN 978-1-78112-092-7.

WOOLSTON , Blythe. Black Helicopters. 176p. Candlewick. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6146-5.

YANCEY , Rick. The 5th Wave. 458p. Putnam. May 2013. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-399-16241-1.

YOLEN , Jane & Adam Stemple. B.U.G.: (Big Ugly Guy). 344p. Dutton. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-525-42238-9.

Nonfiction

AGINS , Donna Brown. Maya Angelou: A Biography of an Award-Winning Poet and Civil Rights Activist. ISBN 978-0-7660-3992-6; ISBN 978-1-4645-1147-9.
JORDAN , Denise M. Walter Dean Myers: A Biography of an Award-Winning Urban Fiction Author. ISBN 978-0-7660-3990-2; ISBN 978-1-4645-1143-1.
KRAMER , Barbara. Toni Morrison: A Biography of a Nobel Prize-Winning Writer. ISBN 978-0-7660-3989-6; ISBN 978-1-4645-1146-2.
ea vol: 104p. chron. further reading. index. notes. websites. (African-American Icons Series). Enslow. 2013. PLB $26.60; ebook $9.95.

ALOIAN , Molly. The Atacama Desert. ISBN 978-0-7787-0709-7; ISBN 978-0-7787-0717-2.
––––. The Kalahari Desert. ISBN 978-0-7787-0712-7; ISBN 978-0-7787-0720-2.
––––. The Mojave Desert. ISBN 978-0-7787-0713-4; ISBN 978-0-7787-0721-9.
––––. The Sahara Desert. ISBN 978-0-7787-0714-1; ISBN 978-0-7787-0722-6.
ea vol: 32p. charts. chron. further reading. glossary. illus. index. maps. photos. websites. (Deserts Around the World Series). Crabtree. 2012. PLB $27.60; pap. $9.95.

BAUER , Helen. Verdi for Kids: His Life and Music with 21 Activities. illus. by Jim Spence. 144p. bibliog. discography. glossary. index. maps. notes. reprods. Chicago Review Pr. Apr. 2013. pap. $16.95. ISBN 978-1-61374-500-7.

BEDFORD , Allan. The Unofficial Lego Builder’s Guide. 2nd ed. illus. by Eric Albrecht. 240p. diags. index. photos. No Starch Press. 2012. pap. $24.95. ISBN 978-1-59327-441-2. LC 2005013747.

BLASHFIELD , Jean F. England. ISBN 978-0-531-27542-9. LC 2012000503.
HEINRICHS , Ann. Greece. ISBN 978-0-531-27543-6. LC 2012000519.
YOMTOV , Nel. Russia. bibliog. ISBN 978-0-531-27545-0. LC 2012000520.
ea vol: rev. ed. 144p. charts. chron. further reading. illus. index. maps. photos. reprods. websites. (Enchantment of the World Series). Children’s Press. 2012. PLB $40.

BUSH , Gail & Randy Meyer. Indivisible: Poems for Social Justice. 96p. index. notes. Norwood. 2013. pap. $14.60. ISBN 978-1-60357-417-4. LC 2012021600.

DOEDEN , Matt. A Marked Man: The Assissination of Malcolm X. 88p. bibliog. chron. further reading. glossary. index. notes. photos. websites. 21st Century. 2013. RTE $33.27. ISBN 978-0-7613-5484-0; ebook $24.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-1054-1. LC 2012018074.

FORBES , Robert L. Beast Friends Forever!: Animal Lovers in Rhyme. illus. by Ronald Searle. 80p. Overlook Duckworth. 2013. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-59020-808-3.

GALAT , Joan Marie. The Discovery of Longitude. illus. by Wes Lowe. 32p. chron. diags. Pelican. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4556-1637-4; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4556-1638-1.

GOODMAN , Susan E. How Do You Burp in Space?: And Other Tips Every Space Tourist Needs to Know. illus. by Michael Slack. 80p. bibliog. chron. further reading. glossary. index. notes. photos. websites. Bloomsbury. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59990-068-1; ebook $17.89. ISBN 978-1-59990-934-9. LC 2011035303.

HAGUE , Bradley. Alien Deep: Revealing the Mysterious Living World at the Bottom of the Ocean. 32p. further reading. glossary. illus. index. maps. photos. National Geographic. 2012. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-4263-1067-6; PLB $26.90. ISBN 978-1-4263-1068-3. LC 2012012939.

HEOS , Bridget. Stronger Than Steel: Spider Silk DNA and the Quest for Better Bulletproof Vests, Sutures, and Parachute Rope. 80p. (Scientists in the Field Series). glossary. index. photos. websites. Houghton Harcourt. 2013. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-547-68126-9. LC 2012010992.

HOLCOMB , Steven with Steve Eubanks. But Now I See: My Journey from Blindness to Olympic Gold. 166p. BenBella. 2012. Tr $22.95. ISBN 978-1-937856-00-7.

KIDDER , Tracy. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World. adapted by Michael French. 288p. Delacorte. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74318-1; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-99099-1; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-307-98088-5.

LAIDLAW , Rob. Saving Lives and Changing Hearts: Animal Sanctuaries and Rescue Centres. 64p. glossary. illus. index. photos. websites. Fitzhenry & Whiteside. 2013. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-55455-212-2.

LEAVITT , Loralee. Candy Experiments. 146p. index. photos. Andrews McMeel. 2013. pap. $14.99. ISBN 978-1-4494-1836-6. LC 2011944678.

LEWIS , J. Patrick. When Thunder Comes: Poems for Civil Rights Leaders. illus. by Jim Burke, et al. 44p. Chronicle. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4521-0119-4. LC 2011045938.

MCCARTHY , Pat. Friends of the Earth: A History of American Environmentalism. 124p. chron. diags. further reading. illus. index. photos. reprods. websites. Chicago Review Pr. Apr. 2013. pap. $16.95. ISBN 978-1-56976-718-4.

MEDINA , Tony. The President Looks Like Me & Other Poems. 86p. glossary. photos. Just Us. 2013. pap. $12.95. ISBN 978-1-933491-94-3.

SINGER , Marilyn. Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems. illus. by Josée Masse. 32p. Dial. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8037-3769-3. LC 2012014359.

WOELFLE , Gretchen. The Wind at Work: An Activity Guide to Windmills. 2nd ed. 146p. bibliog. charts. diags. further reading. glossary. illus. index. maps. photos. websites. Chicago Review Pr. 2013. pap. $16.95. ISBN 978-1-61374-100-9.

YOLEN , Jane & Heidi E. Y. Stemple. Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves & Other Female Villains. illus. by Rebecca Guay. 172p. bibliog. index. Charlesbridge. 2013. Tr $18.95. ISBN 978-1-58089-185-1; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-60734-585-5. LC 2012000783.

Round Is a Tortilla (Thong) ©2013 by John Parra.

IDLE , Molly. Flora and the Flamingo. illus. by author. 44p. Chronicle. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4521-1006-6.
PreS-Gr 2– This charming story begs to be an animated short–unsurprising, given the author’s animation background–yet it works remarkably well as a wordless lift-the-flap book. Sparely illustrated, its full-spread white backgrounds with delicate pink-blossom borders emphasize the actions of the two protagonists. A lone flamingo lands onto the nearly blank expanse of the title page. Soon, it is joined by little Flora, who provides a sweetly round counterpoint to the angular bird. She furtively imitates the flamingo’s moves with utmost concentration and extremely comical poses until it catches on and squawks angrily, driving her away in a sulk. Friendship triumphs in the end, and the unlikely couple dance together and joyously cannonball into water on the last double foldout page. As neither flamingos nor little girls are known for their inherent elegance, the duo’s surprisingly graceful moves are reminiscent of dancing hippos and ostriches from Disney’s Fantasia. This delightful romp is a worthy addition to most collections and will appeal to flamingo and ballet fans alike.–Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY

KLAUSMEIER , Jesse. Open This Little Book. illus. by Suzy Lee. 40p. Chronicle. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8118-6783-2. LC 2012002129.
PreS-Gr 2– In this series of opening story lines, the rolling text gently instructs readers. “Open this… Little Red Book and read about Ladybug, who opens a… Little Green Book and reads about Frog, who opens a… Little Orange Book and reads about Rabbit, who opens a….” The plot quickly turns when a giant lacks the agility to open her tiny rainbow book featuring each of the previous characters, so the story’s companions read the giant’s tale instead. With the final turn of the page, the group decides to read another story in a cozy final spread. The format reflects changes in size and scope; pages become smaller and smaller until the giant’s story and then the illustrations grow accordingly. The book requires careful manipulation as the story expands and shrinks to reflect the characters’ experiences. Individual book covers provide a visual clue to the delightful details within as each book becomes physically smaller and smaller on the page; the little red cover features prominent polka dots for the ladybug, and the yellow book highlights honeycombs on its cover. Nimble lines highlight quiet participation as the characters star in their own stories. Pencil and watercolor spreads allow the colors to extend beyond the featured designs. Digitally manipulated scenes reflect the interactive qualities within this gentle narrative. This charming format creates a thoughtful package of interwoven beginnings and connected endings.–Meg Smith, Cumberland County Public Library, Fayetteville, NC

MCCLURE , Nikki. How to Be a Cat. illus. by author. 40p. Abrams/Appleseed. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0528-1.
PreS-Gr 1– A delightful picture book in every way. Beginning with the paw-print endpapers, youngsters will know that they are in for an adventure. The simplicity and flow of page design are beautifully done as viewers follow a kitten and his mother as she teaches him basic feline behavior. The first spread shows Mama and her kitten as they stretch, and the direction and pull of their bodies helps children understand the concept perfectly. They then proceed to lick themselves clean, pounce, explore, and hunt. Of course, the kitten thinks hunting means playing with a butterfly. They stalk and chase and it is while they are racing around that the kitten becomes lost. Children will identify immediately with the cowering youngster waiting to be found–which happens on the very next page. Mama and her kitten eat their dinner and finally snuggle up together to dream. The cut-paper illustrations are in black and white with a few strategically placed touches of blue. At once satisfying and fun, this is a book that children will pick up again and again. Pair it with Lois Ehlert’s Top Cat (Harcourt, 1998) and Kevin Henkes’s Kitten’s First Full Moon (Greenwillow, 2004) to reinforce the playfulness of kittens and how they learn to be cats.–Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

OLSHAN , Matthew. The Mighty Lalouche. illus. by Sophie Blackall. 40p. Random/Schwartz & Wade. glossary. May 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86225-0; PLB $20.99. ISBN 978-0-375-96225-7; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98742-7. LC 2010031825.
K-Gr 3– Lalouche is a Parisian postman living more than 100 years ago. Though diminutive, he is blessed with strong arms, nimble fingers, and fast legs. When he is sacked, thanks to the invention of an electric automobile, he must find a way to support himself and his beloved pet finch, Geneviève. Desperate, Lalouche joins the Bastille Boxing Club. Because he is so small, he is repeatedly underestimated as he continues to win matches against much bigger opponents, including gigantic Anaconda. It is when he fights “for country, mail, and Geneviève” that readers learn, “one should never underestimate a man who loves his finch.” The story, along with the language, is entertaining; names like Diamond Jacques and the Grecque, and words like “tomfoolery,” will keep readers and listeners amused. Some French is sprinkled throughout, e.g., “C’est impossible,” and a glossary helps with translation. The illustrations are outstanding–Blackall has outdone herself. The ink-and-watercolor artwork was cut out, arranged in layers, and photographed, resulting in an eye-catching, textured, three-dimensional effect that children will love poring over. The text and pictures work expertly together, moving the story forward in clever and funny ways; Lalouche’s facial expressions alone should elicit giggles from readers. An author’s note about the history of French boxing and the invention of the electric car further enhance this captivating tale with a wonderful moral: small people are capable of great feats.–Laura Lutz, Pratt Institute, New York City

SNICKET , Lemony. The Dark. illus. by Jon Klassen. 40p. Little, Brown. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-316-18748-0.
PreS-Gr 2– Snicket and Klassen present a picture book that tackles a basic childhood worry with suspense, a dash of humor, and a satisfying resolution. Laszlo, clad in pajamas, is afraid of the dark, which spends most of the day in the basement but spreads itself throughout the boy’s rambling home at night. Every morning, he opens the basement door, peeks down, and calls out, “Hi, dark,” hoping that if he visits the dark in its room, it will not return the favor. However, when Laszlo’s night-light burns out one evening, the dark does come to call, declaring in a voice as creaky as the house’s roof, “I want to show you something.” The youngster, who bravely shines his flashlight into the inky night, is slowly coaxed down to the basement and a forgotten-about chest of drawers (“Come closer… Even closer”). Here, Snicket keeps readers teetering on the edges of their seats, taunting them with a lengthy and convoluted aside. Finally, the boy is instructed to open the bottom drawer, where he finds… a supply of light bulbs. There’s a sense of closure, as Laszlo comes to terms with the dark, which still lives in his home but never bothers him again. The understated illustrations keep the focus on the emotional context, showing a serious-faced protagonist, a stark setting, and shadow-filled corners. Faded hues contrast with the ominous blackness, providing visual punch and adding credence to the boy’s fears. Fresh, kid-savvy, and ultimately reassuring.–Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal

VIVA , Frank. A Long Way Away: A Two-Way Story. illus. by author. 40p. Little, Brown. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-316-22196-2.
PreS-Gr 2– This innovative picture book is designed to be read vertically from the top down as well as from the bottom up. Starting one way, the story follows an octopuslike alien as he swooshes down from space. A yellow wiggly line traces his journey past assorted sights like spaceships and a parachuting man, down into the depths of the ocean where he falls asleep. Read from the other direction, the story starts on the seabed and follows the creature up into space and into the waiting arms of his family. The spare, poetic text works perfectly in both directions.  As in Viva’s Along a Long Road (Little, Brown, 2011), the illustrations were created as a continuous 26-foot-long piece of art using Adobe Illustrator. The striking graphic design features a limited palette of yellow, black, blue, red and white. This ingenious book invites many repeat readings.–Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada

WILLEMS , Mo. That Is Not a Good Idea! illus. by author. 48p. HarperCollins/Balzer & Bray. May 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-220309-0.
K-Gr 3– This charmer is lovingly composed as an homage to silent movies and the concept of picture books as the “theater of the lap.” Readers will become totally involved as they watch, along with several chicks, a drama unfolding, certain to end in tragedy. A gentlemanly fox and a demure, peasantlike goose meet. The setting is an old European city reminiscent of Budapest or Amsterdam, replete with fin de siècle gas lamps, stone-arch bridges, and wrought-iron terraces, executed in signature matte hues and strong lines (the chicks, though, are bright yellow). Heightened expressions dramatize their meeting, and it is desire at first sight. “What luck! Dinner!” reads the ornate intertitle (white type on a black background) on the following spread. In this way, the well-mannered fox proposes a series of formal invitations, “Would you care to…,” leading the goose step-by-step into his “nearby kitchen.” It is a study in pacing. Each time the goose accepts, “Hmm…sure!”; “Sounds fun!” again via intertitles, the action stops and the baby geese cry out (and flap) more and more trepidatiously: “That is NOT a good idea!” Young listeners will get involved and cry out, too. The wily goose’s actions, defying common sense, arrive at an absolutely unexpected and riotous surprise ending. Children and adults will relish being taken for such a thrilling, suspenseful ride again and again.–Sara Lissa Paulson, The American Sign Language and English Lower School, New York City

BERNE , Jennifer. On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein. illus. by Vladimir Radunsky. 56p. bibliog. Chronicle. May 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-8118-7235-5. LC 2011004026.
Gr 2-6– The name Einstein is synonymous with genius, but what does that mean to a child? Einstein himself would only admit to being “very, very curious.” Berne’s picture book offers readers few biographical details, focusing instead on the physicist’s intellect through the concepts that puzzled and excited him. He was late to start speaking and not particularly verbal–until he received a compass. As the author explains, “Suddenly he knew there were mysteries in the world–hidden and silent, unknown and unseen.” And suddenly, too, he was bursting with questions–questions about magnetism, light, sound, gravity, and later, atoms, motion, and time. This was a person who spent his life “imagining, wondering, figuring and thinking.” Radunsky’s delightful pen-and-ink illustrations on cornmeal-yellow pages flecked with fibers and earth-tone highlights depict events from the man’s life, his thoughts, and a few of his quirks. Einstein’s old-world European childhood is reflected in the formal dress of the adults that loom over him. In an image that expresses his love of numbers, computations swirl around him. Selected lines in a large, red font add emphasis, and comments in the few dialogue bubbles are handwritten in a scratchy, black line. An endnote adds information on the physicist’s thought experiments, his sense of humor, E=mc², and the atomic bomb. When considering an author’s approach, Lynne Barasch’s picture book Ask Albert Einstein (Farrar, 2005) and Mareé Ferguson Delano’s photobiography, Genius (National Geographic, 2005) are noteworthy comparisons to this richly imagined, beautifully designed, impressionistic biography.–Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal

THONG , Roseanne Greenfield. Round Is a Tortilla: A Book of Shapes. illus. by John Parra. 40p. glossary. Chronicle. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4521-0616-8.
PreS-Gr 2– This picture book in rhyme focuses on everyday things–a square for a park, a round pot of stew, a rectangle for the scoreboard at the baseball game. All of the shapes and activities reflect Hispanic culture–stars are for parties and the celebration depicted is a fiesta. Round is a sombrero; squares are ventanas, or windows; and triangles are for chips and guacamole. Some of the shapes appear on two spreads, some have one, but all end with the refrain: “how many more… can you find?” The realistic illustrations feature lots of people of various ages. The paintings are colorful and lend a sense of movement and joy to the activities. The Spanish words are integral to the story but will be clear from context to non-Spanish speakers. This is a lovely book for teaching and sharing shapes within a culture or for just the concepts themselves. It is also a terrific title about family, fun, and sharing.–Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York City

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Fiction

ADDERSON , Caroline. Jasper John Dooley: Left Behind. Bk. 2. illus. by Ben Clanton. 132p. (Jasper John Dooley Series). Kids Can. 2013. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-1-55453-579-8.

AHLBERG , Allan. Hooray for Bread. illus. by Bruce Ingman. 32p. Candlewick. Apr. 2013. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6311-7.

ALBOROUGH , Jez. Six Little Chicks. illus. by author. 32p. Barron’s. 2013. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-1-4380-0181-4. LC 2012938765.

ALTÉS , Marta. My Grandpa. illus. by author. 32p. Abrams. Apr. 2013. RTE $15.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0588-5.

BAKER-SMITH , Grahame. Farther. illus. by author. 40p. Candlewick/Templar. 2013. RTE $17.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6370-4. LC 2012942376.

BARKLEY , Callie. All About Ellie. Bk 2. ISBN 978-1-4424-5789-8; ISBN 978-1-4424-5788-1; ISBN 978-1-4424-5790-4. LC 2012006295.
–––– . Amy and the Missing Puppy. Bk 1. ISBN 978-1-4424-5770-6; ISBN 978-1-4424-5769-0; ISBN 978-1-4424-5772-0. LC 2011052780.
ea vol: illus. by Marsha Riti. 128p. (The Critter Club Series). S & S/Little Simon. 2013. Tr $15.99; pap $4.99; ebook $4.99.

BARNES , Peter W. Maestro Mouse and the Mystery of the Missing Baton. illus. by Cheryl Shaw Barnes. 40p. websites. Little Patriot. May 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-62157-036-3.

BIRD , Betsy. Giant Dance Party. illus. by Brandon Dorman. 32p. HarperCollins/Greenwillow. May 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-196083-3. LC 2011002492.

BLECHMAN , Nicholas. Night Light. illus. by author. 48p. Scholastic/Orchard. May 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-46263-1. LC 2012024221.

BONWILL , Ann. When Mermaids Sleep. illus. by Steve Johnson. 32p. Random. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-87061-3; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-97061-0. LC 2012001881.

BRENNAN , Eileen. Bad Astrid. illus. by Regan Dunnick. 40p. Random. May 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-375-85580-1; PLB $18.99. ISBN 978-0-375-95580-8; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98099-2.

BRIDGES , Shirin Yim. Mary Wrightly, So Politely. illus. by Maria Monescillo. 32p. Harcourt. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-34248-1.

BROMLEY , Nick. Open Very Carefully: A Book with Bite. illus. by Nicola O’Byrne. 32p. Candlewick/Nosy Crow. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6163-2. LC 2012942390.

BUSHNELL , Jack. Night of the White Deer. illus. by Miguel Co. 32p. Tanglewood. 2012. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-933718-80-4. LC 2012010149.

CUMMINGS , Troy. Giddy-Up Daddy! illus. by author. 40p. Random. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97856-1; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-97129-7; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98123-4. LC 2012009236.

DICAMILLO , Kate & Alison McGhee. Best Friends Forever. illus. by Tony Fucile. 96p. (Bink & Gollie Series). Candlewick. Apr. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-3497-1. LC 2012942669.

DUDDLE , Jonny. The King of Space. illus. by author. 32p. Candlewick/Templar. 2013. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6435-0. LC 2012942622.

ENGLE , Margarita. When You Wander: A Search-and-Rescue Dog Story. illus. by Mary Morgan. 32p. Holt. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8050-9312-4. LC 2012011491.

ESCOFFIER , Michaël. Brief Thief. tr. from French & illus. by Kris Di Giacomo. 32p. Enchanted Lion. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-59270-131-5.

ESCOFFIER , Michaël. Rabbit and the Not-So-Big-Bad Wolf. tr. from French by Grace Maccarone. illus. by Kris Di Giacomo. 32p. Holiday House. Apr. 2013. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2813-7. LC 2012027931.

FOSBERRY , Jennifer. Isabella Star of the Story. illus. by Mike Litwin. 32p. bibliog. websites. Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4022-7936-2.

FOX , Mem. Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug! illus. by Laura Ljungkvist. 32p. S & S/Beach Lane. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3400-4. LC 2012009047.

GARLAND , Michael. Car Goes Far. illus. by author. 32p. (I Like To Read Series). Holiday House. Apr. 2013. RTE $14.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2598-3. LC 201104907.

GEORGE , Jean Craighead. A Special Gift for Grammy. illus. by Steve Johnson. 32p. HarperCollins/Harper. May 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-053176-8. LC 2011030450.

GERSTEIN , Mordicai. How to Bicycle to the Moon to Plant Sunflowers: A Simple but Brilliant Plan in 24 Easy Steps. illus. by author. 40p. Roaring Brook. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-512-4. LC 2012013787.

GIBBS , Edward. I Spy on the Farm. illus. by author. 32p. Candlewick/Templar. 2013. RTE $14.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6431-2.

GLASSMAN , Miriam. Call Me Oklahoma! illus. by author. 128p. Holiday House. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2742-0. LC 2012023971.

HART , Caryl. The Princess and the Peas. illus. by Sarah Warburton. 32p. Candlewick/Nosy Crow. 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6532-6.

HUNEKE , Amanda. A Monster at School. ISBN 978-1-61641-931-8; ISBN 978-1-61480-569-4. LC 2012028616.
–––– . A Monster in the Park. ISBN 978-1-61641-932-5; ISBN 978-1-61480-570-0. LC 2012028626.
–––– . A Monster on the Bus. ISBN 978-1-61641-933-2; ISBN 978-1-61480-571-7. LC 2012028628.
–––– . A Monster on the Loose. ISBN 978-1-61641-934-9; ISBN 978-1-61480-572-4. LC 2012028632.
ea vol: illus. by Guy Wolek. 32p. glossary. (Monster on the Loose Series). ABDO/Magic Wagon. 2013. PLB $28.50; ebook $19.95.

JAKUBOWSKI , Michele. Third Grade Mix-Up. Bk. 1. illus. by Luisa Montalto. 128p. (Sidney & Sydney Series). Picture Window. 2013. Tr $8.95. ISBN 978-1-4048-8104-4.

KANN , Victoria. Emeraldalicious. illus. by author. 40p. HarperCollins/Harper. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-178126-1; PLB $18.89. ISBN 978-0-06-178127-8. LC 2012009694.

KRALL , Dan. The Great Lollipop Caper. illus. by author. 48p. S & S. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4460-7; ebook $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4461-4. LC 2012004041.

KULLING , Monica. Lumpito and the Painter from Spain. illus. by Dean Griffiths. 32p. Pajama. Apr. 2013. RTE $19.95. ISBN 978-1-927485-00-2.

KUSHNER , Elisabeth. The Purim Superhero. illus. by Mike Byrne. 32p. Kar-Ben. 2013. RTE $17.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-9061-9; pap. $7.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-9062-6; ebook $6.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-0996-5. LC 2012009504.

LARSEN , Andrew. In the Tree House. illus. by Dušan Petričić. 32p. Kids Can. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-55453-635-1.

LESTER , Helen. Happy Birdday, Tacky! illus. by Lynn Munsinger. 32p. Houghton Harcourt. May 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-91228-8.

LEVINE , Arthur A. The Very Beary Tooth Fairy. illus. by Sarah S. Brannen. 32p. Scholastic. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-439-43966-4. LC 2012013798.

LEWIN , Betsy. You Can Do It! illus. by author. 32p. (I Like To Read Series). Holiday House. Apr. 2013. RTE $14.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2522-8. LC 201104907.

LONG , Kathy. Christopher Sat Straight Up in Bed. illus. by Patricia Cantor. 32p. Eerdmans. 2013. Tr $16. ISBN 978-0-8028-5359-2. LC 2011035829.

MACKAY , Elly. If You Hold a Seed. illus. by author. 32p. Running Press Kids. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-7624-4721-3. LC 2012947641.

MACLEOD , Doug. Heather Fell in the Water. illus. by Craig Smith. 32p. Trafalgar Square. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-74237-648-6.

MAGOON , Scott. The Boy Who Cried Bigfoot! illus. by author. 48p. S & S/Paula Wiseman Bks. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-1257-6. LC 2010031149.

MONKS , Lydia. Babbit. illus. by author. 32p. Trafalgar Square. 2013. pap. $10.99. ISBN 978-1-4052-5423-6.

MORTENSEN , Lori. Cowpoke Clyde and Dirty Dawg. illus. by Michael Allen Austin. 32p. Houghton Harcourt. May 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-23993-4. LC 2011052429.

MULLIN , Michael & John Skewes. Larry Gets Lost in Boston. illus. by John Skewes. 32p. Sasquatch. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-57061-793-5.

PALLOTTA , Jerry. Who Will See Their Shadows This Year? illus. by David Biedrzycki. 32p. Scholastic. 2013. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-545-47275-3.

PARISH , Herman. Amelia Bedelia Means Business. Bk. 1. ISBN 978-0-06-209497-1; ISBN 978-0-06-209496-4; ISBN 978-0-06-209498-8.
–––– . Amelia Bedelia Unleashed. Bk. 2. ISBN 978-0-06-209500-8; ISBN 978-0-06-209499-5; ISBN. 978-0-06-209501-5
ea vol: illus. by Lynne Avril. 146p. (Amelia Bedelia Chapter Books Series). HarperCollins/Greenwillow. 2013. Tr $15.99; pap $4.99; ebook $4.99. LC 2012024392.

PERRET , Delphine. The Big Bad Wolf Goes on Vacation. tr. from French. illus. by author. 64p. Sterling. 2013. Tr $12.95. ISBN 978-1-4027-8633-4.

PETT , Mark. The Boy and the Airplane. illus. by author. 40p. S & S. Apr. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5123-0; ebook $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5125-4.

PRIMAVERA , Elise. Who Needs Love? illus. by Laura Park. 48p. Random/Robin Corey. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-85585-6; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-95585-3; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-307-97503-4.

PULVER , Robin. Saturday Is Dadurday. illus. by R. W. Alley. 40p. Walker. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8027-8691-3; PLB $17.89. ISBN 978-0-8027-8609-8. LC 2012032293.

REID , Barbara. Picture a Tree. illus. by author. 32p. Albert Whitman. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8075-6526-1. LC 2012019530.

RICHMOND , Marianne. Oh, the Things My Mom Will Do…. illus. by author. 32p. Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4022-8233-1.

ROCCO , John. Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom. illus. by author. 32p. Hyperion/Disney. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-2189-3.

ROSS , Tony. I Don’t Want to Go to the Hospital! illus. by author. 32p. (A Little Princess Story Series). Andersen. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-1155-5; ebook $12.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-1156-2.

SAKAI , Komako, reteller. The Velveteen Rabbit. tr. from Japanese by Yuki Kaneko. illus. by reteller. 40p. Enchanted Lion. 2012. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-59270-128-5.

SATEREN , Shelley Swanson. Max and Zoe at Recess. ISBN 978-1-4048-7200-4. LC 2011051236.
–––– . Max and Zoe at Soccer Practice. ISBN 978-1-4048-6213-5. LC 2011051237.
ea vol: illus. by Mary Sullivan. 32p. (Max and Zoe Series). glossary. Picture Window. 2012. PLB $19.99.

SCILLIAN , Devin. The Tall Tale of Johnny Kaw. illus. by Brad Sneed. 32p. Sleeping Bear. 2013. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-1-58536-791-7.

SHEA , Bob. Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great. illus. by author. 40p. Hyperion/Disney. May 2013. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-5952-0.

SHEWCHUK , Pat. In Lucia’s Neighborhood. illus. by Marek Colek. 32p. Kids Can. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-55453-420-3.

SLATER , Teddy. Pigs in Love. illus. by Aaron Boyd. 24p. Sterling. 2013. BD $9.95. ISBN 978-1-4027-8621-1.

SLEGERS , Liesbet. Katie’s Day with Grandma. tr. from Dutch. illus. by author. 30p. Clavis. 2012. Tr $12.95. ISBN 978-1605371269.

STEIN , David Ezra. Ol’ Mama Squirrel. illus. by author. 32p. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Bks. 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-399-25672-1. LC 2012021073.

STERN , Ariella. Purim Guess Who?: A Lift-the-Flap Book. illus. by Patti Argoff. 26p. glossary. Hachai. 2013. RTE $9.95. ISBN 978-1-929628-73-5. LC 2012944005.

STERNBERG , Julie. Like Bug Juice on a Burger. illus. by Matthew Cordell. 176p. Abrams/Amulet. Apr. 2013. Tr $14.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0190-0. LC 2012033169.

SUTTON , Sally. Farmer John’s Tractor. illus. by Robyn Belton. 32p. Candlewick. 2013. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6430-5. LC 2012942677.

TONATIUH , Duncan. Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale. illus. by author. 32p. glossary. websites. Abrams. May 2013. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0583-0.

TUTU , Desmond & Douglas Carlton Abrams. Desmond and the Very Mean Word. illus. by A.G. Ford. 32p. Candlewick. 2013. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5229-6.

VERDE , Susan. The Museum. illus. by Peter H. Reynolds. 32p. Abrams. 2013. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0594-6. LC 2012022518.

VIAU , Nancy. Look What I Can Do! illus. by Anna Vojtech. 32p. Abrams. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0529-8. LC 2012018807.

VILLA , Alvaro F. Flood. illus. by author. 32p. Capstone. 2013. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-1-62370-001-0; PLB $20.99. ISBN 978-1-4048-8006-1.

WEINERT , Matthias. No Bath, No Cake!: Polly’s Pirate Party. tr. from German by David Henry Wilson. illus. by author. 48p. NorthSouth. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-7358-4112-3.

WESTON , Robert Paul. Prince Puggly of Spud and the Kingdom of Spiff. 206p. Penguin/Razorbill. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-59514-567-3.

YAMASAKI , Katie. Fish for Jimmy: Inspired by One Family’s Experience in a Japanese American Internment Camp. illus. by author. 40p. Holiday House. Apr. 2013. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2375-0. LC 2012006584.

YERKES , Jennifer. A Funny Little Bird. illus. by author. 48p. Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky. May 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4022-8013-9.

YOKOCOCO . Matilda and Hans. illus. by author. 32p. Candlewick/Templar. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6434-3.

YOON , Salina. Penguin on Vacation. illus. by author. 40p. Walker. Apr. 2013. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-8027-3397-9; PLB $15.89. ISBN 978-0-8027-3396-2.

Nonfiction

BIGGS , Brian. 123 Beep Beep Beep!: A Counting Book. ISBN 978-0-06-195812-0.
–––– . Stop! Go!: A Book of Opposites. ISBN 978-0-06-195813-7.
ea vol: 24p. (Everything Goes Series). HarperCollins/Balzer & Bray. 2013. BD $7.99.

BOLDEN , Tonya. 12 Days of New York. illus. by Gilbert Ford. 32p. maps. Abrams/Amulet. 2013. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0542-7. LC 2012022800.

BOZZI , Ricardo. The World Belongs to You. illus. by Olimpia Zagnoli. 48p. Candlewick/Templar. 2013. RTE $14.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6488-6. LC 2012942658.

CASTROVILLA , Selene. Revolutionary Friends: General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. illus. by Drazen Kozjan. 40p. bibliog. chron. further reading. glossary. reprods. websites. Boyds Mills/Calkins Creek. Apr. 2013. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-1-59078-880-6. LC 2012949044.

CHENG , Christopher. Python. illus. by Mark Jackson. 32p. index. Candlewick. 2013. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-6396-4. LC 2012942617.

COSS, Lauren. Weird-But-True Facts About Weather. illus. by Mernie Gallagher-Cole. ISBN 978-1-61473-423-9. LC 2012946530.
RINGSTAD , Arnold. Weird-But-True Facts About Inventions. illus. by Kathleen Petelinsek. ISBN 978-1-61473-415-4. LC 2012946522.
–––– . Weird-But-True Facts About Science. illus. by Kathleen Petelinsek. ISBN 978-1-61473-417-8. LC 2012946524.
–––– . Weird-But-True Facts About U.S. History. illus. by Mernie Gallagher-Cole. ISBN 978-1-61473-421-5. LC 2012946528.
–––– . Weird-But-True Facts About U.S. Presidents. illus. by Mernie Gallagher-Cole. ISBN 978-1-61473-422-2. LC 2012946529.
ea vol: 32p. (Weird-But-True Facts Series). further reading. glossary. index. websites. The Child’s World. 2013. PLB $27.07.

DE LAS CASAS, Dianne, adapter. Beware, Beware of the Big Bad Bear! illus. by Marita Gentry. 32p. Pelican. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4556-1690-9; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4556-1691-6. LC 2011052875.

ELY , Kosa. The Peaceable Forest: India’s Tale of Kindness to Animals. illus. by Anna Johansson. 32p. Insight Editions. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-60887-115-5.

FOWLER , Susi Gregg. Arctic Aesop’s Fables: Twelve Retold Tales. illus. by Jim Fowler. 32p. Sasquatch. 2013. pap. $10.99. ISBN 978-1-57061-861-1.

HARNESS , Cheryl. Mary Walker Wears the Pants: The True Story of the Doctor, Reformer, and Civil War Hero. illus. by Carlo Molinari. 32p. Albert Whitman. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8075-4990-2. LC 2012019531.

HOURAN , Lori Haskins. Dig Those Dinosaurs. illus. by Francisca Marquez. 24p. Albert Whitman. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-8075-1579-2.

INNES , Stephanie & Harry Endrulat. A Bear in War. illus. by Brian Deines. 40p. photos. reprods. Pajama. May 2013. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-927485-12-5.

JOCELYN , Marthe & Nell Jocelyn. Where Do You Look? illus. by authors. 32p. Tundra. 2013. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-1-77049-376-6. LC 2012934217.

LEWIN , Ted. Look! illus. by author. 32p. (I Like To Read Series). Holiday House. 2013. RTE $14.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2607-2. LC 2011049607.

LEWIS , J. Patrick. Face Bug. illus. by Kelly Murphy. photos by Frederic B. Siskind. 36p. Boyds Mills/Wordsong. 2013. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-1-59078-925-4. LC 2012943510.

LONG , Ethan. The Wing Wing Brothers: Carnival de Math. illus. by author. 32p. Holiday House. May 2013. RTE $15.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2604-1. LC 2012016562.

MCCARTHY, Meghan. Daredevil: The Daring Life of Betty Skelton. illus. by author. 48p. S & S/Paula Wiseman Bks. Jun. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-2262-9; ebook $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-8188-6. LC 2012023603.

MCKISSACK , Patricia & Fredrick McKissack. Booker T. Washington: African-American Leader. ISBN 978-0-7660-4109-7.
––––. Carter G. Woodson: Black History Pioneer. ISBN 978-0-7660-4109-7.
––––. Frederick Douglass: Fighter Against Slavery. ISBN 978-0-7660-4098-4.
––––. George Washington Carver: Scientist and Inventor. ISBN 978-0-7660-4102-8.
––––. Ida B. Wells-Barnett: Fighter for Justice. ISBN 978-0-7660-4108-0.
––––. Jesse Owens: Legendary Track Star. ISBN 978-0-7660-4104-2.
––––. Louis Armstrong: King of Jazz. ISBN 978-0-7660-4106-6.
––––. Madam C.J. Walker: Inventor and Millionaire. ISBN 978-0-7660-4105-9.
––––. Marian Anderson: Amazing Opera Singer. ISBN 978-0-7660-4101-1.
––––. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Civil Rights Leader. ISBN 978-0-7660-4099-1.
––––. Mary McLeod Bethune: Woman of Courage. ISBN 978-0-7660-4103-5.
––––. Paul Robeson: A Voice for Change. ISBN 978-0-7660-4107-3.
ea vol: 24p. photos. further reading. glossary. illus. index. websites. (Famous African Americans Series). Enslow. 2013. PLB $21.26.

MAMADA , Mineko. Which Is Bigger? Which Is Rounder? tr. from Japanese. illus. by author. 24p. Kids Can. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-55453-973-4.

METZGER , Steve. Lincoln and Grace: Why Abraham Lincoln Grew a Beard. illus. by Ann Kronheimer. 40p. photos. reprods. Scholastic. 2013. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-545-48432-9.

MOSS , Marissa. Barbed Wire Baseball. illus. by Yuko Shimizu. 48p. bibliog. index. photos. websites. Abrams. Apr. 2013. RTE $18.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0521-2. LC 2012010021.

OFANANSKY , Allison. Cheesecake for Shavuot. photos by Eliyahu Alpern. 32p. Kar-Ben. 2013. RTE $15.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-8126-6; pap. $8.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-1411-2; ebook $6.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-0990-3. LC 2012009495.

PERCY , Graham, reteller. Tales from Around the World. illus. by reteller. 96p. Trafalgar Square. 2013. pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-1-84365-207-6.

ROBINSON , Jill & Marc Bekoff. Jasper’s Story: Saving Moon Bears. illus. by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen. 40p. photos. Sleeping Bear. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-58536-798-6.

ROSENTHAL , Amy Krouse. I Scream, Ice Cream: A Book of Wordles. illus. by Serge Bloch. 40p. Chronicle. May 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4521-0004-3.

SHASKAN , Stephen. The Three Triceratops Tuff. illus. by author. 32p. S & S/Beach Lane. Apr. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4397-6; ebook $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4398-3. LC 2012012475.

STILLE , Darlene R. Barack Obama: 44th US President. illus. by Richard Stergulz. ISBN 978-1-61641-939-4; ISBN 978-1-61480-577-9.
–––– . Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady and Civil Rights Activist. illus. by Reed Sprunger. ISBN 978-1-61641-941-7; ISBN 978-1-61480-579-3.
–––– . Jackie Robinson: Amazing Athlete and Activist. illus. by Richard Stergulz. ISBN 978-1-61641-940-0; ISBN 978-1-61480-578-6.
ea vol: 32p. chron. further reading. glossary. index. websites. ABDO/Magic Wagon. (Beginner Biographies Series). 2013. PLB $28.50; ebook $19.95.

STOCKDALE , Susan. Stripes of All Types. illus. by author. 32p. glossary. Peachtree. Apr. 2013. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-1-56145-695-6.

VAZQUEZ-LOZANO , Gustavo. Iván Córdoba. ISBN 978-1-4222-2652-0.
WANDERSMAN , Aldo. Ronaldinho. ISBN 978-1-4222-2657-5.
–––– . Ronaldo. ISBN 978-1-4222-2658-2.
ea vol: 32p. chron. further reading. index. photos. websites. (Superstars of Soccer Series). Mason Crest. 2012. PLB $19.95.

WEITEKAMP , Margaret A. with David Devorkin. Pluto’s Secret: An Icy World’s Tale of Discovery. illus. by Diane Kidd. 40p. bibliog. further reading. glossary. index. photos. websites. Abrams. 2013. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0423-9.

WOLF , Gita. The Enduring Ark. illus. by Joydeb Chitrakar. 34p. Tara Bks. May 2013. Tr $21.95. ISBN 978-93-80340-18-0.

YOLEN , Jane & Rebecca Kai Dotlich. Grumbles from the Forest: Fairy-Tale Voices with a Twist. illus. by Matt Mahurin. 40p. Boyds Mills/Wordsong. 2013. RTE $16.95. ISBN 978-1-59078-867-7.

Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists: Faith Ringgold (Getting to Know)
©2008 by Mike Venezia.

Bone Wind Fire. DVD. 30 min. National Film Board of Canada. 2012. ISBN unavail. $150.
Gr 9 Up–In this visually stunning film, viewers are given a brief glimpse into the lives and art of three 20th-century female artists—Georgia O’Keefe, Emily Carr, and Frida Kahlo—through their own letters and diaries. Each artist spurned the tradition of realism by using painting to capture her own personal experiences. We see O’Keefe walking through the desert, gathering rocks and weathered sections of bone, stating “nothing is less real than realism.” Carr wanders through the forests of British Columbia, with its soaring trees and shafts of filtered sunlight, adamant in her belief that “the old way of seeing is inadequate.” Kahlo, internally raging against the way her physical limitations have come to define her life, declares “decency and good behavior weary me.” These women are courageous in their convictions about their defiant approach to art, yet we hear how they falter when their paintings are subjected to public opinion. The paintings in combination with the artists’ thoughts and impressions provide for an intimate portrait of each woman. Students will be intrigued and want to learn even more about these artists.–Cary Frostick, Mary Riley Styles Public Library Falls Church, VA

Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists: Faith Ringgold. DVD. 22 min. Getting to Know. 2012. ISBN 978-0-9828803-6-4. $29.95.
Gr 2-5–Mike Venezia knows how to present a topic with whacky humor, interesting facts, and lots of kid appeal. Based on his book (Children’s Press, 2008) about Faith Ringgold, this enthusiastic program introduces an amazing and influential African-American artist to young viewers. Told in the first person and read in a rich, smile-filled voice by Ora Jones, this production provides information about the artist and her artwork. There are plenty of photographs and video clips, along with funny cartoons that are sure to appeal to the target audience. Many examples of the artist’s work are also featured, showing the wide range of her talent, with special emphasis on her story quilts and stuffed sculptures. Wonderful background music sets an optimistic tone as viewers learn about Ringgold’s childhood and adult life. The challenges she faced and the experiences and artists that influenced her work are presented. Best of all, viewers get to see that art work, diving into its colors and reveling in its exuberance. This is a story of persistence and perseverance—of a strong woman who followed her dream and cherishes her heritage. Both educational and inspiring, it merits a place in all library collections for children.–Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary, Federal Way, WA

You’re Not a Little Kid Anymore! Personal Hygiene. DVD. 18 min. with tchr’s. guide. MarshMedia. 2013. ISBN 978-1-55942-636-7. $79.95.
Gr 3-5–The program does a great job of covering the basics of personal hygiene that every fourth through sixth grade teacher wishes their students knew. The focus is not on puberty itself, but rather on the extra oil on your skin and in your hair, the sweat that’s now becoming a problem, pimples., deodorant. And, since it covers the basics, it provides clear instructions on how to avoid problems. Taking showers, brushing your teeth, washing your hands properly—it’s all here. There are also segments on taking care of your clothes, cleaning your ears, cutting your nails, taking care of your hair, and avoiding germs. The narrator also discusses protecting your hearing and eyesight, going a bit beyond personal hygiene. The format is also fun—each segment deals with a single issue followed by a short rap and dance by the multiethnic adolescent cast that gives a quick review and ends with the line “you’re not a little kid anymore!” Pacing is good, and the valuable information is presented clearly. The attitude of the presenters is positive and there’s little here that would embarrass students. This is clearly designed to catch kids just before, or as, they need the information. Teachers will embrace it, and probably show it more than once a year.–Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary, Federal Way, WA

The Abolitionists (American Experience Series). DVD. 3 hrs. Prod. by WGBH Foundation. Dist. by PBS Dist. 2013. ISBN 978-1-60883-833-2. $24.99.
Gr 8 Up–This year marks the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, an event made possible by the efforts of a diverse group of anti-slavery activists referred to as Abolitionists. Considered to be radicals by many and often the target of personal attacks, their struggles to raise the collective consciousness of Northerners and Southerners to the horror of the slave system are recreated in this incredibly well-crafted program. Divided into three 60-minute components, this nicely paced presentation is uniquely structured: each section includes theater-quality dramatic re-creations of historical events which are smoothly punctuated with supplemental documentary-style narration and commentary/interpretation by a panel of historians. The producers follow a chronological pattern, beginning in the 1820s and progressing through the end of the Civil War, with moving portraits of significant individuals (Angelina Grimké, William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Brown, and others) as well as events (such as the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the power of abolitionist newspapers, and the enactment of the Fugitive Slave Law) and their contributions to their committed cause. A wide variety of vintage photographs and copies of period newspapers supplement the narrator’s clear and well-paced script. Chapter selection and English-language subtitles are optional. Additional resources, including a blog, are available at pbs.org to increase the usability of this incredible film which will be a valued asset to media collections for classroom use and individual research.–Dwain Thomas, formerly Lake Park High School, Roselle, IL

Death and the Civil War (American Experience Series). DVD. 2 hrs. Prod. by WGBH Educational Foundation. Dist. by PBS Dist. 2012. ISBN 978-1-60883-759-5. $24.99.
Gr 9 Up–The Civil War, the first modern and industrial war, resulted in 750,000 casualties, a scale of death unprecedented in American history. This documentary, based on Drew Gilpin Faust’s book This Republic of Suffering (Knopf, 2008), examines the ways the nation dealt with this unspeakable tragedy. Narrated by Oliver Platt, the film utilizes historical photographs and primary sources, especially letters written by soldiers, to tell the history of the war from Fort Sumter to Appomattox. Also examined are the changes Americans were forced to make in the way they looked at death. Soldiers died far from home and from loved ones, and were often buried with no coffins or ceremonies or records of the grave sites. The government had no infrastructure for burial, no ambulance corps to assist the wounded, no systems to identify bodies or notify families, no national cemeteries, and no federal obligation to the dead. That all changed as a result of the Civil War. Faust and other historians tell the story, including accounts of African Americans who buried Union dead, the U.S. Sanitary Commission, Clara Barton who took medical supplies to the battlefields and after the war created a clearinghouse of missing soldiers, the work of Southern women who organized to identify and rebury Confederate dead, and the establishment of Memorial Days. Featuring exquisite editing, excellent narration, and appropriate music, this film should be an essential part of our understanding of the Civil War.–Patricia Ann Owens, Illinois Eastern Community Colleges, Mt. Carmel

Uses for Boys. By Erica Lorraine Scheidt. 4 CDs. 4:18 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2013. ISBN 978-1-4692-4973-5. $69.97.
Gr 10 Up–Sixteen-year-old Anna’s earliest memories begin at age seven during the “tell-me-again” times. While snuggled against her mother, she listened to stories about how her mother always wanted a little girl. “Now I have everything,” she would whisper. A year later, the stories stopped and a wave of step-fathers began. Left to her own devices, Anna began to tell herself stories: “I had no mother. I had no father.” Fighting loneliness as a teenager, she finds temporary comfort in the arms of boys, earning the title of slut from her peers. Anna becomes a pregnant dropout, finds a minimum wage job, and moves in with her current boyfriend. One morning a “revelation” occurs. She is enough; she can write her own stories. No more replaying her mother’s stories or writing about the smiling families in pictures torn from magazines and taped to her walls. Anna’s story, stumbling yet steadfast, begins. She gets an abortion and rents an apartment, but still feels invisible behind the counter making cappuccinos for ladies with long, painted nails. Then Sam arrives—and Anna is anything but invisible. His family eats, banters, and laughs together. Sam is anything but temporary. Scheidt’s haunting yet poignant and poetic story (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2013) encourages girls to believe in their own importance and realize that their past does not have to dictate their future. Narrator Emily Durante beautifully captures the anguished and hopeful voice of Anna. A must-have.–Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Schools, OH

Got a Minute? Performed by Milkshake. CD. 54 min. Prod. by Milkshake Music. Dist. by CDBaby.com. 2013. ISBN unavail. $12.98.
K-Gr 5–Known for their pop-rock style, Milkshake is Lisa Mathews, Mikel Gehl, Tom Moon, Cord Neal, Michael Sheppard, and Brian Simms. Their previous albums have garnered a NAPPA Gold Award, a Parents’ Choice Gold Award, and a Parents’ Choice Silver Award. Their terrific performances continue on this fifth album with outstanding vocals and instrumental performances on guitar, ukulele, banjo, mandolin, violin, viola, bass, keyboards, accordion, piano, bagpipes, tuba, drums, and percussion. Two-time Grammy winners Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer are guest musicians on a couple of the songs. In keeping with the album’s title, several of the 33 numbers are just over a minute in length and most of them are less than two minutes long. The album starts out with the high-energy rock tune, “Got a Minute?,” and continues with songs in several varieties of rock, country, sea shanty, folk, and rap musical styles. A sampling of the other titles includes “Baltimore,” “Lookin’ Out the Window,” “We Just Wanna Have Fun,” “Fish,” “Girls Wanna Dance,” “Starry Starry Night,” “Tip Toe Thru the Tulips,” “Snowy,” “Seabreeze,” and “What’s That Sound” (with novelty sound effects such as whistles, metal spring sounds, etc.). A wonderful album that bridges the gap between preschool and teen music.–Beverly Wrigglesworth, San Antonio Public Library, TX

Ready Set Go. Performed by The Happy Racers. CD. 38 min. The Happy Racers. 2012. ISBN unavail. $10.
PreS-Gr 3–In their debut alternative children’s album, The Happy Racers, led by Nathan Meckel, prove that children’s music can be just as much fun for parents to listen to as it is for kids. Featuring original songs written by Meckel, along with children’s authors Barbara Joose and Peter Reynolds and Grammy nominated songwriter Burton Collins, this album embraces all of the fun and wonders of childhood. Rousing tunes such as “Move Your Body” and “ Hip Hooray Parade” will get children up and moving, while gentler numbers like “Lovabye Dragon” and “My Backyard” will assure children that they are safe and taken care of when going to sleep or having grand adventures as king of the backyard. Great vocals combine with a variety of instruments on each song to create a rich vibrant sound. Easy-to-understand, relatable lyrics will have listeners singing along. With most running between two to three minutes, these songs could easily be incorporated into programming. A must have for every collection. –Veronica De Fazio, Plainfield Public Library District, IL

Courage Has No Color:  The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America’s First Black Paratroopers. By Tanya Lee Stone. 3 CDs. 3:03 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2013. ISBN 978-1-4692-6257-4. $54.97.
Gr 5 Up–Stone’s book (Candlewick, 2013) presents a history of racial segregation and integration in the U.S. military during World War II and a relatively unknown but important group of unsung heroes. Initially, a group of African-American soldiers served as guards at the Parachute School at Fort Benning, GA, while their white counterparts were trained to be paratroopers. Battling prejudice and resistance from military and political leaders, these enlisted men became part of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, and were known as the Triple Nickles. The fully trained unit was not wanted on either the European or the Pacific war fronts, but they served the war effort as fire jumpers in our Pacific Northwest. At first, it seemed that they were just there to fight forest fires, but, unknown to most Americans, the Japanese had started sending balloon bombs to our shores. Most of these bombs didn’t detonate, but they needed to be found and disarmed without alerting residents or letting the Japanese know that their bombs had reached our shores. The Triple Nickles discreetly searched the forests and disarmed the bombs to keep Americans safe. At the end of the war, the Triple Nickles were integrated into a previously all-white military unit. In 1948, President Truman ordered the integration of all military branches. JD Jackson ably narrates, bringing the account to life. Be sure to have the print version of this expertly researched book available so listeners can peruse the photos that perfectly complement the narrative.–Ann Weber, Bellarmine College Prep., San Jose, CA

Growing Up in Coal Country. By Susan Campbell Bartoletti. 2 CDs. 2:18 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-5821-7. $49.97.
Gr 5-8–In eight chapters divided into various aspects of coal miner culture and job types (nipper, breaker boy, spragger, and mule driver were the typical jobs for children), Bartoletti recounts (Houghton Mifflin, 1996) life in Northeastern Pennsylvania coal country around the turn of the 19th century utilizing oral history and archival documents. Although the focus is on the lives of children, first-hand accounts of adults who remember life as child laborers or miner’s daughters help to tell the story. Only the forward indicating her family’s mining connection gives a slight indication as to the author’s viewpoint about the industry. As in her award-winning Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow (Scholastic, 2005), Bartoletti’s approach is devoid of bias or sensationalism. No embellishment is needed for the stories of men crushed so badly by cave-ins that they were scraped off the mine floors with shovels, children secretly sabotaging company equipment to ensure a day at the circus, young boys losing fingers and limbs in accidents, boys playing with homemade baseballs and engaging in strikes, and mine owners who valued mules over men. The clear, no-frills delivery by Suzanne Toren is perfectly suited to Bartoletti’s style. The joy, the horror, the tenacity, the valor, the perseverance, and the loyalty of children growing up in coal country is presented, allowing listeners to form their own opinions. The only thing that could make this powerful audiobook even better would be the inclusion of the compelling black-and-white photos from the print version. With the current focus on Common Core Standards, this outstanding nonfiction selection fits the bill.–Lisa Taylor, Ocean County Library, NJ

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The following titles are reviewed in the April print issue. Visit Book Verdict for the full reviews.

DVD

Guidance

Frontline: Dropout Nation. DVD. 2 hrs. with tchr’s. guide online. Prod. by WGBH Educational Foundation. Dist. by PBS Dist. 2012. ISBN 978-1-60883-797-7. $24.99.

How Am I Going to Pay for College?  DVD. 20 min. with tchr’s. guide. Human Relations Media. 2013. ISBN 978-1-55548-795-9. $149.95.

My Digital Life. DVD. 28 min. Learning ZoneXpress. 2013. ISBN unavail. $79.95.

In-Service

Arts & the Mind with Lisa Kudrow. DVD. 2 hrs. Prod. by Twin Cities Public Television. Dist. by PBS Dist. 2012. ISBN 978-1-60883-800-4. $24.99.

World Peace and Other 4th Grade Achievements. DVD. 56:46 min. with tchr’s. guide. Prod by Rosalia Films. Dist. by Martin Institute for Teaching Excellence. 2012. ISBN unavail. public libraries: $150, school libraries: $250.

Language Arts

Missy Mila: Twisted Tales, Vol. 1. DVD. 1:41 hrs. Prod. by Planet Nemo. Dist. by Organa Kids. 2013. ISBN unavail. $19.95.

Tales of the Night. 2 DVDs. 84 min. Prod. by GKids, Nord-Quest Films, and Studio O. Dist. by New Video. 2011, 2013 release. ISBN unavail. $29.95, Blu-ray: $34.95.

Science

Climate of Doubt (Frontline Series). DVD. 60 min. Prod. by WGBH Educational Foundation. Dist. by PBS Dist. 2012. ISBN 978-1-60883-816-5. $24.99. 

The Hole Story. DVD. 79 min. National Film Board of Canada. 2012. ISBN unavail. $150.

The Hungry Tide. DVD. 53 min. Video Project. 2012. ISBN unavail. $89.

Iris the Happy Professor, Vol. 3. DVD. 73 min. Organa. 2012. ISBN unavail. $19.95.

NOVA scienceNOW: Can I Eat That? DVD. 60 min. Prod. by WGBH Educational Foundation. Dist. by PBS Dist.  2012.  ISBN 978-1-60883-805-9.  $24.99.

NOVA scienceNOW: What Will the Future Be Like? DVD. 60 min. Prod. by WGBH Foundation. Dist. by PBS Dist. 2012. ISBN 978-1-60883-807-3. $24.99.

Wild Kratts: Lost at Sea. DVD. 55 min. Prod. by Wild Kratts/9 Story Entertainment. Dist. by PBS Dist. 2012, 2013 release. ISBN 978-1-60883-787-8. $9.99.

Social Studies

More Than a Month. DVD. 60 min. Prod. by In Search of Carter G. Dist. by PBS Dist. 2012, 2013 release. ISBN 978-1-60883-801-1. $24.99.

Mystery of Easter Island (NOVA Series). DVD. 60 min. Prod. by WGBH Educational Foundation. Dist. by PBS Dist. 2012. ISBN 978-1-60883-775-5. $24.99.

Not a Feather, but a Dot. DVD. 60 min. Not a Feather. 2012. ISBN unavail. $175.

The 2nd Day of May: The Forgotten Heroes. DVD. 60 min. Prod. by Explora Films. Dist. by Worldwide Academic Media. 2011, 2012 release. ISBN 978-1-59163-957-2. $29.95.

The Time Compass: Classical Greece. DVD. 20 min. with tchr’s. guide. New Dimension Media. 2012. ISBN 978-1-60721-101-3. $49.

Audio

Many of these titles are available for download and/or in Playaway format. Check distributors’ websites, playaway.com, and audio download retailers for availability and price.

Language Arts

Barn Boot Blues. By Catherine Friend. 3 CDs. 3:19 hrs Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-1508-2. $49.97.

Beneath the Glitter. By Elle and Blair Fowler. 7 CDs. 8:21 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-5740-2. $69.97.

The Birdcatcher. By Kristina Dunker. 5 CDs. 5:25 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-8073-7. $49.97.

Cam Jansen and the Millionaire Mystery. By David Adler. cassette or CD. 45 min. Recorded Books. 2013. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4703-4230-2, CD: ISBN 978-1-4703-4229-6. $15.75; hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-6700-1258-9: $14.99.

Cloaked in Red. By Vivian Vande Velde. 3 CDs. 2:58 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-1510-5. $49.97.

Crazy Dangerous. By Andrew Klavan. 6 CDs. 7:19 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-6220-8. $59.97.

The Cruise of the Arctic Star:  A Voyage from San Diego to the Columbia River.  By Scott O’Dell. 5 CDs. 5:02 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-5803-3. $49.97.

The Dark Canoe. By Scott O’Dell. 3 CDs. 2:55 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-5806-4. $49.97.

Geek Charming. By Robin Palmer. 8 CDs. 9:19 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2013. ISBN 978-1-4558-5818-7. $49.97.

Here’s Lily: The Lily Series, Book 1.

By Nancy Rue. 4 CDs. 3:49 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-5424-1. $59.97.

Hokey Pokey. By Jerry Spinelli. 5 CDs. 5 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape. 2013. ISBN 978-0-385-36849-0. $30.

Infinity Ring, Book 1: A Mutiny in Time. By James Dashner. 4 CDs. 4:31 hrs. Scholastic Audiobooks. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-46633-4. $49.99.

Magisterium. By Jeff Hirsch.8 CDs. 9:15 hrs. Scholastic Audiobooks. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-46597-7.  $34.99. 

The Marble Queen. By Stephanie J. Blake. 4 CDs. 4:30 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-1516-7. $49.97.

Miss Lazar Is Bizarre!: My Weird School, Book 9. By Dan Gutman. cassette or CD. 45 min. Recorded Books. 2013. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4703-4171-8, CD: ISBN 978-1-4703-4170-1. $15.75.

Navigating Early. By Clare Vanderpool. 6 CDs. 7:20 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape. 2013. ISBN 978-0-385-36106-4. $34.

The Nightmare Garden: The Iron Codex, Book 2. By Caitlin Kittredge. 12 CDs. 14 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape. 2012. ISBN 978-0-3079-67800. $54.

Principal for the Day: Frankly, Frannie Series. By A. J. Stern. 2 cassettes or 2 CDs. 1:30 hrs. Recorded Books. 2013. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4618-1732-1, CD: ISBN 978-1-4618-1733-8. $25.75.

Skinny. By Donna Cooner. 6 CDs. 7:14 hrs. Scholastic Audiobooks. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-46628-8. $24.99.

Stink and the Freaky Frog Freakout. By Megan McDonald. 2 CDs. 1:30 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2013. ISBN 978-1-4692-7500-0. $19.97.

Stink and the Ultimate Thumb-Wrestling Smackdown. By Megan McDonald. CD. 1:11 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-0633-2. $29.97.

The Tell-Tale Start: The Misadventures of Edgar & Allen Poe, Book 1. By Gordon McAlpine. 3 CDs. 3:14 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape. 2013. ISBN 978-0-385-36808-7. $27.

There Is No Dog. By Meg Rosoff. 7 cassettes or 7 CDs. 7 hrs. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4640-3567-8, CD: ISBN 978-1-4640-3566-1. $66.75.

Third Grade Angels. By Jerry Spinelli. 2 CDs. 1:40 hrs. Scholastic Audiobooks. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-46621-0. $39.99.

Throwing Like a Girl. By Weezie Kerr Macken. 6 CDs. 6:51 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-1521-1. 49.97.

The 290. By Scott O’Dell. 2 CDs. 2:28 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-5788-3. $49.97.

When Dad Came Back. By Gary Soto. 4 CDs. 3:52 hrs. AudioGo. 2012. ISBN 978-1-935430-91-9. $49.95.

Where the Ground Meets the Sky. By Jacqueline Davies. 5 CDs. 5:29 hrs. Brilliance Audio, 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-1524-2. $49.97.

Zitface. By Emily Howse. 4 CDs. 4:41 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-1527-3. $49.97.

Music

Boogaloo Zoo. Performed by Mr. Billy. CD. approx.. 36 min. AV Café. 2012. ISBN unavail. $15.

Cat Doorman Songbook. Performed by Julianna Bright and various guest artists. CD. 35:52 min. with lyrics. Burnside Dist. 2013. ISBN unavail. $13.99.

One Earth So Green and Round: Songs of Nature. Performed by Lydia Adams Davis and Kathy Byers. CD. 41:55 min. AV Café. 2012. ISBN unavail. $14.99.

Pickin’ in the Garden. Performed by the Funky Mamas. CD. approx. 45 min. AV Café. 2012. ISBN unavail. $15.

Sandcastle Magic. Performed by Ginalina. CD. 50:38 min. CDBaby.com. 2012. ISBN unavail. $10.

Share!: The Best Foot Forward Series. Performed by various artists. CD. 47 min. Recess Music. 2013. ISBN unavail. $12.99.

We All Have Lunch. Performed by Lydia Adams Davis. CD. approx. 27 min. with lyrics online. Prod. by Three Feathers Music. Dist. by AV Café. ISBN unavail. $12.99.

The World of Odd. Performed by Lulu and the Tomcat. CD. approx. 64 min. AV Café. 2012. ISBN unavail. $14.98.

Social Studies

Reaching Out. By Francisco Jimenez. 5 CDs. 5:04 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-6170-5. $49.97.

Young People Who Made a Difference: True Stories Told by Kate Dudding. CD. 1:04 hrs. Kate Dudding, Storyteller. 2012. ISBN unavail. $15.

CD-ROM

Health

Eat Smart! MyPlate & 2010 Dietary Guidelines. CD-ROM. Win/Mac. with tchr’s. guide online. Learning Seed. 2012. ISBN 978-1-55740-616-3. $99.

I

John, now in kindergarten, has some lines memorized—the opening of Joyce Kilmer’s “Trees” is a favorite (“I think that I shall never see/A poem lovely as a tree”). Harper, four this month, often asks for prompts. “What comes after ‘fearful’?” Answer: “symmetry.” (Yes, Blake’s “The Tyger.”) My husband, Stephen, and I mine our memories or read poems off our devices. We often lean on Yeats’s “Gratitude to the Unknown Instructors” (“What they undertook to do/ They brought to pass;/All things hang like a drop of dew/Upon a blade of grass”).

Sometimes it’s a somber experience, focused and reverent. Sometimes it’s souped-up, speedy, and loud. Often it evolves quickly into wordplay and joking around. Somewhere in there we start to eat.

This practice was inspired by Mira Dougherty-Johnson, a friend who also happens to be a very good librarian at a school in Southold, NY. She is married to poet Tim Wood, and told me about how they share poems at dinner with their kids. I thought we’d test it, and found we all took to it. What’s most surprising is that the kids continue to enjoy this ritual. They take pride in learning lines, and they clearly derive pleasure from the music and imagery in the language, and, of course, the surprising new words.

Their interest spurred mine, and I started seeing the poetry around me. New York City delivered with its lovely and now ongoing Poetry in Motion series of posters on the subway. I take snapshots of them to read at dinner—above is an example taken recently during my commute. These souvenirs from my day give me fodder for the developing ritual, and they inadvertently reinforce that poetry infuses our lives.

In Open the Door: How to Excite Young People about Poetry (coming this month from McSweeney’s Books and the Poetry Foundation), poet Matthea Harvey writes, “Our concerns as adults and children are not so different. We want to be surprised, transformed, challenged, delighted, understood.” Poetry did all those things for her, and can offer each of us the same.

Now, of course, poetry is everywhere because it’s National Poetry Month. A favorite part of this initiative by the Academy of American Poets is Poem in Your Pocket Day, coming April 18. I’ll be packing a folded copy of a poem by John Ashbery that’s integrated into the Irene Hixon Whitney Footbridge in Minneapolis (“And now I cannot remember how I would/have had it…”), and I’ll be happy to read it on demand.

Rebecca T. Miller
Editor-in-Chief
rmiller@mediasourceinc.com

That Is Not a Good Idea! (Willems) ©2013 by Mo Willems.

Preschool to Grade 4

BERNE , Jennifer. On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein. illus. by Vladimir Radunsky. Chronicle. May 2013. p. 147.

IDLE , Molly. Flora and the Flamingo. illus. by author. Chronicle. p. 132.

KLAUSMEIER , Jesse. Open This Little Book. illus. by Suzy Lee. Chronicle. p. 134.

MCCLURE , Nikki. How to Be a Cat. illus. by author. Abrams/Appleseed. p. 136.

OLSHAN , Matthew. The Mighty Lalouche. illus. by Sophie Blackall. Random/Schwartz & Wade. May 2013. p. 138.

SNICKET , Lemony. The Dark. illus. by Jon Klassen. Little, Brown. Apr. 2013. p. 144.

THONG , Roseanne Greenfield. Round Is a Tortilla. illus. by John Parra. Chronicle. Apr. 2013. p. 152.

VIVA , Frank. A Long Way Away. illus. by author. Little, Brown. Apr. 2013. p. 146.

WILLEMS , Mo. That Is Not a Good Idea! illus. by author. HarperCollins/Balzer & Bray. May 2013. p. 146.

GRADES 5 & UP

BALLIETT , Blue. Hold Fast. Scholastic. p. 156.

BARON , Jeff. I Represent Sean Rosen. HarperCollins/Greenwillow. p. 156.

BLAGDEN , Scott. Dear Life, You Suck. Houghton Harcourt. p. 158.

MEDINA , Meg. Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass. Candlewick. p. 168.

SAUNDERS , Kate. Magicalamity. Delacorte. 2012. p. 170.

THOMPSON , Holly. The Language Inside. Delacorte. May 2013. p. 173.

VAUGHN , Lauren Roedy. OCD, the Dude, and Me . Dial. p. 174.

ZARR , Sara. The Lucy Variations. Little, Brown. May 2013. p. 175.

Adult Books 4 Teens BLOG

BUCHANAN , Cathy Marie. The Painted Girls. Riverhead. (Feb. 11, 2013, post)

BRODY , Frances. A Medal for Murder. Minotaur. (Feb. 18, 2013, post)

MOYES , Jojo. Me Before You. Pamela Dorman Books. (Feb. 20, 2013, post)

CONKLIN , Tara. The House Girl. Morrow. (Mar. 5, 2013, post)

BEAUMAN , Ned. The Teleportation Accident. Bloomsbury. (Mar. 7, 2013, post)

DVD

Abolitionists. PBS Dist. p. 52.

Bone Wind Fire. National Film Board of Canada. p. 48.

Death and the Civil War. PBS Dist. p. 52.

Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists: Faith Ringgold. Getting to Know. p. 48.

You’re Not a Little Kid Anymore! Personal Hygiene. MarshMedia. p. 49.

AUDIO

Courage Has No Color. By Tanya Lee Stone. Brilliance Audio. p. 63.

Got a Minute? CDBaby.com. p. 60.

Growing Up in Coal Country. By Susan Campbell Bartoletti. Brilliance Audio. p. 63.

Ready Set Go. The Happy Racers. p. 62.

Uses for Boys. By Erica Lorraine Scheidt. Brilliance Audio. p. 59.

Illustration by Brian Stauffer

Back in 2007, two high school science teachers in Woodland Park, CO, decided to try a “crazy idea.” “We said, ‘What if we stopped lecturing and committed all our lectures to videos?’” says Jon Bergmann, now the lead technology facilitator at the Joseph Sears School in Kenilworth, IL. He and fellow educator Aaron Sams posted their short films—15 to 20 minutes long—for students to watch at home. (Parents could also look and say, “Oh, I see how the teacher wants it done!” says Bergmann.) Their goal? “Do what’s best for your kids,” says Sams, who went on to coauthor Flip Your Classroom: Reach Every Student in Every Class Every Day (ISTE, 2012) with Bergmann.

Flipping the classroom lets school become a place for talking, doing group projects, and getting individual help from teachers—and lets home become a place for watching instructional videos. “The class time that would have been spent on the stand-and-deliver lecture model is now spent working on problems,” says Robert Adhoot, a math teacher who started YayMath.org videos four years ago. “The teacher walks around and helps everyone. It’s not a get-out-of-jail-free card for teachers not to teach.” It’s also not a way for kids to get out of doing anything at home. “Flipping what the kid does means they do the work ahead of time, come to class, and debrief,” explains Michelle Luhtala (aka the Indispensable Librarian), head librarian at New Canaan High School in Connecticut.

Aside from the technology involved, it’s not necessarily a new idea. “In the 1970s, when I was a classroom English teacher, I flipped my classroom, and I didn’t even know it,” says Doug Johnson, the director of media and technology for the Mankato Area Public Schools in Minnesota. “I’d ask my kids to read the text at home, and then I’d use the class time to discuss the lesson. Now, instead of asking kids to read, we’re asking them to watch videotape lessons. I sense this is something like old wine in a new bottle.”

Ideally, flipping the classroom gives kids “a personalized learning experience,” says Wade Roberts, CEO of Educreations, which makes a free iPad app that more than 150,000 teachers are using to make interactive video lessons. “The end goal is personalized education. The flipped classroom is just a means to that end.” Students can use the videos to learn at their own pace—any time or place, says Roberts. “These students can replay their teacher’s explanation of a new concept as many times as they need to without fear of holding up the rest of the class.” (Educreations’s website includes a feature that notifies teachers when kids ask questions.)

Making class time count

Librarians help teachers flip the classroom—and the media center. Pat Semple, a librarian at Bullis School in Potomac, MD, gives students videos, Web pages, and screenshots about the nuts and bolts of the library, which frees up more time to devote to their research projects. She knows that these online options help kids who are absent, too. “Invariably, students are sick, or there’s something else going on in the school that they aren’t there,” she says.

“The idea is to use technology to make sure that the time in the classroom isn’t spent on lecturing. Instead, the students can actually experience some of the stuff at home and then come into the classroom and have meaningful discussions with their teachers,” says Nick Glass, founder and executive director of TeachingBooks.net, which offers a database of resources for K-12 schools. “This is playing right into the librarian’s strength.”

Of course, just because a librarian or teacher posts a video doesn’t mean students will watch it. “In the middle school, where we have a lot of issues with apathy, some of them aren’t going to go and do something, even if you beg them,” says Tiffany Whitehead, a library media specialist at Central Middle School in Baton Rouge, LA.

And not everything is flippable. “Nothing is going to replace the experience of being a member of an audience that has a group discussion or debate,” says School Library Journal blogger Joyce Valenza, a teacher librarian at Springfield Township High School in Pennsylvania. It’s important for students to be together in person to simulate coming to Ellis Island and being thrown out for possible diphtheria, she says. The same holds true for debates about which late-20th-century president was best. “You can do it on Google Hangouts, but it’s just not the same,” she says. Another hurdle: answering students’ questions about videos they watch in the wee hours of the night. “It’s unrealistic to expect the teacher to work 24/7,” says Valenza.

Teachers can create their own videos and also refer kids to already existing ones. “Leveraging already existing content makes total sense,” says YayMath’s Adhoot. “It’s more efficient, it alleviates the technical stresses inherent with filming and publishing, and it saves time for teachers to do other crucial administrative tasks.”

“What people respond to first is the time-savings aspect,” says Lodge McCammon, project director of the Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University and a former AP economics teacher. “The traditional concept of lecturing is completely obsolete now. It doesn’t work any more…. The inefficiency of the classroom knocks people over. I would give the same 70-minute lecture three times a day to my students—210 minutes of lecture on the same topic,” he says. “If you film that same lecture, it ends up being between 8 and 10 minutes.”

Another benefit of a video lecture? A student can decide at home whether he needs to replay a point, but the whole class doesn’t have to sit through it again. “Our little tagline: ‘Life is too short. Stop repeating yourself,’” says Chris Ming, an assistant principal at Marine City High School in Michigan, who made his video lessons public when he was a chemistry teacher in Georgia. “You walk into the classroom on the first day and say, ‘I’ve published everything there is to say on this topic. Google me. This class is not going to be about me standing up and repeating myself and being inefficient.’”

In the past, teachers were idealized people who possessed information in their heads, says McCammon. “Then the Internet changed everything. That teacher is no longer the master in the room. Google is the master. That changes the whole dynamic…. You’ve lost that mystique. It makes it harder for teachers to sell this idea of ‘I’m the expert, I’m the master.’” On the other hand, the flipped classroom lets teachers publish their own content, and offers them “a way to become the masters again,” adds McCammon.

Sure, some kids will ignore the video. “The same kids who don’t currently do their homework will not watch the lecture,” says McCammon. “But as you start making your class more engaging, kids who don’t usually do their homework will start doing it because they want to participate in the class.” Kids write questions down while they’re watching the video, and then the first 10 minutes of class is for discussion of what they’ve seen. Then kids spend the remaining 50 minutes working in teams of four to solve problems.

First things first

Content is still king, and topic videos are still supreme. Graphing the equation of a line will remain the same, whether a teacher is using the Common Core or not. The innovative system helps all teachers—both good and bad—get better. “Better teachers need to be efficient, reflective, and really good at building and strengthening relationships with students and parents,” says McCammon. “The cool thing about flipping the classroom is it’s a sales pitch to get people to do that.” Bad teachers can go online and search their area of content and watch a great teacher teach—and then film their own version of the lesson. “Now all of a sudden, that teacher is a great teacher,” says McCammon. “Now that teacher is the master in the eyes of their students. They’re published. They give great lectures. And they have more time to be more personable.”

Teachers need to figure out what they want to get out of a flipped classroom, says Marine City High’s Ming. “What’s the purpose of doing it? Is it because you’re looking for more time in your curriculum to do hands-on activities?” An AP government teacher told Ming the best part of teaching his class was holding class discussions. The flipped classroom helped him get through the material with time to spare for conversation.

Ming himself posted new videos for students and parents to watch at home—and gained more time for small-group lab projects at school. By the end of the year, students were designing their own experiments and running them, “because I was able to take a 40-minute lecture in class, reduce it to 10 minutes at home, 5 minutes in class,” he says. “I probably built in an extra five, six days of block-scheduled, 100-minute classes through doing the classes at home through the flip.” He used only his own material, but he understands why it’s good for students to also hear from others—perhaps on Educreations or Khan Academy, where they can “hear it explained differently,” he says. “You don’t have to start from scratch.”

The Khan Academy is the most well-known user of the technique. “What the Khan Academy has done is to make using audiovisual easy,” says Brad Baird, chief revenue officer of Schoology, a platform with 1.8 million users that lets communities like Flipped Classroom record audiovisual material and lets teachers monitor discussions.

Khan, which offers free how-to videos, doesn’t completely embrace the term “flipped classroom.” “Just the term ‘flipped classroom’ is something that makes us really uneasy,” says Maureen Suhendra, a member of Khan’s school implementation team. “The flipped classroom in the traditional sense is that teachers are assigning videos for homework, and they’ll come to class and work out problems together. Students are still all moving at the same pace. Khan Academy is much more about a customized learning experience—working on different math exercises at a different time. It’s a vision of a self-paced, customized learning experience.”

The current educational system is too much of a “one-size-fits-all model,” says Suhendra. Not the Khan Academy. “If you have an art history teacher who needs something on a particular decade, it’s very easy to find that on our site. If you have math students who are saying, ‘I’m failing my math class,’ here are different videos that tell you a different way of solving the problem. In essence, Khan Academy can become a personalized tutor for students.”

Still, there’s no guarantee that kids will actually view the videos. To make sure his students watched his, Ming sent out a reminder when he posted a seven-minute lesson that he had created. Then he posted a question on the board the next day: What are the signs of a chemical reaction? “If I get the impression that not many people watched the lesson, I always have a quiz ready,” he says.

Ming spent 5 or 10 minutes of class time answering students’ questions about what they watched at home. Then he offered follow-up activities in which students predicted what would happen if the chemicals that they had just studied reacted. How did the new setup affected his classes? “The time flies by because students are the ones leading the learning,” he says.

Steven Spielberg-quality videos are not the goal. “You’ve got to get over the fact they’re not 100 percent perfect,” says Ming about his films, which have inadvertently included the sounds of his dogs barking and his kids, now two and a half and four and a half, saying “Daddy,” in the background. His students’ reactions? “They thought it was funny,” he says. He has made all of his videos public through Educreations.

Leveling the playing field

The flipped classroom also faces a far more serious challenge than shaky sound editing: teachers need to figure out how to overcome the “digital divide”—and accommodate kids who don’t own a laptop, iPad, or smart phone, or who don’t have Internet access at home. “I made my room available before and after school and also during lunch,” says Ming. “If they wanted to eat and watch while they were eating lunch, that’s fine.” He suggests school librarians help out by making computers available, too. Other teachers can put materials on flash drives for kids or even burn DVDs that kids can watch on television.

Gwyneth Jones (aka The Daring Librarian) is also sensitive to the need to bridge socioeconomic gaps. “I have kids coming from million-dollar houses, and I have kids coming from homeless shelters or whose parents are working hourly jobs,” says Jones, a librarian at Murray Hill Middle School in Howard County, MD, who posts tutorials on topics such as how to teach Wikipedia (called “Wikipedia Is NOT Wicked!”). “When flipping the classroom, one has to take into account the digital divide. It’s unfair to require a homework component that some kids won’t be able to do at their houses because the technology is not there or the Internet access is not there. Some of our kids’ parents cannot take them to the library.” That’s why Jones believes in the “partial flip”—using videos to enrich activities. “It won’t be where they’ll be penalized or can’t pass the test because they didn’t see a certain video at home,” she says. “I worry about technology crazes fanning around the country that leave out the poor kids. But I also, being a change agent myself and a person on the edge of technology, want to incorporate all those cool things.” Students in parts of the country that aren’t as technologically advanced can be left out, too. “There are places like Iowa, Montana, or Appalachia, where it would be very difficult to get a free wireless signal to everyone,” says Jones. Even preloading flash drives with videos assumes kids own a device at home to plug the flash drive into. So she likes the idea of operating the mobile lab out of the classroom.

The “home” portion of the flipped classroom can be too passive for many educators’ taste. “Some of the most effective ways that students can learn are by doing, not by watching other people do,” says Lisa Nielsen, author of Teaching Generation Text: Using Cell Phones to Enhance Learning (Jossey-Bass, 2011). “Listening to a lecture is nothing new. I just don’t believe it’s the most effective way to learn,” she says. “I believe the most effective way to learn is to do work that’s meaningful, not to sit and watch someone else do something. This is not revolutionary,” she says. “If there’s a video that can help someone understand something, that’s great. I just don’t think that should be the be-all and end-all.”

Another problem? “The kids are all watching the same videos,” says Nielsen. “There’s no differentiation other than when they watch the videos. There’s no discovery. They’re all going down the same narrow path and choosing the same goal.” She calls it a “one-size-fits-all, canned path that someone else chose for them.”

Screen time and other potential pitfalls

Watching videos also means more sitting in front of devices. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends kids limit “screen time” to two hours a day because too much exposure has been linked to obesity, irregular sleep, behavioral problems, violence, and less time for play. But not all screen time is created equal. Nielsen, who opposes “scapegoating screening,” says it depends on how the tools are used. “You could be writing, creating, changing the world from your laptop,” says Nielsen. “In countries like Egypt, we’ve used screens to start a revolution.”

The flipped classroom can also be too noisy for some educators. “A school shouldn’t look like a factory,” says Nielsen. “It should look kind of chaotic. We want these vibrant environments. We want schools to be places that if kids weren’t required to attend, they would still want to be there.” Carpeting to deaden sound isn’t always an option. A science lab, for example, can’t have it because it could catch on fire, says Bergmann.

The flipped classroom’s buzzword? Curation. Many teachers use a combination of their own materials and those of others. Although “it’s best practice to use your own videos,” says Bergmann, “it’s not always practical.” Recently he visited a Detroit school where kids read at anywhere from a third- to a tenth-grade level. “It’s not practical for them to make all their own videos,” he says. And some times kids who struggle—and who lack parents at home who know how to help with problems—will become the class clown, says Troy Smith, educational product manager for TechSmith, which makes apps that help teachers create videos. “It’s this downward spiraling.”

Students need to feel as though their teachers are guiding them to the best materials, not merely giving them a list of videos to watch, says Valenza. And teachers (and state tests) still need to assess students. “If our students are learning collaboratively, should we then assess them collaboratively?” asks YayMath’s Adhoot. How does it fit in with the SAT and ACT tests, GPAs, AP tests, and the college-selection process? “Teachers work for administrators, and administrators work for districts, and districts answer to the powers that be that for many reasons are resistant to change,” says Adhoot. For her part, Valenza expects that almost every textbook will be on an electronic device within the next 5 or 10 years. If nothing else, the flipped classroom will make for lighter backpacks.

“One of the responsibilities of the librarian is to be concerned about equity and be concerned about resources in general,” says David V. Loertscher, a professor of library and informational sciences at San Jose State University. It’s also to find the right materials for each child. “The job of the librarian is to flip for every kid,” says Loertscher. “If one little tutorial doesn’t work, we’ve got 10 others in the wings. There are all kinds of learners, all styles of learners.” To find the best materials, librarians should “use the same criteria they’ve always used for printed materials—authority, interest, accuracy,” he says. They shouldn’t just fall in love with the latest trend.

They also shouldn’t just swallow the flipped concept hook, line, and sinker. “Teachers should keep posing the ‘why,’” says Bob Schuetz, the technology director at Palatine High School in Illinois. “Why am I doing this? Why is it beneficial to students?”

Karen Springen teaches journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. Her last feature for the magazine, “The Big Tease” (July 2012), examined some terrific ways to use trailers to hook kids on books.

Brian Cox’s Wonders of the Universe.

Gr 9 Up –Based on two popular BBC science series hosted by physicist Brian Cox, this app immerses viewers in the science behind our solar system and the universe. It contains content from both television series with video clips, animated images, and infographics, alongside an incredibly rich and deep text.

Opening instructions guide users on how to navigate the app’s text and image gallery. The content is organized under the two broad areas (space and the universe), and both of these sections contains a number of subheadings or chapters. Chapters begin with a video clip introduction by Cox. Discussions start small–for example, sub-atomic and atomic particles expands to conversations about galaxies and the universe. A search box linked to a detailed index will help viewers locate specific information.

Cox is a great guide and the two-and-a-half hours of film clips of him discussing a variety of topics bring viewers to new levels of understanding. For instance, in considering the more than 2000 objects that circle the Earth, the author demonstrates what this “congestion” looks like with a clip of the identified asteroids in motion, and later, onsite at the Barrington Crater in Arizona.

Also included are more than 50 high-resolution 3D images that illuminate phenomena such as black holes and nebulae. These, along with authors’ renderings, can be saved, tweeted, emailed, or posted to Facebook.

To describe the content as multi-layered hardly does justice to this production. It’s a course in itself, taught by an engaging instructor, who while imparting his vast knowledge instills his students with awe and wonder appropriate to these otherworldly topics and scenes.—Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal

Kids Discover Galaxies. 2013. Version 1.1. Free.
Kids Discover Space. 2012. Version 2.0. $3.99.
ea: Kids Discover. iOS, requires 4.3 or later.

Gr 5-8 –Kids Discover has produced a number of apps based on their magazine series. Two of the recent offerings include the exemplary Galaxies and Space. The first focuses on the Milky Way and beyond, whilethe secondcovers our solar system.

In both productions, the writing is clear and engaging and the apps do an excellent job of presenting information via text and interactive features. In addition to navigation guides and visual indices, and a combination of pop-up text and/or captions, notes on important figures, Q & A’s, and definitions, these productions include a range of easily accessed elements such as film clips, animations, narrated segments, and background sounds that beautifully illustrate and enhance the accompanying text. For example, the more interactive Galaxies includes a projection of the Milky Way that allows viewers to zero in on Earth’s location and view it from a variety of angles.

Along with some spectacular photography, the apps contain reproductions, artists’ renderings, and colorful cartoon drawings. The activities included at the end of the texts–a jigsaw puzzle, a connect-the-stars drawing feature, etc.–are more appropriate for a younger audience, but these represent only a small portion of the otherwise stellar content. Overall, these are visually stunning, informative introductions to their subjects.—Lindsay Cesari, Baldwinsville School District, NY

You Are Stardust. Elin Kelsey. illus. by Soyeon Kim. Think Thirty-Three/Owlkids Books. 2012. iOS, requires 5.0 or later. Version 1.2. $4.99.

PreS-Gr 3–How often do we take the time to stop and observe the world around us with the children in our lives? You Are Stardust, based on the picture book of the same title, encourages us do just that. Written by environmentalist Elin Kelsey, the text is rooted in science, yet surprisingly poetic.

A comforting female voice narrates the text, accompanied by melodic tones, chimes, and sounds from nature. The book provides a springboard from which to see the interconnectedness of things, to imagine, and to ask questions. It reminds readers to “Be still. Listen,” and suggests that, “We are all connected. We are all nature. We are all stardust.”

Soyeon Kim’s diorama artwork was created using linen fabric; Japanese paper; dried flowers; and color-washed, 2D line drawings suspended inside wooden boxes. It’s extraordinary. The whimsy and 3D feeling of the original art successfully transfers to the digital version and subtle animations of wings flapping, falling stardust, and floating whales further help to enliven the text.

The app opens with two viewing and listening options and opportunity for children to make their own diorama. “More about Stardust” can be accessed to discover how Kim created her art, to read a note from the author, and more.

If it’s been a while since you’ve marveled with your kids about how the electricity in our brains is similar to lightning or the way baby birds learn to sing, You Are Stardust is a great place to start.—Kathleen S. Wilson, NYU/Tisch School of the Arts, New York, NY