Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives focuses on Edison’s legacy. Learn about his many inventions in Spoken Arts Media’s DVD version of the book by Gene Barretta.
Pick of the Day: Nelson Mandela | DVD
By on September 6, 2013 Leave a Comment
Kadir Nelson’s evocative biography of Nelson Mandela receives stellar treatment in this exceptional DVD presentation from Weston Woods. Forest Whitaker’s rich voice reads the story with background music and crowd sound effects that draw viewers in. Be sure to read the starred review.
Pick of the Day: Constitution USA with Peter Sagal | DVD
By on September 3, 2013 Leave a Comment
Constitution USA with Peter Sagal broadly examines our Constitution in both historical and contemporary contexts in a manner that will transfix viewers. Check out the starred review.
Tattoos, a Funeral Home, and a Cat Named Bob
By on September 3, 2013
Three new memoirs make the most of teen-friendly subject matter. First, a celebrity memoir by Don Ed Hardy, the man who helped bring tattoo art into the mainstream. Hardy knew from the age of 10, when he was using colored pencils to give his friends “tattoos,” what he wanted to do with his life. He [...]
Pick of the Day: Orphan Train Rider (Audio)
By on August 29, 2013 Leave a Comment
In Orphan Train Rider: One Boy’s True Story, Andrea Warren tells about the amazing and often tragic westward journey of more than 200,000 children between 1854 and 1930 in search of families. Be sure to read the review of the audiobook narrated by Laura Hicks.
Review of the Day: Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
By on August 28, 2013
Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table By Jacqueline Briggs Martin Illustrated by Eric-Shabazz Larkin Readers to Eaters Books ISBN: 978-0-9836615-3-5 $17.95 Ages 4-8 On shelves September 10th It shouldn’t be this hard. You walk to a biography section of a children’s room, any children’s room, and you start searching for biographies of living people [...]
Pick of the Day: A Black Hole Is NOT a Hole (Audio)
By on August 23, 2013 Leave a Comment
Gravity, quasars, the formation of black holes, and the meaning of event horizon are just some of the ideas covered in the impressive scope of Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano’s A Black Hole Is NOT a Hole. Be sure to read the review of the audiobook version.
On the Come Up and Giveaway
By on August 21, 2013
Although the review of On the Come Up: A Novel Based on a True Story by Hannah Weyer was posted on AB4T several weeks ago, I am reposting today in conjunction with the publication of my interview with the author, which is available in the SLJ Teen Newsletter (and briefly on the SLJ homepage) today. Weyer [...]
Review: My Friend Dahmer
By on August 20, 2013
My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf. Abrams Comic Arts. 2012. Personal copy. Graphic Novel. Alex Award Winner. It’s About: A graphic novel memoir by Derf Backderf, a classmate of Jeffrey Dahmer. This is not the story of a serial killer; it is a look at the childhood and teen years of Jeffrey Dahmer, before his [...]
Interview: Nathan Hale on The Donner Dinner Party
By on August 19, 2013
Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales books are a cheeky take on American history, but they are also sophisticated graphic storytelling that help bring the events to life in ways that simple prose could not. His latest book, The Donner Dinner Party, takes on a subject that has horrified and fascinated the public since it happened and [...]
Tough Cookies Who Changed the Course of History | Nonfiction Booktalker
By on August 12, 2013 1 Comment
Stories of strong, determined women who changed the course of history make amazing subjects for booktalks. Elizabeth Blackwell, Louisa May Alcott, and Clara Lemlich are just a few of the tough cookies with indomitable spirit who persevered in the face of adversity, achieved their goals, and became role models for others. They are featured in three recently released books that are perfect for booktalking.
Fighting for Their Lives
By on August 7, 2013
Earlier this year, on my personal blog, I talked about how I had been reading a lot about crime, and specifically about wrongful convictions and the Innocence Project. So when I saw the subtitle of Susannah Sheffer’s book, I assumed that there would be quite a bit about defense attorneys fighting to prove their clients’ [...]
Informational Text: Recommended Books, Suggested Strategies
By on July 31, 2013
It’s all too easy to dismiss colorful, fun books of this sort, with their brief chunks of text and apparently oversized photos, as merely motivational in nature.
Weekly Reviews: The Power of Words
By on July 17, 2013
Why do some words have more power than others? Today we look at two very different ways of looking at that crucial question. The first, Melissa Mohr’s Holy Shit, is an earnest, well-researched history of the most powerful words in the English language: curse words. Some people (for example, me) have tried to claim that [...]
Review: Pet Sounds
By on July 11, 2013
Pet Sounds: New and Improved Stories From the QC Report by Quinn Cummings. Quinella Media USA. 2013. Review copy from author. It’s summer, so time for another “vacation reads” book. It’s About: Pets. Cats, dogs, rabbits, even a lizard. The Good: Let me be honest. I am not a pet person by nature. I am, instead, [...]
Linguistics and Teens
By on July 10, 2013
In just two weeks, Manchester, UK will be hosting the 11th annual International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL), an international competition for high school students to show off their skills in linguistic puzzles. The puzzles require no knowledge of specific languages, and sometimes use invented languages. Instead, the teens use logic and their general linguistic knowledge. Here’s [...]
Book Review: Preschool to Grade 4 Nonfiction | July 2013
By on July 1, 2013 Leave a Comment
“Korean Nursery Rhymes” and the Pinkneys’ “Martin & Mahalia”.
Book Review: Grades 5 & Up Nonfiction | July 2013
By on July 1, 2013 Leave a Comment
Navigating school successfully, a global perspective on bikes, “The Hatfields & the McCoys”.
Notes from The Nonfiction Dialogue Stickler of Doom
By on June 20, 2013
Review: Rapture Practice
By on June 20, 2013
Rapture Practice by Aaron Hartzler. Little, Brown & Co. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. It’s About: Aaron Hartzler’s memoir about growing up in an ultra-religious Christian family. It is funny; touching; rebellious; believing; and loving. The Good: I have a bit of a fascination with religion, especially those that say they have the answers. [...]
