Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives. DVD. 17:22 min. Spoken Arts. 2013. ISBN 0-8045-8140-1. $50; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 0-8045-4239-2: $29.95.
Gr 2–6–Thomas Alva Edison and his inventive mind had a huge impact on society, perhaps more than most people realize. This is the focus of Gene Barretta’s book (Holt, 2012.) In the DVD, the author provides a live-action introduction, taking viewers toEdison’s workshop and showing many of his inventions. This provides a nice segue into the book itself, which is read by Steve Chiamadia while Barretta’s warm and humorous cartoon illustrations are scanned iconographically. The presentation is fascinating because it focuses less onEdison’s life than on his legacy. AtEdison’s lab, students are introduced to an invention and then shown how it impacts us today. The connections that are made are enlightening as viewers learn how Edison was instrumental in the technology that led to modern-day movies, batteries, tattoos, vending machines, and much more. Barretta also emphasizes the work involved, and howEdisonlearned from his failures as well as his successes. This fascinating presentation provides unique insights and thought-provoking connections.–Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary,Federal Way, WA

ConstitutionUSAwith Peter Sagal. 2 DVDs. 4 hrs. Prod. by TPT National Prods. and Insignia Films. Dist. by PBS Dist. 2013. ISBN 978-1-60883-901-8. $29.99.
Gr 9 Up–Sagal, the find-humor-in-our-everyday-lives NPR host, broadly examines our Constitution in both historical and contemporary contexts in a manner that will transfix viewers. Metaphorically traversing the country on a red, white, and blue Harley-Davidson, his goal is to recount the perspective of the document’s development as well as to examine it in terms of today’s critical issues. “A More Perfect Union,” the first segment, describes the intriguing manner in which our federal system of government was determined and issues facing us today as a result of federal, state, and local control questions. “It’s a Free Country” studies the Bill of Rights, and the controversies surrounding those individual freedoms in today’s society are detailed. The Fourteenth Amendment, passed after the Civil War to guarantee equal protection for individuals and groups, and its subsequent landmark impact is the focus of “Created Equal.” Finally, Sagal leads a discussion about the vitality of this remarkable document from the perspective of the 21st-century social and political milieu in “Built to Last.” The nicely paced presentation uses a variety of presentation techniques, such as graphics and humor, to connect with today’s students. There’s also an effective balance of commentary from constitutional scholars as well as ordinary citizens impacted by this document. Several bonus sections add to its usefulness, particularly commentary by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Each chapter includes the scene selection option. English language subtitles and a Spanish language audio are optional. Both classroom teachers and media professionals will find this a popular addition to every school’s collection.–Dwain Thomas, formerlyLakeParkHigh School,Roselle,IL

A Black Hole Is NOT a Hole. By Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano. CD. 1:17 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape. 2013. ISBN 978-0-8041-2181-1. $15.
Gr 5-7–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 this book (Charlesbridge, 2012). DeCristofano does a commendable job of introducing concepts that are difficult to visualize and making them accessible by providing examples with which students can identify. For example, the type of snow used in snowballs helps describe density of matter and whirlpools are used to explain the pull of black holes. Many scientists and their work are introduced including Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Grote Reber, a pioneer of the radio telescope. Ideas like a black hole being lumpy or smooth depending on the collapsing star it comes from and the concept of “spaghettification,” the stretching out of objects, will intrigue students. The author’s conversational tone and infusion of humor will hook listeners. Maxell Glick, Tara Sands, and Everette Plen provide well-paced narration; Plen makes occasional comic quips. There’s a four-page glossary at the end that provides succinct definitions. Make sure to have the book available so listeners can peruse the illustrations, diagrams, charts, and photos.–C. A. Fehmel,St. LouisCounty Library, MO

In the 1840s, Elizabeth Blackwell decided to become a physician after an ailing female friend confided that she wished she could have been examined by a woman doctor. Tanya Lee Stone’s Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors?: The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell (illustrated by Marjorie Priceman; Holt, 2013) reminds us that this was unheard of at the time. Shocking! Horrifying! What was she thinking? Blackwell applied to medical schools and was summarily turned down by 28 of them. She was accepted by her 29th choice—the medical school in Geneva, New York. When Blackwell arrived for classes, she learned that her acceptance had been voted on by the male students, who thought the whole thing was a joke.

But Blackwell toughed it out. Eventually, she graduated at the top of her class, but still had to land a job, which proved just as difficult as getting into medical school. As Stone says, “Being a doctor was definitely not an option [for women]. What do you think changed all that?” Blackwell did, of course. Although intended for elementary school readers, you can also share this simple book with high school students who will be shocked by the obstacles that Blackwell had to face. Also, tell them that today more than half of all medical students are women.

Women had to be plain, strong, and unmarried to serve as nurses in the Civil War, Kathleen Krull tells readers in Louisa May’s Battle: How the Civil War Led to Little Women (illustrated by Carlyn Beccia; Walker, 2013). Thirty-year-old Alcott met those requirements. However, up until that moment, she had not succeeded at fulfilling her own prophecy, written at age 15: “I shall be rich and famous and happy before I die, see if I won’t!” An abolitionist, Louisa traveled to Washington, DC, to work in a hospital, tending to the Union soldiers who suffered horrible wounds and disfigurements. The experience lasted only a few weeks, but it changed her life forever. Alcott caught typhoid in the filthy hospital and was sent home to recover.

The future novelist continued to reflect on that period of her life, writing about it in her letters and her journals. She realized she could use that experience in her fiction writing as well. The first volume of Alcott’s Little Women, one of the first novels set during the Civil War, was published in 1868 and became a huge hit. “By the time Louisa was thirty-six, it made all of her dreams come true!” And by the time she died, the woman who had lived in poverty for most of her life was making the modern equivalent of $2 million a year.

Clara Lemlich couldn’t even speak English, let alone write it, when she arrived in America from Ukraine. Michelle Markel’s Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 (pictures by Melissa Sweet; HarperCollins, 2013) tells the ultimately joyful story about the tiny immigrant who attended school at night, earned meager wages, and worked under ghastly conditions in a garment factory. Determined to change it all, Lemlich led a huge walkout of women workers, inciting them in her native Yiddish. While her male colleagues were afraid to follow suit, the young champion urged a general strike, which eventually enabled many workers to unionize.

When discussing these biographies, I urge my booktalk audience to do what I do when something intrigues me: dig in, investigate, and find out more. I discovered that Blackwell wrote about the various men she met. Lemlich lived a long life as a union activist, and when she entered the Jewish Home for the Aged in the 1960s, she encouraged the workers to organize. Although these informational books were written for younger children, they will pique the interest of readers of all ages.

Digger, Dozer, Dumper (Vestergaard)
©2013 by David Slonim

FLOCA, Brian. Locomotive. illus. by author. 64p. diags. maps. notes. S & S/Atheneum/Richard Jackson Bks. Sept. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-9415-2; ebook $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-8522-8.
Gr 3-5–It all started with “a new road of rails/made for people to ride” where “covered wagons used to crawl.” Almost 150 years ago–just after the Civil War–the completion of the transcontinental railway radically changed both this country’s landscape and the opportunities of its people. The book traces the advent of cross-country train travel, focusing on an early trip from Omaha to Sacramento. As in Moonshot (2009) and Lightship (2007, both S & S), Floca proves himself masterful with words, art, and ideas. The book’s large format offers space for a robust story in a hefty package of information. Set in well-paced blank verse, the text begins with a quick sketch of “how this road was built” and moves abruptly to the passengers on the platform and the approaching train. The author smoothly integrates descriptions of the structure and mechanics of the locomotive, tasks of crew members, passing landscapes, and experiences of passengers. Simply sketched people and backgrounds, striking views of the locomotive, and broad scenes of unpopulated terrain are framed in small vignettes or sweep across the page. Though a bit technical in explaining engine parts, the travelogue scheme will read aloud nicely and also offers absorbing details for leisurely personal reading. Substantial introductory and concluding sections serve older readers. There’s also a detailed explanation of the author’s efforts and sources in exploring his subject. Train buffs and history fans of many ages will find much to savor in this gorgeously rendered and intelligent effort.–Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

PINKNEY, Andrea Davis. Martin & Mahalia: His Words, Her Song. illus. by Brian Pinkney. 40p. chron. discography. further reading. Little, Brown. Aug. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-316-07013-3. LC 2012005499.
Gr 2-4–As in Sit-In (Little, Brown, 2010), the Pinkneys present important figures and a pivotal moment during the Civil Rights Movement in a fresh and visually compelling manner. Readers are invited to follow a path and a dove throughout–both images being rich in multiple meanings. The narrative starts with Martin Luther King, Jr.’s upbringing, which trained him to speak the gospel. Rendered in cool blues and greens, the fluid watercolor and ink compositions are less about capturing a likeness than conveying the charisma and soul of this preacher. Mahalia Jackson is portrayed in warm oranges and reds. (When together, purples envelope the pair.) Readers learn that she sang the gospel, from church choirs to recordings, and performances for presidents. Overlaid with ribbons of key words and rounded lines suggesting ripples from the characters’ auras, the pictures provide emotional content for the author’s smart and stylized descriptions. This fascinating new lens for children on the often-depicted “Dream” speech during the March on Washington reveals how Jackson’s powerful voice stilled the crowds for King’s: “She rolled her brass and butter with a MIGHTY DOSE OF THUNDER.” Author and artist indicate how, in the call-and-response manner so familiar to both, it was Jackson who admonished King to, “TELL THEM ABOUT YOUR DREAM, MARTIN!” Ideas and fervor build and important phrases appear in bold colors. Historical context and artistic inspirations wrap up this informative approach to the two icons and the effect of their partnership on history.–Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library

VESTERGAARD, Hope. Digger, Dozer, Dumper. illus. by David Slonim. 32p. Candlewick. Aug. 2013. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5078-0. LC 2012947724.
PreS-Gr 2–These delightful, finely crafted, informative, fun verses can serve as Common Core exemplar texts while satisfying truck and poetry fans. Each rig’s function is described with great care and attention to language with seamless rhymes, alliteration, and assonance gracing the selections. Nothing seems forced about Vestergaard’s rhymes; they’re smooth and sure, and easy to set to memory: “After the asphalt’s dumped and spread/in sticky, long black lines,/the road must cure. You can be sure…/Steamroller’s close behind….” About the cherry picker, Vestergaard writes, “The picker pauses in the sky,/plucks its target,/then…/gently, slowly, gracefully, sets it down again,” and in a tour-de-force ending: “digger, dozer, dumper, grader/backhoe, roller, excavator/….” Each poem is presented on a spread with lighthearted acrylic and charcoal illustrations that often include a girl and two boys of various hues and a yellow hard-hat-wearing pup, as well as the rigs themselves with hints of personification in their headlight eyes. There are 16 machines in all: garbage truck, forklift, street sweeper, and so on. The cartoon children are depicted operating the machines, but the final illustration reverses the relationship of object to child; suddenly the children are quite big and their trucks are small and handheld. This book is intelligent and informative, with craft, rhythm, great art, and entertainment.–Teresa Pfeifer, The Springfield Renaissance School, Springfield, MA

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

Preschool to Grade 4 Nonfiction

CLAFLIN, Willy. The Bully Goat Grim: A Maynard Moose Tale. illus. by James Stimson. 32p. glossary. w/CD. August Little Folk. 2013. Tr $18.95. ISBN 978-087483-952-4. LC 2012008626.

COLEMAN, Janet Wyman. Eight Dolphins of Katrina: A True Tale of Survival. illus. by Yan Nascimbene. 40p. bibliog. photos. Houghton Harcourt. Aug. 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-71923-8.

CUMMINS, Julie. Flying Solo: How Ruth Elder Soared into America’s Heart. illus. by Malene R. Laugesen. 32p. bibliog. further reading. websites. Roaring Brook. July 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-509-4. LC 2012029743.

DEMIR, Cengiz. Tales from Nasreddin Hodja. tr. from Turkish by Serdar Aşlar. illus. by Öznur Kalendar. 144p. Tughra Books. 2013. pap. $12.95. ISBN 978-1-59784-285-3.

FORD, Bernette. reteller. Little Red Riding Hood. illus. by Tom Knight. 32p. (A Story House Book Series). Boxer Bks. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-907967-38-2.

GORDON, Nick. Army Night Stalkers. ISBN 978-1-60014-874-3. LC 2012032062.
––––. Marine Corps Force Recon. ISBN 978-1-60014-875-0. LC 2012032050.
––––.Marine Expeditionary Units. ISBN 978-1-60014-876-7. LC 2012032984.
ea vol: 24p. (Epic: U.S. Military Series). further reading. glossary. index. photos. websites. Bellwether Media. 2013. PLB $22.95.

HAMILTON, John. A-10 Thunderbolt II. ISBN 978-1-61783-685-5. LC 2012946022.
––––.AC-130H/U Gunship. ISBN 978-1-61783-686-2. LC 20129945705.
––––.B-52 Stratofortress. ISBN 978-1-61783-687-9. LC 2012945706.
––––.F-22 Raptor. ISBN 978-1-61783-688-6. LC 2012945865.
––––.UH-60 Black Hawk. ISBN 978-1-61783-689-3. LC 2012045707.
ea vol: 32p. (Xtreme Military Aircraft Set 2 Series). glossary. index. photos. ABDO. 2013. PLB $27.07.

HENEGHAN, Judith. Love Your Cat. ISBN 978-1-4777-0184-3. LC 2012026234.
––––.Love Your Dog. ISBN 978-1-4777-0185-0. LC 2012026233.
––––.Love Your Hamster. ISBN 978-1-4777-0186-7. LC 2012026641.
––––.Love Your Rabbit. ISBN 978-1-4777-0187-4. LC 2012026642.
ea vol: 32p. (Your Perfect Pet Series). glossary. index. photos. websites. Windmill. 2013. PLB $25.25.

HOLLAND, Mary. Ferdinand Fox’s First Summer. 32p. Sylvan Dell. 2013. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-60718-614-4; pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-1-60718-626-7; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-60718-638-0. LC 2012030121.

JOSLIN, Mary. reteller. The Lion Classic Wisdom Stories. illus. by Christina Balit. 128p. Lion Children’s Books. 2013. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-0-7459-6369-3.

KIM, Young-Ah. Some Days Are Lonely. tr. from Korean. illus. by Ji-Soo Shin. 32p. Magination. 2013. Tr $14.95. ISBN 978-1-4338-1287-3; pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-1-4338-1288-0. LC 2012035886.

LEPPANEN, Debbie. Trick-or-Treat: A Happy Haunter’s Halloween. illus. by Tad Carpenter. 40p. S & S/Beach Lane. Aug. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3398-4; ebook $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3399-1. LC 2012004906.

LEWIN, Ted. What Am I? Where Am I? illus. by author. 32p. (I Like to Read Series). Holiday House. Sept. 2013. RTE $14.95. ISBN 978-0-8234-2856-4. LC 2012039289.

LYON, George Ella. Planes Fly! illus. by Mick Wiggins. 40p. S & S/Atheneum/Richard Jackson Bks. July 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5025-7; ebook $12.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-5026-4. LC 2012030310.

MINOR, Florence. If You Were a Panda Bear. illus. by Wendell Minor. 32p. further reading. glossary. websites. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen. July 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-195090-2.

NUNES, Shiho S. Chinese Fables: “The Dragon Slayer” and Other Timeless Tales of Wisdom. illus. by Lak-Khee Tay-Audouard. 64p. Tuttle. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8048-4152-8. LC 2012029059.

OWEN, Ruth. Arctic Foxes. ISBN 978-1-4777-0222-2; ISBN 978-1-4777-0240-6. LC 2012026936.
––––.Beluga Whales. ISBN 978-1-4777-0221-5; ISBN 978-1-4777-0239-0. LC 2012026640.
––––.Musk Oxen. ISBN 978-1-4777-0219-2; ISBN 978-1-4777-0237-6. LC 2012020685.
––––.Puffins. ISBN 978-1-4777-0224-6; ISBN 978-1-4777-0242-0.
––––.Snowy Owls. ISBN 978-1-4777-0223-9; ISBN 978-1-4777-0241-3.
––––.Walruses. ISBN 978-1-4777-0220-8; ISBN 978-1-4777-0238-3. LC 2012025846.
ea vol: 32p. (Polar Animals: Life in the Freezer Series). further reading. glossary. index. maps. photos. websites. Windmill. 2013. PLB $25.25; ebook $25.25.

PIVEN, Hanoch. Let’s Make Faces. illus. by author. 40p. S & S/Atheneum. Aug. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-1532-4; ebook ISBN 978-1-4424-8186-2.

POLISAR, Barry Louis. Something Fishy. illus. by David Clark. 32p. glossary. Rainbow Morning Music. 2013. Tr $14.95. ISBN 978-0-938663-53-9.

ROSE, Deborah Lee & Susan Kelly. Jimmy the Joey: The True Story of an Amazing Koala Rescue. photos by Susan Kelly. 32p. further reading. maps. websites. National Geographic. July 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-4263-1371-4; PLB $25.90. ISBN 978-1-4263-1372-1.

SHAPIRO, David. Tool. Time. Twist.: A Brief History of Tools Through Time. illus. by Christopher Herndon. 48p. Craigmore Creations. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-9844422-7-0.

WEGERIF, Gay. Up Close. illus. by author. 30p. Abrams/Appleseed. 2013. BD $12.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0391-1.

WHEELER, Jill C. Dav Pilkey. ISBN 978-1-61783-577-3; ISBN 978-1-61480-724-7. LC 2012946383.
––––.Rick Riordan. ISBN 978-1-61783-578-0; ISBN 978-1-61480-725-4. LC 2012946385.
––––.Yuyi Morales. ISBN 978-1-61783-576-6; ISBN 978-1-61480-723-0. LC 2012946367.
ea vol: 24p. (Children’s Authors Series). glossary. index. photos. reprods. websites. ABDO. 2013. PLB $17.95; ebook $17.95.

WILD, Margaret. The Dream of the Thylacine. illus. by Ron Brooks. 32p. photos. Trafalgar Square. 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-1-74237-383-6.

WINTERS, Kari-Lynn. Buzz About Bees. 32p. charts. diags. further reading. glossary. illus. index. maps. photos. Fitzhenry & Whiteside. 2013. RTE $19.95. ISBN 978-1-55455-202-3.

WORTH, Bonnie. Hark! A Shark!: All About Sharks. illus. by Aristides Ruiz. 48p. (The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library Series). further reading. glossary. illus. Random. 2013. Tr $8.99. ISBN 978-0-375-87073-6; PLB $12.99. ISBN 978-0-375-97073-3. LC 2011048247.

WRIGHT, Danielle, ed. Korean Nursery Rhymes: Wild Geese, Land of Goblins and Other Favorite Songs and Rhymes. tr. by Jenny Wang Medina, Binna Lee et al. illus. by Helen Acraman. 32p. w/CD. Tuttle. 2013. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8048-4227-3. LC 2012029066.

YOLEN, Jane. Wee Rhymes: Baby’s First Poetry Book. illus. by Jane Dyer. 112p. index. S & S/Paula Wiseman Bks. 2013. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-4898-8. LC 2012015136.

For all the latest reviews in this subject area and more, check out our new Book Verdict site! Book Verdict is fully accessible to all users, though certain content and functionality are only available to subscribers.To log in to your account, click here. To view the new subscription options, Get Started With Book Verdict ProToday.Don’t know if you have an account with us? It’s easy to check and verify your email, or create a new account.

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

Grades 5 & Up Nonfiction

ALOIAN, Molly. George Washington: Hero of the American Revolution. ISBN 978-0-7787-0799-8.
––––.Phillis Wheatley: Poet of the Revolutionary Era. ISBN 978-0-7787-0803-2.
COCCA, Lisa Colozza. Marquis de Lafayette: Fighting for America’s Freedom. ISBN 978-0-7787-0802-5.
ROBERTS, Steve. King George III: England’s Struggle to Keep America. ISBN 978-0-7787-0800-1.
ea vol: 48p. (Understanding the American Revolution Series). bibliog. chron. further reading. glossary. index. maps. photos. reprods. websites. Crabtree. 2013. PLB $30.60.

CORNIOLEY, Pearl Witherington with Hervé Larroque. Code Name Pauline: Memoirs of a World War II Special Agent. ed. by Kathryn Atwood. 208p. appendix. bibliog. index. maps. notes. photos. Chicago Review. Aug. 2013. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-61374-487-1.

CRAFT, Jerry & Kathleen Sullivan. Pitching for the Stars: My Seasons Across the Color Line. 136p. bibliog. index. photos. Texas Tech Univ. 2013. Tr $18.95. ISBN 978-0-89672-787-8; ebook $14.95. ISBN 978-0-89672-788-5.

DOESCHER, Ian. William Shakespeare’s Star Wars®: Verily, A New Hope. illus. by Nicolas Delort. 170p. Quirk. July 2013. Tr $14.95. ISBN 978-1-59474-637-6; ebook $14.95. ISBN 978-1-59474-655-0. LC 2012953985.

EVYAGOTAILAK, Darla & Mindy Willett. No Borders: Kigliqangittuq. 34p. (The Land Is Our Storybook Series). diags. glossary. illus. maps. Fifth House. 2013. RTE $19.95. ISBN 978-1-92708-307-9.

FITZGERALD, Michael Oren. Children of the Tipi: Life in the Buffalo Days. 40p. maps. photos. Wisdom Tales. 2013. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-1-937786-09-0.

FURGANG, Adam & Kathy Furgang. Cultivating Positive Peer Groups and Friendships. ISBN 978-1-4488-8311-0; ISBN 978-1-4488-8317-2; ISBN 978-1-4488-8324-0. LC 2012017872.
LANDAU, Jennifer.Dealing with Bullies, Cliques, and Social Stress. ISBN 978-1-4488-8313-4; ISBN 978-1-4488-8321-9; ISBN 978-1-4488-8325-7. LC 2012009244.
MEYER, Terry.Navigating a New School. ISBN 978-1-4488-8312-7; ISBN 978-1-4488-8319-6; ISBN 978-1-4488-8326-4. LC 2012018548.
WATSON, Stephanie.How Not to Choke on Tests: Achieving Academic and Testing Success. ISBN 978-1-4488-8310-3; ISBN 978-1-4488-8315-8; ISBN 978-1-4488-8323-3.
ea vol: 64p. (The Middle School Survival Handbook Series). bibliog. further reading. glossary. index. photos. websites. Rosen Central. 2013. PLB $31.95; pap. $12.95; ebook $31.95.

GAY, Kathlyn. Bigotry and Intolerance: The Ultimate Teen Guide. 182p. (It Happened to Me Series). bibliog. notes. photos. websites. Scarecrow. 2013. Tr $50. ISBN 978-0-8108-8360-4; ebook $49.99. ISBN 978-0-8108-8361-1. LC 2012043200.

GIBSON, Karen Bush. Women Aviators: 26 Stories of Pioneer Flights, Daring Missions, and Record-Setting Journeys. 240p. (Women of Action Series). bibliog. further reading. glossary. photos. websites. Chicago Review Press. July 2013. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-61374-540-3.

HILMERS, David with Rick Houston. Man on a Mission: The David Hilmers Story. 144p. photos. Zonderkidz. 2013. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-310-73613-4.

HODGES, Henry & Margaret Engel. How to Act Like a Kid: Backstage Secrets of a Young Performer. 256p. further reading. glossary. photos. reprods. websites. Disney. 2013. pap. $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-6320-6.

KENNEY, Karen Latchana. David Karp: The Mastermind Behind Tumblr. 48p. (Gateway Biographies Series). bibliog. chron. further reading. index. notes. photos. reprods. websites. Lerner. 2013. RTE $26.60. ISBN 978-1-4677-1285-9; ebook $19.95. ISBN 978-1-4677-1286-6. LC 2012038057.

KOVACS, Lawrence. Inca: Dicover the Culture and Geography of a Lost Civilization with 25 Projects. illus. by Farah Rizvi. 128p. (Build It Yourself Series). chron. further reading. glossary. index. maps. websites. Nomad. 2013. Tr $21.95. ISBN 978-1-61930-141-2; pap. $15.95. ISBN 978-1-61930-140-5.

LATHAM, Donna. Canals and Dams: Investigate Feats of Engineering. illus. by Andrew Christensen. 128p. (Build It Yourself Series). charts. chron. further reading. glossary. index. maps. websites. Nomad. 2013. Tr $21.95. ISBN 978-1-61930-169-6; pap. $16.95. ISBN 978-1-61930-165-8.

MOONEY, Carla. Forensics: Uncover the Science and Technology of Crime Scene Investigation. illus. by Sam Carbaugh. 128p. (Inquire and Investigate Series). chron. further reading. glossary. index. websites. Nomad. July 2013. pap. $16.95. ISBN 978-1-61930-184-9; Tr $21.95. ISBN 978-1-61930-188-7.

MULDER, Michelle. Pedal It!: How Bicycles Are Changing the World. charts. diags. index. ISBN 978-1-4598-0219-3.
TATE, Nikki. Down to Earth: How Kids Help Feed the World. ISBN 978-1-4598-0423-4.
ea vol: 48p. (Orca Footprints Series). bibliog. illus. photos. reprods. websites. Orca. 2013. Tr $19.95.

MUNDURUKU, Daniel, retel. Amazonia: Indigenous Tales from Brazil. tr. from Portuguese by Jane Springer. illus. by Nikolai Popov. 96p. glossary. Groundwood/House of Anansi. 2013. Tr $24.95. ISBN 978-1-55498-185-4.

O’REILLY, Bill. Kennedy’s Last Days: The Assassination That Defined a Generation. 336p. bibliog. chron. diags. further reading. index. maps. notes. photos. reprods. websites. Holt. July 2013. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-0-8050-9802-0.

OWINGS, Lisa. The Black Mamba. ISBN 978-1-60014-877-4. LC 2012035841.
––––.The Black Widow Spider. ISBN 978-1-60014-878-1. LC 2012034292.
––––.The Deathstalker Scorpion. ISBN 978-1-60014-879-8. LC 2012035264.
––––.Killer Bees. ISBN 978-1-60014-880-4. LC 2012031234.
ea vol: 24p. (Nature’s Deadliest Series). further reading. glossary. index. maps. photos. websites. Bellwether Media. 2013. PLB $22.95.

RICHARDSON, Gillian. 10 Plants That Shook the World. illus. by Kim Rosen. 129p. bibliog. chron. further reading. index. maps. photos. Annick. 2013. RTE $24.95. ISBN 978-1-55451-445-8; pap. $14.95. ISBN 978-1-55451-444-1.

RIVKIN, Jennifer. Physical Bullying. ISBN 978-0-7787-7914-8; ISBN 978-0-7787-7919-3. LC 2013000562.
STUCKEY, Rachel. Cyber Bullying. ISBN 978-0-7787-7913-1; ISBN 978-0-7787-7918-6. LC 2013000584.
WEBB, Margaret. Social Bullying. ISBN 978-0-7787-7915-5; ISBN 978-0-7787-7920-9. LC 2013000583.
ea vol: 48p. (Take a Stand Against Bullying Series). further reading. glossary. index. photos. websites. Crabtree. 2013. PLB $30.60; pap. $10.95.

SANFORD, William R. Apache Chief Geronimo. ISBN 978-0-7660-4093-9. LC 2011048759.
––––.Hunkpapa Lakota Chief Sitting Bull. ISBN 978-0-7660-4097-7. LC 2011050446.
––––.Nez Percé Chief Joseph. ISBN 978-0-7660-4092-2. LC 2011048763.
––––.Oglala Sioux Chief Crazy Horse. ISBN 978-0-7660-4094-6. LC 2011048758.
ea vol: 48p. (Native American Chiefs and Warriors Series). further reading. glossary. index. maps. notes. photos. reprods. websites. Enslow. 2013. PLB $21.26.

SETTERINGTON, Ken. Branded by the Pink Triangle. 196p. appendix. bibliog. charts. chron. map. notes. photos. reprods. Second Story. 2013. pap. $15.95. ISBN 978-1-926920-96-2.

WALKER, Jackie & Pamela Dittmer McKuen. Expressionista: How to Express Your True Self Through (and Despite) Fashion. 224p. appendix. illus. Beyond Words. Sept. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-58270-429-6; pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-1-58270-428-9; ebook ISBN 978-1-4424-8523-5.

WEISMAN, Stefanie. The Secrets of Top Students: Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Acing High School and College. 288p. charts. notes. Sourcebooks. 2013. pap. $14.99. ISBN 978-1-4022-8079-5.

WEXLER, Bruce. The Hatfields & the McCoys. 176p. charts. photos. reprods. Skyhorse. 2013. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-62087-600-8.

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

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

Righteous Gentiles

Fiction

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

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

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

Nonfiction

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jewish Resistance

Fiction

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

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

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

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

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

Nonfiction

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

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

Hiding to Survive

Fiction

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

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

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

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

Nonfiction

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

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

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

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

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

Rescued Children

 Fiction

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

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

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

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

Nonfiction

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

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

Looking for quality nonfiction? Books that offer an interesting approach or viewpoint, lively writing, and support material in the form of illustrations, primary resources, author notes, and further reading lists? Titles that can be used as mentor texts, or to introduce historical figures, concepts, or initiate discussion?  If the answer is yes, we’ve selected a few books publishing this month that you won’t want to miss.

Cate, Annette LeBlanc. Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard.  (Candlewick, 2013; Gr 2-5) Illus. by author. Most state standards place a premium on discovery and what’s more fun than a nature expedition to sharpen kids’ observational skills? Whether bird-watching in the city or the country, these tips will get kids started identifying native species. Have your students grab their sketchpads and jackets and head for the door. As Cate comments, “spending time outside observing life and drawing in a sketchbook can help you see the world in a whole new way.”  This informative and entertaining guide is filled with ink and watercolor cartoon art and humorous asides.

Jenks, Andrew. Andrew Jenks: My Adventures As a Young Filmmaker. (Scholastic, 2013; Gr 8 Up). Jenks burst onto the film scene with a documentary about nursing home residents when still a freshman at NYU. Since then, he’s produced other films including one about the legendary Bobby Valentine, the one-time Mets manager who later worked and enjoyed celebrity status in Japan. Jenks narrates his journey from his first film to his MTV career. The author’s conversational style and Hollywood insights, and the numerous color photos will appeal to readers. With a new season of MTV’s “World of Jenks” beginning this month, teens will be eager to get their hands on this title.

Krull, Kathleen. Louisa May’s Battle: How the Civil War Led to Little Women. (Walker, 2013; Gr 2-5). Illus. by Carlyn Beccia. Krull chronicles Louisa May Alcott’s nursing experience during the Civil War and its impact on her health and writing life. Folded into the narrative is mention of the family’s involvement with the Underground Railroad, The Emancipation Proclamation, and a discussion of women nurses in the 19th century. Numerous quotes by Alcott, full of “snap and bite,” are included. Full-page and spot-art paintings illustrate the book.

Prelutsky, Jack. Stardines Swim High Across the Sky and Other Poems. (HarperCollins, 2013; Gr 2-6). Illus. by Carin Berger.  Stardines, panteaters, magpipes, and bardvarks are a few of the animals that populate this collection of verses by the inimitable Prelutsky. The miniature dioramas created using “a combination of cut paper, found ephemera, vintage engravings…beeswax, wire, thread, and wood” are terrific and will enchant kids. After reading these poems, your students will want to come up with a few unique species of their own, and write poems or create art to go along with the newly birthed creatures.

Thong, Roseanne Greenfield. Round is a Tortilla: A Book of Shapes. (Chronicle, 2013; PreS-Gr 1). Illus. by John Parra. A delectable rhyming jaunt with more than a touch of Mexican flavor.  Each spread features a few lines of verse (incorporating Spanish terms) that point out a featured shape, often ending with a request for readers to locate similarly shaped items. The distinguished artwork depicts interior and outdoor scenes along with some festivities. A glossary of Spanish words is included.

Worth, Valerie. Pug and Other Animal Poems. (Farrar, 2013; Gr 2-7). Illus. by Steve Jenkins. Fans of Worth’s “Small Poems” will be delighted to discover this second posthumous collection of her work. This title includes 18 free verse selections on creatures both domestic and wild. Each offering, a nuanced reflection on the animal’s habits, activities, or appearance, is paired with a collage image by Steve Jenkins. After researching the habits of an animal that interests them, your students can try their hand at writing a poem.

And, finally, a fiction title that will work well with nonfiction units highlighting families, immigration, or memoirs.

Fleischman, Paul. The Matchbox Diary (Candlewick, 2013; K-Gr 4). Illus.by Bagram Ibatoulline. On cross-country trip a young girl visits the great-grandfather she has never met, and learns about his journey to from Italy to America as a small boy. Not yet having learned to read or write, the boy preserved his memories through small, everyday items saved in matchboxes. Ask your students to place something that holds a memory in a small box, and share or write about it. There are many other ways to use this picture book in the classroom, which touchingly evokes the immigrant experience. Full-page and spot-art sepia-toned paintings illustrate.

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What are the best nonfiction Common Core books to stock with your shelves with? DK Publishing, Teacher Created Materials, Lerner Publishing and ReferencePoint Press are here to help fill your library’s nonfiction section by presenting their upcoming titles that fit perfectly into the new standards. This is a must-see resource for Common Core, featuring forthcoming books, nonfiction trends,  and answers to your questions!

Panelists
Jaimie Cona – Children’s Marketing Manager, DK Publishing
Susan Copeland – Director of Education, Teacher Created Materials
Terri Lynn Soutor – Vice President, Marketing & Digital Products, Lerner Publishing Group 
Chris Nasso -  Marketing Director, ReferencePoint Press

Moderator
Jennifer S. Price - Youth Services Librarian , Buncombe County Public Libraries

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I was listening to NPR, and I heard a review of Carolina Clay [The Life and Legend of Slave Potter Dave] by Leonard Todd. I thought, this is just an incredible story. It’s hard for me to know why it affected me so much, but my daughter’s a potter, and I’ve worked with clay all my life. He was a writer and I’m a writer, but I’m not heroic like Dave.

What made him heroic?

He dared to write on pots at a time when he could have been killed for that, and he signed his name. That’s just an amazingly courageous act—and subversive. But it’s also quiet, because he wasn’t saying anything—he was writing it. His ability and his talent gave him that kind of confidence and power, because he knew that if he was killed, who was going to make the 40-gallon jars?

You grew up in Cincinnati during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Did that help draw you to Dave’s story?

Oh, absolutely. I grew up in a neighborhood where I still live, close to downtown Cincinnati, which was predominantly African American at the time. All my friends were African American. We all remember the race riots, which happened about a block away from where we lived. I remember hearing things breaking and being with my African-American friends, and their parents being super-nervous and coming out all the time and telling us to stay on the grass and not to leave the yard.

Not much is known about Dave. How’d you find so many details about him?

It’s funny, I was talking to a friend of mine who writes biographies, and she doesn’t put anything in them that isn’t a fact. My biography really crosses that line and some people may not consider it a biography, which is fine with me.

The Library of Congress calls it a biography.

I couldn’t write the story of Dave without putting in things that I didn’t know he said or anyone else said, because there isn’t any record of that. There isn’t really another way to write the story, because all you have are bills of sale [of slaves] and these cryptic couplets [that he etched] on pots.

Your book feels so incredibly personal.

It’s interesting that you said that. When I worked on this book, I spent a lot of time feeling choked up and I couldn’t talk, or if the phone rang, I choked up.

What touched you the most?

It was the separation, the scenes where people are separated from people they love.

So many children and spouses—including Dave’s—were sold at the drop of a hat, and they never saw one another again.

That’s what really choked me up more than any sort of physical violence.

Do today’s kids understand how dehumanizing slavery is?

In a lot of ways, we’re failing our kids. Just recently, I went to a school to talk to a group of fourth graders, and one asked what I was working on.

I told her a little bit about Dave, and I showed her a slide of the woodcut of him on the auction block that’s in the book, and she said, “You mean he was being sold?” They’d done a whole unit on slavery, but she didn’t know that. And I said, “Yeah, slaves were bought and sold,” and she was stunned. Then she looked at me, and said, “Well, I hope the people that bought him were nice.”

What do you hope kids take away from the book?

I just want kids to realize there are a lot of ways to do what you believe is the right thing to do, and it doesn’t have to be screaming and yelling and fighting, or in any way violent.

There’s a woman who saved my mother during the Holocaust. She was a very quiet person and nobody’s ever heard of her. If I had to pick somebody, she’s the hero of my life. But she did what she did because she thought it was the most ordinary thing to do.

It’s very ordinary to want to write and read and express yourself. But because of the times, Dave couldn’t do that. So he became a quiet hero. If more kids knew about things like that, maybe they’d feel stronger themselves—and they could also do the right thing.

To read a starred review of Etched in Clay (Lee & Low), turn to page 117.

SPONSORED BY: Scholastic Library, DK Publishing, Capstone and Black Rabbit Books and School Library Journal
EVENT DATE AND TIME: Wednesday, February 20, 2013, 3:00 – 4:00 PM ET/12:00 – 1:00 PM PT

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Need helping choosing books this fall? Check out this webcast dedicated to what’s new in nonfiction! Hear John Peters, Series Made Simple contributor and children’s literature consultant, discuss the trends in nonfiction and what the publishers have to say about the future of the genre. Scholastic Library, DK Publishing, Capstone and Black Rabbit Books will share their forthcoming titles to let you know how to stock up your library this spring!

Panelists

Jim Marshall – Director of Marketing, Scholastic Library Publishing

Jim Marshall is the Director of Marketing for Scholastic Library Publishing. Jim’s been with Scholastic Library Publishing over ten years. He’s been a publishing marketing professional for the last 15 years. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and two children

Allie Singer – Assistant Managing Editor, DK Publishing

Allie Singer loves working for DK Publishing because it gives her the opportunity to contribute to books that inspire, inform, and engage young readers. In her current role as Assistant Managing Editor, Allie works mainly on children’s and licensed product, and dabbles in digital and travel books.

Amy Cox – Marketing Manager, Capstone

Amy Cox, Library Marketing Manager at Capstone. With Capstone for almost five years, Amy enjoys helping librarians find just the right books to support their curriculum and ignite the imaginations of their students.

Jonathan Strickland – President, Black Rabbit Books

With Black Rabbit Books, Jonathan Strickland has created a K-12 publisher built on smart content derived from many sources amassed from a career spanning more than 25 years starting with Random House International (Bantam Doubleday Dell) and continuing through Penguin Putnam, World Almanac Education Group, and The Creative Company. Jonathan’s commitment to creating feature-driven publishing is based upon a personal obsession to find the AHA! moment for each topic—and find the best way to present this to children.

Moderator
John Peters - reviewer, School Library Journal

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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.

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.

Meghan McCarthy, Susan Kuklin, Sue Macy, and Deborah Heiligman at NYPL’s Ethics & Nonfiction Panel.

The best juvenile nonfiction strives to be both entertaining and enlightening, but writing a book that is both factually accurate and enjoyable can be a big challenge, says author and illustrator Meghan McCarthy. McCarthy was on hand recently to discuss these issues with some of her peers at New York Public Library’s latest literary panel, “Ethics and Nonfiction,” held on January 5. NYPL Youth Materials Specialist—and SLJ blogger—Betsy Bird moderated.

For these authors, a strong commitment to conveying the truth is paramount. When Deborah Heiligman wrote Honeybees (National Geographic, 2002), it wasn’t until the last possible minute that she noticed a factual error that the book’s illustrator had made: several bees are depicted flying in curlicues, not in a beeline as the insects actually travel. While it was too late in the publishing process to correct the mistake, Heiligman’s consternation over this relatively minor detail illustrates the strict allegiance that many authors have to accurately representing their subjects.

Panelists addressed the tension between crafting a good story and correctly portraying their subject. “It’s so hard to…infuse the story with excitement and stick to the letter of the law,” said Sue Macy, who wrote a precise history of women’s basketball in Basketball Belles (Holiday House, 2011) but wished that the book had been more entertaining in places. “I fight myself on this all the time because you want people to read the book but you also want to be accurate.” She is currently dealing with this very issue as she works on a picture book on women’s roller derby in the 1940s. One moment in her book—a character jumping over the railing during a game—may not have actually occurred, but Macy (who will note for readers that this detail represents creative license on her part) believes this addition will enliven the narrative.

Though Heiligman disagreed with Macy about this particular example, she, too, acknowledged the difficulty of adhering to the facts when constructing a narrative. In her picture book The Boy Who Loved Math (Roaring Brook, 2013), the story of Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdös, she eliminated a line about how her subject’s sisters died of scarlet fever while he was being born, stating that she felt this would set a depressing tone and distract young readers from the rest of the book.

Authors also discussed the problem of how to proceed when not all the facts are available to them. When Susan Kuklin wrote Iqbal Masih and the Crusaders Against Child Slavery (Holt, 1998), the story of a Pakistani boy who became an activist against child labor, she came across conflicting information about the boy’s death. Unsure whether his death at age 12 was an accident or murder, she included both possibilities in her book. In this case, this was a “blessing in disguise,” as it provided opportunities for students to debate this question for themselves.

Panelists concluded by discussing the problem of information that some might see as inappropriate for younger readers. When working on Mary Leakey: In Search of Human Beginnings (W.H. Freeman and Co., 1995), Heiligman had some reservations about depicting Leakey’s affair with Richard Leaky, wondering if it would affect book sales, but ultimately included it. Macy said that when she was recently asked to write a middle-grade book on astronaut Sally Ride, she needed to be able to include that Ride had a same-sex partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy. Though her publishers were wary of the book being labeled a coming-out biography, Macy felt strongly that she needed to incorporate Ride’s relationship with O’Shaughnessy in order to honestly portray her life.

Ultimately, Heiligman’s words underscored the importance of accuracy in children’s nonfiction: “We have to make the choices as nonfiction writers to be…honest and true.”

SPONSORED BY: Follett, Lerner Digital, Norwood House, Rosen Publishing, Gareth Stevens Publishing, Scholastic Library Publishing, Junior Library Guild, ABDO Publishing Group and School Library Journal

Archive now available!

With nonfiction and informational text at the forefront of the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS), there are new demands and opportunities for reading, writing, speaking and listening for students.

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.

Elementary teachers often feel that it is impossible to meet all the literacy, math, science, and social studies benchmarks for which they are accountable. Middle and secondary content specialists lament the lack of time they have to delve into specific moments in history, concepts in economics, or specialized topics in the sciences that can serve as a catalyst for understanding essential concepts. As a result, students sprint through the content standards, with no time to rest, breathe deeply, or examine closely.

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts and Content Literacy, on the other hand, are process-oriented. Teachers have an opportunity to choose broadly the content to examine, and can view the CCSS as a toolkit to explore topics, themes, and genres.

There are practical ways to teach for content over coverage. Primary teachers will want to integrate their teaching and create multidisciplinary curriculum units. Secondary science and social studies teachers can use the CCSS as a vehicle for exploring important topics within their required state content standards at a greater depth and model the ways in which professionals approach their disciplines, as they equip students with some of “the tools of the trade.”

Such work begins with selecting a range of materials for units of study, material beyond traditional basal readers and textbooks. If the educators in your school must use required texts, they can incorporate these resources into a larger curriculum text set. Librarians can help them find books and materials outside the same old parade of facts, and lead them to a variety of fiction and nonfiction genres when possible and appropriate. You can also assist them in locating relevant newspaper and magazine articles in digital databases, and point to museum, library, and research-based websites for examples of available primary and secondary sources. As much as possible, encourage teachers to rely upon a number of formats, so that students can read, listen to, and view texts in more than one modality.

After selecting material for content study, we need to consider approach. One misconception our students often have is that all nonfiction should be read in the same way. They are unaware that historians and scientists approach content differently. We can teach students to read as these professionals do by modeling and allowing them to try out these processes. The CCSS foster disciplinary literacy, recognizing that each field of study has its own framework for asking questions, considering evidence, and creating new content to communicate knowledge.

As educator Sam Wineburg has explained, historians rigorously question what they read. The questions they raise about historical sources are the same questions that our students should be asking. Who wrote it? Why? What do they want me to know? Historians also compare different accounts of the same events.  Do my sources agree on the facts? If not, why not? How do they differ? And finally, they ask about the unique conditions of the era they are examining and consider how these conditions influenced people’s behavior. What is distinctive about the period I am studying? What is familiar? What is unfamiliar? Encourage your students to use these frameworks referred to as sourcing, corroborating, and contextualizing.

Scientists also question rigorously. They evaluate claims being made by others to see if they come from carefully planned observations, and try to determine if inferences are justified. When our students are reading nonfiction accounts of scientists engaged in inquiry, they, too, can pose questions: What is the problem the scientists are trying to solve? Are they collaborating with others? How? Is there evidence that they are willing to reconsider previous conclusions in the face of new evidence? Are the investigative methods they are using creative and imaginative? What have they learned? What else do they want to know?

These queries will move conversations about nonfiction sources well beyond factual recall and remembering. Instead, students will begin to think about how knowledge is created and how scientists and historians continue to refine their understandings. In other words, your discussion will present science and history as subjects that are vibrant and alive.

As we introduce more nonfiction, let’s keep in mind that to engage in critical thinking, we need a robust and varied collection of material to investigate. These clusters of information sources are the foundation of critical conversations.