Listen to Jonathan Bean introduce and read from Building Our House.

In the two books he’s authored, the artist Jonathan Bean has placed a child in the center of a warm family and a bustling world. Yet despite all the activity surrounding his young protagonists, Bean’s stories exude a sense of quiet and comfort. In his most recent title, Building Our House (FSG, 2013), readers witness the construction of a house from laying the foundation to installing the fixtures. With the help of family and friends—and lots of hard work—Bean’s “small crew” transforms a “weedy place” into a home.

Author Jonathan Bean

So, tell me, were you one of those kids who had to stop and study every backhoe and pick-up truck you saw?

I don’t think I was. My grandfather owned an excavating company, so I have early memories of being on equipment with him and watching him work. Of course, this was always very exciting, but for some reason I wasn’t the sort to fall head over heels for machines even if, now, they are buckets of fun to draw.

Like your earlier picture book, At Night (FSG, 2007), the child in Building Our House is at the center of a loving home, and a wide world. Yet, despite all the activity happening around them, your characters (and stories) convey a feeling of serenity. Can you talk about that?

I am always happy to hear people say this! When I was a young, aspiring illustrator, Wes Adams, my future editor at FSG, told me my portfolio work was rather cold. I knew that that quality would never fly in children’s books, and so I set out to decide what to do about it. In the end, I realized I needed to be less controlling with my process, to allow some entry point for surprises, humor, joy, or empathy. In that way, I discovered that my illustrations or stories couldn’t be manufactured, that there needed to be a more organic connection between my work and the memories or feelings that were already there. I must have been on the right path, because it wasn’t too long before Wes offered me a contract for At Night, which was the centerpiece of my new portfolio.

The many details you include about building a home are so well integrated into House. They’re sure to fascinate children who want to read every book about construction sites as well as those who lean toward fiction. Did you set out to tell one story over the other?

No, I didn’t. In fact, I knew early on that I wanted to tell both stories. That was the biggest challenge, finding a way to fit all the essential house-building steps into the book without it becoming a dry instruction manual. Fortunately, I had all the family photos and stories to fall back on if things needed spicing up. For instance, the truck named Willys in House is the actual model of Jeep that my parents relied on to transport materials. (A tidbit like that could launch its own story.) I had the luxury of getting to choose from a smorgasbord of such details.

As well as illustrating the step-by-step process of building a structure, your art tells a few of its own stories: the addition of new family member, the change of the seasons, and the passage of time, while details such as a pine tree perched atop the house frame are so playful. Do you have a sense of where you are going with the art before you start? Which stories will be told through illustration?

Often those anecdotal stories develop as I sketch out the primary story. I like adding them, first, because it’s fun! But also because it creates the feeling that, like in the larger world, the little world of the picture book contains surprises and details that are there to be found, if only time is taken to slow down, look, and listen.

While no one would call this a message book, I think there are a few lessons that kids will take away. Families require teamwork (“small crew of four”), even the youngest can contribute, and that to create something solid–or of lasting value–takes time and effort. Were these ideas you were hoping to communicate?

I agree that those messages are there, but I couldn’t really say I thought about them much, if at all. On the one hand, creating a story is a process of intense concentration and awareness, but I also believe that it should contain an element of mystery, even for the creator. There are things I often learn looking back at the completed project, as I am right now.

There are also messages in your parent’s comments, “Measure twice to get it right” and “A good plan for a good house.” (Truisms educators are sure to appreciate.) Were these actually their maxims?

No, I made them up for the story. However, I have, many times, seen my dad measure two or three times to get it right, or watched my parents plan carefully for a new project. I have a lot of respect for them: they are generally more comfortable in the trenches than on the soapbox.

Author Jonathan Bean

I love the photos at the end of the book depicting the building of your family’s home. You were quite small in them. Do you have any memory of that time?

I do remember a few things. I recall quite well the trailer we lived in, since my sisters and I spent much of our time there. I also have a clear memory of climbing to the second floor of the unfinished house. That memory probably sticks because the stairs weren’t in yet and the climb up scaffolding, even with Mom at hand, was frightening.

And one last question: Is the house still in your family?

Yes, it is. In fact, for the first big book signing we had an open house publication party and invited friends from all over to see the actual house and hang out with my family.

Building Our House (Bean)
©2013 by Jonathan Bean

Listen to Jonathan Bean introduce and read from Building Our House.

We particularly look for titles that align with the goals of the CCSS–books that provide unique perspectives, ask readers to consider multiple points of view, and generate conversation, as well as leisure reading material. On occasion, a fiction title may slip in–one that offers a perfect complement to a nonfiction study or a thought-provoking interpretation. This month, books about women make a good showing.

Adler, David. Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. (Holiday House; Gr 4-8). Filled with primary-source material, black-and-white period reproductions, and detailed notes, this book will provide students with insight into the Tubman’s life, the tenor of the times, and an author’s research. See Doers and Dreamers: Celebrating Black History in this issue of Curriculum Connections for more about this book.

Arnold, Caroline. Too Hot? Too Cold? Keeping Body Temperature Just Right. (Illus. by Annie Patterson; Charlesbridge; Gr 3-5). How humans and creatures regulate body temperature is covered in this clearly written title for elementary students. Each spread presents a paragraph or two of text on topics such as “Cooling and Warming the Blood,” “Fur, Hair, and Feathers,” and “Body Size and Shape.” Several captioned and carefully labeled watercolor illustrations and/or diagrams per spread offer information and illuminate concepts. A glossary delivers additional support.

Markel, Michelle. Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909. (Illus. by Melissa Sweet; HarperCollins, 2013; K- Gr 5). The America Clara Lemlich discovered when she disembarked at Ellis Island in the early 1900s wasn’t the country she had envisioned. Working long hours in NYC’s garment district for little pay under appalling conditions, the feisty, “uncrushable” immigrant fought back. Lemlich led the “the largest walkout of women workers in U.S. history,” a strike that resulted in a shorter workweek and more pay for many women. An author’s note provides more information about the garment industry, including the firms that refused to negotiate with the strikers, “notably” the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The watercolor, gouache, and mixed-media collages artwork by Melissa Sweet forms a patchwork of vibrant images. Consider this title when introducing the topics of workers’ rights, women’s history, and the early 20th-century immigrant experience.

Rubin, Susan Goldman. Diego Rivera: An Artist for the People (Abrams; Gr 6 Up). Rivera was a larger-than-life personality and Rubin documents the painter’s private and professional life. Numerous quotes provide readers with the essence of this man, while sumptuous reproductions highlight the “storytelling” style of his murals. The author doesn’t shy away from discussing the controversy that his art ignited, particularly The Detroit Industry frescoes painted in the lobby of the New York City’s RCA building, which included a portrait of Vladimir Lenin. Black-and-white photos of the artist at work and with Frida Kahlo illustrated the book. A glossary, sources, and author’s notes about Mexican history and Rivera’s influences are also included. Beautiful bookmaking.

Parker, Steve. The Human Body Book (2nd ed.) (DK; Gr 6-10). When the first edition of this book was released School Library Journal’s reviewer called The Human Body “a mesmerizing tour of the body’s parts and common diseases,” noting its superb illustrations with “razor-sharp detail, realistic modeling, clean colors, and clear and thorough labeling.” In addition to covering the 10 body systems, this edition adds a section on aging. Updated illustrations and information on recent medical advances are included. The accompanying DVD delivers some added animation on the breathing and digestive processes. Consider for both circulating and reference collections.

Stone, Tanya Lee. Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? (Illus. by Marjorie Priceman; Holt, 2013; Gr 1-5). Good question. While it’s likely that your students have seen a female physician, in the middle of the 19th century practicing medicine wasn’t an option for women. But encouraged by a friend, Elizabeth Blackwell applied to medical schools and after 28 rejection letters she was finally admitted to New York’s Geneva Medical. This picture book is a great choice for Women’s History Month and lends itself to discussion: explore with your students what those rejection letters stated, if attitudes toward women have changed, and whether occupations are still closed to certain groups today. What other stories have they read about individuals who persevered against all odds? Ask students what impression Marjorie Priceman’s fluid watercolor images create of the Blackwell. (Consider the woman’s stride and gestures.) In what way do the illustrations depict a woman who refused to be constrained by contemporary attitudes? Look for period details in the art. An author’s note contains more information about Blackwell with mention of the institutions she founded: a medical school for women and a hospital for women and children.

Yolen, Jane and Heidi E. Y. Stemple. Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves & Other Female Villains. (Illus. by Rebecca Guay; Charlesbridge; Gr 8 Up). Just in time for Women’s History Month in March comes a collective biography of a 26 women from the Biblical Delilah to Gangster Girlfriend Virginia Hill. With an appealing cover, a chatty text, colorful graphic-art illustrations, and a cast of infamous characters, this book will appeal to a range of readers, including those looking for leisure reading. With a title like this, who will be able to resist?  The select bibliographies for each chapter include books and websites.

Our top choice for a collective biography this year is Andrea Davis Pinkney’s Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America (Disney, 2012; Gr 6 Up). Last week Hand in Hand won the 2013 Coretta Scott King Award, and rightly so. In the Preface to the book, Pinkney writes of visiting a reading clinic attended by young men “who sought direction in the books they read.” In this title, all children will find role models.

Beginning with Benjamin Banneker and ending with Barack Obama, the accounts span three centuries and a range of occupations from scientist and orator to Supreme Court Justice and President of the United States. The author devotes significant space and detail to the histories, influences, and impact of these men—men that join part of a “cohesive chain…marching together into the lives” of readers.

Each chapter begins with a poem about the subject by Davis Pinkney, and a full-page watercolor portrait by Brian Pinkney. The impressionist images are rendered in black line on pages of bright colors. Touches of purple, red, or gold, and swirling lines highlight facial features in these vivid, close-up studies. Smaller images spotlight group scenes and a couple of poignant reminders of an earlier era: a water fountain labeled “COLORED” and a Pullman Porter cap.

The Doers

David Adler, the prolific author of both fiction and nonfiction titles, has just released with Holiday House a biography, Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad (2013; Gr 4-8). Published in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the death of this indefatigable humanitarian, the book covers her life from her childhood years (when she was volleyed between slave owners); her years as a conductor on the Underground Railroad; time spent as a cook, nurse, and spy for the Union army; and her later years, when she established a home for “elderly former slaves.”  This well-researched title incorporates primary resources including excerpts from The National Era, The Christian Recorder, and the Douglass’ Monthy, newspapers offering the African-American community’s point-of-view and reaction to events of the period; black-and white archival photos and reproductions; documented quotes; and other valuable resources for student researchers.

His wallet was small but his dream was big–huge really–for a young man born into slavery in the American South of the 1800s: Booker T. Washington wanted to read and write. With the gift of a spelling book from his mother and powerful inspiration from a literate African American man, he was on his way. After emancipation, Washington heard about Hampton Institute and was determined to study there. With  Fifty Cents and a Dream (Little, Brown, 2012; Gr 2-6) he walked the 500 miles to the school, stopping along the way to earn money. The book ends with Washington’s arrival at Hampton and the hope it held for its students. Gorgeous, full-page collage and watercolor illustrated on sepia-toned paper depict the youth in prayer, in labor, and in study. The generous back matter presents additional facts about Washington, notes from the author Jabari Asim and illustrator Bryan Collier, and a bibliography.

There are many books about Martin Luther King, Jr., but none like Arthur Flowers’s  I See the Promised Land (Groundwood, 2013; Gr 9 Up). The book is illustrated by Manu Chitrakar, an artist working in the Padua style of Bengal region of India. That traditional art is a form of scroll painting used in storytelling and performance; here it’s adopted to present the Civil Rights leader’s story in a graphic format. A minimal text featuring generous quotes from King’s historic speeches define his evolution as a thinker and a leader, and later, his doubts and fears about the direction of the Civil Rights Movement. Featuring a broad palette of deep, bold colors and stylized figures, and the Flowers’s poetic intonations, King’s legacy becomes one that transcends time and place in this stunning book.

The Dreamers

Bill Traylor was born in 1854 near Benton, Alabama to an enslaved woman on the Traylor farm. When the Civil War ended, his family stayed on as sharecroppers. Bill farmed on the Traylor’s land until 1935, when in his eighties, with his family scattered, he headed to nearby Montgomery. There he worked at a shoe factory until his rheumatism forced him to stop. Without work, but not without friends, Traylor was offered a place to sleep in the storage area of a local business establishment. It was about that time that the octogenarian picked up paper and a pencil and It Jes’ Happened (Lee & Low, 2012).

In his book, Don Tate relates the story of Traylor’s life and art, and the discovery of Traylor by a young artist that led to exhibits and recognition. Characterizing Traylor as “talkative,” Tate peppers the text with quotes by the man that touch on the memories he translated into art. R. Gregory Christie’s paintings, featuring bold, flat colors, and depicting solid figures and animals (often in profile), mirror those that the self-taught painter created during his lifetime. Source notes and an afterword add more details about this humble man and his extraordinary art.

One of the last informational texts by the late Dennis Brindell Fradin, Zora! The Life of Zora Neale Hurston (2012; 5-8) celebrates the life of the indomitable African American woman who gained international recognition during the Harlem Renaissance. Co-written with Judith Bloom Fradin, the accessible and thorough biography is complete with archival photos, reproductions, source notes, and an index. The prolific and award-winning team’s fascinating subject led an impoverished, yet full life.

With jobs ranging from Hollywood movie writer and college professor to doctor’s receptionist and maid, the charismatic Hurston never stopped spinning tales. Counting Langston Hughes and Alain Locke as critics and friends, she has made a lasting contribution to American literature, though she died in relative obscurity at age 69. In the 1970s, her most well-known work, Their Eyes Were Watching God gained renewed attention from writers such as Alice Walker. Hurston was always proud of her African American heritage and confident in her writing prowess. Young readers will be inspired by her unconquerable spirit to strive like she did “for a toe-hold on the world.”

Florence Mills’s voice was never recorded, and no films of her performances have been found, and yet her indelible mark on music history can never be erased. Flo’s effervescent personality and unique talent was evident from a young age. Alan Schroeder’s Baby Flo (Lee & Low, 2012; Gr 3-5) concentrates on the entertainer’s early life and career. The daughter of former slaves, Flo and her sisters helped their family survive in one of the poorest Washington DC neighborhoods by collecting debris to stoke the oven in their frigid home. Her talent for singing, dancing, and charming a crowd was discovered early, and she was soon cakewalking into the hearts of African American audiences everywhere. Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu illustrate the child’s enthusiasm and love for the stage in bright watercolor scenes. Text and art unite to express the effusive energy bursting from this child who would one day become an internationally renowned artist.

An essential part of the Harlem Renaissance’s early jazz scene, Mills’s achievements in fighting against segregation plays a major role in Renée Watson’s picture book biography, Harlem’s Little Blackbird (Random, 2012; K-3 ). Encompassing a broader view of her life, this title covers the songstress’s humble beginnings and touches upon her early death, and her lasting influence. The narrative highlights an incident in which the little girl refused to perform at a theater that wouldn’t allow her friends in the audience because of the color of their skin. Later in her career, in London, she wowed listeners despite their prejudice against black performers; her powerful voice mesmerizing crowds wherever she went.

Watson adeptly handles bleaker sides of Flo’s story, especially with the poetic description of her song’s final note. At the age of 31, Flo Mills died from tuberculosis on November 1, 1927. Christian Robinson’s mixed-media art is never more striking than in the book’s final spread, in which blackbirds fill the skies of Harlem as 150,000 mourners flood the streets to say goodbye to the “Little Blackbird.”

Gary Golio and Rudy Gutierrez’s Spirit Seeker (Clarion, 2012; Gr 4-6) recounts the spiritual journey of jazz’s legendary John Coltrane, from preacher’s grandson to haunted drug addict and restored virtuoso to music master. Not shying away from the details of his harrowing sojourn into depression and substance abuse, Golio’s composition is honest and lyrical. He examines how the twin forces of music and religion shaped Coltrane’s early life and were his saving grace in his later years. A true labor of love, Spirit Seeker is perfect marriage of art and text.

Gutierrez’s psychedelic art, reminiscent of the saxophonist’s intricate work, underscores the musician’s tumultuous path with his use of light and dark. The artist’s and author’s notes, an afterword, and extensive back matter provide insight into the book creators’ thought process and connection with their subject. Just as jazz was Coltrane’s pulpit, budding artists will be inspired to find their own outlet for expression.

Related articles of interest:
Joy Fleishhacker’s article, “Great Books for Celebrating Martin Luther King Day.”

Jennifer M. Brown’s “A Mission Above and Beyond Them: An Interview with Tanya Lee Stone.”

]]> http://www.slj.com/2013/02/books-media/doers-and-dreamers-celebrating-black-history/feed/ 1 http://www.slj.com/2013/02/books-media/authors-illustrators/old-time-gals-with-gumption-the-picture-books-of-shana-corey/ http://www.slj.com/2013/02/books-media/authors-illustrators/old-time-gals-with-gumption-the-picture-books-of-shana-corey/#comments Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:12:31 +0000 Barbara Auerbach http://www.slj.com/?p=27960 As Women’s History Month approaches, teachers and librarians rush to titles that will engage and inspire students, and offer discussion opportunities. This is the time to introduce them to Shana Corey—a master of the picture book read-aloud. Influenced by her childhood enchantment with “olden-day girls” she found in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House on the Prairie,” Maud Hart Lovelace’s “Betsy-Tacy,” and Sydney Taylor’s “All-of-a-Kind Family,” series, Corey later became interested in women’s history. Her books specialize in “…incisive biographies of women long-forgotten…focusing on small moments where they have turned the tide of history.”*

In Corey’s first book, You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer! (Scholastic, 2000; Gr 1-3), readers learn that, “Amelia Bloomer was NOT a proper lady.” In 1847, respectable women were not allowed to vote or work and dressed in tight, uncomfortable clothes that made it impossible to do much of anything. A visit from Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Stanton’s cousin Libby changed all that. “Instead of a dress Libby was wearing something that was NOT too heavy and NOT too long and NOT too tight and NOT too wide. It looked just right.” Amelia embraced the new attire by sewing an identical outfit and writing about it in the women’s newspaper she edited, The Lily. The controversy over women’s dress made the newspaper, and Amelia, famous—and quite improper.

While bloomers themselves eventually went out of style, women today can wear and do as they please thanks to independent thinkers like Amelia Bloomer. The book’s sparse, engaging text paired with Chesley McLaren’s vibrant, humorous gouache illustrations make this a terrific read aloud. A pattern at the back of the book can be copied and cut out to make bloomers for paper dolls with younger audiences. Older students can explore the history of women’s fashion or even sketch their own innovative clothing for babies, children, men, or women. Highlight Corey’s Amelia with Tanya Lee Stone’s Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote (Holt, 2008; Gr 1-4) and Linda Arms White’s I Could Do That: Esther Morris Gets Women the Vote (Farrar, 2005; Gr 2-4), two great stories about other plucky women of earlier eras.

Another rebel and innovator in female fashion is the subject of Corey’s Mermaid Queen (Scholastic, 2009; Gr 2-6). Annette Kellerman was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1906. A childhood illness was responsible for the leg braces she needed growing up, but would eventually lead to the great strength and joy she found in swimming. The daughter of two music teachers, Kellerman grew up in a house filled with singing and dancing. Though she felt clumsy on the dance floor, she was graceful and “fancy-free” in the water, which led to the creation of a new sport—water ballet.

The young woman traveled the world to showcase her invention, “But everywhere they went, people just scoffed. A girl swimmer? Too plain. Too plump. Too weird. Too wet. Too bad!” A stunt in the river Thames in which she swam 13 miles amidst boats and barges earned some attention in the newspapers. One paper challenged her to swim the English Channel; while she didn’t manage to do that, “…people marveled over the young girl who had swum so far and so well…she even made it look artistic!”

When Kellerman arrived in America, she was horrified to see women on the beach donning “stockings and shoes, bloomers and bathing dresses, collars and corsets and caps…How could anyone possibly swim in that?” Although her men’s racing suit got her arrested, she soon designed a sleek new women’s suit that became all the rage. She also wrote two bestsellers on female health and fitness. The vibrant, digitally-created illustrations by Edwin Fotheringham capture the athlete’s spirit and world with humor and accuracy.

Along with Mermaid, consider introducing David A. Adler and Terry Widener’s America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle  (Harcourt, 2005; K-Gr 4), another great read aloud about the first woman to actually swim the English Channel—and break the men’s record doing it. Show students clips from the 1952 biopic, The Million Dollar Mermaid or any of the water ballet videos available online. Cari Best’s picture book When Catherine the Great and I Were Eight (Farrar, 2003; PreS-Gr 2) illustrated by Giselle Potter, is a fun fictional pairing. Use Corey’s biography to introduce students to woman with “gumption,” as well as in units about healthy living.

Another feisty, improper woman, Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low, born in 1860, is the subject of Here Come the Girl Scouts! (Scholastic, 2012; Gr 2-4). “Daisy grew up in Savannah, Georgia, at a time when proper young ladies were supposed to be dainty and delicate.” She was nothing of the sort.

While her peers sipped tea, Daisy “rode elephants in India,” “flew in a monoplane,” and went fishing. She loved the outdoors and yearned to do something important. Then she met Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts in Great Britain; she learned that his sister had subsequently founded the Girl Guides. “‘Why, the girls in America should have something like this!’ Daisy thought.” And so, on March 12, 1912, she hosted the first Girl Scout meeting.

The enthusiastic young girls learned to be honorable, loyal, useful, a friend to all, courteous, kind to animals, and obedient. While troops soon emerged all over the country, there were some, just like in Amelia’s day, who thought the organization “unthinkable” and “preposterous.” Still, eager girls of every class and race donned their uniforms, swam, hiked, and adventured in the great outdoors. “Daisy believed that girls could do anything. And she was right. Girl Scouts have been making a difference even since…” The last spread offers a gallery of portraits of famous Girl Scouts in all walks of life, including Hillary Clinton, Gloria Steinem, Rebecca Lobo, and Lucille Ball.

Once again, Corey makes every word count; the text is brief and lively and Hadley Hooper’s bold ink-and-paint prints are both amusing and add period detail. This title may easily inspire new local scouting chapters. Early scouts were both naturalists and conservationists–students will certainly want to experience the outdoors and possibly get involved in local “green” causes—just in time for Earth Day.

Corey is also the author of two fiction titles—meticulously researched and equally delightful and useful in classrooms and libraries. If your study of Corey’s work includes her fiction titles, be sure to have have a conversation about the distinction between historical fiction and nonfiction and the research that fiction often entails. Introduce your students to the author’s “true stories—partly,” Milly and the Macy’s Parade (Scholastic, 2002; Gr K-Gr 3), illustrated by Bret Helquist, and Players in Pigtails (Scholastic, 2003; K-Gr 4) illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon. Both titles are based on real events with fictionalized main characters that resonate with children.

Milly tells the story of how homesick immigrant employees at the landmark Manhattan department store joined together to create a new holiday tradition in America. More than one thousand costumed employees marched in the first parade in 1924 along with bands, floats, and animals from the Central Park Zoo. Milly, the fictionalized little daughter of one of these employees, brings the magic and wonder of this grand store to life for youngsters. After reading, show clips of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade today and have students design their own two-or-three dimensional balloons of favorite characters. Pair with Melissa Sweet’s Balloons Over Broadway (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Gr 1-5) to learn about the real-life person who created the first balloon puppets for the Macy’s Parade.

Katie Casey, the fictionalized protagonist in Corey’s Players in Pigtails, is not very good “…at being a girl,” but she loves baseball. Like Annette Kellerman, Casey struggles with parental and societal attitudes towards girls in sports until World War II changes everything. With most players turned to soldiers, the fields were empty. “Finally, Phillip Wrigley, the owner of the Chicago Cubs, had an idea. ‘If women can work in factories and even join the army…why can’t they play ball?” Though most people found the concept, “OUTRAGEOUS!,” hundreds of girls from all over the country, including Katie, showed up to play…and played just as good as their male counterparts, despite the silly dresses they had to wear.

Wisecracks such as “Careful, you might break a nail, girls!” and “Is this a ballpark or a ballroom?” quieted when the girls started to play. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League lasted from 1943 to 1954, until “women were encouraged to leave the factories and the ballparks to make room for returning soldiers.” Show clips from the movie A League of their Own (1992), sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”—the words are on the endpapers—or play ball in the schoolyard to celebrate this fascinating slice of America’s national pastime. Share with Doreen Rappaport’s Dirt on Their Skirts (Dial, 2000; Gr 1-4) illustrated by E. B. Lewis and Marissa Moss’s Mighty Jackie: The Strike-Out Queen (S & S, 2004; K-Gr 3) illustrated by C.F. Payne, for nonfiction accounts of the League and star pitcher Jackie Mitchell.

All of these titles commemorate girls or women in history in entertaining, attractive packages. While the illustrators of all five books differ, Corey’s lively, spirited writing inspires each artist to create equally accomplished pictures that will appeal to elementary and middle school students. They empower girls to be the best they can be and follow their dreams. So take a swim, take a stand, wear the pants, and play ball!

Barbara Auerbach is a librarian at P.S. 217 in Brooklyn, New York.

Eds. note: Be sure to visit Shana Corey’s terrific website for more resources for educators as well as information about school visits.

*Amy Haskin’s blog of February 4, 2010

Many of the ELA reading, writing, speaking and listening standards for K-5 informational texts are incorporated into the lessons described. The titles and activities suggested above reference the following Common Core State Standards:

RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
RI.2.6 Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
W. 2.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
W. 2.7  Participate in shared research and writing projects.
SL. 2.2 Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud.
RL. 3.7. Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story.
RI. 3.7 Use information gained from illustrations…and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text.
W. 3.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting appoint of view with reasons.

content over coverage

How can teachers and librarians work together to model for students how we talk about texts, how we explore topics of study, and what initiates our inquiry into a topic of interest? Educators have long understood that speaking and listening are essential components of literacy.  But all too often, talking is left out of the curriculum, because talking takes time. With the recent emphasis on testing, we have witnessed too many quiet classrooms, with students silently reading, independent of one another.

To fully access what they are reading, students need time to process it, and that processing is often most effective when done out loud. We need to give students time to dig in and explore, to talk with one another and with adults about what they are reading, to grapple with multiple perspectives, to pose questions, and to examine the writer’s craft.

Fortunately, the Common Core State Standards require that teachers at all grade levels focus on the role of speaking and listening within the language arts and the content areas. Teams of teachers working with librarians can therefore look at their grade span standards and use the Speaking and Listening standards as a tool for meeting the Reading and Writing standards. Each informs the other. Students who talk about what they have read, who use conversation, modeled by their teachers, as a tool to access their reading, are better prepared to do the critical thinking around texts that the CCSS asks of them.

Promote Formal and Informal Conversations

What are some of the ways that school librarians can support student efforts to talk about the nonfiction texts they read? The first step is the recognition that nonfiction texts are not simply fill-in-the-blank resources useful for writing reports or studying for tests. Indeed, the best nonfiction reflects the questing and questioning that the author engaged in while crafting it. Nonfiction is not answers, it is exploration–which readers or listeners are invited to join, whether through swiftly moving, page-turning narrative, or the swell of insights, or vistas of new possibility that it opens. The more go-to favorite nonfiction books that engage, stimulate, and challenge in these ways that you have, the better.

Start your preparation by looking closely at your nonfiction and making subcategories for yourself–this one is an I-couldn’t-put-it-down thriller, that one made me see the world a new way, this one invites readers to join the quest by giving them an expert to identify with, this title is filled with the unforgettable facts my kids will want to share with one another. Then plan a nonfiction story time like a meal: an appetizer of the weird and wacky, a first course of adventure, a hearty main meal of intellectual quest, and a fine dessert of websites and games students can explore on their own. That splendid feast should whet students’ appetites for nonfiction and get them started on the kinds of thinking the Common Core requires of them.

In elementary and middle school, where library is often an integrated arts class, librarian and teacher teams can coordinate the exploration of nonfiction and informational text so that it is aligned with topics, themes, or the types of writing that students are studying in their core class(es). Having a school-wide strategy for implementing the Speaking and Listening standards is as important as having a school-wide strategy for the Reading and Writing standards that often get more attention. Grade level teams can decide which Speaking and Listening standards will be introduced in core classes, and which in the library.  At the high school level, where the library is often a place used by classes for particular academic purposes, librarians can plan with the content area departments on how best to support students in speaking and listening about nonfiction texts.

The following are some general strategies to bring more speaking and listening activities into the school library to support students as they read increasing numbers of nonfiction texts.

Nonfiction Conversation Podcasts

We often ask students to write original book reviews. But what about recording a conversation about a book as a form of book review? Pairs, trios, or even groups of students who have read the same nonfiction book can be recorded, in audio or video, discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the book. Students would first have to prepare their own reactions to the text, and then compare and contrast with one another to establish an outline for their recorded discussion.

Younger students will need more support than older students in this activity, and could create shorter podcasts. Upload the recording to a “Book Conversation” section of your school library webpage, and it is ready to be accessed by other students in the school. Such podcasts are also a way to bring community members into the school. Adults from your community can read the same book as a group of students, and their conversation can be recorded and uploaded.

Service Learning Projects

Coordinate with faculty who conduct service learning projects within the classroom, or in a volunteer or service club that meets before or after school, or at lunch. Students can start by reading nonfiction books and articles to learn more about the issues that they are working on. For example, if students are trying to fight hunger in your community, they can read a title or two on hunger and nutrition. Next, they can look at digital newspaper and magazine articles. Subscription databases have magazine articles for even the youngest of readers. Finally, students can read and discuss the information contained on the websites for various organizations that work to ameliorate the effects of hunger. Students will then synthesize their reading, consider what strategies may work best for organizing a food drive or fundraiser, and write and record a public service announcement that can be played on a community radio station, local cable access station, or both, sharing their knowledge as well as details about their project.

Creating Content for Younger Students

We know that in general, children can understand more complex information if they hear it or have it read aloud to them. Primary grade teachers often lament not having enough material that is developmentally appropriate for children, at a level that their students can read independently. Have the older students in your school research and record content that can be used by the younger children in your school. This can occur during library class or in conjunction with classroom research projects at the different grade levels.

Individually, in pairs, or small groups, students can research a topic, and create their own multimodal digital text to share. A project like this asks students to read and take notes on a topic and to compare and contrast the information and source material through careful discussion and deliberation. They will then have to outline and plan what the text will look like visually, negotiating details and differences, and finally, record their piece.

If posted on the library webpage, younger students will have access to the information. This is a wonderful project for Book Buddies. Of course, careful attention has to be paid to the accuracy of the student work. While doing all of this reading, writing, speaking, and listening, the older researchers will be enacting many of the Common Core State Standards.

Oral Histories

Turn your school library into an Oral History Center. By working with grade level teams, see if there are one or two willing to conduct oral histories as part of language arts/English class and/or in conjunction with social studies or science. Primary grade students can interview close family members or neighbors, while older elementary, middle, and high school students can interview community members in conjunction with specific units of study.

For instance, a high school chemistry class might interview scientists in the area if you have a local research center, university or manufacturing plant. Middle school students studying World War II might interview senior citizens in your area who were children at the time. For resources, go to StoryCorps or the Columbia Center for Oral History.

From left to rt: Myra Zarnowski, Marc Aronson, Mary Ann Cappiello

Eds. note: In last month’s column, “Deconstructing Nonfiction,” the authors considered the types of nonfiction texts, their purposes, and their use in the classroom.

2013 Newbery Medalist Katherine Applegate describes how the plight of a silverback gorilla kept on display in a shopping mall inspired her to pen her heartrending tale, The One and Only Ivan (HarperCollins).

Explore all the 2013 Newbery resources and author interviews on TeachingBooks.net.

2013 Caldecott Winner Jon Klassen explains his multimedia approach to illustrating This Is Not My Hat (Candlewick), a fun, playful story about a mischievous fish.

Explore all the 2013 Caldecott resources and author interviews on TeachingBooks.net.

Steve Sheinkin, 2013 Sibert Informational Book Award Winner, Newbery Honoree, YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Winner, and National Book Award Finalist, discusses the challenge of incorporating multiple complex storylines and characters into the gripping thriller Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—The World’s Most Dangerous Weapon (Roaring Brook).

Explore all the 2013 Sibert resources and author interviews on TeachingBooks.net.

Elizabeth Wein, 2013 Printz Award Honoree, delves into how her discoveries of the influential role of women in World War II motivated her to write Code Name Verity (Hyperion).

Explore all the 2013 Printz resources and author interviews on TeachingBooks.net.

Andrea Davis Pinkney, 2013 Coretta Scott King Book Award Author Winner, explores how the idea for Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America (Hyperion) came about after her middle-school aged son, bored with his own curriculum, begged her to write a more engaging historical work for children.

Explore all the 2013 Coretta Scott King Book Award resources and author interviews on TeachingBooks.net.

Ethan Long, 2013 Geisel Award Winner, shares how the characters in his humorous early reader, Up, Tall and High! (Penguin) originated as a way of coping after his father passed away.

Explore all the 2013 Geisel resources and author interviews on TeachingBooks.net.

Creative, colorful, and compelling, these narrative adaptations and graphic novels enhance the storytelling with thoughtful artistic interpretations and will inspire readers to further explore and assimilate the elements of this timeless classic. Share these enticing volumes with students already familiar with the epic to make comparisons and contrasts, or use them to tempt the uninitiated to try the real thing.

Narrative Retellings
Supplement standard fare such as Rosemary Sutcliff’s gracefully written The Wanderings of Odysseus (Delacorte, 1996), handsomely illustrated by Alan Lee, with newer works. Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden’s The Adventures of Odysseus (Barefoot, 2006; Gr 5-8) offers a streamlined recounting that balances non-stop action with lyrical language. A prologue provides helpful background by briefly relating the tale of Paris, charged with choosing which of three goddesses is the most beautiful, and how his decision ignited the Trojan War.

Much of the story is told in vivid first-person narration by Odysseus, giving the tale a gripping sense of immediacy and adding depth to the character. Combining simplicity with insight, the succinct sentences and poetic chords are well-suited to a long-suffering man who has learned much: “All I have left now is my name. And a longing as sharp as pain to see the land that gave me life.”

Christina Balit’s stylized art combines linear shapes and patterns with swirling designs and details. The bold lines and profiled faces—presented on full pages or broad borders—bring to mind the friezes that decorated Greek temples, and lush gem-stone hues add to the regal tone. Ideal for sharing aloud, this retelling makes a sound introduction to the protagonist and his adventures. Discuss the point of view, and ask students to cite examples from the text that establish Odysseus’s unique voice. Have your students retell another epic tale (or even superhero origin story) from the hero’s perspective and use detail and dialogue to create a distinctive voice for their character.

Dynamic language, rapid-fire pacing, spine-tingling suspense, and a sense of foreboding that looms larger than a Cyclops characterize Gillian Cross’s rendition of The Odyssey (Candlewick, 2012; Gr 8 Up). Both accessible and mesmerizing, the text emphasizes moments of heady hubris (e.g., a triumphant Odysseus cruelly taunting one-eyed Polyphemus after his escape) and relates even the most unsettling events with gusto. One unforgettable scene describes how the huge and evidently hungry Laestrygonian giants “slithered down the cliffs and waded into the water” to spear Odysseus’s “drowning men as though they were fish,” while the survivors rowed for their lives, “the terrible screams of their comrades echo[ing] in their ears.”

Odysseus’s trials and travails are presented in a straightforward chronology, making it easy to examine each adventure in succession and building to a satisfying climax. Cross neatly sews the threads of the storytelling tapestry together by interspersing updates from Ithaca about Penelope’s struggles with the suitors (that surround her in the wake of Odysseus’s long absence), summations of Telemachus’s father-seeking travels, and scenes stages from Mount Olympus revealing the gods’ fate-defining negotiations.

The Odyssey (Cross)
©2012 by Neil Packer

Appearing on almost every spread, Neil Packer’s masterfully rendered paintings depict, interpret, and vivify the text, adding a spectacular visual dimension to the storytelling. While certain elements (costumes, textiles and graphic designs, frieze-like silhouettes, etc.) pay homage to the tale’s origins, the tone is strikingly contemporary. Distorted proportions and shifts in point of view (e.g., Odysseus hanging one-handed from a branch and looking down into the swirling, fang-filled mouth of Charybdis) are used to great dramatic effect, as are detail-revealing cutaways and sinuous collage compositions.

Splashes of color—a brashly striped garment or of the burnished hue of the lotus fruit—contrast with the characters’ flat skin tones, mostly statuesque alabaster or earthy tones of brown. Some of the portrayals, particularly those of the monsters, veer into the grotesque, and depictions of the gods are far from idealized (Poseidon sports sparse wire-like hair, a potbelly, and a meshy fish-net shirt and Hermes is updated with contemporary runner’s gear). Filled with symbolism, evocative details, and emotion, each unique painting is worthy of close inspection and discussion.

Have your students explore the interplay between text and artwork. How do the illustrations set the scene, convey events, add to the characterizations? What themes have the author and artist chosen to emphasize? How does Cross’s approach—telling events in a third-person narration rather than having Odysseus recount his experiences—change the story’s impact? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using an omniscient narrator instead of a first-person account?

Graphic Novels
“Sing to me, O Muse, of that man of many troubles…skilled in all ways of contending, who wandered far after he helped sack the great city of Troy. Sing through me, and tell the story of his suffering, his trials and adventures, and his bloody homecoming.” An epic in its own right, Gareth Hinds’s graphic novel adaption of The Odyssey (Candlewick, 2010; Gr 7 Up) pairs euphonious language with expressive pencil-and-watercolor illustrations.

Book by book, the “greathearted” hero’s twist-turning tale is presented in dazzling depth and detail; familiar images and phrasings resonate throughout the thoughtfully abridged script, skillfully echoing the tone and telling of the original (each book is identified by number and aptly titled, allowing for easy comparison ). Establishing a strong sense of time and place while maintaining an air of wonder, the artwork depicts the action, augments characterizations, and provides a potent emotional veneer. Certain moments, such as Odysseus’s heartfelt reunion with the faithful hound Argos, are eloquently expressed through illustration only, and color—the cold blue of the roiling ocean, fire-bright orange inside the Cyclops’s cave, washed-out grays of the Land of the Dead—is used throughout to add poignancy and punch.

Have your students compare Hinds’s version to Homer’s poem and explore similarities and differences. What themes have been emphasized in the graphic novel? How are the characters’ actions, emotions, and challenges conveyed through the artwork? Does the artist’s portrayal of Odysseus match students’ individual perceptions of the hero? A teacher’s guide is available.

Taking a much more cursory approach, Sam Ita showcases the storied highlights of The Odyssey (Sterling, 2011; Gr 5 Up) in an eye-catching pop-up format. Succinct dialogue balloons briefly relate events, utilizing contemporary-sounding language and well-timed comic moments (asked where he’s been for the last 20 years, the hero tells Penelope, “Well, sweetheart, it’s an awfully long story”).

The visual effects are cleverly envisioned and well-designed: Penelope’s loom opens like a venetian blind to reveal a scene of the suitors plotting evil; a 3-D Trojan Horse stands dramatically in front of a burning city (readers can lift a flap to see the soldiers hidden within); a pull tab (and Circe’s moving wand) magically transforms a man into a pig; a pop-up of Odysseus’s ship (with oars that actually paddle) is surrounded by wing-fluttering sirens on one side and a serpent-headed Scylla on the other; and the hero, just returned to Ithaca and disguised as a “homeless guy,” pulls back a bow string (via a tab) and shoots an arrow through several axe heads. This high-energy hands-on retelling makes a great way to review plot elements and initiate discussion about the tale’s most-touted themes. How does the updated language and tongue-in-cheek humor affect the timbre of the story?

Add a little fun to your explorations with Christopher Ford’s entertaining graphic novel, Stickman Odyssey: An Epic Doodle (2011; Gr 5 Up). Banished from Sticatha by an evil throne-seizing witch, “far-wandering” Zozimos is determined to find his way home and claim his rightful place as king. However, along the way, the young hero is waylaid by mighty monsters (he cleverly defeats the gigantic Cyclops-like Boetheos by barfing in his eye), embroiled in breathtaking battles (bravely brandishing his stick sword), and met by challenges that test his courage and perseverance (along with his skill at talking to girls).

Ford’s stick-figure characters possess boundless energy and plenty of expression, and the script percolates with snarky dialogue, hilarious expletives (“BY ZEUS’ BUTT!”), and loads of irreverent humor. The action certainly is epic, and numerous (and comically skewed) references to the original are integrated into the plot. For example, Athena intervenes in the affairs of mortals with a few deft strokes of a giant pen (e.g., doodling out a raft for her protégé), and during a perilous ocean journey, Zosimos’s cohorts plug their ears with wax—not to protect themselves from the sirens’ song but to drown out their leader’s complaining. Students will enjoy making comparisons to Odysseus’s adventures and teasing out corresponding themes, characters, and images. The antics continue in Book Two: The Wrath of Zozimos (2012, both Philomel).

Choose one of these retellings and have your students explore the ways that a modern author reinterprets an ancient text. Compare two of the adaptations, and have youngsters identify similarities and differences in writing style, language usage, point of view, and predominant themes. Look at the visual interpretations and discuss how the illustrations vary in style, medium, and mood. Have your students research classical art images of Greek gods, heroes, and creatures in books or online (Theoi Greek Mythology is a great starting point) and make comparisons to the artwork in one or more of these retellings. Was the modern artist influenced by ancient images and in what way? Have youngsters demonstrate their knowledge of the text by picking a scene from The Odyssey, gathering details, and retelling, illustrating, or creating a comic-book version of the event.

The Common Core State Standards below are a sampling of those references in the above books and classroom activities:
RL. 6.6. Determine how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.
RL. 8.5. Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style.
RL. 8.9. Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths…including how the material is rendered new.
RL. 9-10.9. Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work….
W. 6.3-11-12.3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
W. 6.9-11-12.9. Draw evidence from literary of informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
W. 9-10.7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question…or solve a problem…..

With the focus on nonfiction, educators around the country have been asking for direction as they implement the goals of the Common Core initiative. A number of useful guides are available to assist those developing lists of retrospective titles. Librarians and teachers seeking fresh material to enhance their collections can continue to look to Curriculum Connections, and this column, as they move forward.

Each month “Nonfiction Notes” will highlight a few titles publishing that calendar month—books that  have caught our eye and display the hallmarks of quality nonfiction: accuracy, cohesiveness, lively writing, and an interesting approach, along with support materials in the form of informative illustrations, primary resources, author and source notes, and lists of further reading. We’ll be on the lookout particularly for books that offer unique perspectives, ask readers to consider multiple points of view, and generate conversation, as well as titles that will encourage more nonfiction leisure reading. On occasion, a fiction title may slip in—one that offers a perfect complement to a nonfiction study.

Here are some of our favorites publishing this month:

JAN 2013

Bolden, Tonya. Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty. (Abrams, 2013; Gr 5-10). This year marks the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. In this beautifully designed volume, Bolden tells the story of the document through the events and the work of individuals-citizens, soldiers, politicians, and abolitionists-that led to its eventual adoption. Reproductions of engravings, maps, paintings, and documents, and black-and-white archival photos, as well as the inclusion of well-chosen detailed captions, quotes, and primary sources enrich the text. Don’t miss the photo of Harriet Tubman in her nineties on page 94. See Vicki Reutter’s article “Whiskers, Dreams, and Grave-Robbing Schemes” in this issue of Curriculum Connections for more information about this and related titles.

Brown, Don. Henry and the Cannons: An Extraordinary True Story of the American Revolution. (Roaring Brook, 2013; Gr 2-5). In 1775, outside of Boston, MA, General George Washington fretted as the British occupied the city. Without cannons his troops had little chance against the crown’s soldiers. In stepped Henry Knox, a Boston Patriot and bookseller, who, despite preferring “a good meal to a good fight” was willing to trek 300 miles to Fort Ticonderoga, NY, to retrieve a cache of weapons captured earlier that year. A remarkable story of an indomitable spirit and an improbable winter journey over icy waterways and snow-covered mountains with 58 cannons in tow. Don Brown’s illustrations add information–and a touch of humor.

Bryant, Jen. A Splash of Red: the Life and Art of Horace Pippin. (Random House, 2013; Gr 2- 5). From an early age, Horace Pippin drew–he drew through his school years, his first jobs, in the trenches of World War I, and later, when he returned to the states, but it wasn’t until he was in his forties that this self-taught artist painted his first canvas. Delightfully detailed mixed-media illustrations by Melissa Sweet, winner of the NCTE 2012 Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children (Balloons over Broadway, HMH) and a Caldecott Honor winner, illustrate the book. Historical and author and illustrator notes, complete the volume. Other recent titles offering ample opportunities for comparison to Splash of Red include Done Tate’s It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw (Lee & Low, 2012) and Chuck Close: Face Book (Abrams, 2012) by the artist. Beyond the images, students will want to discuss the distinct challenges these artists faced as they pursued their art.

Fradin, Judith Bloom & Dennis Brindell Fradin. The Price of Freedom: How One Town Stood Up to Slavery. illus. by Eric Velasquez. (Bloomsbury, 2013; Gr 3-6) In the mid-1800s Oberlin, OH, was a stop on the Underground Railroad and the home of a number of former slaves. This stirring story recounts the rescue of John Price in 1856 from slave hunters by its citizens. Mixed-media paintings, in shadowy deep blues, impart a sense of the danger and clandestine nature inherent in travel along the Underground Railroad. When an Ohio court upheld the legality of the Fugitive Slave Act, the 37 men involved in what came to be known as the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue were jailed. A photo of this remarkable group, as well as author notes, are included.

Halperin, Wendy Anderson. Peace. (S & S, 2013; Gr 2-8 ) What is peace? And how do we have meaningful conversations about it with children? Through a circular text (“For there to be peace in the world…”) and spreads featuring a kaleidoscope of pastel images of children at work, play, school, and home, Halperin explores the concept. Each page incorporates quotes from around the world and through time from Jimi Hendrix’s “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace” to Albert Camus’s “Peace is the only battle worth waging.” Writing extension possibilities abound. Perfect for sharing on International Day of Peace (September 21) or any day.

Stone, Tanya Lee. Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles America’s First Black Paratroopers. (Candlewick, 2013; Gr 6 Up). In this title, Stone, the author of the Robert F. Sibert Medal winner, Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream (2009; both Candlewick), examines the training of and discrimination endured by the African American servicemen chosen under the World War II directive to establish black aviation units. Archival photos and fascinating author notes provide insight into a Stone’s research and what she discovered along the way. You’ll find an interview with the author in this issue of Curriculum Connections.

And don’t miss…Michael J. Rosen’s Sailing the Unknown: Around the World with Captain Cook (Creative Editions, 2012; Gr 2-5). It didn’t take me long to mention a fiction title in this column (and a 2012 one at that), but clearly this picture book is one everyone will want on their shelves when the topic of exploration comes up. The story follows 11-year-old Nicholas Young as he travels with James Cook on the HMS Endeavour. Little is known about the actual boy, who was responsible for caring for the ship’s goat. The text, which takes the form of brief journal entries, charts the ship’s progress and life onboard an 18^th century vessel. Natural discussion prompts include point-of-view, exploration, and historical re-creation. Fluid watercolor scenes by Maria Cristina Pritelli take a birds-eye-view onto busy ports, exotic island locales, and the ship’s deck, and readers will enjoy trying to spot this engaging fellow who sports a red-and-white striped jersey reminiscent of another favorite fictional character.

Each title is described in terms of its strength as part of a varied collection on the president–his life, vision, and accomplishments–and is aligned to at least one Common Core State Standard (CCSS).

Picture Books

Fittingly illustrated in subtly textured, green-and-brown pages reminiscent of 18th-century broadsides and period folk art, Lane Smith’s Abe Lincoln’s Dream (Roaring Brook, 2012; Gr 2-5) follows a little girl named Quincy on a school tour of the White House. When a tall apparition in the Lincoln bedroom asks her about the state of the Union, she takes him on an ethereal tour over the city, reassuring him that the states remain united and that equality is “getting better all the time.” Incorporating Lincoln’s fondness for corny jokes, and his well-known habit of recounting recurrent dreams, the title masterfully combines creative illustration and factual information to deepen an understanding of the man. Teachers will key in on student response to essential questions about this president, evident in the text, such as: What was Lincoln concerned about? And, what evidence suggests he died before he accomplished his goals? 

Most images of Lincoln on money or monuments depict him with a beard, but it wasn’t always so. Steve Metzger’s Lincoln and Grace: Why Abraham Lincoln Grew a Beard (Scholastic, Jan. 2013; Gr 2-4), tells the true story of an eleven year-old girl’s letter to Lincoln encouraging the presidential candidate to grow a beard. Pen-and-ink watercolor illustrations by Ann Kronheimerin, in subtle grey and blue tones, provide a pleasing and realistic structure for the dialogue-driven narrative. Writing, “…your face is so thin,” Grace Bedell, of Westfield, NY, apparently convinced Lincoln that whiskers appeal to women who would then tease their husbands to vote for him.

Beyond the notion of accessibility of our presidents, or “the power of the pen,” the title squarely addresses women’s suffrage and includes sidebars and photographs about women and voting. Inset boxes present portraits of Lincoln and events such as the 1861 inauguration. Grace’s full-text letter and Lincoln’s response are appended, and may serve as models for writing persuasion pieces, and describing text types and purposes.

Reissued to commemorate the speech’s 150^th anniversary, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: A Pictorial Interpretation Painted by James Daugherty (Albert Whitman, 1947, Feb. 2013; Gr. 3-6) is a full-color arrangement of murals painted by the late Newbery winner (Daniel Boone, 1940). Vibrant images of wounded soldiers, hardy farmers, slaves, politicians, and women appear in collages amidst pastoral landscapes with lines from the Gettysburg Address captioned beneath. An afterward provides a reproduction of the original speech, a discussion of its context, and a guide for readers about events and individuals portrayed in the Gettysburg murals, including depictions of the Founding Fathers, pioneers heading West, the tragedy of war, and more. Close reading of this primary document also allows students of all ages to assess the mood and somber tone in which it was given, in the context of America’s story, meeting standards for visual matching of text-to-image to convey a concept.

Middle Grades

Accompanying the recent release of Stephen Spielberg’s 2012 biopic, Lincoln, Harold Holzer’s companion book for young people, Lincoln: How Abraham Lincoln Ended Slavery in America (HarperCollins, 2012; Gr 5 Up), is a nuanced narrative that focuses on the President’s sometimes contradictory views on slavery as he struggled to end it, yet made concessions to slaveholders to prevent more states from seceding from the Union. Holzer highlights the emotional turmoil and the rocky political landscape Lincoln astutely navigated to ensure the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment.

Both social studies and ELA teachers can use this title to examine the craft and structure of two of Lincoln’s most important speeches, the final Emancipation Proclamation (issued January 1, 1863), and his Second Inaugural Address (delivered March 4, 1865). Supported by Holzer’s narrative, a close reading of these appended (and rather short) documents easily illustrates deliberate differences in Lincoln’s language, tone, and purpose that led to significant historical changes.

An alternate approach to this same time period is provided in Tanya Bolden’s Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty (Abrams, Jan 2013; Gr 5-10). Here, Lincoln’s political strategizing of the slavery issue takes a back seat to a look at the climate created by abolitionists, politicians, and the media. Bolden’s inclusion of political cartoons, editorials, and writing excerpts from Frederick Douglass, Horace Greeley, Wendell Phillips, Frances E.W. Harper, and others, will satisfy teachers’ needs to compare divergent points-of-view on a polarizing issue. Red font is used to paraphrase documents such as the Emancipation Proclamation, which is broken into chunks for better understanding. The layout features deep red-and-blue framing, antique paper design, and large images suitable for class discussion or visual display, including a stunning photograph of an elderly and frail Harriet Tubman dressed starkly from head-to-toe in white.

A high-interest literary narrative, Steve Sheinkin’s Lincoln’s Grave Robbers (Scholastic, Jan 2013; Gr 5-9), treats true-crime fans and young history buffs to a thriller. A legion of counterfeiters during the 1800’s plotted to steal Lincoln’s body from his unguarded tomb and hold it for ransom, forcing the prison release of their friend, a gifted counterfeiter named Benjamin Boyd.

While the lively tale strays from core content, it offers an array of figurative language, common idioms, and adages. Students are also introduced to period vocabulary, such as “coney” (counterfeiter), “roper” (undercover informant), and “ghoul” (grave robber). The grave robber’s plot was foiled by the Secret Service, who, heretofore, had been solely on the money trail, only later entrusted with guarding presidents. A cast of characters, gruesome details, and criminal photographs all add to an enticing independent read that effortlessly builds background knowledge.

Lincoln’s untimely death often overshadows his legacy, but Bill O’Reilly and Dwight Jon Zimmerman’s Lincoln’s Last Days: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever (Holt, 2012; Gr 5-9) sets the historical stage for young readers in the present tense, putting them engagingly “in the moment.” As Lincoln goes to Washington D.C.at the end of the Civil War, John Wilkes Booth’s unconscionable assassination plan unfolds. Powerful storytelling alternates Lincoln’s movements with Booth’s, in a minute-by-minute description of the shooting and its aftermath. Page-turning suspense follows during the 12-day search for Booth and his co-conspirators. While the details of Lincoln’s death are graphic, the fascinating account meets the criteria teachers look for in titles students will read independently, and falling in the Lexile stretch band (1020L) for middle grades.

The titles suggested above reference the following Common Core State Standards in ELA and History /Social Studies literacy strands:

W.2.1. Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

SL.2.3.  Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.

RL. 2.7.  Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

RL.3.7.  Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)

RH.6-8.5.  Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally).

RH.6-8.6.  Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).

RH.6-8.10.  By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

RI.6.10. By the end of the year read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

“She lies like this mostly so that she can feel her hip bones against the floor, hard like rocks, leaving bruises.” In Alyssa Sheinmel’s Stone Girl (Knopf, 2012; Gr 9 Up), 17-year-old Sethie’s constant appraisal of her body has nothing to do with pride in her appearance; rather, it’s a symptom of the girl’s all-consuming desire for perfection and self-control.

A whip-smart, disciplined but tightly-wound senior at an elite Manhattan high school, Sethie is preoccupied with maintaining a sleek, slender body, overcoming her family’s financial obstacles to attend an Ivy League university, and retaining the attention of Shaw, the attractive but inattentive and capricious boy she’s dating. The overachieving teen has always engaged in ritualistic behaviors regarding food (counting calories, drinking large quantities of water before bed). However, her issues soon begin to escalate after she meets Janey, her confident and self-assured foil, whom Sethie views as physically ideal and who introduces her to bulimia. The realization that Shaw sees her not as a girlfriend but merely as a means for sexual gratification threatens to push Sethie further over the edge.

While Sethie’s descent is not portrayed as graphically as in books such as Laurie Halse Anderson’s Wintergirls (Viking, 2009) or Lesley Fairfield’s Tyranny (Tunda, 2009) (both her mother and a close friend intervene before her condition becomes extreme), the author thoroughly depicts the thought processes of someone suffering from an eating disorder through the girl’s obsessively vigilant observations about her own and others’ bodies: she admires Janey’s protruding clavicles, wishes that her own ribs are visible enough to count, and often catalogs what she perceives to be her facial flaws. Sheinmel has said by writing The Stone Girl, she sought to depict not a seriously ill adolescent but rather, “the girl who skates on the precipice of her disorder, not quite diving in.” As a result, Sethie’s plight will resonate not only with teens who have dealt with eating disorders but with any reader who has felt the unyielding pressure to conform to a just out-of-reach ideal.

Weighing in at  more than 400 hundred pounds, the 17-year-old title character of Erin Jade Lange’s Butter (Bloomsbury, 2012; Gr 9 Up) is physically restricted by his body–but more importantly, his size has resulted in his leading a merely half-lived life. He faces ridicule from his classmates; he is a gifted musician but his crippling self-consciousness prevents him from playing in public; and though he’s in love with the gorgeous, popular Anna, his interactions with her are limited to anonymous online conversations. When the bullying goes too far, he decides to commit suicide by overeating and creates a website where he will broadcast his own death. The site goes viral, and soon the obese teen is adopted by a popular clique that takes a morbid interest in Butter’s macabre plans.

While the hellish situations Butter’s tormentors have subjected him to are depicted in unflinching detail (he earns his nickname when a sadistic classmate force feeds him a stick of butter), his strong voice keeps this novel from becoming overwhelmingly bleak or melancholy. His wry observations are at times self-deprecating but never self-pitying (“See, there’s another awesome side effect of being 423 pounds: life-threatening diabetes”), and readers will root for this surprisingly appealing character. Lange keeps this dark novel firmly grounded in the realm of realism, refusing to veer down an artificially positive path in which Butter’s weight loss or social success is assured. Despite the unusual and potentially off-putting subject matter, however, Butter will provide plenty of fodder for in-depth discussions on depression, bullying, and familial dysfunction long after the book is over.

For many teenagers, the fantasy of becoming thin and attractive carries the same allure as a fairy tale ending. Fittingly, in Skinny (Scholastic, 2012; Gr 7-10), a story about an overweight 15-year-old girl named Ever who loses weight through gastric-bypass surgery, author Donna Cooner frames her protagonist’s physical transformation as a modern-day Cinderella story.

The novel opens with Ever as the long-suffering, overlooked member of her family: the mother whom she adored is dead, her father and stepmother barely acknowledge her, her gorgeous, airhead stepsisters view her with scorn, and except for one friend–the brilliant but awkward Rat–Ever is a pariah at school. But following her surgery, she sheds her drab, dull image in favor of a vibrant, new persona. Ever moves up the social hierarchy at school, finds herself flirting with an attractive and charming boy who barely acknowledged her before her weight loss, and develops the confidence to flex the musical and acting skills she’s been hiding for years.

However, Skinny is far from a simple makeover story, and Cooner expertly portrays the disconnect between Ever’s outward appearance and her inner emotions. The nagging voice in her head that continually expresses her feelings of self-doubt (“You’re still fat and ugly. Ugly. Ugly.”) refuses to be silenced, and she finds herself dissociating from her rapidly changing body (“I stare at my bare forearms on the desk. It’s like someone put the wrong arms on my body. Overnight.”). Not only are the technical aspects of this surgery explained in comprehensible terms, but readers will also easily relate to the emotional rollercoaster that accompanies Ever’s sudden metamorphosis.

Many teens cast a critical eye upon their perceived blemishes or physical flaws, but for the title character of Cris Beam’s I Am J (Little, Brown, 2011; Gr 9 Up), his body is a virtual prison that prevents him from living the life he wants. A biological female who considers himself male, J has coped with a body he views as foreign by shortening his name from “Jeni” to “J,” by hiding the curves that disgust him with oversize t-shirts, and by cropping his hair. But once he learns that there are other transgender individuals like him, J feels free to express his true gender for the first time. Complications arise when he tries to explain his feelings to others. J’s Puerto Rican mother and Jewish father have sacrificed for years so that their child can attend college, and they see his desire to obtain testosterone supplements and live as a man both as frightening and as a potential distraction from academic achievement.

Beam’s stark, straightforward prose sets the tone of the realistic, often harsh world J inhabits: his appearance results in bullying from others and his–not entirely unfounded–fears of disappointing his parents drive him to temporarily run away from home. Never romanticized, J’s raw, painful experiences are authentic; however, his small triumphs–such as successfully passing as male when he flirts with a girl or publicly displaying his photographs–infuse the novel with a genuine sense of hope. This unorthodox but poignant coming-of-age narrative sheds light on the gender issues with which many teens and adults are still unfamiliar.

I’m often asked by teachers for mentor texts. Short prose pieces, picture books, or maybe a memoir that offers students vivid images or parallel construction, or creates a particular mood. It can be tricky to find the perfect offering, so it’s always exciting to come across a title that will satisfy a number of requests across a range of grades and disciplines. Ellen Bryan Obed’s Twelve Kinds of Ice (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012), an ode to childhood and winter, is one of those books. The prose is elegant, the descriptions lush, and sense of joy inescapable.

One sentence describes the first ice of the season: “The first ice came on the sheep pails in the barn—a skim of ice so thin that it broke when we touched it.” The second ice “was thicker. We could pick it out of the pails like panes of glass. We could hold it up in our mittened hands and look through it. Then we would drop it on the hard ground to watch it splinter into a hundred pieces.” “Field Ice,” “Stream Ice,” “Black Ice,” “Garden Ice,” “Late Night Skate,” and other vignettes describe the progress of the ice—its texture, look, and even sound, from late fall to early spring—and the excitement that the advent of ice—and ice skating—represented in the lives of one family, their friends, and their neighbors.

Here’s a description of “Stream Ice.”

“If the nights continued cold, stream ice came quickly after field ice. Dad took us in the car up the road to the stream where we had fished for trout in the spring. We sat down on its hard brown bank to tie up our skates. Then we followed Dad as he followed the stream. Sometimes we’d stop and lie down on our stomachs. We’d put our eyes close to the ice to watch the little fish and slender reeds moving in the cold current of the streambed. Then we’d follow Dad again until the stream smalled to a brook of bent alders. We tried to see how far we could skate between branches, over stones, and around old logs. All afternoon the stream was ours until it was time to take off our skates and walk back to the car. All the way home we talked about…”

The book spans four seasons, ending with “Dream Ice,” “the ice that came in our sleep” that could be skated on during those “hot” nights. Share this gem of a book at storytime, with literacy and science classes, and any opportunity you have.

Twelve Kinds of Ice (Obed)
©2012 by Barbara McClintock

Excerpt from Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Bryan Obed, illus. by Barbara McClintock, reprinted with permission by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

When teachers and librarians consider instructional strategies to improve students’ ability to read nonfiction, they often start with text features. Text features are a central component of book construction, but understanding how they work is not the ultimate goal. Teachers also ask students to consider text structures, the larger format or outline with which the book is written. Text structures are important when considering how a book is constructed, but an understanding of text structures is not the ultimate goal, either. The goal is to teach children how the different elements of a nonfiction book work together to contribute to the overall meaning.

Text Types and Structures of Nonfiction Text

If students are unfamiliar with nonfiction texts, they may assume that every nonfiction book serves the same function. This is not the case. Different types of nonfiction books serve varied purposes. Having an understanding of what those purposes are can help students understand why an author selected a particular structure for the book, and how the two work together to create meaning.

The most common form of nonfiction is the survey, which provides an overview on a topic. Surveys often have nouns as their title. Think “Snakes” or “Africa.” Because there are so many of these books in school libraries, students may expect every nonfiction book to do what a survey does. Students need to know that concept books focus on abstract ideas or classifications, such as life cycles; that specialized nonfiction dives deeply into a precise topic and may draw on primary and secondary source material; and that biographies focus on the life of one or several people.

Identifying the type of book they are about to read can help students develop an understanding of each type’s common traits. When students know what type of nonfiction book they are about to read, they have a sense of the book’s purpose, and can anticipate the range of material within its pages.

Just as there are different kinds of nonfiction texts, there are different types of text structures. Exposition is the most common type, often found in surveys, as it introduces a topic and divides it into subtopics. But some nonfiction titles employ narration, choosing to tell a story. Nonfiction picture storybooks are an example of this, but nonfiction chapter books can also adopt this approach. At times nonfiction takes a linear or chronological structure, and at other times, an external sequence is used, such as the alphabet or numbers, days of the week, or months of the year. Compare-and-contrast, question-and-answer. and problem-solution are other familiar structures.

Having conversations with children about identifying the text type and purpose of a book, as well as its overall structure, will allow them to better understand how print and visual components of a book work together to convey meaning. These conversations will also aid in understanding how the components contribute to meaning-making, strengthening students’ reading and writing.

Examining Text Features Outside, Around, and Inside a Nonfiction Text

Just as there are many ways to structure an entire text in order to give it clarity and coherence, text features can also support comprehension. In Checking Out Nonfiction K-8: Good Choices for Best Learning (Christopher-Gordon Pub., 2000), authors Rosemary A. Bamford and Janice V. Kristo refer to these text features by their location: outside the body of the book, around the text, and inside the text. This is a useful way for educators to discuss with students how the specific parts of a book support and extend its overall design. Since not every book will have all possible text features, be sure to provide a range of materials.

Outside a Nonfiction Text.

Begin by considering these features:

• Table of contents
• Bibliography
• Index
• Glossary

Outside features help readers locate what they want, understand the overall structure of the book, learn the sources used to write it, find additional books to extend their understanding, and enrich or support vocabulary. It’s a good idea to spend some time showing how these features help readers from the start. For example, closely examine the table of contents. Does it reveal the specific topics to be discussed? How are the titles written—as questions, topics, vivid quotes from within the chapter? By stopping to examine a table of contents, readers ready themselves for what is to follow.

Around a Nonfiction Text.

Before delving into the main text, consider how the author has framed the book for the reader by exploring these features:

• Introduction
• Author’s Note
• Illustrator’s Note
• Preface
• Afterward
• Appendix

Around features not only introduce readers to a topic, they also provide additional information about the subject and the author’s experience researching it. By carefully examining an author’s note, for example, students might learn how that person became interested in the topic, the kind of research required to write the book, and what discoveries were made. This information demystifies the process of creating nonfiction and helps readers understand the passion writers have for the topics they investigate.

Inside a nonfiction text.

As you discuss reading a text, explore how these features support the text or extend it by providing additional information:

• Headings and subheadings
• Sidebars and insets
• Photographs and captions
• Diagrams
• Graphs, charts and tables
• Timelines
• Maps

While headings and subheadings can guide students as they read, photographs and captions extend and assist in comprehension. A photograph may show details not included in written text. Captions can go much further by pointing out details, providing additional information beyond the text or the photo, giving opinions, speculating, and posing questions for the reader to think about. It’s a good idea to consider how these features complement and extend the writing.

Both text structure and text features provide ways for writers to organize and introduce information, while keeping the narrative engaging. When we introduce these features of nonfiction to students, they benefit both as readers and writers. Having conversations about texts is a major component of the Common Core State Standards. Discussing how texts are constructed and using examples from quality nonfiction books is both illuminating and essential.

Tanya Lee Stone’s search—for photos and facts—has led her in surprising and rewarding directions. “To me, visual storytelling is as important as the text,” Stone has said, and that is certainly true of Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles: America’s First Black Paratroopers (Candlewick, Jan. 2013). Through text and images the author paints a fascinating portrait of the African Americans who trained as part of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion under First Sergeant Walter Morris. Seventeen of those 20 men came from the all-black 92nd Infantry Division, whose roots could be traced back to the Buffalo Soldiers of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. The author spoke to Curriculum Connections about her research, and the Triple Nickles’ extraordinary legacy.

What attracted you to this topic? Did it have any relationship to your work on Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream (Candlewick, 2009)?
These stories are related in that they are both about extraordinary people, relatively unknown individuals, whose work paved the way for others. Change happens slowly—and it’s often due to individuals such as these. We owe them tribute.

When you begin a nonfiction work, do you have a sense of where you’re going, or do you let the research guide you?
The research did guide me, as did feedback from Marc Aronson and Hilary Van Dusen, who said, as they did with Almost Astronauts, “This story is too big for a picture book.” I tend to think cinematically, so I’m looking at the story through the points-of-view of the Triple Nickles’ and [their leader, First Sergeant] Walter Morris. What are the margins that inform those perspectives? That helps me shape my boundaries. Unfortunately, it took almost 10 years to write the book!

You interviewed Morris, as well as a number of the women represented in Almost Astronauts. It’s amazing to think that these events didn’t transpire that long ago.
It wasn’t that long ago. I think we have come a long way—and have a really long way to go. That’s why it’s important to highlight these stories. We can be proud of our achievements—and have them motivate us to do a whole lot more.

Your notes on your work on the identities of the Triple Nickles who did not graduate, and how you resolved inconsistencies discovered in your research, were fascinating.
That was so thrilling [figuring out the three men who hadn't graduated]! The first person I called when I made sense of that information was Ed Howard. He’s the historian at Fort Benning [where those first black paratroopers trained]. After the book was finished, Ed and I kept working to track down the information that was eluding me. I found two of the men through a document that noted who was paid when.

Is detective work also involved in photo research?
On occasion, a photograph is in opposition to a “fact” you have unearthed earlier. You have to use your journalistic skills to figure out the truth. Even in the archives, the labels are sometimes incorrect. There’s a photo of the 761st tank battalion (the camera is looking down into the tank as a man looks up), that has been mislabeled for decades. When I got to the 761st tank battalion section, I went back to the library. In the end, I agreed with who I believed was the most trusted scholar and relabeled the photo; [in my book] the label is different than the one attributed in the National Archives.

It is like being a detective. In order to be authoritative, everything must be verified.

Were there events that you uncovered that surprised you? I had no idea that balloon bombs launched from Japan were landing in western states such as Oregon, for instance.
I had no idea about the balloon bombs, either. I could have gone on and on about them. To include information about these weapons and to not provide background on the Japanese-American internment camps seemed wrong, [but] I also was aware that I had to balance these pieces with the rest of the story.

This is complicated material and the challenge was to select what was pertinent to the paratroopers’ story and would give readers the context they needed. There’s an unending wealth of stories to tell.

So many of the events we know of history depend on timing—when the many small actions of people come together, as you point out.
When change happens, we tend to forget that many events preceded it. There’s another parallel between Almost Astronauts and Courage, in that people sometimes say to me, “But [the Triple Nickles] didn’t get sent into combat” with a tone in their voice that suggests, “Why are you making such a big deal out of this?” What these men accomplished was of their time. If you’re looking at it through a 21st-century lens, you miss it.

Many children aren’t [aware of how the rights we enjoy now] were achieved. That’s why I spend the amount of time I spend on background.  With context, on their own, children can get to, “Wow, that’s a big deal.”

Listen to Tanya Lee Stone introduce and read from Courage Has No Color.

The authors start by outlining legitimate reasons why many teachers express reluctance about getting onboard, such as lack of resources, effects of poverty, and technology challenges. Nevertheless, they recommend that it’s time to put reservations aside, take a positive leap forward, and treat the standards as “gold,” packed with the potential to spark real school reform. Teacher collaboration across and within grades is a key ingredient.

Focused on literacy instruction, Pathways is divided into three main sections: “Reading Standards,” “Writing Standards,” and “Speaking/Listening and Language Standards.” Each begins with a close reading and practical analysis of the related Common Core standards, defining what is and isn’t expected of students and teachers, followed by ideas for implementation.

Collaborative study exercises for teachers are incorporated as needed. Text complexity, “the hallmark of the Common Core State Standards,” and nonfiction reading are given due attention. Readers are assured that the Fountas and Pinnell system for leveling text need not be abandoned, though other methods are cited by the CCSS. And recognizing the challenge of getting more nonfiction (which is not quite so easy to level) into the hands of young readers in a time of squeezed budgets, the authors propose solutions, from adding quality magazines to tapping digital resources. Unfortunately, there’s no mention of drawing on school library resources.

When addressing writing, the authors point out that the CCSS clearly emphasize students’ ability to write evidence-based arguments, and it’s likely that assessments being developed by PARCC and SMARTER Balanced (the authors recommend that teachers become familiar with both agencies) will test those skills. Here the path to instruction and increasing student achievement is not quite so clear-cut, and caution is advised against jumping on packaged materials that promise success. Instead, instruction should begin with evaluating students’ skills (Common-Core-Aligned Performance Assessments for grades K-8 are available at the TCRWP website).

The third piece of the ELA pie, Reading/Listening and Language, is described as clearly intended to make students “independent word solvers and writers and speakers.” Teaching grammar and vocabulary via isolated workbooks isn’t the answer; integrating and developing these skills across the curriculum, as in reading and writing, is a better approach.

Whether or not a school follows the TCRWP model, Pathways analyzes the ELA standards with clarity and makes a convincing case for tapping into the CCSS as a route to thoughtful school reform at a local level spurred by the high expectations of teachers who are committed to honing their craft.

Do you rely on tried-and-true series entries to lure less-willing readers into informational texts? Scholastic’s “You Wouldn’t Want to…” and the Gareth Stevens “Top 10 Worst…” books are excellent choices for this group, and  the “National Geographic Kids Chapters” are essential to have on hand. But there are also superior stand-alone titles with gripping or entertaining texts and high-quality art that will keep readers turning the pages. Listed here are a handful of recent books you won’t want to miss. The titles are in approximate Dewey Decimal order, just because we’re librarians.

The events and phenomena associated with UFOs and aliens are well-trodden territory for high-interest nonfiction, but Kelly Milner Halls puts them into clear perspective in Alien Investigation: Searching for the Truth about UFOs and Aliens (Lerner, 2012; Gr 3-6). Halls interviews experts and eyewitnesses, scouts old newspaper accounts, and reads formerly suppressed government documents. Her balanced presentation of multiple resources and theories invites kids to explore further before coming to their own conclusions.

If your idea of a book for reluctant readers involves glossy paper and sharp photographs, then Hélène Rajcak and Damien Laverdunt’s Small and Tall Tales of Extinct Animals  (Gecko, 2012; Gr 3-9) with its wry illustrations and classy binding, might not be an obvious choice. But the format of this oversize book—each spread features a funky comic on one page and a large, captioned drawing with a paragraph of description and history on the other—pulls readers into stories of the dodo, Steller’s sea cow, and the impractical-looking Irish elk.

Liven up your science collection with stories of nature’s undead. Rebecca L. Johnson’s Zombie Makers (Lerner, 2012; Gr 3-6) is well-researched, profusely illustrated, and undeniably unsettling. Luckily, most of the instances of fungal colonization, larval infestation, viral invasion, and parasitical worms involve invertebrates such as flies and caterpillars, but the guinea worm in the human leg is a photo you won’t soon forget. Kids will read this book to ribbons.

Are You “Normal”? More Than 100 Questions That Will Test Your Weirdness (National Geographic, 2011; Gr 3-6) by Mark Schulman satisfies one of the most basic and pressing needs of tweens and near-tweens: to minutely assess how they compare to others. Just take Greg Heffley, for example, who starts out the whole “Wimpy Kid” oeuvre by stating that he is the “52nd most popular kid” in school. So whether readers like pepperoni on your pizza or not, bite their fingernails or toenails, or prefer smooth peanut butter to chunky, there’s something in here everyone can say “yes” to. Curriculum bonus: exposure to graphing methods.

“Will my personality change as I get older?” “Is my voice unique?” “Does my brain stop working when I am asleep?” Older kids love learning about themselves, too, and Richard Walker’s Who Am I? The Amazing Science of Existence (Kingfisher, 2012; Gr 6-9) discusses topics ranging from emotions to metaphysics, and delivers concrete answers on questions teens might not have even considered. The author presents facts about issues related to bioethics, such as stem cell research, but avoids controversial statements. Sharp photos and snappy design add to the package.

There are abundant books that seek to tempt the young sports fan into a little reading—you can spot ‘em a mile off. What makes The Sports Illustrated Kids Big Book of Why Sports Edition (Sports Illustrated, 2012; Gr 3-6) superior to all the others? First of all, it includes facts about big-league sports and others such as gymnastics, lacrosse, and skateboarding. (There’s even a curling question.) The facts and trivia are presented in four sections, each of which is capped with a quiz. Readers are encouraged to challenge the adult sports expert in their life to take the quiz with them and compare results—making the book itself something of a game.

Strutting It! The Grit Behind the Glamour (Tundra, 2011; Gr 6-9) provides straight talk about the modeling profession from fashion insider Jeanne Beker. There are lots of quotes and anecdotes featuring a deep well of names such as Kate, Linda, and Naomi, as well as lesser-known models including Irina Lazareanu, Carmen Dell’Orefice, and Crystal Renn. More photos would not have gone astray, and the book is, unfortunately, not full-color. Still, this is a good choice for fabulous young ladies and gentlemen interested in the world of fashion modeling—either as potential participants or as avid spectators.

What’s scarier? A mountain lion’s snarling lunge or a cyber attack by a classmate? The lion’s claws may be sharp, but your “friends” have Facebook photo tagging in their arsenal. How to Survive Anything: Shark Attack, Lightning, Embarrassing Parents, Pop Quizzes, and Other Perilous Situations (National Geographic, 2011; Gr 4-9) by Rachel Buchholz, illustrated by Chris Philpot, offers practical advice for surviving both. Tween readers will also get valuable guidance on how to apologize, stay safe online, and find water on a desert island. Snappy design and hip, what-not-to-do illustrations hook readers.

Driest desert, deepest ocean trench, biggest earthquake…trust a book called Seymour Simon’s Extreme Earth Records (Chronicle, 2012; Gr 3-6) to take young readers on a tour of the most punishing places and severe geological events on the planet. Real-world comparisons (the average yearly snowfall on Mount Rainier’s south slope is about equal to the height of “a dozen children standing on each other’s shoulders”) combine with sharp (unfortunately, uncaptioned) color photos to make this a lively trip.

What would it be like to be buried under more than 2000 feet of solid rock…for more than two months? Elaine Scott’s Buried Alive!: How 33 Miners Survived 69 Days Deep Under the Chilean Desert (Clarion, 2012; Gr 3-6) weaves the remarkable human aspects of this drama—the duration of the miners’ confinement, their inspiring morale, the resources brought to bear in order to rescue them—with the economic and geographic context of the San José mine to create a readable, compelling story that will give readers insight into a lesser-known area of the world. Documentary photos of the ordeal establish credibility, and special attention is paid to the families and children of the trapped men.

Pete Athans has scaled Mt. Everest 14 times and reached the summit on seven occasions. In Tales from the Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest with Pete Athans (Lerner, 2012; Gr 3-6), his sister Sandra Athans describes the anatomy of an ascent from base camp to peak, with the mountaineer’s stories of avalanches, killer storms, and white-knuckle rescues providing drama. Stunning photographs and informative diagrams bring readers on site with this intrepid adventurer.

You don’t have to be an animal lover to be deeply moved by the stories of canine loyalty, devotion, and courage in Dogs on Duty: Soldiers’ Best Friends on the Battlefield and Beyond (Walker, 2012; Gr 2-6). Military Working Dogs have been part of the U.S. armed forces since WWI, but their use in battle goes back to ancient times. Dorothy Hinshaw Patent describes the ways in which these animals have assisted armies throughout history and follows present-day selection and training. Short, accessible sections are accompanied by sidebars on individual heroic creatures. The descriptions of the loving bonds that these animals develop with their handlers make this a title children can relate to and present a positive window into the armed services.

Older readers crave you-are-there accounts of dramatic world events. Photographer Rafal Gerszak provides just that in Beyond Bullets: A Photo Journal of Afghanistan (Annick Press, 2011; Gr 6 Up), as he describes the harrowing, heartbreaking, and sometimes transcendent experiences behind his photographs of soldiers and civilians. There’s a fair amount of text here, but the stories of danger, hardship, and friendship, and the numerous images, will have readers poring over these pages. Photographs of amputees and injured children may be unsettling for some.

“Big Meeting—Ides of March—Bring Daggers!—Brutus.” Leeches, blister beetles, live burial, exploding bodies—all funny, if examined in a certain light. Georgia Bragg does just that in How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous (Walker, 2011; Gr 3-9), an excellent entrée to the study of advances in medicine and a great way to convince kids that biographies are not boring. Kevin O’Malley’s gross—and humorous—illustrations cement this book’s position on the must-purchase list.

Nathan Hale (1755-1776) was this country’s first spy, captured behind enemy lines prior to the invasion of Manhattan. One Dead Spy (Abrams, 2012; Gr 3-6), the first book in the “Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales,” begins as Hale is about to be hanged. Nathan Hale, the book’s author, (1976- ) is an acclaimed artist and history buff. His art is lively, meticulous, and clearly drawn, while his text is funny and rigorously researched. Sieges, raids, and night crossings may seem like perfect material for the graphic-novel treatment, but Hale even manages to make panels describing troop movements exciting.

Paula Willey is a librarian at Baltimore County Public Library and reviews nonfiction and graphic novels for School Library Journal. Read her opinionated reviews online at Pink Me.

Related TeachingBooks.net resources »»»

Attributed to a man who lived in fifth-century-B.C. Greece, these timeless tales abound with simple wisdoms and useful truths, illuminatingly human-like animal characters, and intrinsic child appeal. Aesop’s fables offer a wealth of opportunities for exploration in the classroom and can be used to effectively integrate Common Core State Standards into the curriculum.

Shared with students, the stories not only convey basic life lessons about how to act and behave, but can also be used to introduce literary genres, initiate discussion about human nature, and inspire creative writing and illustrating endeavors.

The books featured here showcase this body of work through a variety of narrative approaches and artistic styles, while remaining true to the tales’ simple charm, witty plotting, and powerful punch. Included are an array of handsomely illustrated anthologies, stunning picture book versions, and collections in which authors add their own imaginative twists to familiar renditions. As entertaining as they are elucidating, all of these titles can be read aloud in the classroom or delved into independently by youngsters.

Anthologies

Two collections serve well as basic classroom resources. From the tale of a tiny mouse who saves a mighty lion with an act of courage and kindness to that of a cunning fox who bamboozles a vain crow out of a chunk of cheese, The McElderry Book of Aesop’s Fables (S&S, 2005; K-Gr 4) recounts 21 favorite tales. Utilizing an amiably informal tone and accessible language, Michael Morpurgo spins the stories with humorous details and nimble dialogue. Emma Chichester Clark’s sunny watercolors and the book’s inviting format make it ideal for reading aloud or alone and a great starting point for introducing these selections.

For those seeking a more comprehensive anthology, Aesop’s Fables (Andersen Pr.; 2011; Gr 1-6) gathers together 60 tales in an eye-catching volume. Striking spreads pair Fiona Waters’s lively retellings and succinct morals with Fulvio Testa’s lush-hued, sparkling-with-wit paintings. Use this lovely compilation for deeper studies, or recommend it to students who would like to read further.

Part of Mary Ann Hoberman’s effective literacy-building series, You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Fables to Read Together (Little, Brown, 2010; Gr 1-4) retells 13 of Aesop’s well-known tales in buoyant rhyming verses arranged for two voices. Each part (e.g., Hare or Tortoise, the golden-egg-laying goose or her greedy Master, the grasshopper or the ant) is delineated by text in either orange or green, with the morals presented in a bright magenta that invites both readers to chime in.

Conveyed in rhythmic easy-reading text, the streamlined fables have a vibrant sense of immediacy that matches Michael Emberley’s comical action-packed artwork. This interactive volume is tailor-made to support reading comprehension and makes a suitable choice for practicing fluency in student pairs, to use as a reading-buddy resource, or as inspiration for readers’ theater.

Expanding upon 12 fables in an elegant oversize volume, Helen Ward regales older students with tidbits of Unwitting Wisdom (Chronicle, 2004; Gr 3-6). Each aptly titled tale is introduced with a stunning two-page painting and a teaser that foreshadows plot and themes (e.g., “Steady and Slow…in which a hare is too confident”). The artwork mingles natural details with whimsy to create a cast of realistic yet packed-with-personality animals. Lyrically written with a more formal cadence, the fables also sparkle with descriptive details, funny moments, and deftly delivered insights.

From “effervescent” to “tantalizing,” the writing offers a trove of challenging vocabulary words to tease out and utilize. Compare these retellings to more straightforward versions and have students identify and discuss each author’s particular interpretation, tone, and narrative voice. Take a closer look at the illustrations and determine how the images enhance the text and augment each tale’s meaning.

In her introduction to her collection of 16 Aesop’s Fables (Frances Lincoln, 2011; Gr 1-5), Beverley Naidoo makes a convincing argument in support of her theory that Aesop’s roots may have been found in Africa. Thus, she sets her tales on the grasslands of that continent, peoples them with indigenous fauna and flora (a jackal rather than a fox, a rinkhals snake, or a tamboti tree), and flavors them with terms from various African languages (defined after each entry).

Combined with Piet Grobler’s earth-toned paintings presenting a menagerie of comically expressive animals, the folksy retellings create a strong sense of place, while also conveying each fable’s universal themes and gentle humor. Have students compare these renditions to traditional versions, identifying similarities and differences. Investigate the environment and particular species featured in the stories. Invite youngsters to choose a favorite fable and re-write it with details that reflect their own neck of the woods.

Picture Book Retellings

These dazzlingly illustrated offerings expand upon particular fables, providing impetus for students to make comparisons to versions found in anthologies. Helen Ward’s retelling of The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse (Candlewick, 2012; K-Gr 4) describes how a rural rodent, accustomed to a quiet existence lived close to nature, journeys to visit his city-dwelling cousin where he encounters both wonders and dangers and learns to appreciate the simple pleasures of home.

Color-drenched paintings depict the beauties of the countryside throughout the changing seasons as well as the luxuriant trappings of 1930s New York City at Christmastime. Ward leaves off the traditional moral, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions.

In Fox Tails (Holiday, 2012; K-Gr 4), Amy Lowry weaves together four fables featuring this crafty though often over-confident character, creating a cumulative tale that stands solidly as a cohesive whole and remains true to the source material. Lively language and modern-day touches in the lighthearted artwork give the presentation an appealingly contemporary feel.

Read standard versions of the fables aloud and have students sort out the various plotlines and determine how they have been integrated together. Trace the archetypal characteristics of the fox or other animals that appear frequently in Aesop’s oeuvre. Choose two or more fables and have youngsters come up with plot scenarios to connect them together.

Wordless except for a few well-timed animal sound effects, Jerry Pinkney’s The Lion & the Mouse (Little, Brown, 2009; PreS-Gr 4) eloquently relates the story through a series of magnificent paintings that depict an African savannah setting with sinuous textures and shimmering hues. Riveting visual perspectives and realistic details convey the courage and compassion of both animals and inspire youngsters to voice their own narration of events.

Mouse & Lion (Scholastic, 2011) pairs Rand Burkert’s expansive and dialogue-rich narrative with Nancy Ekholm Burkert’s exquisitely rendered animals to emphasize the personalities of a skitter-scampering can-do rodent hero and a majestic leonine king. Have children compare the two versions, identify similarities and differences, and discuss how each rendition interprets the characters as well as the tale’s traditional moral.

Take-offs and Twists

Cleverly and often comically reinterpreted, these engaging offerings will have kids consulting and comparing to the originals, and dreaming up their own fractured versions. Margie Palatini and Barry Moser’s Lousy Rotten Stinkin’ Grapes (S&S; 2009; K-Gr 4) introduces a know-it-all fox who enlists the help of various animal friends to concoct a preposterously elaborate plan to put his paws on some succulent but out-of-reach treats, resulting in pratfalls galore and an uproarious comeuppance.

In The Great Race (Walker, 2011; K-Gr 4), Kevin O’Malley’s pun-filled text and droll artwork pit the fleet-footed and annoyingly arrogant rabbit runner, Lever Lapin, against slow but steady everyman, Nate Tortoise, a contest that results in an upset and a groaner of a newspaper headline (and amusingly reinterpreted moral): “Better Nate than Lever.”

Luli Gray’s Ant and Grasshopper (S&S, 2011; K-Gr 4), illustrated in hearth-warmed hues by Giuliano Ferri, expands upon the traditional lesson about the virtues of hard work and value of planning ahead to create an uplifting tale that emphasizes the importance of individuality and empathy. Industrious Ant spends much of his time counting the food items that he has stored away and has no patience for music-loving Grasshopper who would rather play his fiddle than worry about the future. However, when winter falls and Ant opts to share his bounty and his sympathies with the freezing Grasshopper, he realizes that friendship is the greater gift. Both discover that whether one’s talents lie in tallying up beans or singing a tune, “Everybody counts.”

Susan Stevens Crummel and Dorothy Donohue replace the traditional mouse cousins with City Dog, Country Dog (Marshall Cavendish, 2004; K-Gr 4), two pups with very different personalities who share a passion for painting. After meeting at art school, Henri T. Lapooch and Vincent van Dog attempt to maintain their friendship by visiting one another’s homes, but Henri just can’t abide roughing it in the countryside and Vincent has no patience for the fast city life. The two decide to meet at the beach, where they celebrate their camaraderie and revel in the moral, “Vive la différence!”

The upbeat text is seasoned with French terms (presented along with pronunciations and definitions) and the cut-paper collage illustrations incorporate painted references to the work of the real artists upon whom the characters are based, Vincent van Gogh and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. An author’s note about the painters that includes reproductions of their works makes it easy to stretch this tale into a study of art as well as fables.


Up-to-date and Laugh-out-loud Funny

Two books treat these traditional tales with tongue-in-cheek humor and contemporary flair. Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith’s Squids Will Be Squids (Puffin, 1998; Gr 3-6) presents a collection of 18 fables “…that Aesop might have told if here were alive today and sitting in the back of class daydreaming instead of paying attention….” Silly dialogue, familiar school-day details, oddball wisdoms, and off-the-wall artwork abound as beastly characters interact to illustrate such tried-and-true maxims as “He who smelt it, dealt it;” “It takes one to know one;” and “Don’t ever listen to a talking bug.” Irreverent, imaginative, and perfectly tuned to kids’ sensibilities, this zany book will provide an interesting viewpoint along with barrels of laughs.

Classroom extensions abound with fables. Share these tales with your students, and have them draw inferences about morals, using evidence from the stories to demonstrate their mastery of the text. Discuss the animal characters and their behaviors and make comparisons to human characteristics. How does each book’s artwork add to the text and enhance the storytelling tone?

Or, choose two anthologies that retell the same fable and make comparisons between the two versions. How do each author’s narrative voice and each illustrator’s artistic style differ? Have children select a fable to illustrate, act out, or prepare as a presentation on Power Point or another program. Challenge youngsters to try their hand at writing their own selections.

Make the experience multimedia by having students search out additional retellings on online sites such as “Aesop’s Fables,” which presents more than 655 tales (some with audio recording and/or images) or the Library of Congress’s wonderful “Aesop’s Fables Interactive Book” containing more than 140 tales with Milo Winter’s enchanting early 20th-century illustrations and interactive animations, also available as an iOS and Android app.

A fabulous classroom chapter read-aloud, Candace Fleming’s The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School (Random, 2007; Gr 3-5) pairs a bunch of infamously difficult students with the equally quirky and free-thinking Mr. Jupiter (the only teacher willing to take them on). From “The Boy Who Cried Lunch Monitor” to a hare-versus-tortoise-style poetry-memorizing competition, the chapters present updated, cleverly re-imagined fables (complete with morals), all tailored to the classroom setting and adorned with entertainingly exaggerated humor, chuckle-inducing wordplay, and a plethora of puns.

Read aloud the fable that corresponds to each chapter and make comparisons, or challenge older students to identify the Aesop’s tidbit that inspired each scenario. Have youngsters brainstorm adages appropriate to classroom behavior and expectations and then write a fable with a school setting. Check out the author’s website to download an educator’s guide to the book that includes ideas for general explorations of Aesop’s fables. The high jinks—and literary references—continue in The Fabled Fifth Graders of Aesop Elementary School (Random House, 2010.)

Moral: Studying Aesop’s fables today will lead to more-accomplished students tomorrow.

The Common Core State Standards below are a sampling of those references in the above books and classroom activities:

RL. K.1. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
W. K.7. Participate in shared research and writing projects.
RL. 1.9. Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.
RL. 2.9. Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story…by different authors or from different cultures.
RL. 3.2. Recount stories, including fables and folktale from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
RL. 3.7. Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story.
W. 3.3. Write a narrative to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
RL. 4.1. Refer to details and example in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
SL. 4.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions.
RL. 5.7. Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text.
RL. 5.9. Compare and contrast stories in the same genre on their approaches to similar themes and topics.
W. 5.9. Draw evidence from literary of informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
RL. 6.1. Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

For other classic connections, see Joy Fleishhacker’s “Severed Limbs, Devil’s Hairs, and Boys Turned into Beasts.”

Related TeachingBooks.net resources »»»

Hybrid novels–part text, part graphics–have convinced many reluctant readers that library shelves hold books that speak to them. But when these children and teens are ready to take a leap into titles with a bit more text,where do we–and they–go?

The books listed here will provide guidance. They feature clear narratives that quickly draw readers into the action and are supported by snappy dialogue that helps move the stories along. Add to that appealing protagonists, attractive covers, and layouts that feature generous print size and plenty of white space, and bingo, you have something to hand to the hard-to-please. A few series titles and sequels are included to keep them reading once they’re hooked.

Tony Abbott draws on figures from Greek and Norse mythology in the action-packed Underworlds #1: The Battle Begins (101 pp.). When fourth grader Owen Brown’s best friend, Dana, disappears in a puff of smoke, the boy sets out to rescue her, and finds himself in a battle with the immortal gods. Readers not yet ready for Rick Riordan’s books will gravitate to this series, which continues in volumes two and three as the characters take on the Egyptian and Babylonian pantheons (all Scholastic, 2012; Gr 3-6).

Tad is starting a blog, and he has a lot to say–especially about navigating seventh grade. Unfortunately, things have a tendency to go terribly wrong for the 12-year-old in Tim Carvell’s Planet Tad (HarperCollins, 2012: Gr. 5-8; 239 pp.)–his secret admirer was a case of notes put in the wrong locker and his summer job as a human hot dog  turns out to be short-lived when dehydration set in. Humor permeates this laugh-out-loud episodic story illustrated by amusing artwork and emoticons. Introduce this book to the Internet inclined with a trailer.

It wasn’t until Lindsey and Bree played Bloody Mary with an antique mirror that their wish actually came true–with horrifying results–in Annette Cascone and Gina Cascone’s The Witching Game (Starscape, 2012; Gr. 4-7; 182 pp.). The story crackles with tension created by short chapters with cliffhanger endings and a fast-moving plot. (The generous print size is a plus.) Send fans to the other titles in the “Deadtime Stories” series.

In Cecil Castellucci’s First Day On Earth (Scholastic, 2011: Gr. 7-8; 150 pp.) troubled loner Mal is convinced that he was abducted by aliens. At a support group for people who believe they have encountered extraterrestrials, he meets Hooper. Hooper claims to be an alien and asks Mal to drive him into the desert where he will be rescued by a spacecraft. Spare prose lays bare Mal’s feelings of isolation in this moving, and ultimately hopeful, first-person story. The intriguing plot line, accessible language, and short chapters will draw readers in.

In Tom Greenwald’s Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Extra Credit (Roaring Brook, 2012: Gr. 4-7; 264 pp.), the book-adverse middle schooler has to earn extra credit if he is to avoid a reading camp. So, what does he do? He auditions for the school play and models for his art teacher. However, nothing is ever simple for this boy who always seems to take the most difficult route. In guidebook format, he shares the disasters and occasional triumphs of his challenge. Short chapters punctuated by tips from Charlie Joe make this an entertaining title. J.P. Coovert’s black-and-white spot art completes the package in this sequel to Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading (2011).

Sports and international espionage combine to create a thriller with non-stop action and suspense. When Jake accompanies his soccer coach dad on a trip to Russia and people begin to die under suspicious circumstances, the boy begins to wonder whose side his father is on. The use of some soccer terminology won’t deter the less sporty from being swept along with Jake’s adventures in Nick Hale’s Sudden Death (Egmont, 2012: Gr. 5-8; 231 pp.), the first title in the “Striker” series.

Best friends Lydia and Julie go on a cross-country trip with Julie’s dads to visit family members and see the sights in The Rocky Road Trip of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang. (Amulet, 2012: Gr. 3-6; 204 pp.). The complexities of family relationships challenge these smart, funny, unexpectedly wise middle school students, who share their observations with readers in a journal illustrated with appealing full-color art. Rocky Road is the fourth title in Amy Ignatow’s “The Popularity Papers” series.

Fifth-grader Cally’s mother died a year ago, but she has begun to see the woman and a gray dog everywhere in A Dog Called Homeless (HarperCollins, 2012; Gr. 3-6; 198 pp.). To her distress, the girl is unable to convince her father that her mother’s ghost is real. When he and her brother refuse to confront their own grief or hers, Cally stops talking. Through her friendship with Sam, who is blind and deaf, the girl comes to some closure about her loss. Short chapters and an accessible first-person narration make this debut novel by Sarah Lean an enticing selection. An excerpt is available online.

Zander, a student at the Da Vinci School for gifted students and a member of the Cruisers, narrates the story of his friend LaShonda who lives with her autistic brother in a group home. The girl is faced with a painful dilemma: if she accepts the scholarship she’s been offered for costume design, she’ll have to live apart from her sibling. Walter Dean Myers’s conversational writing style, his cast of likeable characters, and his protagonist’s quandary, will attract readers to A Star Is Born (Scholastic, 2012; Gr. 5-8; 160 pp.), the third title in Myers’s “Cruisers” series.

In James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts’s Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (2011), school and family problems get the better of Rafe Khatchadorian. Now in a new environment in Middle School: Get Me Out Of Here (Little, Brown, 2012; Gr. 4-7; 288 pp.), Rafe is committed to turning things around. Humorous cartoon drawings by Linda Park, strong characterizations, and a colloquial style combine to create a hard-to-resist story about a determined boy, who sets out to “get a life.” Patterson and Rafe introduce his story in a YouTube video.

May, an eleven-year-old living on the Nebraska prairie in the 1800s, is sent out as hired labor to help save her family from financial disaster. But when the homesick employer leaves for Ohio, and the woman’s husband follows her, the girl finds herself alone confronted with dwindling food supplies, voracious predators, and a blizzard. Caroline Starr Rose’s masterful, poetic novel, May B (Random, 2012; Gr. 3-6; 240 pp.), will immediately launch readers into the center of its suspenseful narrative.

After Esme’s boyfriend Kevin disappears following the death of his parents in an airplane crash, she and Kevin’s friend Luca go to Panama to search for him in Jeff Ross’s Dawn Patrol (Orca, 2012: Gr. 5-8; 146 pp.). When Luca is nearly killed while surfing, the two realize that the situation is more complicated—and dangerous—than they realized. Non-stop action and a minimum of description make for a compelling read.

For nonfiction titles for reluctant readers, see Paula Willey’s Amazing But True Tales | Nonfiction for Reluctant Readers. For a list of hybrid novels, see Sue Giffard’s “Middle-Grade Tell Alls: Wimpy Kid Read-alikes.”

Related TeachingBooks.net resources »»»

Listen to Michael Hearst introduce and read from Unusual Creatures

Michael Hearst makes his children’s book debut with Unusual Creatures (Chronicle, October, 2012). His definition of said species? “An animal that looks, sounds, smells, or acts in a way that makes you stop and say, ‘Whoa, dude!’ What’s up with that?” Here Hearst discusses this highly visual look at animals from around the globe and his fascination with these offbeat creatures.

How did you arrive at the 50 animals in the book?

It was tricky. I’d constantly jot down animals I learned or read about. I’d mention the book to friends and family, and people would say, “What about this animal? Have you heard of this one?” With 5200 species listed, I had to whittle it down for the book. If there’s a sequel, I have more.

Unusual Creatures (Hearst)
© 2012 by Noordeman

There’s a nice balance of the air, land, and sea animals….

I released my album, “Songs for Unusual Creatures,” first, so I knew I wanted to include those 14 animals. Looking at my selection, I tried to see if there were too many of one or the other—amphibians, reptiles, etc.,…it wasn’t as easy to find unusual birds!

How did you decide on the narrative voice? There’s lots of information—and humor—here.

It’s just me. It’s not different from my conversation with you right now. I wrote this book to entertain myself. The book was originally pitched [as an adult title]. I’m 8 going on 40. I’ve come to grips with it.

You approach the factoids through poems, “platyfacts,” pop quizzes, etc. How did this happen?

When I was in junior high in Virginia Beach, VA, I loved to flip through Ripley’s [Believe it or Not!], which had information in diagrams and bubbles. That was something I wanted to go for. Do you remember safari cards? They had an animal on the front, with a section highlighted and scientific classifications. I sent my designers [Arjen Noordeman and Christie Wright] a package of them, as a reference.

The design of the book is really distinctive.

I’ve worked with Arjen Noordeman and Christie Wright on several projects over the years. Because I had already done the Unusual Creatures CD with them, I had to negotiate authorship and packaging. I wrote all the text for an animal and sent them instructions, such as: “Here’s where I want the animal to be, a bubble, here, a factoid in the lower right hand corner with this info,” and they took over.

Unusual Creatures (Hearst)
© 2012 by Noordeman

You make extreme facts easy for kids to relate to, such as the bee hummingbird’s ability to drink eight times its body mass as equivalent to “if you or I drank four bathtubs full of water every day.”

I owe that to my wife. She was constantly reminding me, “Put that into perspective for a kid.”

And in the book you’re not afraid to say that you—and scientists—aren’t sure why something exists in nature.

At the book release last month, someone asked me about the hagfish. Is it in the fish family, or is it in the eel family? I didn’t know, I said, “Let’s look it up.” It’s not in either, as it turns out; it’s in its own family. A skull with no spine. The truth is, a lot of these species were dead ends.

Unusual Creatures (Hearst)
© 2012 by Noordeman

So, what’s your favorite animal?

There are a few I really have become attached to. I went down to the Lemur Center in North Carolina to work on a film about the aye-ayes. They were so fascinating to me. I kept looking at the slow loris [nearby] and completely fell in love with them. They’re slower than a sloth. To reach out and grab a piece of food takes them three minutes. Then they come slowly back, place the food in their mouth and chew.

The [inclusion of] the anteater in the book was the result of conversations with Maia Weinstock, [she had a picture of Salvador Dali with his giant anteater] who sold me on the animal, plus the fact that they line up with their young and walk on their knuckles.

TeachingBook.net resources on this interview »»»

Listen to Michael Hearst introduce and read from Unusual Creatures

A Picture-Book Biography in Spanish

My Name Is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz / Me llamo Celia: La vida de Celia Cruz (illus. by Rafael López, Luna Rising, 2004)

Listen to Monica Brown’s story about Celia Cruz in the singer’s native tongue.

A French Canadian Classic

The Hockey Sweater (illus.by Sheldon Cohen, House of Anansi Press, 1979)

Experience Roch Carrier’s story in French, as read by the author.

An Ojibwe Young Reader Book

Awesiinyensag: Dibaajimowinan Ji-Gikinoo’amaageng (by Anton Treuer et al., illus. by Wesley Ballinger, Wiigwaas Press, 2010)

Hear Anton Treuer describe the collaborative effort behind this unique title.

An Early Reader 

Benny and Penny in the Big No-No! (Toon Books, 2009)

Tune in to Julie Chung and Yixin Zhang as they read Geoffrey Hayes’s popular book in Mandarin Chinese.

A Puerto Rican Classic

Juan Bobo Sends the Pig to Mass (as told by Arí Acevedo-Feliciano, illus. by Tom Wrenn, August House Story Cove, 2008)

Watch this animated video as Denise Arribas narrates a story about the beloved fool.

A French-language winner of the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award

La saison des pluies (Soulières éditeur, 2011)

Listen to author Mario Brassard introduce and read from his celebrated title.

 A Graphic Novel in Russian

Little Mouse Gets Ready (Toon Books, 2009)

Listen to Elena Makarov’s reading of Jeff Smith’s Little Mouse in Russian.

A Bilingual Spanish/English Folktale

Tell Me a Cuento / Cuéntame un story (as told by Joe Hayes, illus. by Geronimo Garcia, Cinco Puntos Press, 1998)

Hear storyteller Joe Hayes’s fluid bilingual rendition of this tale.

Nick Glass and Carin Bringelson would love to hear about your favorite bilingual stories. Write to them at nick@TeachingBooks.net.

What is reassuring is that we know that children of all ages can think critically about the world in creative ways, particularly when they are given robust and developmentally appropriate texts as part of a well-crafted, student-centered curriculum. These specific groupings of books or multimodal digital texts are referred to as clusters, or text sets. Situating students within the context of a text cluster allows librarians and teachers to use their collections in new ways. Teachers already have tried-and-true books and can use their library to build outward—moving from highlighting a single text to using a text cluster.

Not only do clusters offer an opportunity to differentiate reading, they create a synergy within the curriculum, allowing students to consider multiple perspectives. When readers see that knowledge is not fixed, that there is no single way to represent an idea, a literary theme, a historical event, or a scientific concept, they see the role of the author in new and exciting ways. When given the opportunity to pen their own works, they can apply what they have learned about a variety of different genres and text types.

Text clusters, or text sets, offer rich opportunities in science, language arts, social studies, and the related arts such as music and art. Here are specific ways to use clusters in your library and classroom, and in your work with grade-level teams.

Clustering Concepts: Ecosystems

Text clusters can be used as a tool to teach science content standards as well as the Common Core State Standards for language arts and content literacy. Let’s say you are working with a third grade teacher who is teaching ecosystems or animal habitats. Most likely, your library has a variety of books on different ecosystems and animal habitats to support student inquiry. But to explore that topic with a tighter focus, and model the thinking across texts, the unit could launch with an exploration of how ecosystems change over time.

First, recommend that the teacher read aloud Joyce Sidman’s Song of the Water Boatman (Houghton Mifflin, 2005), illustrated by Beckie Prange. Moving from spring to winter, the book carries readers through four seasons in the life cycle of a pond. On each spread a poem, a nonfiction paragraph, and a woodcut illustration can be found.

Follow that title with the nonfiction picture storybook The Wolves are Back (Penguin, 2008) by Jean Craighead George, about the restoration of wolves in Yellowstone National Park. Students will understand what happens when one animal is removed from an ecosystem, and how that ecosystem shifts its balance when the animal returns.

Finally, the class could explore Thomas F. Yezerski’s Meadowlands (Farrar, 2011), an illustrated history of the wetlands region in northern New Jersey. In small groups, children can discuss how an entire ecosystem can suffer extensive damage and yet manage to rebuild itself over time. Each of these titles offers a different perspective and models a different text structure (poems and paragraphs; narrative; exposition) that youngsters can reference as they they compose in response to the study.

Clustering Biographies: Powerful Pairs and Triplets

Since biographies of the famous and infamous are abundant and ever increasing, it’s easy to put together “bio-clusters.” Start small with two titles that can be compared, and then build larger collections of books, and primary and secondary sources (photographs, prints, letters, newspaper articles, maps, political cartoons). Here are a couple of book clusters to get started.

Powerful Pairs: Beginning with Biographies

The CCSStandards call for us to begin comparing two texts on the same topic with students as early as kindergarten. Picture books are a good place to start because it’s easy for young readers to spot the differences in illustrated works. Using biographies about the same person is one way to show children that informational texts on the same topic are not the same.

For example, two picture books about Jane Goodall, can be used to highlight different approaches to the same information. That is, not all authors select the identical information to spotlight. Me…Jane (Little, Brown, 2011) written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell ends with a young Jane Goodall going to sleep and dreaming of her future on the continent of Africa where she studies animals. When readers turn the page, Goodall, wakes up as an adult. The dream has been realized.

In contrast, Jeanette Winter’s The Watcher (Random, 2011), children receive a fuller story of how Goodall saved her money, traveled to Africa, and met the scientist Louis Leakey. It was Leakey who suggested that Goodall study chimpanzees in Tanzania.

Both books also provide unique kinds of visual information. Me…Jane contains actual writing and illustrations by the young Goodall, who as a girl, organized a group called The Alligator Society. The Watcher presents pictures of Goodall’s early life in small, tightly framed images. In contrast, once the woman begins working with chimpanzees, the pictures burst out of their frames and become two-page spreads. Her joy and sense of the freedom are obvious.

Terrific Triplets: A Cluster of Biographies

In books for older readers, bio-clusters raise additional questions about how history is written. The following titles bring readers face to face with contradictory information. In Amelia Lost (Random, 2011) author Candace Fleming casts doubt on Earhart’s claim that she saw her first airplane at the 1908 Iowa State Fair when she was 11 years old. According to Fleming’s research, there were no planes in Iowa at that time. She suggests that the aviatrix fabricated stories to suit an image she wanted to project.

Two other books, Amelia Earhart (Abrams, 2008), by Shelley Tanaka, and Corinne Szabo’s photobiography, Sky Pioneer (National Geographic, 1997), report that Earhart saw a plane at the fair as fact. The authors of these titles relied on Earhart’s own writings. Here is an opportunity to discuss with students that the sources authors consult can matter and that they may present conflicting information.

This cluster presents many additional opportunities to make comparisons. There are differences in text organization, visual information, theme, and more. Using these books, educators can initiate important conversations about craft and structure, the use of evidence to support ideas, and point-of-view.

Professional Sources Can Guide You

There are many ways to use text clusters or text sets in the library and in the classroom. What we have offered is a mere starting point. Professional resources are available to provide additional guidance as you begin working with clusters.

Eds. Note- two of the authors of this article have written relevant texts on the subject.

Myra Zarnowski’s History Makers (Heinemann, 2003) outlines how to compare biographies using such criteria as accuracy, style, illustration, theme, and selection and interpretation of information. A data chart is provided for gathering information and student samples show how it is done. In Making Sense of History (Scholastic, 2006) Zarnowski describes a hands-on approach for learning about multiple perspectives in history books.

For an up-to-date source on planning with clusters of nonfiction material, see Mary Ann Cappiello & Erika Thulin Dawes’s Teaching with Text Sets (Shell Education, 2012). This book describes innovative ways to incorporate nonfiction literature, as well as other genres, in the classroom while achieving CCSS and content standards. It provides both ready-to-use ideas and guidance for developing your own units of study using specific text models.